Tai Tung Chinese Restaurant Croydon

Hiya!

So recently we went to Ikea in Croydon and decided to go for dim sum. We drove to Wing Yip as my mum wanted to do a spot of shopping and so we ate at Tai Tung.

Dim sum is like Spanish tapas; everything is served in small portions which you share.

 

Siu Mai (Pork Dumpling) & Har Gow (Shrimp Dumpling)

 These are the main dim sum dishes which everyone orders as it's just not dim sum without it. I'm not a big fan of Siu Mai but I did try the Har Gow and it was so juicy! As soon as I bite into it the juice from the shrip started pouring out.

Thai Style Chicken Feet & Chicken Feet in Chilli and Black bean Sauce

I know that it's a weird thing eating chicken feet but it's not bad. The Thai Style Chicken feet is typically eaten cold and its spicy but the ones here were very sweet so my mum had to order extra chilli sauce to dip it in; there wasn't a lot of daikan and carrot salad either so I was disappointed but the chicken feet in black bean sauce was amazing! It was very spicy and full of flavour.

Curry Whelks

I LOVE THIS! The curry sauce was spicy and full of wonderful flavours! J ordered this to try and between the both of us we finished it!

Spicy Beef Tripe

I'm not a fan of tripe but my mum and S loves it. I did try one and it was soft but it was so chewy! I had to spit it out as I couldn't break it down to swallow and I managed to suck out all of the flavours.

Prawn Spring Rolls & Deep Fried Meat Puff

I had a sore throat so I didn't really eat anything fried but S loved the meat puff as it wasn't too sweet but there wasn't a lot of meat inside. He also ate the spring roll and said that it was over fried so it was hard.

 Char Sui Pork Buns & Chicken and Chive Buns & Sticky Rice Buns & Crispy Custard Bun

I love all of these buns as the actual buns were very sweet and complimented the fillings well. S ordered the sticky rice bun to try and I ate 2 by myself! The char sui filling was salty but worked amazing with the soft and sweet bun. I didn't manage to eat a chicken bun as I was really full by then. J ordered he crispy buns as she's had it before and said it was amazing; when it came I kinda avoided it as it looked so greasy and oily but it wasn't! It was very sweet and the bun was crispy but not very oily. I will definitely get it again!

Prawn Cheung Fun

You can't have dim sum and not order at least one cheung fun. Cheung fun is normally made from flour and steamed before being wrapped around a filling. We ordered the prawn one and it was so sweet. My mum didn't really like it so me and S ate it between us.

Beef Ho Fun (Wet)

 As you know Z is very fussy at eating so we normally order him either a noodle or rice dish but he still didn't eat. All of us had some and felt that there was too much sauce even though we asked for the wet noodles we didn't expect it to soaked in sauce. The veggies was crunchy and sweet but the beef wasn't nice it tasted a bit off.

We ordered about 13 dishes between 5 of us and we couldn't even finish it so we had to take the left overs home. Apart from the whelks and the buns I found that this place wasn't nice as everything was sweet.

Dim Sum is nice as a family outing as you all get to sit together, catch up and try bits of everything but never go on a Sunday as its always busy.  

Where do you like to go out for family meals?

TC

xx

First Choice Cafe Woolwich

Hiya!

After a night out nothing beats a fry up and in Woolwich there are lots of choices but one of my favourite places to eat is First Choice Cafe as the portions are big and the price is amazing. 

I love the staff there as they're always smiling and so friendly. 

Homemade Shepherd's Pie 

This was alot of food! I didn't finish it all as there was too much but I couldn't stop eaten! The shepherd's pie contained more mash potato than meat and it was a bit dry. I loved the veggies especially the roast potato! The potatoes were sweet and full of flavour.

Grill Burger

S ordered a Grill burger and somehow managed to finished it all! He liked his meal especially the egg as it was cooked to his liking. He likes dipping things into the yolk.

What's your hangover cure?

TC

xx

Aqua Mediterranean Bar and Grill - Blackheath

Hiya!

So sorry for the lack of posts.

S and I visited Aqua Mediterranean Bar and Grill in Blackheath for our anniversary. We was lucky enough to be able to book a table as it was very last minute. As soon as we entered we was greeted by a sea of smiles. The staff member took us to our seats and even offered to move us as I was feeling very cold at the particular table. He took our coats and came back with the menus.

Cypriot Meatballs

I was lucky enough to get a meatball as S ate it all! The sauce was very rich and tasty. The meatballs was very flavoursome. I should of ordered a portion for myself!

Hot Tiger Prawns

The prawns was sweet and juicy. I liked them but it was missing the spiciness and also it did lack flavour.

Special of the day

I couldn't remember the name of this but it was so delicious. I loved the tomato sauce and started dipping my prawns into the sauce. It was tangy but it left a sweet after taste.

250g Rib Eye Steak

S loves his steak's so he ordered the rib eye. His not a fan of mushrooms so I ate it and I love it! Bursting of flavour and the red onion marmalade was so mouth watering. S loved his steak (medium cook)! He said it was soft and juicy.

Pan Fried Fillet of Seabass

The seabass was cooked perfectly. The meat was soft and light whilst the skin was crispy; I normally don't eat fish skin but this was so good! I loved the white wine sauce as it wasn't to rich and it worked very well with the clams, seabass and asparagus. I loved my except for the potatoes as it did taste a bit like plastic on the outside but the inside was sweet and soft.

Warm Chocolate Brownies

The brownie worked perfectly with the vanilla pod ice-cream. The mixed berry compote was very tangy but I loved how there was red berries as it gave a lot of flavour once you bite into it.

I would love to go back and try more of their yummy food especially the seafood as I love how fresh the seafood was. It was such an amazing night and it was made better by the staff; they're so welcoming and friendly and made me want to stay there and not leave! lol 

Check out www.aquabarandgrill.co.uk  for more information.

TC

xx 

Kintan Japanese BBQ

Hiya!

We visited Kintan in Holborn. S thought we was going to Korean bbq but it turned out to be a Japanese style bbq (Yakiniku). We had a reservation for 5pm but we got there early and only had 2 hours parking; as we was about to cancel our reservation, the manager managed to move it up to 4.30. 

We made it in time for Happy Hour! Which meant that we got a discount on the set meals! S had picked the Meat Lover's set which contained the following:-

Crispy seaweed, Fried Chicken Karaage, Umami Salad, Miso Soup and Plain Boiled Rice

I loved the Chicken Karaage! It wasn't greasy and it was so juicy! Normally I don't like to eat chicken but I couldn't help myself it was amazing. I didn't take any pictures of the miso soup or rice as Z took my phone.

Sirloin, Premium Rib Eye, Yaki-Shabu Beef, Bistro Hanger Steak, Spicy Pork Kalbi and Citrus Pepper Aburi Bacon

These are the meats you get with the set deal and I surprised myself by actually loving a pork item. I finished the Spicy Miso pork myself but the other meats just tasted the same as each other once they were cooked.

S'mores

How cute is this! For dessert you get a S'more each and all I can say is keep the sticks away from children at all time unless you want meat juice with your marshmallows! Z kept trying to do it and ended up wiping some meat juice on mine but he loved being able to toast the marshmallow under mine and S's watchful eye lol.

S thought that there wasn't enough food so he went and ordered the following appetizers:

Kintan Buns, Takoyaki and Ebi Furai

OMG! The buns was soft and very sweet but it complimented the meat very well as the meat was bit salty on its own but worked amazingly well with the sweetness of the bun. I loved the Takoyaki as they contained big chunks of octopus and it didn't feel too greasy. The batter on the prawns was light and tasted yummy with the accompanying sauce.

Z got a Kid's meal which contained:

2 Takoyaki, Crispy Seaweed, 2 Mini Japanese Sausage, Beef and Boiled Rice.

Z only had 1 sausage as he dropped one so we asked for an extra sausage in which they gave us one big sausage cut into quarters. We cooked the sausages and mixed it with his rice and he loved it! He didn't eat the takoyaki, beef nor the crispy seaweed although he does eat the seaweed at home. S ended up eating the beef.

Matcha Ice-Cream

On the leaflet it stated Vanilla Ice-cream but they must of ran out as they gave Z matcha ice-cream which I was not very pleased about because Z hates matcha so I ate it instead and it was disgusting! They didn't say anything to me about exchanging the ice-cream so we was left with no choice.

It was very bitter and bitsy; the ice-cream contained alot of matcha powder which gave it a strong matcha taste but leaves a horrible bitter after taste. I didn't finish this even though I love dessert. 

Kintan Ice-Cream

I ordered this for myself but I gave it to Z as I had his matcha ice-cream but he did share a spoonful with me and it tasted okay. The brown sugar syrup was bitter but the ice-cream did balance the bitterness out a little. Z managed to finish it after mixing everything together.

The staff was very welcoming. I would love to visit again sometime without Z and just enjoy cooking and catching up. Z wasn't naughty but it was no place for children as I did get meat juice jump out onto my hands a couple of time. This is a perfect way to catch up with friends as you wait for your own food to cook and its a fun experience! 

Please Visit Kintan.uk

What's your favourite meat?

TC

xx 

Street Feast London - Hawker House

Hiya!

We visited Hawker House Street in Canada Water. Its free entry before 7pm but after that its £3 per person and its only on Fridays and Saturdays. 

It was a very cold and dark the night we went but as we approached the venue it was lit up with colourful lights and there was a fire outside making it very welcoming. 

We walked around and quickly realised that this was no place for children. There was alot of alcohol around and it was very busy but we managed to get some seats after walking around for 20 minutes but that wasn't the worst part.

We ordered food from CHUCK Burger. 

We ordered 2 portions each of Buffalo wings, French fries and Mac 'n' Cheese balls. It was expensive for what we had ordered and we had to wait 40 - 45 minutes and not once did they mention that it was going to take that long for the food! Z was getting bored and was trying to run around and we was getting very bored! 

After waiting we got the food with no apology. The buffalo wings was burnt and wasn't even flavourful. We ate 1 portion that was shared between 7 people and threw away the second portion; it cost £5.50 a portion. The chips was very salty but the Mac 'n' Cheese balls was amazing!! C ate a whole portion by herself!!

S managed to get some pizza's from Born & Raised. 

We got 2 Cobble Lane Pepperoni pizza with tomato sauce, Mozzarella and Basil and 1 Somerset Goats Cheese on Beetroot pizza. It took S 10 minutes to get 3 pizza's and it was so tasty. Packed full of lovely fresh flavours. S also managed to get a beer but even he said that was expensive for what it was; £5 for 330ml of beer.

I got Z some ice-cream from Chin Chin Labs.

I ordered the Sticky Toffee Warmie. OMFG! It was so yummy!! The warm sticky toffee pudding was so amazing! Full of dates and that toffee sauce was to die for! It tasted so good by itself but with the ice-cream it was an explosion of flavour. 

Hawker House is an ideal place for couples and friends but its not a place for kids even though there was kids it wasn't safe for them as there was a lot of candles. The food wasn't amazing and a bit pricey but you need to go for the ice-cream!! I would definitely go back for the yummy ice-cream!!

Click for more information on Street Feast.

Tc

xx

Kaspas Catford

Hiya!

Happy Mother's Day!!

As a treat we went to Kaspas in Catford for dessert. Yum!

Z got a Chocoholic. They called this a sundae but it came in an Italian wafer basket. There was a scoop of chocolate ice cream and a scoop of caramel ice cream. It says that you get a scoop of vanilla ice cream but you get a whip of ice cream which just tastes like milk. Z doesn't normally eat nuts but he loved it! There was  alot of chocolate syrup but it was mainly on the plate so he gave up scooping it off the plate. There was also a chocolate cup filled with even more ice cream!   

S got the Strawberry Delight Waffle. It was a waffle topped with fresh strawberries, chocolate shavings and drizzled with chocolate syrup. The waffle was nice and warm and soft.

S got a Banaoffee and Nutella crepe. S loved her crepe and also paid extra to add M&Ms.

C had the Bananaberry crepe. It was a crepe topped with banana slices and fresh strawberry slices. She didn't enjoy her dessert as the chocolate syrup was very bitter.

I ordered a slice of Ferrero Rocher cake. I asked about it as it wasn't on the menu but the girl behind the counter had no idea what was in it and I thought I'd take a chance on it but I was so wrong. The butter icing was not sweet, the chocolate was stale and between the sponge layer was a thin layer of cherry liquor and it just tasted wrong! It tasted very alcoholic! Z loves Ferrero Rocher and luckily I didn't give him any. I didn't manage to finish it! I did finish the ice cream as I did have to pay extra for it. 

What's you favourite dessert? 

TC 

xx

Tottenham Loaf Cake

Hi! 

I love cake and custard and recently I made this Tottenham Cake for Valentines Day and it was so yummy especially with vanilla custard!

Ingredients:

125g Butter, soften

125g Caster Sugar

125g Self Raising Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

2 Large Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 tbsp  Milk

For the icing

150g Icing Sugar

1 drop of Pink/Red food colouring

1 tsp cold water 

Sprinkles (optional)

Preheat the oven at 160'c

1. Place the sugar and butter in a mixing bowl and cream together until white in colour and fluffy

2. Add the eggs 1 at a time into the mixture and beat.

3. Fold in the Self raising flour and baking powder until fully combined

4. Place the Vanilla extract into the milk and pour into the mixture

5. Bake between 12-15 minutes at 160'C until brown in colour or until a skewer comes out clean

6. Leave to cool completely if not the icing will not set

7. Using a skewer poke random holes throughout the cake

8. Mix together 60g of Icing sugar and 3 drops of warm water and pour over your cake. I found that leaving your cake on a cooling rack with a plate or cake tin underneath made the clean up easier.

9. Mix the 150g icing sugar and food colouring together until fully combined. Add the cold water slowly until you have a thick but pourable consistency.

10. Pour over your cake and place some sprinkles on top. Leave the icing to harden and enjoy.

Hope you get a chance to make this yummy cake 

TC

xx

JRC Global Buffet Ilford

Hi!

We visited JRC Global Buffet in Ilford. Its reasonably priced as the price includes soft drinks and hot drinks. Z had a tropical flavoured slush drink and he loved it.

It was very spacious and looked very modern. There was a good selection of cuisine but I couldn't take many pictures as it was very busy.

I managed to get some pictures of the Japanese section as it was very quiet due to people following the flow of starter, main and dessert. I skipped the starters and went straight to main.

I love how they decorated this section with the banners and Japanese lanterns. I normally would go straight for the sushi but I thought I'd try the other types of cuisine first. I did manage to try the sushi and it was okay but I loved the squid salad! 

I didn't take a picture but the pumpkin dumpling in the Chinese dim sum section is to die for especially with the amazing red bean paste inside but I must warn you that its a sweet dim sum and not to go with the savoury items and as for the main's which I tried it was full of flavour especially the Seafood Paella.

DESSERTS! OMG! They had a good variety of desserts with a chocolate fountain and a candy shop it was my kind of heaven.

Overall I felt that this is the best world buffet I've been to so far; there was a lot of choices including halal and they even had someone who went around with a meat skewer like a Brazilian buffet. The food wasn't amazing but for the price including drinks it is worth it and more! I managed to have 2 plate full of food, 5 dessert plates, 2 soft drink and a cup of tea for £20! I was so stuff but I regretted not getting a soup and trying out the sushi! The best part of this experience was the staff. Friendly on arrival and throughout our stay even when we was leaving. 

Please check out their website for location details and types of cuisine: www.jrc-globalbuffet.com

What is your favourite cuisine?

TC

xx

Valentines Viennese Hearts

Hi!

I love my cups of tea but I cannot have a cup of tea without a snack. I decided to make Viennese fingers for the first time but I decided to make them heart shaped.

Ingredients:

125g Unsalted Butter (Soften)

125g Plain Flour

40g Icing Sugar

1 Medium Egg Yolks

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

100g Chocolate (Whichever you prefer)

Equipment:

Mixing Bowl

Hand Mixer

Baking Tray with a baking sheet 

Piping Bag with a Star Shaped Piping nozzle

1. Place the butter and icing sugar together into a mixing bowl. Cream together until its fluffy and paler in colour.
2. Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract into the mixture and beat well.
3. Place the flour into the bowl and fold it into the mixture until fully combined.
4. Place the mixture into the piping bag and pipe out some hearts. 
5. Bake between 10-15 minutes or until golden on top.
6. Place the chocolate (I used dark chocolate) into microwavable bowl and microwave for 15 seconds until melted. Put back into the microwave for another 15 seconds if not completely melted.
7. Put the chocolate into a piping bag and pipe either a message or a chocolate heart in the middle to cover. 

I loved these as it was soft and crumbly and the dark chocolate worked well as wasn't too sweet. I placed chocolate in between 2 viennese hearts to make a chocolate viennese sandwich. You can be as creative as you want especially as Valentines Day is coming up.   

Hope you get a chance to try this recipe

TC

xx