Bea's of Bloomsbury - St Paul's Branch

Bea’s of Bloomsbury

Summary

Snapshot
Cuisine:	Cafe that serves cakes, pasta, desserts, coffee and tea. (Modern and beautiful cafe serving top quality cakes, coffee and tea.)
Price:	Cakes from £2.50 Salad boxes from £ 3.50-7.50.
Healthy:	Yes if it is the salad and grilled chicken options. Definitely not healthy, if you are indulging in cakes (needless to say).
Tasty:	4/5
Address:	83 Watling Street London EC4M 9BX (nearest tube station, St Paul’s
Opening times	Monday-Friday 07.00am-19.00pm Saturday 12.00pm-19.00pm Sunday 12.00pm-19.00pm
Eat in/Takeaway:	Eat-in and take-away. (Some seating available for eat-in at the St Paul’s branch.)
Recommended dishes	Cakes are a must with a coffee. Salad boxes are fresh and tasty. I love the banana bread here.
Vegetarian dishes	Yes several options usually in the pasta and salad options.
Loyalty card	Yes for the cakes and coffee.
Website	http://www.beasofbloomsbury.com/
Note	For those eating in then come early to grab a seat as lunchtimes it will get filled up. Otherwise, it is quite quick to get a take-away. The only delay is choosing what to have!

Lunch Analysis

I love coming to Bea’s of Bloomsbury (St Paul’s branch)! It has beautiful cupcakes and special cakes which changes daily and the salad boxes; pasta and other savoury bites are very delicious. The cafe serves a seasonal menu but usually you will find pasta options, chicken marinated drumsticks or thighs; quiche and salads.

If it is your first time here, it can be a bit overwhelming in choosing what to eat as it is all displayed right in front of you. For the salad options, you can request to have a bit of everything to make up your box as it is not immediately obvious from the menu board.

I have been here on many occasions when I was only going to have a salad box but ended up ordering a side cake and a coffee! It really is very tempting!

Eating in is a nice option if you have time and can find a space. Although, it is small it has a cosy feel and I could see myself sitting here for hours sipping tea or coffee and catching up with a pal.

For those, having to race back to the office, it is also a favourable option if you are looking for a modern flavours in your lunch. Salads served here won’t be the usual iceberg lettuce and a few tomatoes thrown in, there will be perhaps cous cous, rocket salad maybe some side potatoes and beetroot. The menus is seasonal but expect interesting salad options to be on the menu.

The coffee served here is the square mile coffee and it was rich and smooth. I chose the latte and was very happy with the smooth velvety texture.

Initially I thought it would only appeal to ladies but was pleasantly surprised to see many men popping in and equally impressed with the food and drink here.

I cannot wait to try there other cakes which I haven’t got round to because I have been side-tracked by the banana bread! Here is a selection of food that Bea's serves:

                                         Pesto Pasta, potatoes, grilled BBQ chicken, salad

                                         Chorizo quiche and pesto pasta

                                          Chorizo quiche, pesto pasta, BBQ chicken, cous cous salad

                                                                 Banana bread

                                                                         Latte      

Anyone else out there, who also enjoys Bea’s of Bloomsbury? Let me know your experience.

Cay Tre

Summary

Snapshot
Cuisine:	Vietnamese
Price:	Starters from £4.50 Main dishes from £8.50 (Special lunch offer of £8 for vermicelli and rice dishes and pho only at lunchtimes and before 6pm.)
Healthy:	Yes. Opt for the soup based dishes and stir fried dishes for health-conscious people.
Tasty:	4/5
Address:	301 Old Street, London, EC1V 9LA Tel: 020 7729 8662
Opening times	Lunch : 12h00 - 03h00 PM (All week)  Dinner: 05h30 - 11h00 PM (Mon-Thurs)               05h30 - 11h30 PM (Fri-Sat)  Open whole day on Sunday until 10h30 PM
Eat in/Takeaway:	Eat-in and take-away
Recommended dishes	Pho noodles (£8.50), BBQ Pork Loin with Rice Vermicelli  (£9)
Vegetarian dishes	Yes several options.
Loyalty card	No.
Website	http://www.vietnamesekitchen.co.uk/
Note	Come early to avoid queuing. The place is small and fills up fast during dinner times. Make sure you book, especially if there are a lot of you. Although, lunchtimes are less busy.

Lunch Analysis

Close by to Old street station lies, a small café style Vietnamese restaurant. It serves a range of one bowl meals for those who want a quick bite or are budget conscious to a range of main meal dishes.

It is very popular with the locals and I can easily see why. It’s prices are reasonable for London and the portions are more than fair!

I often opt for the one bowl meals and order small side dishes as well to share with friends.

My favourites are the BBQ pork loin with rice vermicelli. This is so delicious! It has generous portions of marinated pork, with rice noodles, salad, and herbs. It comes with a sweet and spicy sauce used to top the noodles and pork.

                                                         BBQ pork loin with rice vermicelli

Lemongrass, garlic and fish sauce are the main ingredients in this dish. So remember to bring some gum or strong mints. Spring rolls are thrown in on top as well being the added bonus to the meal.

A classic dish would be the pho dishes. Always a heart-warming choice on those cold wet and windy days we often get! The rice noodles are served with a rich broth made from either chicken or beef. The main star of the show in this is the soup stock. If this is not right, it will fail to capture your attention. Of course, the meat and noodles need to be good as well but the stock really drives the flavours of this dish personally.

                                                                  Beef Pho

Both beef and chicken are good combinations. There are several different variations in rareness of the beef you can choose from.

French-Vietnamese cuisine uses a lot of herbs, garlic, anise, lemongrass, chillies and fish sauce to bring out the sweet and sour flavours.

An interesting and tasty started is the “Table griddled beef” as a starter. This wafer thin beef is cooked in front of you and wrapped in a thin rice paper.

It is not a romantic place to come by as it gets rather noisy. However, it is a must for foodies and those caring more for the food rather than the décor and ambience.

Service is often efficient and attentive as the place is small. Try to get here early and book especially for dinner times and at peak times (being the weekends).

Cay tre is part of the Vietnamese Kitchen restaurant group. Just opposite, I see Keu serving French-Viet baguettes. I have yet to try but let me know if you have, so you can share with others your experience.

Earl of Sandwich

Summary

Snapshot
Cuisine:	American style sandwiches
Price:	£4-6
Healthy:	A lot of cheese and sauce so probably not for the calorie conscious.
Tasty:	3/5
Address:	38-40 Ludgate Hill London EC4M 7DE
Opening times	Monday to Friday: 7am to 4pm Saturday and Sunday: 10am to 4pm
Eat in/Takeaway:	Eat-in and takeaway.
Recommended dishes	Original 1762 signature sandwich
Vegetarian dishes	Yes one option.
Loyalty card	Yes
Website	http://www.earlofsandwich.co.uk/

Lunch Analysis 

Earl of Sandwich brings lunch diners the American style sandwich to London. Expect big portion sandwiches bulging with lots of fillings. The mighty size of it really fills me up. This is the only branch in London so far, and the shop itself is spacious and has many seats for eating in.

It has a range of fillings which is great for meat lovers from roasted beef, bacon, turkey etc in fact a lot of different meats. There is only one vegetarian option for those of you who are vegetarian though.

I went for the "Original 1762" which had roasted beef, cheddar cheese and creamy horseradish sauce. This was an absolute delight, as the sandwich was hot, the bread was  crispy andfilled with large chunks of wafer thin beef inside. The beef was not dry and the horseradish sauce was perfect with it.

                                                                     Original 1762

My colleague had the tuna melt which was also a good option.

                                                                        Tuna Melt

The efficiency of the service is a bit slow, as it takes a while for the sandwich to be made compared to other convenience sandwich stores. However, the sandwich is freshly prepared and the wait was worth it.

The price is reasonable for the large portion and makes it a good lunch option. However, those in a rush may be disappointed that the service is not that fast. Expect to wait in the queue while it is being prepared.

Dubai Special Part 1: Caramel Restaurant and Lounge bar

Introduction

My two week work trip to Dubai left me plenty of opportunity to check out the different types of cuisines this international city has to offer.  I thought it would be a great idea to share some of the foods I sampled and the style and culture of Dubai.

Caramel restaurant and lounge bar

I was lucky to have come across Caramel, a plush restaurant and bar offering a variety of modern style cuisine. Once I stepped inside, I immediately felt relaxed and was impressed with the design of the decor. It was slightly dark and lighting was dim yet the restaurant and bar breathed elegance.

The menu allows one to choose from small plates for this wanting just to munch or graze or main dishes for those that is always hungry. The selection on the menu is very modern and there is something for everyone ranging from spicy tuna roll (small plates) to herb braised lamb shank. I did have trouble choosing which to go for as I really could have tried them all.

I definitely would want Caramel to come to London as later I found out that this was a Las Vegas owned restaurant. I have been told it gets busier as the evening unfolds and it is a place to come for drinks if you work near the Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC).

I finally chose the seared Chilean seabass which came with rock shrimp risotto, lobster broth, tomato basil tapenade while my friend chose the pan roasted Scottish Salmon with veal bacon and white bean salad buttered asparagus and lemon beurre blanc.

                                                         Chilean Seabass

                                                        Scottish Salmon                                              

                                                           Spinach          

Chocolate raspberry mousse cake

Having tasted both of the dishes, both the fish was pan fried beautifully, leaving the fish to be tender and moist inside and crispy on the outside. The lobster broth in my dish really brought out the sweet freshness of the lobster together with my seabass.

A side dish of sautéed spinach was cooked to perfection and I preferred that garlic and shallots were used instead of butter. This meant it was less rich and so the main flavours were only coming from the main dishes.

The dessert was equally impressive and is very big. I needed to share and that is unusual for me!

The service was very attentive and professional. By the end of the night, I could see why it was doing well and I really think London needs more places like this that is relaxing but exciting at the same.

The portion size is very reasonable and left me very full. I miss this place and am hoping this will come to London!

Caramel is not cheap as the bill came to about £46 each including service charge but then again it is a very stylish and place to be seen restaurant and lounge bar.

o   2 main dishes: Scottish salmon and Chilean Seabass

o   Side dish: spinach

o   Dessert: Chocolate Raspberry mousse cake

o   x 1 Cocktail

o   x1 Mocktail

Address:

o    DIFC Dubai, Sheikh Zayed Road