Flat White, 17 Berwick St, Soho, London W1F 0PT

Despite having more hours' sleep than usual, and having quite a relaxed night watching American dramas the night before, the husband and I both had a bit of a headache the following day. Puzzled, we guzzled some water but when that didn't make it better, the only conclusion was this:

"We are coffee addicts"

Now that's not really surprising for me as I've been having coffee on a daily basis for the last 6 or 7 years. I am usually OK on weekends without it. However, the husband did not have coffee for 28 years, as he hated the taste of instant coffee and it never occurred to him that good coffee can actually be, well, quite good.

However, peer pressure at the office finally brought him to a small, independent coffee stall near Marylebone where he tried a flat white, and has been speaking lovingly of the coffee man and beans ever since.

To get rid of the headache, we decided to get some mean beans from Flat White on Berwick Street in Soho. The husband had heard rave reviews of the place from a few friends, and having previously been there once for a quick takeaway cuppa, we decided to try it out again.

The interior of the cafe is befitting of the trendy Soho area at which it is located. Although rather dim inside (a pet peeve of mine due to my rubbish photography skills), the decor is chic and quirky (I am assuming this is what the owners wanted to achieve - otherwise I apologise for using these stereotypical words for describing your cafe).

The walls are decorated with photos of cameras from all decades (and are for sale too), while the seats are comfortable and cosy, even if they are situated quite close to one another. It is quite a small cafe though, so that's understandable.

They do serve food, but we've never tried the food here since we only ever get here around 4pm, but I've seen people eating and the stuff looks good. There's something about staring unashamedly in a hungry sort of way at someone who's eating that makes them eat that little bit quicker.

The waiting staff are always very, very happy so if you need proof that coffee makes a person happy, just spend some time here. They chat, they laugh, they make coffee. What more do you want?

We were there around 4pm (again) and the place was nearly full of very chic-looking people drinking their coffee in a very cool, relaxed way. Sticking out like a cocoa bean among coffee beans, we proceeded to find a comfy booth to park our bums.

The husband brought back a lovely little flat white, complete with milky swirly decoration, much to my delight. Bubble tea was pushed aside (well, it was finished anyway) and we both ooh-ed and aah-ed at it for a bit. It was lovely. Very smooth, velvety and we finished it all too quickly.



So we ordered another coffee, preferring to have something cold instead. The iced coffee was nice, and just as smooth as the Flat White, but with less milk. Overall, I prefer the Flat White as it just felt ... fuller.

We like this place very much, and it's definitely one of those places we'd go out of our way for to get to. Compared to other cafes, this one serves superior coffee, with great service, and comfy seats, right in the middle of Soho so it definitely gets our vote.

Phone number: 020 7734 0370
Website: www.flatwhite.com

P/S: Would like to wish a very Happy B'day to Chocky Wocky (@speroine) - may good food always come your way!

Bubbleology, 49 Rupert St, Soho, London, W1D 7PF

Website here.

"Bubble bubble, toil and trouble" is apparently an oft misquoted line from Macbeth (Shakespeare).

The correct line should be "Double double, toil and trouble" but oh well.



Anyhow, with bubbles come tea. With tea come bubbles. And with that, comes Bubbleology - the latest colourful addition to an already very colourful SoHo (from many points of view).



When it first opened, we peered in curiously, wondering what this scientific looking shop was about. The name should've given it away, but I guess with SoHo, it's always best to be sure. Having determined that it was indeed bubble tea, we decided to try it out the next time we were in between meals.



That next time turned out to be when the husband and I were strolling around town after having had Itsu for lunch, and were still waiting for dinner to come by (because that's what we spend Saturdays doing ... going from one meal to the other).

Having been here a few times now, I suggest the best time to go would be right when the shop opens, or just before it closes. Any other time, it's packed. Like, there are groups of trendy girls (mostly dressed in the latest Asian fashion, unlike myself - dressed in no fashion) queueing up outside the shop, each one busy with their smartphones, with cute stuff hanging off the phones, all waiting for bubble tea. If you don't believe me, check it out for yourself.



The shop itself is quite small. There seems to be a back area which is blocked off by a door saying something like 'No lab coat, no entry' but I managed to get a glimpse as to what goes on behind when someone walked through the door. Didn't look like much was going on back there; must be where they keep the bubbles all trained for the next cup.



As I am a Bubbleonnoisseur (as in I have had A LOT of bubble tea), it took all of 2 seconds to zone in on what I wanted to order. As opposed to the 5 minutes it took the people in front of me to establish what was what, what size was small, what was large, what a bubble is, what the difference between a milk and non-milk drink is, and what flavour they wanted.

Like seriously, let me order first.

"Regular passionfruit with bubbles, please". That came to £3.35 which is reasonable for London standards (other Chinatown places charge roughly the same for just the usual Assam flavour), but exorbitant if you compare it with other places around the world (£0.50 in Malaysia).



Anyhow, when in SoHo, you pay SoHo prices.



The other flavour we tried was the Ginger non-milk version - I kinda liked this one better as it wasn't as sweet, and it had a very subtle taste of ginger to it.



The other stuff you could do with your cuppa:

Add bubble / grass jelly / lemon jelly / popping bobba £0.50
Make it a large £0.50
Have a tea and Taiwanese toast combo - the set is around £5-ish and the fillings are Nutella, garlic butter (?), and also peanut butter and banana, if I'm not mistaken from what I saw on the countertop menu



Some (made up, I reckon) facts from the bubble tea cup. Don't take my word for it, though. It could be completely true, although I might trust Wikipedia a little more than I trust a Bubble Tea Cup.



I want this lab coat.

Bodean’s, Soho, 10 Poland Street, London, W1F 8PZ

Bodean's - the stuff of Dolly Parton songs (yes, there is one version on YouTube though not by her) and pastrami dreams ...

One Saturday afternoon, after having many consecutive meals of Chinese, Japanese and Indian origins, we decided to venture out of our comfort zone and have something different. Now, in a city as big as London, you can find anything and everything if you know where to look for it. Thing is, what did we want to try? We'd seen something on the telly (Food Network, no less) about pulled pork, and while I can safely say that I can probably imagine what it'll taste like (being pork, and being pulled), we thought, why not push the boat out and actually try the very stuff it's made of.

Prior to this, in those cold, dark student days, I used to stand outside takeaways wishing and hoping for a whiff of kebab, or maybe even just the ketchup.

That was a joke. I just ate leftovers from my housemates, really.

The husband and I have been to Bodean's once before, this actual Soho one to be precise. I'd ordered the ribs combo, being a big fan of BBQ ribs, and the husband had ordered the pastrami on rye, which was kinda OK at the time. The fries apparently, have some sort of special seasoning on it, making it sweet and salty at the same time. I like.

There were 6 of us there for lunch that day - 4 of whom had not tried anything similar to this before. All the more reason to get one of everything from each section of the menu.

It might be worth noting at this point that we were dining in the upstairs area of Bodean's, ie the diner section.



There is a restaurant section, usually downstairs, where they serve more elaborate stuff. Check out the diner menu here, and the restaurant menu here.

Baby Back Ribs & Pulled Pork 14.95 (Served with fries & coleslaw)

OK, the pulled pork. The reason we came to Bodean's in the first place. How was it? Erm, let's just say I probably won't order it again. I'm sure it's famous for a reason, and maybe this version wasn't the best I could have had, but to me, this was dry, stringy (which is understandable considering it's pulled) and had the tendency of getting stuck in my teeth quite a lot.

Without the help of Bodean's bottled BBQ sauce, I don't think we could've gotten through even a quarter of the portion served. Compared to the burnt ends, this was no match. The ribs were nice, though a little dry but flavourful all the same.

Pastrami on Rye (6.95 / 8.95)
A classic Pastrami thinly sliced and stacked high the Bodean's way, served on toasted rye bread with French's Mild Mustard

This was what the husband ordered, and I had no qualms about taking more than a few big bites of it. Like I said, we'd had it once before and it was kinda so-so, but this time, it seemed to have redeemed itself somewhat (I heard Bodean's is famous for its pastrami).

Thick slices of peppery, salty, pastrami (slightly chewy in a bouncy way, not in a tough way) with gherkins in toasted bread (they didn't have any rye bread that day, but it's not as if we like it very much anyway). There was a lot of oooh-ing and aaaaah-ing when it was brought to the table, as most of us had not seen pastrami before, let alone tried it.



It seemed to be never-ending as well, as the husband was one of the first to eat and the last to finish; with a look of concentration on his face usually reserved for rocket scientists writing out their PhD thesis. I was fully supportive of him, as wives should be, giving him an encouraging pat, and a nibble or two on said sandwich when I felt he needed the help.



1/4 Pound All-Beef Hot Dog 5.95 (Add Chili 6.95)
Chicago’s best kosher dog, topped with your choice of grated cheese, jalapenos, grilled onions or Sauerkraut. Served with fries

This was what my friend ordered, and she was having a cold so I suppressed my Take A Bite Of Everyone's Food ("TABOEF") tendencies, and merely asked her, very calmly, what she thought of it.

To which she replied, 'Good, it's nice'; a reply which I feel could have been further substantiated by my having a bite of it.

Maybe she was calling my bluff, and wasn't really having a cold. Maybe she knew about this TABOEF tendency. Maybe she wanted the hot dog all to herself. Maybe.



BBQ Burnt Ends and Pulled Pork Combo 12.50
Slow-smoked chunks of beef brisket served in a light BBQ Sauce. Served with fries & coleslaw

I'm going on Wikipedia right now to find out what burnt ends are, because they sure aren't burnt, nor were they ends. To me, and everyone at the table, it looked like pieces of stewed beef in some BBQ-flavoured sauce, and it sure was nice. The best thing we ordered at Bodean's, in fact, which probably explains why they're famous for it. Anyway, going back to the question of what burnt ends are.

Directly quoting from Wikipedia - 'Burnt ends are flavourful pieces of meat cut from the point half of a smoked brisket. A traditional part of Kansas City Barbecue, burnt ends are considered a delicacy in barbecue cooking. Either the entire brisket is cooked whole, then the point end removed and cooked further, or the point and flat are separated prior to cooking. Due to the higher fat content of the brisket point, it takes longer to fully cook to tender and render out fat and collagen. This longer cooking gave rise to the name "burnt ends". Sometimes when the flat is done, the point is returned to the smoker for further cooking. Some cooks re-season the point at this time.Kansas City style burnt ends are usually served cubed with sauce either on top or on the side. A "proper" burnt end should display a modest amount of "bark" or char on at least one side. Burnt ends can be served alone (sometimes smothered in barbecue sauce) or in sandwiches, as well as in a variety of other dishes, including baked beans and gumbo.'

Now we know.



Whatever it was, it was fantastic. So much so that we ate all the burnt ends first, and was full by the time we got to the pulled pork.



On the whole, we had a nice, relaxing, noisy lunch at this diner restaurant, and definitely got to try quite a few items we'd not previously had before. We enjoyed most of it, and now that we know what we like here, we'll probably return to try those out and more.

Skewers in Chinatown and frozen yoghurt in Snog

I was wandering around Chinatown one lunchtime and noticed a few new shops around the place. Shops in Chinatown open and close like elevator doors almost every other day, and they all look suspiciously alike (something about cost cutting and using the same decor, maybe …) so it’s sometimes not the most obvious when a new shop has replaced the previous one.

When I walked by this one (which I shall call the Skewer Shop because I don’t know what it’s called and it has no sign outside the shop), I had to stop for a moment and look inside because before this, it was a shop selling really pretty crepes. Now, by the window, were lots and lots of skewers with meat, fishballs, squid, vegetables and that all waiting to be cooked.

A huge, bubbling pot of the hottest chilli oil soup thing you'll ever taste.

I saw someone being served, and the skewers were cooked in a big, boiling pot full of a fiery-looking red soup base. Quite a good idea, I thought, kinda like a mobile hot pot, Szechuan style.

This we had to try, so on Saturday, we went with empty tummies, and selected a few skewers – lamb, beef, squid, and fishball. After the skewers were cooked in the soup, some cumin salt and coriander were sprinkled on top of the skewers before we quickly went to find a place in which to eat the stuff (not much space for eating in the shop).

While it is a new concept in Chinatown (nothing like this around), and while I do like the concept of cooking skewers of little nibbles in a pot of soup (lok-lok, Malaysian style), I found the taste quite difficult to like. I’m not too keen on things which are too spicy, and when I say that, I usually mean the numbing spiciness found in Szechuan food.

The soup was also perhaps a little too salty, because after I’d eaten the squid (which tends to absorb more soup), my tongue felt really weird. Kinda like tingly because of the spice, and also almost like it wanted to be hydrated again, mainly due to the salt which just wouldn’t go away.

I’m sure lots of people will absolutely adore this place, especially if they’re fans of the spicy hotpot, but this wasn’t for me.

We then went to the Stanley Donwood art exhibition at The Outsiders in Soho, and while I didn’t think it’d take too long to get round, I didn’t reckon it’d take all of 2 minutes only either. We went into the shop which looked like one of those half-renovated shops, there were a few painting inside, and downstairs, a few more paintings and a little hole-in-the-wall with a movie showing on loop.

Snog, 9 Berwick Street, Soho, London W1F 0RG

Then, to fill the half hour we had between the art exhibition and our dinner at Asakusa (more on this later!), we decided to get some frozen yoghurt from Snog in Soho.

I really like this place – colourful lights, a great place to watch people go by in Soho, and plenty of lovely, non-fat yoghurt. What’s not to like? Oh, yes, the price. It’s a little pricey, about £4.95 for the ‘Classic’ (ie medium-sized) with 3 toppings.

Look at these lights.

Because there was a deal on the ‘Classic’, and because I always go for the deal (though only after careful calculation), we went for the spiced apple yoghurt base, with 3 toppings.

For the toppings, we had blueberries …

Chocolate brownie …

... and lovely, chewy, mochi.

Fun afternoon in town, with the excitement of Asakusa to come in the next post!

Assa (new branch) Korean Restaurant, 23 Romilly Street, Soho, London, W1D 5AQ

The first time we went to Assa was to the original branch located by Centre Point near Tottenham Court Road tube station. I absolutely loved it from the moment we went in (though the whole waiting to be called into the restaurant from the freezing cold bit wasn’t that fun). The interior of the restaurant looks like what I’d imagine a Korean dining room would look like. Shades of brown on the walls with wooden chairs and tables, not much decoration on the walls, and lots of hot pots bubbling merrily on camping stoves on each table. I was so glad I’d found something like this in the middle of London, and because I didn’t have my camera with me, I just HAD to make a return visit to the restaurant.

So, one cold Saturday evening, we decided to do that. We’d just finished watching the new Harry Potter film (bit of a cliffhanger) and decided to have an early dinner to avoid the queues. However, as we had gone to the cinema in Leicester Square (the big one), we were going to walk through Soho to get to Tottenham Court Road.

Whaddya know. We found another branch of Assa in the middle of Soho. Eh? With some hesitation, we thought it was just another Korean restaurant pretending to be the real thing, so we had a quick look at the menu, and asked the waiter if it was the same restaurant as the one we liked. He said yes. That meant … we didn’t have to be in the cold any longer!

Despite this place looking more modern than the first place, I much prefer the look of the original branch as this one just blends into the other modern, chic, slightly pub-looking restaurants dotted around Soho. Instead of feeling quite smug that I’d managed to fit into someone’s sitting room and been served dinner, I just kinda felt quite cramped in this one as the chairs from the tables were pretty much back to back, leaving not much room for coats and bags. Small point, anyway.

After we’d made our orders with the new waiter (that took a while, but it was the dude’s first day) we were served the usual free side dishes – this is why I really like Korean food. All those free side dishes.

I really like this seaweed pickle – slightly sweet, a little tangy, quite fruity. Really good for whetting the appetite, not that it needed any help. A little later, one of those camping stoves were brought to the table, followed shortly by a huge hot pot filled with kimchi broth and meat.

Marinated beef and kimchi stew hotpot £15

This was good stuff – I can still smell it on my hair. While we waited for the soup to boil, it took all the self control I had not to dive in and eat the beef raw (when dining with friends, this kind of behaviour is not acceptable).

As it was sitting right in front of me, I had to keep staring at it. While it boiled. And then it boiled some more. When we could wait no more, I gave it a quick stir and dished it out. If you’ve had kimchi before and like it, then this is the dish for you. A pot like this costs £15, and could definitely be shared between two to three people, if you had it with rice. Warming, spicy, sour soup flavoured by the meaty taste of the beef. Full of vegetables – courgette, mushrooms, mooli, tofu, and yam noodles.

We also ordered beef bulgogi, but when we placed the order with the new waiter, he looked quite confused. Almost as though I’d ordered a Big Mac or something. He then went away and had a chat with someone, came back, and pointed to a page on the menu which described a dish as something like stir fried beef or something. Not knowing what that was, or what bulgogi should be described as except BBQ beef, we agreed with him, and this dish was produced. It tasted like bulgogi but seemed a little more wet compared to the other bulgogis I’d had before. Maybe this is another variation? Does anyone know if this is how it’s meant to be?

This could be – BBQ beef (in which case it would be £8.50 and described on the menu as ‘marinated beef seasoned with sesame oil’), or it could be ‘stir fried marinated beef’ £8.50.

Whatever it was, it was really nice. I really like the taste of Korean food anyway, it manages to be fresh and tangy, yet very meaty at the same time. Not sure if I could have it on a daily basis but it sure is nice once in a while, especially when it’s minus something degrees outside.

Now, when we ordered this the last time at the original branch, the dish that was served was a hot version of a slightly spicy, slightly sweet, stir-fried squid with vegetable and red pepper sauce dish. This time, I pointed at what I thought was the same thing, but it wasn’t, and the dish that was served instead was a cold, salad-like version of the squid dish we had before. Taste-wise, it was pretty similar to the first one we had, but I preferred the hot version – maybe because I felt like eating something hot? The fiance and our friends enjoyed it lots though, really liking the tangy burst of flavour that used the vegetables and squid as base to hold the tastes together. This was the ‘squid and vegetable in spicy sauce’ £10.

My favourite dish of the meal – Chap Jae or ‘stir fried sweet potato noodles with pork and vegetables’ £8.50. There’s something really comforting about this dish. It’s chewy, very slurpable (literally, you gotta slurp it up because it doesn’t break easily when bitten) and the translucent strands of bouncy noodles absorb all the meaty, sweet flavours of the dish. I’m yet to find out if they use anything other than sugar to lend to the sweetness, maybe some fish sauce or something similar, but the recipes I’ve found online don’t mention anything other than sesame oil and sugar. The crunchy vegetables in the dish contrast nicely to the warm, soft, and chewy noodles.

With the smell of kimchi firmly stuck in my clothes and hair, and with the taste of red pepper sauce and onion still kinda lingering on the tastebuds, it’s time to ask the question of ‘Would I recommend this restaurant?’, and the answer would be a resounding yes. Come to think of it, I don’t remember the last time I didn’t like a restaurant enough to recommend it, but that’s probably because I don’t bother blogging about those that I don’t like.