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Muffin Man – Kensington, London

We stopped by The Muffin Man as a quick stop for breakfast one morning before heading over to Buckingham Palace and stand in line for the touristy attractions we were planning for the day. The Muffin Man was a great little stop, even though it wasn’t a fast stop. We made an order right from their bakery section and it took the waitress awhile to even put our goodies into a bag to give to us. Instead, she continued to serve the seated customers, and that made is “in her way”. She had to maneuver around us, making it difficult for everyone.

We figured if she just took our order and quickly gave us our goodies, we all would’ve continued on our merry way. Regardless, the baked good from the Muffin Man was extremely delicious.

I ordered the Lemon Cake which was a denser muffin (hence cake) in a muffin form. It was really lemony and refreshing. The cake was quite fresh.

We also had a Chocolate Danish made with dark chocolate filling wrapped in crusty and flaky pastry.

Lastly, we tried their Banana Coffee Muffin, and even though I didn’t try it at all, I hear it was quite delicious, and it had a soft coffee center. This muffin sure sounds delicious, and I’m sure given another opportunity, I’ll try a muffin – as the place is called the Muffin Man after all!

Muffin Man

12 Wrights Lane Map
(0871) 075 7360
Kensington, London

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The Almanack

After checking into our hotel that was across the street from The Almanack we had to go for a lunch, and found ourselves at the Almanack. The restaurant is large, spacious, bright and just a lovely place to have been. We enjoyed our lunch in a large yet comfortable space.

I tried the Fish Board and actually split it with my sister as I just ate a burger. The Fish Board comes with Smoked Mackerel Pâté, Prawn Cocktail, Marinated Anchovies, Mini Fishcake & Tartare Sauce, Cucumber Sticks & Rye Bread. It was the perfect plate to share, and it was really tasty. Each item on the fish board had its own unique taste and texture which was really fun to experience – as we don’t have this like this. None of the items was fishy at all – which really made me happy! The smoked Mackeral had a really nice smoked taste, and it was firm but flaked off into pieces really nicely. The prawn cocktail was pretty fun – not the best prawn cocktail I’ve ever had, but it was really fun to get my hands dirty and enjoy it! I like anything deep fried, so the fishcake was right up my alley! It was really light and fluffy and cooked perfectly as well. Nothing was bad at all! I don’t know my thoughts of anchovies, but I do like these ones from the Almanack! 🙂 So, it was a very satisfying meal, and one I will remember!

We ordered a bunch of other lunch entrees, which I didn’t try. But, everything was gobbled up in a heart-beat, so I’m assuming it was delicious! The table ordered Potato and Watercress Soup

We also ordered a dish of Caesar Salad to share at the table. It was a nice and fresh salad and it was well received by everyone.

Free-range Chicken & Crispy Bacon, and topped off with Anchovies & Croutons. The last dish that was ordered was Honey & Mustard Roast Free-range Gammon

We went back to The Almanack for breakfast the following morning, and they served a wonderful breakfast selection! From Salmon Eggs Benedict to the All American Breakfast. We had a lot of us, and we had a nice selection of breakfasts ordered.

First of all, everything was cooked perfectly, and that means they looked and tasted good too! I started with the Pancake Breakfast which naturally was pancakes and maple syrup. They did drench the pancake in the syrup and by the end, it was too sweet. The pancakes were light and fluffy and wasn’t cooked until it was a beautiful golden brown colour.

The Salmon Eggs Benedict was really delicious. There was some salmon instead of the traditional ham, and spinach on the eggs Benedict. This really was a nice touch with a nice taste to the dish.

Our table also had the All American Breakfast which was a large and filling breakfast – perfect for a busy day ahead – which in our case was! This breakfast consisted of beans, toasts, mushrooms, sausage, bacon and eggs. It’s truly a hearty meal.

The Almanack

Abbey End North Kenilworth
Warwickshire
(01926) 353637

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Shogun Teppan-Yaki – Birmingham, England

Sushi from Shogun Teppan-Yaki has been a place where my sister has talked about for years as a place to take us! We finally went, and it was wonderful! Located in Birmingham in a huge mall called The Mailbox, it’s a wonderful Japanese restaurant with lots of options, from a sit down menu featuring noodles, sushi & sashimi, set meals, and much more, there is always something on the menu to satisfy any craving.

There is a sit down area with a rotating conveyer belt with sushi – and you just pick out what you want to eat, and is charged a flat rate. If you’re looking for entertainment, this is also the place to go as they offer teppanyaki for their customers.

We sat down and ate all the sushi we could with the flat fee. The sushi was really fresh and delicious – and we sat right by the window as the sushi first comes out of the kitchen. We tried a lot of dishes, from your standard sushi like salmon sushi, which was really fresh and tasty.

We had some tempura and this was crispy and not greasy. It was really nicely fried and the batter is excellent.

My favourite that I tried was the shrimp and mango sushi which is a sushi I haven’t tried since now. It’s sweet and savoury and I really enjoy this combo.

Shogun is an excellent place to visit if you’re in the area and craving for sushi – plus hungry! I would recommend Shogun whether you’re in for some entertainment, or just to fill up your belly. Even though I didn’t enjoy the teppanyaki myself, I did have a glimpse of a family enjoying it for lunch – and it sure looks like fun! 🙂

Shogun Teppan-Yaki

Shogun Sushi/Noodle Bar Ltd
27-29 Wharfside Street
The Mail Box
Birmingham
B1 1RD

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Le Restaurant de Paul Covent Garden – London, England

While we were in London, we visited Paul twice! The first time, we went in for lunch, and tried delicious PAUL’s Hot Chocolate which was a delicious rich hot chocolate that coats the spoon and coats the mouth and stomach as we digest it! It’s really good, and I would call it “drinking chocolate” more than enjoying “hot chocolate”. What a wonderful treat it was!

For the lunch, I ate mixte crepes which was a perfectly cooked crepe filled with ham, emmental (cheese) and bechamel sauce. It was really creamy with the cheese and bechamel sauce, and once you cut into the crepe, the emmental oozed out. It was perfect! We also ordered the Champignon Crepe which was filled with mushrooms instead of ham.

We also had an order of Croque Madame which was ham, cheese, bechamel in toasted bread topped with emmental and a fried egg. There was a little salad on the side, and some toast! I didn’t try it, but it looked super delicious – and nothing was left on the plate at the end of this lunch (all plates), so you know it’s really good!

The second time, we went in more as a light snack midday! It was a nice treat after doing a lot of touristy events to sit down and relax over a cup of coffee. I had a delicious Mocha Light which was made from the chocolate that is thick and creamy! It was one of the best mocha’s I’ve ever had, and I think it has everything to do with the hot chocolate that Paul’s is famous for.

I enjoyed a piece of Coconut Flan which is ultimately a coconut tart that was really coconutty, light, soft piece of cake. We also had a Palmier A light, crisp sugared Puff Pastry Biscuit.

This palmier was really good, as most of the ones we’ve had was hard instead of crispy… so to my delight, this palmier was one of the best!

petit panier de pains was another treat that was actually shared within the table, and it’s a petit basket of assorted bread. It was good alone, with butter, with jam, and with both! 🙂 Pizza Provencale which was a slice of pizza topped with cheese, tomato and black olives was a vegetarian delight.

29 Bedford St
Covent Garden
(020) 7836 3304

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Baozi Inn – London, England

We went into Baozi Inn for a snack, while we were in England, we ate every meal twice, including snacks — so, this was one of many snack meals that we enjoyed! Baozi Inn is located in London’s Chinatown and it’s a little place, but seats a lot of guests. The service was fast, the food was good, and the prices was very reasonable!

The interior was decorated beautifully – traditional Communist China, which really is quite neat! It is a huge part of China’s history and what not, but I’ve never seen any place do their interior decoration to reflect this time period. It was lovely though.

We ordered a few munchies, of course their bao’s (buns) since that’s what the restaurant is called. We tried their Pork Baozi which was a bun stuffed with juicy minced pork and onion. We also tried the House Special Baozi which for the day was Pork filled. Both of the steamed buns was quite large – especially compared to the ones we get get here at home, say T&T. It wasn’t over steamed where it’s mushy or soggy, and it wasn’t steamed for awhile and sitting there waiting for a guest to order it – as it wasn’t hard either. It just tasted like a wonderful bun that was really fresh.

We also ordered 2 orders of dumplings, and tried Chengdu Dumplings which were pork dumplings in Chilli Oil and Garlicky Sauce. The pork dumplings were boiled and seasoned with chilli oil and crushed garlic. It was extremely tasty, as the strong chilli oil and garlic taste was what we tasted more of, instead of the dumpling. But, the dumpling made a great vehicle for the topping as it was a tasty dish.

Finally, we tried just the Boiled dumplings stuffed with minced pork – served Beijing style with vinegar dip. It looked really plain when it got to the table, but because it wasn’t dressed up with anything, you could really taste the freshness of these dumplings, and it was fresh and delicious. The meat filling was indeed juicy and the skin was rolled quite thin and cooked well as the juices from the inside didn’t leak out until I bite into the dumpling.

Overall, I really enjoyed my experience here at Baozi Inn, and I must recommend it to anyone going that way! Not just a snack either, those noodle dishes and what not look and smell great! I would love to go back to get more of everything, plus more!

Baozi Inn

25 Newport Court
London
(020) 7287 6877