Shirl - The Foodie

Tarte a la banane - Banana Tart from Mauritius

The smell of baking! How I've missed that!

I've had a bunch of bananas staring at me all week and after making smoothies far too
often this week, I started feeling a bit sick of smoothies so decided to do something
else with these (now) super ripe bananas!

A great idea came to mind and I decided to brave it!

I haven't made this for a long time now and even if it took me a while to gather the
equipments and the method to get it altogether ...

Tadaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!! A typical Mauritian pastry which I've not had for too long!!

Not a perfect tart but it will do ... :)

Tarte a la banane / Banana Tart ... Yes!! I made this!

First Mash the ripe bananas and then cook them in a non-stick pan until the moisture evaporates. Then pop into the prepared tin with the pastry and top with some technical lace operation.

It's ready to cook in the oven!

Glaze the tart with some milk (didn't want to waste an egg to glaze it up)

... and bake for 20-30 min ...

Et Voila!!

Enjoy with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream ...

This was indeed a great idea!!! I'm so proud of myself!! hehe!!!

I'll share the complete recipe with you soon!! For now ... Let's enjoy this!!!

Brunch at The Luxe again ...

Our latest favourite place to have breakfast : The Luxe in Spitalfields

Last time we tried it out, I had the Full English Breakfast which was a bit too much for me
and then made it a must to come back and try their Eggs Royal!

A week later, Mr. A and I were back and brought our visiting Friend K with us

for a typical English Brunch.

Being such a nice day, we started by ordering our drinks where K and I decided to have
a Virgin Bloody Mary. Not usually my kind of drink but only because it is meant

to be one of their best cocktails I had to give it a try!

Sipping through the Bloody Mary as we waited for our food to come,

it is only after I'd gone all red and feeling a bit "hot" that we realised that my drink

was actually not a Virgin Bloody Mary but one with the alcohol!

It was a bit early for me to start getting all drunk and although I did enjoy the taste of my drink,

I had to switch for an Orange juice to make sure I'd make it for the rest of the day!

It was now time for our food to arrive. Without a second glance at the menu, I knew what I wanted to have this wonderful Sunday and just went for it : Eggs Royal please :)

Needless to say, it was absolutely fabulous!

Toasted English Muffin topped with smoked salmon, perfect poached eggs and

finished with a coating of rich and glossy hollandaise sauce on top ...

Pure Bliss. It was actually better than I expected ...

As for Mr. A, he went for the Full on English Breakfast which he enjoyed very much!

As usual, we had a lovely brunch at The Luxe and it was also a super beautiful day !

Give it a go if you're around Spitalfields market on a Sunday.

www.theluxe.co.uk

The Luxe @ Spitalfields E1

109 Commercial Street

London E1 6BG

Sa-wat-dee Kah : Busaba Eathai

Busaba Eathai, another restaurant chain conceived by Alan Yau, offers modern Thai
cuisine in a very casual atmosphere.

The story of Busaba Eathai : "Busaba is a Thai flower. Eathai is a fusion of the words
eat and thai, it replaces the term restaurant, which is associated with formal/fine dining
establishments. Busaba Eathai is a casual dining venue offering a single course
eating experience devised to feed you with minimum fuss."

I have been to Busaba Eathai several times now and each time did not disappoint.
The diverse but simple menu offers a flavoursome selection of Thai salads, noodles,
curries and stir-fries with an authenticity and freshness that surpasses expectations.

Let me share with you a few of the dishes not to be missed when visiting Busaba Eathai.