Fiori Corner @ Leicester Square, London

This is a super dated post considering I went to London in 2012 =P But no worries, this shop which is opposite Leicester Square tube station has been there for ages (it was there when I was in London in 2005) and it looks like it will be there for quite some time. Fiori is a great place for big breakfasts and being located at a popular spot, its meal sets are really quite affordable.

Shop Front

English Breakfast

I had the English Breakfast set which comes with two sunny side-ups, a juicy and meaty sausage, grilled bacon, half a grilled tomato and a heap of sauteed button mushrooms. Definitely one of the most satisfying breakfasts ever created in the world! 

Buttered toasts

Each set comes with a plate of buttered toasts but honestly one triangular slice is more than enough.

As expected since it was such a long time ago, I can't really remember the price but it is definitely less than GBP 10 which makes the meal very worth it. When I do visit London again, I'm pretty sure I'll return to Fiori Corner for breakfast.

PawPoints: 4 Paws

Fiori Corner

T: Leicester Square
42-43 Cranbourn Street

London
Tel: +44 020 7437 2694
Daily: 7am - 2am

Breakfast Spread @ Premiere Hotel, Klang

Today's is a short post. I've had quite a number of friends holding their wedding reception at Premiere Hotel in Klang. Since it's quite far for us PJ folk, my friends and I decided to book a night's stay there for some girly catch-up. The room is far better than I expected and the washroom definitely meets my standards =P Here's what I had from the complimentary breakfast buffet.

My kind of breakfast (RM 32)

Nasi lemak for breakfast yum! They've also got beef and chicken rendang which are awesome and totally melt-in-your-mouth. Love the spicy sambal, crunchy anchovies and fragrant coconut milk infused rice too! Basically they've got the perfect nasi lemak. Apart from that there are also some western breakfast items such as chicken sausage and hash browns, pastries and toast. Chicken noodle soup is also available if you prefer something warm and soupy in the early morning.


PawPoints: 4 Paws
Pawket: Olive



Premiere Hotel
Bandar Bukit Tinggi
Klang
Tel: 03 3325 6868

Banhmi 11 @ Broadway Market, London

After my disappointing search for banh mi in Melbourne, I was adamant to get one in London. Upon checking out the reviews from local bloggers on the various banh mi(s) available in the city, I settled on the famous Banhmi 11. They do not have a permanent shop as far as I'm aware, so I had to settle for their mobile stall at Broadway Market. They are stationed there every Saturday and you can check out their website for their schedule on other days.
 
Among all the locations listed on their website, Broadway Market is one of the nearer ones to the city centre. Having said that, it is still quite a distance to get to the market and I had to purposely make a detour from my itinerary to get there. They are also open on Mondays at Berwick Street Market at Soho but unfortunately, I only had time on Saturday =( Anyway the point is, if you're planning on getting to Broadway Market, do make sure to get a detailed map as it is quite a distance (for us Asians) from the tube station.

   
There are lots to see at Broadway Market but do take note that it is one of the smaller markets. In any case, there are fresh produce, homemade jam and preserves, ethnic food stalls and lovely flowers. There is also a park nearby called London Fields where you can chill, soak up the sunshine (if the sun has not gone into hiding) or enjoy typical British blustery winds and watch the world go by =P

    

Huge banner to ensure you don't miss it

   
Banhmi 11 seems to be managed by a family as there is a group of teenagers helping to man the stall and cope with the never-ending orders.

   

Chalkboard menu

   

Ingredients

   

The accompaniments

   
Each banh mi consists of pickled carrot and radish, cucumber and coriander nestled in a freshly baked French baguette. You'll be asked if you want your banh mi spicy and once the go-ahead is given, the salad gets a generous splash of cili padi (bird's eye chillies) and soy sauce.

    

The baguette is crusty and warm and provides a good base for the filling. The taste of the Vietnamese salad was rather mild - I prefer it to have a sharper zing of vinegar.

   

Op La Di Beef (GBP 4.50)

   
The Op La Di Beef has a wonderful aroma from the sizzling grill and the thinly sliced sirloin steak is very tender and flavourful, not a surprise since it has been marinated in a unique pear BBQ sauce. It  goes well with the pickled Vietnamese salad and it is kind of like eating an Asian dish in a bun. 

    

Crackling Pork Belly (GBP 4.50)

   
The Crackling Pork Belly consists of roasted pork in lemon juice and five spice powder. There was not much crackling in my sandwich and most of the time, my bites consisted of bread and salad only. Also, after being compressed in the bun, some of the crackling got a bit soggy and soft. But when you do get a bite of crispy crackling, salad and bread, what a superb explosion of yumminess in your mouth!

   
Perhaps I kept imagining the yummy taste of banh mi and kept my expectations too high but when I finally tried it, it was...average. I would have given it a higher rating if the taste was more pronounced. Nevertheless, it was a good experience eating an Asian baguette which is not yet available on Malaysian shores.

    

    

PawPoints: 3 Paws
   
http://www.banhmi11.com/
   
Banhmi 11

Tube: Bethnal Green

Broadway Market
London
Sat: 10am - 5pm

Garfunkel's Restaurant @ Edinburgh, Scotland

We were surprised to find Garfunkel's in Scotland as we saw posters all over London proclaiming its "Any 2 for £11 Breakfast" promotion (they now seem to have a different breakfast deal). We thought breakfast at £6.50 per person is a steal. In any case, its homepage states that it has outlets in Edinburgh and Bath too so if you're in one of these cities, you can just hop in for nice, warm and affordable British fare.

      

Garfunkel's

   
Garfunkel's caters for breakfast, lunch and dinner and after perusing the separate menus for each meal, I quite regretted not having more proper British dishes for each meal since it will be a while before I return T_T You can preview their drool-worthy offerings here.

     

Breakfast Menu

    

Garfunkel's Legendary "Full House" Breakfast (GBP 12.50 for 2)

   
The "Any 2 for £11 Breakfast" deal mentioned above was only valid for all breakfast choices except for the Garfunkel's Legendary "Full House" Breakfast which requires an additional £1.50 top-up for the meal deal. Still, the total price wasn't too bad with such a huge portion and bear in mind, the above picture shows the portion for 1 person. 
     
The legendary plate came filled to the brim with TWO rashers of bacon, a pork and leek sausage, fried egg, half a grilled tomato, baked beans, a grilled large flat mushroom, TWO hash browns and black pudding <big grin> Well now that I'm quoting the items from the menu and looking at the picture above, I seem to have been shortchanged a hash brown hmmpf.
     
Well, fried egg and baked beans are usual everyday items and these were done very well. The grilled tomato was perfectly done with a nice slightly crisp skin and insides that were slightly mushy but did not spill over when cut. The bacon was good, very meaty with the layer of fat just seared nicely whereas the sausage was grilled to a crisp and really juicy. The black pudding was addictive and crisp but the mushroom was a tad too salty. I love the super crispy hash brown with fluffy potato insides.
      
It was rather windy in Edinburgh but it felt so good chowing down a plate of big Scottish breakfast with a steaming cup of hot tea while dining outside the restaurant alfresco style with the (strong) breeze whipping about your face. I highly recommend Garfunkel's as a relatively cheap alternative to good British fare. Wish I had found out about its existence sooner though.
            

PawPoints: 4 Paws
    
http://www.garfunkels.co.uk/
     
Garfunkel's Restaurant

130 High Street
Edinburgh
Scotland
Tel: +44 0131 220 4445
Daily: 8am - 11pm

Full Scottish Breakfast @ Craigmore Guesthouse, St Andrews

Now I know people seldom think of St Andrews of Scotland as a tourist destination but it is home to one of the most important cathedral ruins and prestigious universities in UK. It is also very famous for golf so please don't come during the summer as all the guesthouses and hotels will be full and the prices exorbitant =.= The university itself hardly needs introduction as Kate and William famously met there as students. If you fancy some sea breeze, do make a trip to St Andrews too as it's a coastal city.
   
Anyway what I wanted to highlight in this post is... <drum roll> ...Scottish breakfast!!! =D

       

Menu

   
I stayed at Craigmore Guesthouse (which I highly recommend) and they offer a choice of full Scottish breakfast, Scottish kippers or porridge (otherwise known as oatmeal). No prizes for guessing which one I ordered =P
     

L-R: Marmalade, Butter Cubes, Strawberry Jam

   
I usually do not like toast with jam and butter as I had it every single day when I was still schooling and now I'm sick of it but I love the butter cubes, marmalade and strawberry jam served here - they all tasted really fresh as if they were just processed from milk and pureed from fresh fruit.

     

I also had a rack of toast to accompany my huge platter. Oh how I miss British bread! It is just so much fluffier even though the bread is compact with a nice bready aroma. It went so well with the preserves and butter that I was tempted to eat more than a slice.

   

Ham & Fresh Fruit

   
There was also a tray of ham, cheese, fresh fruit, yoghurt and muesli to choose from. I had a slice of ham and some summer fruits. The ham was really fresh and sweet and superior to any ham in KL; I could have had more but I was saving space for the porky platter and also there were limited slices on the breakfast trolley =P The rock melon, blueberry and raspberry were really sweet and juicy and a great appetiser.

      

Full Scottish Breakfast

   
The Full Scottish Breakfast consisted of, clockwise, sunny side-up, grilled mushrooms, grilled tomato, pork bacon, pork sausage, potato scone and black pudding. The fried egg, mushrooms and tomatoes were yummy as usual. The pork bacon was a little on the salty side though and not as crisp as I like it to be but it was really meaty. The pork sausage was a real winner with its crisp skin yet juicy filling. The potato scone was rather bland and tasteless - that's a miss. 

      

Now I bet most will be wondering how does black pudding taste or even, what it is. For the uninitiated, black pudding is a type of sausage made by cooking (pig's) blood with some filler such as oatmeal until it is congealed. It probably sounds like Fear Factor material and I was initially kind of apprehensive about its taste too so I had a tiny nibble and...it was nice! The black pudding was grilled to a crisp texture and if you don't dwell too much on the fact that it's congealed blood, it actually tastes like sausage but with a gamier taste. It's slightly crunchy too from the crisp exterior. All I can say is, if you like innards, give it a try. If you dislike innards, try at your own risk =)

And if you're curious, here's a view of my cosy room =)

   

Cosy double bed

Love the curtains

PawPoints: 4 Paws

 
http://standrewscraigmore.com/
      

Craigmore Guesthouse

Murray Park
St Andrews
Scotland

Tel: +44 01334 472 142

Old Hong Kong Legend Restaurant @ Raffles City Shopping Centre, Singapore

Our friend PMS brought us to Old Hong Kong Legend as she said it was one of the few nice dim sum restaurants at Singapore. You can trust that it's definitely nice as she has good taste(buds) =P

       

Ji Gei Yau Restaurant

          

Complimentary pickles

     
The pickles which had a hint of spiciness were very tangy and refreshing. I couldn't stop munching on them.

     

Barbecued Pork Puff Pastry with Macadamia

      
The Char Siu Sou here is really good - crumbly baked pastry with lots of delectable filling within.

     

Abundant pork

    

Salted Pork with Century Egg Congee

      
The congee is extremely good as it was silky smooth with a sufficiently thick consistency. I love how the yau char kwai (Chinese crullers) is deep fried to a crisp and crunchy texture. Too bad I couldn't have a bowl to myself =P

       

Steamed Shrimp and Pork Dumplings with Scallop

     
Dumplings were springy and well flavoured.

    

Steamed Mushroom Dumplings

     
Somehow I don't recall eating this... =.=

    

Steamed Shrimp and Pork Dumplings

     
Gigantic siu mai with prawns and lots of pork filling - very good.

    

Steamed Shrimp Dumplings

     
The har gau is springy and fresh and the skin of the wrapper is really thin - thumbs-up!

   

Steamed Mushroom Dumplings

     
I found this a little odd with the many ingredients within the translucent wrapper but it tasted quite nice.

      

Steamed Chicken Claws with Black Bean Sauce

     
The chicken feet fully absorbed the delicious savoury flavours of the black bean sauce. Yummy =D

      

Steamed Flour Rolls with Mushrooms, Barbecued Pork and Shrimp

     
The cheong fun consisted of mushrooms, char siu and shrimp so it was tough to tell which part consisted of which filling. Nevertheless, it was good.

    

Pan-fried Radish Cake

       
I love pan-fried radish cake and this was cooked to perfection. The accompanying chilli oil (not pictured) was the perfect companion to the not-oily radish cake.

     

Deep-fried Chive Dumplings

     
The chive dumplings had an abundant amount of chives and minced pork - this was good too.

     

Panfried Shrimp Rolls Wrapped in Beancurd

      
This is something new...I have not seen this in KL before. Shrimps were encased in a dried beancurd wrap which was then deep-fried. It was extremely crunchy and the shrimps did not lose their moisture - very yummy!

     

Mini Egg Tarts

      
The mini egg tarts had a flaky, buttery pastry and smooth egg custard. Yummy when eaten piping hot =)

I gather this is like fine dining dim sum and I wouldn't mind returning here whenever I'm at Singapore. Really good stuff <thumbs-up>
 

   

PawPoints: 4 Paws

    
Old Hong Kong Legend Restaurant
City Hall MRT
#02-18 Raffles City Shopping Centre
252 North Bridge Road

Singapore
Tel: +65 6336 3038

Restoran Fong Keow (Pottery) Bak Kut Teh @ Klang

I know, I know, everyone has their own favourite bak kut teh shop in Klang so no comments there. Here's a write-up on my favourite stall Restoran Fong Keow at Taman Intan which I think sells the best concentrated bak kut teh =D JS disagrees, of course...

      

Shop Front

      
You can spot the shop immediately after you exit Federal Highway. I'd say they're doing pretty good business to be able to take over so many lots.
      

Yau Char Kwai

     
The yau char kwai here are crispy when eaten on its own but of course, it tastes best after having absorbed the herbal soup.

      

Yam Rice

      
The Yam Rice is very fragrant - you can smell the yam-my aroma even before the plate is set down. The addition of dark soya sauce helps make the rice look less bland and enhances the taste of yam. But I think I prefer white rice to better taste the herbal flavour of the soup.

     

Bak Kut Teh for 2

    
We had the full works - lean meat with lots of innards, beancurd skin, button mushrooms and iceberg lettuce. See how full the claypot is? It is filled to the brim with meat, meat and more meat. There was so much meat that it was quite hard for us to scoop the soup.
    
They were very generous with the amount of innards, namely pig intestines and pig stomach. JS doesn't take those so I very happily finished them all =D We also found a lot of lean meat in the claypot which had just the right proportion of fats to meat. It was so much that we could hardly finish it...we were arguing over who the last few pieces belonged to =P
     
Now the all important factor - how does the soup fare? I like mine super concentrated and at Fong Keow, the soup consistency is thick and full of herbal goodness and so so so concentrated. It's hard to explain...just try it out for yourself =P We asked for a refill halfway through and we finished the soup to the last drop. Now what does that tell you about the taste of Fong Keow bak kut teh? =D

     

See how concentrated the soup is?

   

So whenever you're wondering where is a good place for bak kut teh in Klang, just head on over to Restoran Fong Keow for a taste and (I hope) you'll be hooked =D

    

PawPoints: 5 Paws

Pawket: Onion

     

Restoran Fong Keow (Pottery) Bak Kut Teh

53 Jalan Batai Laut
Taman Intan
Klang

Tel: 03 3343 7479

Daily: 8am - 9.30pm

Jin Xuan Hong Kong Dim Sum @ Damansara Jaya, PJ

This place is always packed with families on weekends enjoying a late dim sum brunch. This is a good place to go as the dim sum are affordable and there is a huge variety. The downside is that it is really packed on weekends and you have to register at the counter where they'll call you once a table is available.

      

Customers spilling onto the road

       

Minced Pork Century Egg Congee

     
The congee was good overall but it was not very smooth as you can still feel the rice grains. For this price however, it is acceptable.

     

Minced Pork Potstickers

     
This was quite good although the skin was a little thicker and the bottom of the potsticker was not crispy enough. I wished they provided 2 saucers of ginger and vinegar dip as one is not sufficient. Or at the very least, more ginger shreds. I think the potstickers at Esquire Kitchen are the best d^_^b

    

Prawn Cheong Fun

    
The cheong fun was smooth and silky and the prawns were of average size. Quite good, I'd say.

   

Loh Mai Kai

    
Loh Mai Kai was not bad though I think the char siu is a bit too sweet for my liking.

   

Lotus Leaf Glutinous Rice

     
The Lotus Leaf Glutinous Rice was value for money as the lotus leaf's fragrance permeated the glutinous rice. JS enjoyed this dish as it had lots of filling. The salted egg went really well with the glutinuous rice and bits of meat.

   

Abundant filling

     

Steamed Prawn Dunpling

     
The prawns here are big and bouncy. Very nice.
   

Steamed Pork Dumpling

     
The Siu Mai here are also humongous. Lots of filling with a sweet taste to it due to the pork juices.

     

Braised Chicken Feet

     
The chicken feet here are not intact =.= The sauce is also much thicker which wasn't really my preference.

    

Yam Puff

    
Yam Puff was good with crunchy outer layer and creamy yam within. The char siu filling was sweet and it complemented the taste of the yam on the outer later.

   

Deep Fried Prawn Dumpling in Cheese

    
This was the most expensive item on the menu =.= The fried wantans were very crispy and the prawns inside were huge. My bro loved the cheese topping.

   

Egg Tart

    
The egg tarts were flaky and eggy. JS thought that they were not too bad although he had tasted better ones elsewhere.

  

Cha Siu Bao

    

The char siu pau here had lots of filling although the pau skin was a bit too thick for my liking.

In conclusion, do come to Jin Xuan Hong Kong Dim Sum for a variety of relatively cheap dim sum. If you're looking for something refined, I'd suggest Grand Palace at Pavilion.

     

PawPoints: 3 Paws
Pawket: Onion

     
Restoran Jin Xuan Hong Kong 

59, 61 and 63, Jln SS22/19
Damansara Jaya
Tel: 03 7729 6866
Daily: 7am - 11.30pm