Wahaca - Mexican like I never had before!

After "movie night" with the girls last week, we ended the evening in WAHACA Soho.

What is Wahaca? - Well apparently, Wahaca is a phonetic spelling of Oaxaca, a place in Mexico. 

And in the markets of Mexico, it's all about delicious, authentic Mexican food made 

from fresh ingredients, eaten at any time of the day without any fuss and we loved it!

The place was busy when we arrived and we were directed to the bar to have some drinks 

while waiting for our table to be ready. The bar was located in the basement and it was actually 

more like a game room with a modern decor, with two foosball tables and a bamboo 

hanging/ swing chair which were pretty cool. 

{ Note to self: gotta bring the boys here for a game! :) }

Sooner than we thought, our table was ready and we were excited to start ordering! 

The menu was printed on the paper place mats and was very easy to choose from.

WAHACA - SOHO 

We started with some Tortilla Chips with Guacamole which also came with two salsas 

made fresh everyday -  the tomato salsa and the salsa verde. 

{ Be careful the salsa verde is pretty hot!!} 

 It was not outstandingly special but who doesn't like Tortilla with guacamole ...

Next we had some tacos with strips of beef, tostadas and taquitos. 

The Tacos were served tapas size. Small soft, corn tortillas topped with salsa, 

steak strips and some guacamole, just roll it up and give it a big bite! 

Maybe it was because we were hungry, but it did taste very nice. 

No need to say that the hint of spice did give it a pleasant kick!

For the tostadas, we selected the 'ceviche' option { with prawns }.  

Again a small tortilla but crispy this time, topped with shredded iceberg salad and 

ceviche mixed with a light creamy dressing which was very light. 

Would advise to have one order per person!

Crispy and Light - The Ceviche Tostada 

Finally, the Chicken Taquitos { which means 'little taco' } .  

Made from a small corn tortilla, filled with chicken, rolled and lightly fried, 

the taquitos were served topped with some salad, mixed salsa and cheese on top.

Chicken Taquito : "Tah - Kee- Toh" - 

Wahaca made a very lovely evening meal and I will be coming back for more! 

The bill was very friendly  too which is also a plus. 

Wahaca definitely does not offer the hot Mexican food we all are used to 

but it does offer a nice alternative to Mexican food.

WAHACA - Soho 

8 Wardour Street

London W1F 0TF

The Breakfast Club

When morning broke on this Sunday in June, it was bright, sunny, hot and beautiful!!!

Very rare for a day in London!

How better to start a day like this but with a wonderful breakfast at 

The Breakfast Club near Spitalfields Market! 

Thanks to Foodie Friend Rie, we discovered this well hidden place off the busy Bishopsgate Street.

We had to wait for a bit to get to our table but it was well worth it! 

The Breakfast Club was buzzing with  big families, groups of friends and couples 

all looking really happy and enjoying a nice breakfast, and we couldn't wait!

The interior was very casual, but the little funky objects made the place really fun. 

Say hello to Mr Snoopy the Lamp. ^.^

Once seated, it was time to scan the menu and choose wisely! 

My first instinct was to look what the others around were having and all looked really yummy.

Sunny side up eggs on toast came for our 'neighbours', then came the American 

pancakes stacked up nicely with berries topped with syrup, 

ahhhh difficult choice to make as I wanted to try everything!

Food was ordered and for drinks we had a pitcher of the Apple, Carrot and Orange Juice 

with a rather strong ginger kick to start. 

Shortly after, our food was served. I shall let the pictures speak for themselves!

The Full Monty English Breakfast

The Posh Sausage Sandwich

The All American Breakfast

Avocado, Poached Egg and Red Chillies served with Crispy Bacon

It was all wonderful but my favourite of today was the All American Breakfast 

with the Maple Syrup! Oh and the scramble egg looked really yummy too! :p 

I will probably have this on my next visit which I'm already looking forward to!

Before heading off to enjoy the rest of the day and sunlight, we finished off with a caffeine fix! 

Me with my usual Latte served in the Breakfast Club - PacMan Cup 

while my other half got a really nice Coffee Art with his Caramel Latte.

The Regular Latte

The Caramel Latte

It was a beautiful Sunday morning and we had a wonderful time on our first 

visit to the Breakfast Club. 

We will surely visit again soon ...  until then ...

 Happy Summer Everyone! It's finally here!!!

The Breakfast Club 

12-16 Artillery Lane

E1 7LS  London

At The Diner in Central London

If you are looking for an all American Style Diner in London, simply head to 

The Diner in Soho just off popular Carnaby Street in the West End London.

Simple and uncomplicated, with everything you would expect from a Diner 

(speaking from experience through what can be seen on TV ), the only thing 

missing would probably be the waitresses on their roller skates! 

Oh well, can't get everything nowadays!! :p

Very Original Logo of The Diner 

So one lovely afternoon, we grabbed a quick bite at The Diner and were left pretty 

happy after our very copious meal!

As starters, the chilli fries were a treat! I have not had chilli fries for a very long time 

and after having tasted this one, I will definitely be coming back for more! 

We also had their onions rings to share as a starter which pretty much 

lost attention next to the chilli fries!

Very unhealthy fried starters but so yummy when eaten! 

For mains, unless you are really hungry for carbs, I would not recommend the burrito! 

So filling and heavy, it felt like eating a brick and especially after the chilli fries ... 

hmm...  if I knew I'd have the chilli fries as my main! :)

Not so attractive Burrito when it was served ... 

But then again ... when I saw The Diner burger coming, it was clear I'd made the wrong choice 

with the burrito which only looked appetising on the menu...

The Diner Burger served as an Open Bun ...  Look at the bacon and cheese! omg!

I had a bite and I guess you can never go wrong with a Burger at a Diner! :)   

It looked scrumptious and it was!

This time we did not have any dessert but it's on my list to try and next time 

we will go straight for the dessert section ... ok... maybe a portion of chilli fries to get us started! 

hehe... We shall see when the time comes!

The Diner we visited was the one in Soho but depending on where is most convenient for you, 

The Diner also has a branch in Islington, Camden, Shoreditch and Kensal Rise.

The Diner

18 Ganton Street 

W1F 7BU

London 

Choccowoccydoodah !!!

Woohoo!! We're almost there! Choccywoccydoodah!! 

It was my first trip to Brighton and sadly, the Sun decided not to make any appearance! 

Lucky for me ChoccywoccyDoodah was there to cheer me up!

Without the Sunshine in Brighton, it felt like a ghost town ... {see for yourself - image below }

The Beach @ Brighton 

Not a soul on the beach except from us!  

It was not what I expected from Brighton but different is nice sometimes.

Instead of soaking up the absent Sun, we headed to the well known Chocolate Heaven.

Choccywoccydoodah, Bar du Chocolat.

 I was told about it recently from a friend who had been to Brighton 

ew weeks earlier (when the Sun was still shining) ... 

and a visit was highly recommended!!

What can I say ...  It was simply divine!!  Let the pictures do the talking !  (^.^)

                        

Hot Chocolate -  Strawberry and White Chocolate Truffle Milkshake -  Cheeky Monkey Sundae 

Will definitely be recommending this little piece of Heaven on Earth to future visitors of Brighton. 

It was a tiny little Cafe which could hold at most 15 people but cosy and very very colourful with a very specific Art which you have to see for yourself!  

Overall, a very pleasant experience but you should be ready for a Sugar Overdose 

once you leave this place! ^.^

OMG! How Delicious does that look!!!  Yummmmm!!!!

CHOCCYWOCCYDOODAH

4 Duke Street

Brighton, 

East Sussex, BN1 1AG

New Ladurée branch in Covent Garden

Recently opened on a prime corner of the Covent Garden Market, 

Ladurée is making an important début with a proper sit -in Café.  

Really excited about this new opening, a visit was imminent to happen.

One sunny day was all we needed! 

The little café was already quite busy when my foodie friends and I arrived 

AND we were happy that we did not have to wait too long. 

We were lucky ...  the waiter readily seated us on the first floor on the balcony 

to make the most of the beautiful day!

We like Ladurée. We do. But after the good first impression of the well decorated premises, 

all was let down by the service we received that day.  

Not only did the waiter failed to set the covers again even after we were seated 

but the whole service was a tragedy: our waiter had difficulty taking our orders - drinks and food took ages to come ( which they blamed on the service lift being down) 

with some items we believe were forgotten until we reminded them...

For the prices charged here, I think impeccable service should be a given and not optional ... 

It was very unfortunate that our experience was not as we expected ...  

( and I swear , we are not difficult customers!). 

All we wanted were : two sets of afternoon tea, a Club Sandwich and lovely delicious Ladurée Cakes.

On a positive note though, the food (when it arrived) was lovely and this kept us happy.  ^.^

First to arrive, the Club Sandwich. I couldn't even have a decent picture without a quick bite being taken from the sandwich! Still looked yummy though!! :)

Chicken Club Sandwich served with Chunky Chips

Then the Afternon Tea set for Two arrived ...
On top tier, the selection of sandwiches : we selected the smoked salmon and the ham option.

Afternoon Tea Set for two

On the middle tier, our pastry all soft and golden. We had the pain au chocolat which hardly had any chocolat in it and the walnut croissant which was very nice.

Finally on the bottom tier, deux Ispahan, a Carré Chocolat and a Plaisir Sucré.

The Traditional Tea Set 

Not that the Afternoon Tea Set wasn't enough ... but we also ordered : 

Millefeuilles Pralines

A Close Up picture of a Beauty of a Cake - The Ispahan 

A Favourite of many : The Ispahan with raspberry and lychee

A very disappointing first visit we all concluded {especially after paying the bill}  but the 

Cakes and Patisserie @ Ladurée never lets anyone down, so we all left still content. 

We will not be running back very quickly but for the Love of Cake ... 

we might decide to give it another try.

Ladurée 

1 Market Place

Covent Garden 

( Impossible to miss)

WC2 E 8RA

    

ORA - Passion for Thai Cuisine

ORA.  I have not heard of this restaurant until this visit with some friends.
Set off Regent Street on Little Portland Street, away from the constant hustle and bustle of
Oxford Street, ORA says it brings authentic Thai Food to London...

As we entered Ora, it had a very contemporary feel and I was very excited to try their dishes.
Since we had a group booking through Toptable, we had a set menu to choose our courses from.
I was impressed that they offered a good variety of dishes to choose from for each course although
I was pretty surprised that some of the dishes were not really Thai!

Once, we made our choice, while waiting for the food to arrive, I sipped through my cute little
jug of Thai Ice Milk Tea, beautifully presented and enjoyed a good catching up session with
my friends.

ORA Thai Ice Tea 

Soon after, our starters arrived. The popular choices were the crispy king prawn tempura
and the Deep Fried Baby Squid. Quite disappointing I thought as a start to our meal ...

The Prawn Tempura was not a real tempura with the batter being rather thick to my taste.
It was more like a Fried King Prawns in batter! The portion served was big though for a starter
and could not complain about the texture of the prawns which were nice to the taste.

The other starter, the crispy squid was reasonable I guess with an innovative sauce which had chopped herbs.

Not the best crispy squid I've had ...

As the time came for our mains to arrive, it all looked very tasty. 

As I had a closer look at the dishes as they were being served to us individually, 

I will have to admit that my expectations were not met.

The Duck Breast served with tamarind sauce looked nice. As well as the curry.

I had ordered the Sirloin Beef in oyster sauce and mange-tout. 

(Not very Thai I thought ... but still decided to give it a chance.) ... Shouldn't have! 

The dish was served in a square plate trying to make it look stylish and modern 

but as soon as I saw my dish ... it had failed my standards ... 

not boasting but I definitely make better beef in oyster sauce in my own kitchen!

Another chosen Main dish was the Pork in Sweet Pineapple, lychee and vegetable in sauce.

The Lychee ingredient was the interesting one which had to be tried. 

This dish was different but at the same time, it was very close to the regular sweet 

and sour available in Chinese Take away shops ... again not very impressed ...

Last but not least, we had dessert which was just ok. 

The Chocolate Cheesecake proved to be the most popular.

The Pineapple Pie served with custard was not too bad to the taste either.

Overall, the experience was saved by good company ... but on the food side ... 

I won't be running back soon to be honest!!  

It was not an unpleasant food experience but it definitely did not give me any hint of the 

Passion for Thai Cuisine.

I eventually learned that the chef's background was from Busaba Eathai, and 

the manager was the former manager at Mango Tree. I guess the professionalism of the 

waiting staff came from the standards brought from Mango Tree, while for the Chef ... 

what happened?? ...  but I would rather go to Busaba Eathai!!

If you want to try ORA, the best is to book through Toptable for this Restaurant where instead 

of the set menu, I would recommend to go for the 50% off food where you will

 still be able to choose from the a la carte menu where the true Thai Cuisine is.

ORA Restaurant 

6 Little Portland Street 

Fitzgrovia, London W1W 7JE