Ambrosia Desserts

British desserts.  Not exactly what I gravitate towards, besides, uh, sticky toffee pudding (zomg, <3).  But a while back, when I was in London, I picked up a number of canned items for my pantry, including a nice haul from Ambrosia, mostly because I really adore puddings, and they seem to carry many.

"For 100 years, the rolling hills of Devon have been home to Ambrosia's creamery. We let nature do the talking and ensure happiness is poured into everything we do so you can enjoy Ambrosia's delicious Devon creaminess."

Ambrosia is a well known maker of food products from the UK, mostly using dairy from their creamery.  All very shelf-stable, pantry items, no frills. They've been around more than 100 years, so they must be doing something right?

''A day in Devon is a day well lived, and a passion for our home is poured into everything we do. From the first beads of morning dew glistening on the lush grass, the chattering streams running between the rolling hillsides, and the misty sunsets over the quiet farms, it's Ambrosia's home. At our Devon creamery, we let nature do the talking. It's what makes Ambrosias special. We put all our love into creating delicious puddings to satisfy your whole family''

My British friend said their products are the sort of thing your grandmother would serve.  Not something that anyone our age would ever seek out.  I realize they are generic, and sold everywhere.  But, uh, I liked some of their products!

Transformed canned desserts!

I've tried a number of the products, and none are remarkable right out of the can (or box), but with a little transformation, they do become decently successful, and quite easy.  

Original Devon Rice Pudding.

"Enjoy the sweet deliciousness of Ambrosia Devon Rice Pudding. This product is rich in dairy goodness and is specially made with fresh milk. This Ambrosia rice pudding is a wonderful source of calcium and is vegetarian."

Rice pudding, also known as "creamed rice".  I do really like rice pudding but ...

Yes, I was skeptical, as this was coming out of a can after all.  And the British aren't exactly known for their culinary delights ...

The can instructed me that I could eat it hot or cold.  Since cold wasn't an option unless I wanted to wait for it to cool down from room temperature, I went the hot route.  I warmed it up on the stovetop, but snuck a few bites before it came up to temperature.  It wasn't remarkable.  There wasn't much flavor to it, but the rice was cooked really nicely at least.  Far better than the rice pudding I get at many restaurants actually, where the rice is often kinda mushy.

As I waited for it to get warm, I decided to jazz it up a bit, and mixed in a pinch of cinnamon.  Then I pulled some frozen blueberries out of the freezer and threw them on top.  The result? DELICIOUS.  It was a really great consistency, not too runny, not too thick, just right.  And as I mentioned, the rice was perfectly cooked, not crunchy, not mushy, just right.

Since I didn't eat the entire can in one sitting, I put the rest in the fridge, and tried it cold the next day.  It wasn't very good, kinda goopy, and not very flavorful.  So I heated it up, this time in the toaster oven, again added cinnamon and blueberries, but this time also some toasted coconut and pecans.  The coconut wasn't really necessary, but I liked the added crunch from the nuts.

Right out the jar it was fairly lackluster, but it is a great base for adding a few toppings and enjoying easy delicious rice pudding.  Who knew?

Light Rice Pudding: Single Serve.

"Creamy & delicious, Less than 2% fat, A source of calcium, Full of dairy goodness, 35% les fat than Ambrosia rice pudding."

Next I tried the light rice pudding, available in a single serve plastic container.  As before, I took a bite at room temperature, and it just wasn't very good.  The flavor was virtually nonexistent and it was kinda just gloopy.  It wasn't thick or creamy.

So, as before, I heated it up, in the toaster oven rather than microwave as advised.

It was better when warm, but still not very interesting.  So again, I jazzed it up ...

Light Rice Pudding + Whipped Cream + Rum Caramel + Maple Bacon Caramel Corn.

What did I add?

Well, a dollop of whipped cream to start, because, the light nature of this just meant it didn't have enough creaminess.  The whipped cream melted in instantly as the rice pudding was piping hot, and it created a pool of richness right in the center, delicious to keep slightly separate, or to mix in.

In the center of that I added a scoop of rum caramel sauce.  Now this was likely the element that transformed the rice pudding entirely.  Sweet and boozy, and it added flavor to every single bite, particularly as it mixed in more.

And finally, a sprinkle of the leftover bits of a bag of maple bacon caramel corn.  This was also awesome, as it added some bits of crunch and saltiness.

I really loved my creation.  It was warm and comforting, sweet and salty.  But ... at this point, I'm mostly just evaluating my toppings, not the original product itself.

Thus, I say, it is a great base for making a fun dessert?  The rice pudding pot itself was only 95 calories, actually a nice light option, but, uh, whipped cream, caramel sauce, and bacon caramel corn likely at least doubled that ... gulp.  I'm not good at "light".

Light Devon Custard.

Next up, custard.  Not pudding, but, custard.

I'm not sure when, but somewhere along the way I picked up a little individual pot of the devon custard.  I'm sure I had plans at the time of making a trifle, or using it as a sauce on top of sticky pudding, or who knows what, but I eventually found it in my pantry, and decided to just eat it, even though I knew that the custard isn't really like American pudding, and you weren't generally supposed to just eat it plain.

I took one bite.  Meh.  As expected, it wasn't thick like pudding.  The flavor was very, very plain.  Slightly sweet I suppose, but rather synthetic.  At least it was very smooth?

Undeterred, I heated some up.  I liked it more warm, but it was still boring.  I pressed on.

I added a little vanilla extract to one little bowl full.  Better, but still, not interesting.  I added some caramel to another.  Sweet now for sure, but still not doing it for me.  I added large salt flecks to make salted caramel.  Still not interesting.

I warmed up strawberries and raspberries, and poured it over them.  Sure, a fine combination, but it didn't do it for me either.

My final attempt was to top it with whipped cream.  The whipped cream quickly melted as the custard was hot, and it pooled up on top.  And ... yeah, I really liked it.

Anyway, I enjoyed experimenting and trying to make something of it, but in the future, I'd stick to using it more as intended, to pour over another dessert, rather than as a base for a creation.

Deluxe Custard: Vanilla with Clotted Cream.

"The new Deluxe range from Ambrosia is our creamiest, most luxurious velvety custard. This is because we made it using fresh cream and blended it with the finest ingredients to create mouth-watering flavours. Ambrosia Deluxe is so delicious, you won't be able to resist. Just dive straight in and enjoy the heavenly taste, hot or cold!"

Next, a more premium product, a "deluxe custard".  These came in boxes, not cans.  So fancy?

The can was strange, but a box was a bit harder for me to wrap my head around.  I was again skeptical. Still, um, "Deluxe" and with extra clotted cream?  Who was I to pass this up.

The large box has 4-5 servings in it, but is hard to save once opened, since, well, its a box.

Deluxe Custard: Vanilla with Clotted Cream: Room Temp.

I tried it straight from the box, room temp.  It wasn't bad.  Not an amazing vanilla flavor, but really perfectly creamy, great consistency.

Then I put it in the fridge, and had some cold.  That was even better, a bit more firm.

Then I heated it up.  It thinned out.  I liked it less this way.

Deluxe Custard: Vanilla with Clotted Cream: With Toppings!

And then of course I started adding toppings, as it was good, but a bit plain on its own.

It went amazingly with the crispy caramel pearls.  It worked well with fruit, and I know many people simply serve it over fruit as a dessert.  I read online that people like mixing in a scoop of peanut butter, which I tried, but did not like.

Overall, very successful for a boxed product, best when cold, best when jazzed up a bit, but still perfectly satisfying right from the box.

Canned Semolina.

Last up was the semolina, back to a canned form.

"Fresh" From the Can.

I can't say it looked appealing. And, at room temp, it was not exactly tasty, just kinda bland, gloopy ... stuff.  Still, I know these products do better warmed up, or, actually chilled, not room temp.

Like the others, it said it could be heated in a saucepan or a microwave.  I had just finished cooking dinner and hadn't yet cleaned up the saucepans, so I just grabbed a little non-stick skillet, and hoped it would do the trick.  Seemed better than microwaving at least, right?

While it heated slowly, I got to work assembling toppings, as it was immediately obvious that this would need toppings.

I did try it plain, warmed, of course, and that was better than room temperature, but only barely.  It needed help.  So help I gave it.

Semolina Pudding: Brown Butter Caramel / White Chocolate Shavings / Butter Pecan Sauce / Caramel Corn / Whipped Cream / Bourbon Smoked Sea Salt

I had too many ideas.  Did I want to go fruity with fresh fruit? Frozen fruit for a hot/cold contrast?  Jam?  Or did I want to go really sweet, with caramel or white chocolate?  Or Greek style with honey and nuts?  Speaking of nuts, I needed some crunch right?  What about toasted coconut?  Or, hmm, cinnamon and dried fruit, more healthy?  So many options.

In the end, I went for a mix of everything.  I was incredibly pleased with the end result.  So much for a healthy little bowl of semolina pudding!

From top, clockwise:

Butter pecan sauce, which added texture from the pecans in it, and sweetness from the sauce.  It was a nice compliment to the plain base
.
White chocolate shavings, which melted in, and left pockets of creamy sweetness behind.  Excellent
choice.

Brown butter caramel, which gave it a real depth of flavor, much like a richer butterscotch. This melted in beautifully and I quickly added more.

Caramel popcorn! More crunch, more textures, more sweet, and, um, fun?

In the center I put a dollop of whipped cream, which pooled up and melted in the middle, adding richness.  And on top, I sprinkled Bourbon smoked sea salt , which just amped up the flavors considerably.

I quickly added far more brown butter caramel once I tasted how well it mixed in, along with another hit of the bourbon smoked sea salt.  In the end, I was very pleased.  I had a warm comforting base, sweet components, crunch, salt, and cream.  I'm not sure how much praise I give the semolina itself though ...

Gustaf's Candy

Candy.  Not an area I have reviewed much before, but, uh, I *do* eat a lot of candy, particularly gummy candy.  It is the other thing I love to munch on all afternoon long, the balance to my popcorn and salty savory snacks.  I never claimed to be a healthy eater!

I adore trying all sorts of new candy, and that phrase, "kid in a candy store" entirely describes me.  You have no idea how much I *love* those bulk candy stores, the pay by weight ones, where you know better and try to have restraint but the bag you leave with is somehow always 5x bigger than you intend, and the cost is always ridiculously high.  Yeah.  Those places are my serious weakness.  Particularly if they are in airports, where I am a captive audience, and know I'll be sitting bored on a flight soon.

I also love candy clubs, the kinds that send you different candy to try every month, from bulk suppliers.  It is through one of these that I learned about products from Gustaf's, a bulk wholesale candy supplier.  I can't tell you much about Gustaf's, as it is shockingly hard to find out details about individual manufacturers.  If you've ever shopped at a bulk candy store, chances are high that you've had some of their products.  I'm sure I've had more than I cover here, these all came from the candy club, so I was able to identify them.

I've tried a few categories of their candy, some just not my style (laces), but others were great, my absolute favorite type of chewy gummy candy.  I'll continue to seek Gustaf's candy out.

Laces

Rainbow Laces.

"Whether you enjoy them strand by strand or pound them by the pile, these lusciously chewy, super-fruity laces guarantee a colorful candy experience in every bite!"

"Lace the rainbow with colorful strands of licorice goodness."

These were ok, but not great.

Chewier than the texture I prefer for my gummy candy,   Not really flavored, just, sweet, although they were supposed to be flavors like apple, blue raspberry, and tutti-frutti.

Sour Strawberry Laces.

"They might look like spaghetti, but these sour sugar-coated candy laces pack boatloads of tart, fruity, succulent strawberry flavor in every slender strand!"

"The thrill of the lace! Long, luscious strands of sour strawberry goodness deliver tasty tartness in every bite."

Eh.  These were fine.  But not particularly fruity, not particularly sour, and a bit more firm and hard to bite into than I like.

Sour Apple Laces.

"Glistening with sour sugar coating, these soft and chewy laces provide a crisp burst of tart apple flavor in every bright green bite! Non-GMO."

These delivered in the sour pucker department!  Wow.  Serious sour punch.  Great flavor.

I don't love the straws though, more chewy than I prefer, but flavor-wise these were winners.

Animals

Jelly Babies.

"These classic UK-produced candies were a favorite of Beatle George Harrison. “Come Together” with all your friends over their unique texture and tasty fruity flavors." 

"You'll go ga-ga over these delightfully soft and fruity tots!" 

"Gustaf's Jelly Babies are very soft jelly candies which are coated in powdered sugar. They are made in Holland. These are very delicious, and have a unique soft, jellied texture."

JELLY BABIES!

I stayed at a hotel in London that had these, self-serve, on every floor, in little candy jars (er, lolly jars?), in little pantries.  Let's just say ... I consumed my entire room rate's worth of these!

I adored them all.  Slightly chewy on the outside, but really soft and pliable inside, the ideal chew level no question.  Dusted in powdered sugar.  Each distinct in flavor:

• Red Berries (red)
• Orange (orange)
• Lemon (yellow)
• Apple (green)
• Cassis (black)
• Banana (white)

The black ones are always my favorite, followed closely by the white.  But really, I like them all.

Tropical Starfish.

"Soft and chewy tropical-flavored gummies in the shape of starfish, dusted with sugar."

"Cue up the calypso for tropical fruit flavored gummies in a beachy-keen shape!"

These were a surprise hit for me.

I liked the level of chew, soft yet actually chewy, and the sugar coating was a nice touch.  The fruity flavors were fairly intense, and I liked the flavors too, although I couldn't identify as any particularly flavor.

Overall, winners, and I would be happy to get these again.

Sour Mini Gummy Piglets.

"Go ham on these adorable gummy piggies! Infused with sweet-tart berry flavor, these little piglets pack serious lip-smacking power to make you squeal with delight!"

Ok, seriously, how cute were these?  They really are little piggies.

Looks aside, these were also an enjoyable candy.  Good chew, great sugar and tart coating, nice fruity flavor to the base biggies.

Other

Sour Mini Bubblegum Flavored Bottles.

"Bubblegum-flavored, bottle-shaped gummies with a fizzy, sweet-tart coating."

"Enjoy a combination of sweet and sour flavors in every bite of these mini gummy bubble gum bottles. Each fat-free blue and red bottle is filled with a sweet bubble gum taste, then dusted with sour sugar to create a flavor combination that will make your mouth pucker. "

These were wild!

Like most of Gustaf's candies, I enjoyed the chew to them, and the sour coating on outside.  They didn't taste anything like bubblegum to me, but rather ... almost like cola?  They really had a fizz to them.  It confused my brain greatly.

I liked them, but I'm still not sure why I don't taste bubble gum.

Benares, London

On my recent visit to London, I had two goals: to eat good indian food and to eat good fish and chips, both things which I don't get in San Francisco, and I know London does well.  I was only there for 4 days, and working most of that time, so, my opportunities were limited.  I still managed to do my best.

My companion and I arrived on a Saturday evening in London, and, as soon as we checked into the hotel, turned right back around to go to dinner.  We were both exhausted, and very seriously considered just staying in and ordering room service from the hotel, or, at least just getting something simple nearby.  But, I had made bookings far in advance at Benares, a Michelin starred Indian restaurant, and I was determined to get some amazing Indian cuisine.  How often do you get a chance to have Michelin starred Indian food, anyway? (Well, fairly often, if you live in London, but, not where I'm from!)

I will admit it was interesting to see Indian cuisine in a Michelin star setting.  The service was exactly as I'd expect, formal, attentive, and, at times, a bit invasive.  The servers were all clad in black, and there seemed to be an abundance of staff roaming around the dining room.  It was a bit confusing, as the person we ordered drinks from was not the person we needed to place our dinner menu with, and when we tried to, he said, "I'll go get my manager".  Someone was always hovering to refill our water glasses as soon as we took a few sips.  I honestly think there were multiple people stationed around the room who had no job other than pouring water.  It was a bit much.  Food was brought out on large silver tray, held by one staff member, while another took it from the silver tray and placed it onto our table.  Definitely an upscale setting, and, matched what I'd expect from a Michelin star establishment, except that most of the time, the dishes were never explained to us.

But the plating and portion sizes were the unexpected aspects of the experience for me, as I've just never seen Indian food served this way, more artfully arranged, with lots of garnishes, and modern techniques.  It was interesting, for sure, but, I really wasn't blown away, and wouldn't be likely to return.  Perhaps we just ordered poorly?

The Space

Curb Appeal.

Even from the outside, you could tell this was not a standard Indian restaurant.  A doorman in a top hat opened the door as we approached.  The entrance was flanked by heaters and planters.  It had a grandeur about it.

We were greeted at a podium right inside the door by a trio of hostesses, all wearing tight, black, formal dresses.  They offered to take anything from us for the "cloak room".  I immediately felt bad that I was just wearing really nice pants and top, rather than a dress, and my companion was just in khakis and a dress shirt, no jacket.  This was dressing up for us, but, we were worried didn't actually fit in.  Luckily, it turned out the staff were just better dressed than all patrons, and we were dressed entirely fine.

Bar.

Once we ditched our jackets, er, cloaks, we were lead upstairs to the bar and restaurant.  The lounge doesn't serve the dinner menu, but does offer an assortment of small plates, ranging from classics like veggie samosas to more interesting sounding crab kofta.  It looked like a great place to get super high quality "bar food".

Decor.

The dining room consisted nearly entirely of square tables, set for 2 or 4 guests.  Tables around the outside perimeter of the room featured a padded bench seat, which is where I was located.

The walls were sorta like artwork, with raised, sculpture-like, white panels.  This artistic touch carried over to the lights, round globes suspended from the ceiling, in a variety of colors.

Table Setting.

The table was set with decorative plates with white cloth napkins on them, and, the moment we put our napkins in our laps, the plates were taken away.  Seriously, plates just for the napkins?  Soon after, small side plates were brought out to have with our starters.  The whole decorative plate that you remove thing is always odd to me.  Our places were also set with dual knives and forks.

The table also contained a little candle and a flower floating in water.

Drinks

I knew that Benares was known for their creative cocktails, and was excited to try one.  However, we were brought only the main dinner menu and a wine list, neither of which contained cocktails, or other drinks.  All around us, tables were ordering amazing looking cocktails, so, eventually, I flagged someone down to ask for a cocktail menu.  I found it quite odd that we needed to ask for this.

Once we were brought the menu, the server returned within probably 45 seconds to take our drink order.  We hadn't even gotten past the first of many pages.  I said we needed more time, and he pressed, asking what kind of drink we wanted.  I said I wasn't sure yet, and he started suggesting drinks.  I know he was trying to be helpful, but, it was not welcome.  I just wanted more than a minute to read the drink menu, and, I didn't want to have to ask for the menu to begin with.  These little things don't matter normally, but, for a Michelin star place, I was surprised.

Anyway, drinks.  The menu had two pages devoted entirely to non-alcoholic drinks, which I knew would be nice for my companion, who does not drink alcohol.  One entire page was yogurt based drinks, that went far beyond a standard mango lassi. One had a blueberry shrub in it that sounded particularly fascinating.  Another page offered up more fruity drinks and many spins on non-alcoholic cocktails.  My companion selected one of these.

For me, there was an entire page of champagne cocktails, an entire page of martinis, a page of long cocktails, a page of house special cocktails, and an entire page of digestifs that truly did sound good enough to replace dessert.  So many to choose from.

Benares Colada. £9.50.

"A twist on the classic, this is a non-alcoholic version of the Piña Colada, with a Housemade Mango Shrub, Vanilla Syrup, Banana, Raspberry Puree, and Milk."

My fellow diner opted for the Benares Colada.  It was a looker!

I eagerly took a sip, as I do like piña coladas.  I was immediately quite confused.  I didn't taste any coconut, nor any pineapple.  All I tasted was banana.  Which, well, matches the ingredients listed on the menu too.  How is this a piña colada?  I didn't taste the raspberry, although you could see it on the glass.  I didn't taste mango or vanilla either.  Just, banana and milk.  Again, what?  A piña colada is all about the pineapple and coconut ...

Anyway, he didn't love nor hate it, his official statement: "I'm semi-indifferent to this."

Bollywood. £14.

"Wyborowa Vodka shaken with fresh raspberries, Aperol, Housemade Vanilla Syrup, and fresh squeezed lime juice then topped with Champagne. Clean and refreshing, just as a long drink should be."

I opted for a "long drink", the Bollywood.

It too was a looker, garnished with colorful purple and yellow flowers, and served in a contoured glass.

The first sip was very alcoholic, but, as the crushed ice melted, it mellowed out a bit.  The amount of ice looked ridiculous at first, but, it actually turned out to be fine.

The raspberry flavor was very strong too, but not in a bad way, it wasn't too sweet or fruity, and was nicely balanced by the other ingredients, likely the Aperol.  The vanilla came through on the finish, and was a really lovely compliment to the raspberry.  The champagne added a bit of fizz and festivity.

Overall, actually, a really nice drink, balanced, and enjoyable.

Cuisine

Benares offers a variety of options for dining.  For the full experience, you can opt for the tasting menu, £98 per person, for about 10 courses.  One table next to us opted for this option, along with the wine pairings.  Most items from the tasting menu are available on the a la carte, but there was one dish,  Tandoori Chicken Tikka Pie, that looked quite interesting and wasn't on the regular menu.

On the other end of the spectrum, if you order before 6:30pm, is the economical option of a set menu, two course for £29 or three courses for £35, with three options for each course.  The main dishes came with lentils and bread or rice on the side as well.  None of these dishes are on the a la carte menu.  All other tables within view of us went this route.  We nearly decided to get this menu, as there were decent options for each.  For starters, the heirloom tomato salad with asparagus fritters that our neighbor said was the best salad she'd ever had, and the smoked salmon fish cake with spiced green papaya both sounded pretty good. There was only one main I really wanted though, the fennel coated pan-fried plaice with crushed peas and a coconut and kokum sauce, basically, an Indian take on fish and chips.  But, we were going for fish and chips with co-workers two days later, so, this seemed like a poor choice.  The desserts on the set menu sounded a bit better than from the main menu, including a crazy kulfi and falooda parfait that I admired from afar when our neighbor got it.  From our observation, all the portions were generous and this really was an incredible value, no wonder so many others opted for it.  I likely would if I returned.

But, in the end, we decided to go a la carte. The set menu options were fine, but, none of them were the dishes we were most excited for.  The a la carte menu is broken down into appetizers (£14-£20), sides (£9), mains (£26-£36), breads & rice (£5), and dessert (£12).  Some simple math will make it pretty obvious how different this is from the set menu.  Two courses, just an app and main, from the a la carte would be £40-£56, not including the dal and bread/rice, as opposed to £29.  It was very easy to wind up with a large bill here by ordering a la carte.

The menu had a mix of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes on it, but, there were several vegetarian dishes that I had read recent reviews about missing from it.  I was fairly certain they still offered them.  I asked about a vegetarian menu, and soon, a separate menu was brought to us, including all the vegetarian dishes from the main menu, but with tons more on in each category.  It seemed really strange to me that the vegetarian menu was not offered from the start, or really, that all the vegetarian dishes weren't available on the main menu.  Again, just what seemed like a misstep I wouldn't expect certain from a Michelin star.

In the end, we ended up ordering one appetizer, one main, one side, rice, and bread, and, shockingly, no dessert (I know, I, of all people, did not get dessert!).  It was more than enough food, and we left with nearly half the food leftover, which they nicely packaged up for us.

Complimentary Papadam and Chutneys.

Immediately after we were seated, before we even received menus or had drink orders taken, a wooden container full of small papadam, with three chutneys in the lid, was delivered to our table.

 It was nice to have something to snack on right away, but, bringing this before the menus, and before drinks, seemed a bit ... rushed?

The three chutneys were: pineapple, tomato, and gooseberry.

I thought the form factor of these mini papadam was cute, much easier to eat than the standard wafers you have to break apart, and, more like chips, but, they were still papadam, still made from lentil, and thus, not something I liked.  My companion however did like these, and took to devouring the entire container full.  Around 80% of the way done, he realized he didn't want anymore, but, was "so close" to finishing that he felt compelled to finish them all.  I offered up a word of caution, saying there was much real, hot food on the way, and he could always come back to these later as they weren't going to spoil, but, he was determined to finish.  Amusingly, as soon as he did finish, a server swooped in to offer up another batch.  Lols.

As for the chutneys, I also didn't like any of them.  There was something in the spicing of each one that I didn't care for.  The pineapple version had large chunks of pineapple and was sweet, but the Indian spicing didn't quite work with it.  The gooseberry version sorta tasted like ... feet?  And the tomato one was just spiced tomato.  My companion however did like them, clearly, and scraped up every last drop.

Amuse Bouche: Potato Dumpling.

Very quickly after we placed our order, an amuse bouche was delivered, a potato dumpling.  Basically, like the insides of a samosa, but, in deep fried fritter form.  I don't really like potato filling (which is strange, I like mashed potatoes, I like french fries and wedges, I like hash browns ... so I do like potato, just, not really potato cubes?), so, I didn't really like it.  Again, my companion did enjoy his, saying, "this is tasty!", moments after biting into his.

The fritter was served atop a tasty tamarind chutney and garnished with fresh shoots.

At this point, my over zealous companion declared he was full, after just the complimentary snacks.  Oops.

 Starter: Paneer Tiranga. £18.

"Cottage Cheese Three Ways."

The starters were the most interesting sounding section of the menu to me.  I wanted the Macchi Amritsari, crispy fried lemon sole with a spicy dipping sauce, but, I knew we would be going to get fish and chips soon after, so, I wanted to save my "fried fish and dipping sauce" for that.  I was also drawn in by the jal tarang, seared scallops with watercress puree, but, I figured that they likely wouldn't be that unique.  I do love a good seared scallop, but, what would really make these special?  We also nearly ordered the Subz Kebab Thal, a trio of items consisting of plantain and spinach tikki, malvani paneer tikka, and a kidney bean stuffed pepper, me wanting the first two items, and my companion the third.

But, finally, we decided on the Paneer Tiranga, another trio, only listed on the vegetarian menu.

The three ways turned out to be tandoori, grilled, and fried into croquettes, and the trio came with two of each item, one for each of us.

The tandoori was by far the best. The cheese cubes had a lovely smoky grilled flavor and a sear and slight crust on the outside.  The salt level was spot on.  I genuinely enjoyed the tandoori cube, but, my fellow diner only took one bite of his cube and put the rest back, not really caring for it.  We clearly have different preferences.

The grilled one however was far less successful.  It just tasted like ... fresh cheese.  It didn't have any kind of sear/char/crust or anything to give it a little texture.  It kinda turned into mush when you cut into it.  I really didn't like it, and neither my companion nor I had a second bite.

The third version was the most interesting, little chopped bits of paneer and some veggies, made into balls, and deep fried.  But ...  again neither of us liked the texture of this either.  It was too oily on the outside for me, and the filling was just mush that reminded us both of tofu.

The fried ball was served with a pipette of mint chutney, a creative touch, but, impractical.  The balls were too solid to inject the chutney into them directly, and there was really no reason to dot it on top of them.

The dish also had two other chutneys, red (tomato?) and green basil chutney, both artistically smeared on the plate for style points.  My companion liked the red chutney.

Overall, this trio was a letdown.  I did like the tandoori paneer, but, the others were really not very good.  My companion didn't care for any of it.  Interestingly, no one asked us why nearly all the grilled paneer and 1 of the 2 croquettes went unfinished.  It was a small plate, and clearly we weren't too full to finish it.

Main: Haveli Kofta.  £26..

"Seasonal Vegetable and Green Chilli Kofta, Sautéed Spinach, Peanut and Sesame Seed Sauce."

For a main dish, it was easy to rule out most of the non-vegetarian options, not because I'm vegetarian, but because they weren't the proteins I like: tandoori chicken or lamb, venison, duck.  The seafood options did sound decent, like a Wild Atlantic Hake, or chargrilled salmon (with a crab croquette!), but, for some reason, the veggie options were calling out more to me.  For veggie choices, there was paneer rogan josh (which we almost got, but I thought we should get something more creative), an eggplant tart (sounded good, but, it had feta, eh), kathal achari (green jackfuit? Fascinating and unknown), and this, the haveli kofta.

I think I mostly just remembered some really good malai kofta in the past, and wanted it to be a fancy version of that.

It was plated Michelin-star style, with a smear of the sauce on the plate, served over wilted spinach.  Of course, this wasn't nearly enough sauce, and, they knew it, providing a second vessel of the sauce on the side.  At least they know the fancy plating hurts the true nature of the dishes!  I appreciated the extra sauce immensely, or, at least I did in theory.

Main: Haveli Kofta: Close Up.

Anyway, the dish had two kofta, each one surrounding a spicy green chilli, stem still on, which you can see here in the close up.  And I mean spicy.  I cut one of the kofta in half to start, to split it, and his half got all the chili without us realizing a full chili was inside.  I found my part to be bland and boring, just mushy fried vegetables, but he was acting like this was the spiciest dish ever.  I was confused, until we realized what had happened, and, he made me switch parts.  I took one bite with the chili, and, my palate was blown.  It was crazy spicy.  Too spicy.

Neither of us really liked the kofta, and, even though the dish had only two of the patties, we only managed to finish one between us.  It was either too spicy, or just mushy fried boringness.

We did both really like the spinach however, sautéed with plenty of garlic, just slightly wilted.  My companion said it reminded him of stir fried pea shoots from a Chinese restaurant, which, I did sorta understand.

The sauce was the real sad point for me, as I love sauces, and was particularly looking forward to dunking my bread in this.  It looked like it should taste something like a tikka masala sauce, but, it didn't.  It wasn't cream based, nor tomato based.  Instead, it tasted exactly as advertised, like peanut and sesame seeds.  Basically, like peanuty-tahini.  Which seems like it should be good, but, really just fell flat and was very ... nutty.  We both agreed that the look of it kept making us take more, and we somehow kept expecting it to taste different, and it never did.

Overall, a flop of a dish for us, except for the tasty spinach.

Side: Makai Khumb. £9.

"Sweet Corn and Seasonal Mushrooms, Fenugreek leaves."

Rather than pick two main dishes, we decided to get a main and a side. The selection for sides was extensive, ranging from vegetables like asparagus poriyal and khatti bhindi to legumes like punjabi chole and classic dal, and of course, everyone's favorite, palak paneer.

I dislike beans and lentils, so it was easy to rule those out, and, I really wanted some vegetables after a week in Munich of mostly meat, cheese, and heavy sauces.  The asparagus sounded good, and I always love palak paneer, but we opted for the makai khumb instead, mostly because it just sounded different.

It was pretty good, I liked the sweet corn.  The mushrooms weren't particularly interesting, mostly button mushrooms, with a few other small mushrooms mixed in.  They were all kinda slimy.  The sauce was tomato (and onion?) based, and decently spicy.

Overall, this was good, but we both felt like this dish was missing something and found it a bit boring.  Perhaps we just aren't used to Indian side dishes?  I wanted it to have paneer, but then it would have been more of a main ...

Side: Steamed White Rice.

I don't eat rice, but my companion does, so he opted for a side of simple steamed rice. However, by the time the food came, he was stuffed, and didn't want it.  I think he tried a token spoonful and then moved on.

Whole Wheat Parantha. £5.

For bread, we had a bunch of choices: naan (plain, butter, garlic and coriander), kulcha (vegetable, cheese, peshawari, caramelized onion), and parantha (plain, whole wheat), all £5.

We normally opt for garlic naan or onion kulcha, but, for some reason, we decided to get parantha.  I think my companion mentioned he didn't think he had ever had it before, so I wanted him to try it.  I do have a fondness for it.

It was ... fine.  Not particularly well laminated, but not too oily.  It had a hearty whole wheat flavor that I enjoyed.

Magic Grow Towels!

After our dinner dishes were cleared, a server brought over a tray with two little rolled up towels.  He poured hot water over them, and they grew into hand towels.

It was cute and whatnot, but, since nothing we ate was finger food, seemed a bit odd.  They were very into extra showmanship.

Petit Fours.

We weren't excited about the dessert menu by the time we got to it, as nearly every dessert had elements to it I really didn't care for, and my fellow diner was still stuffed of pappadam.  So, Julie, the dessert girl, actually suggested we not get dessert.  I knew that Benares, being a full service Michelin starred establishment, served petit fours before dessert (or with the bill?)   But I wasn't sure if we'd get them even without ordering dessert.  Luckily, we did, so I could still get some sweet hit.

Unfortunately, they weren't very good.  And no explanation of the items was given.

The first item was an almond florentine.  Crispy, sweet, but rather burnt tasting.  It was my favorite I guess, and I finished both after he didn't want it, but, not very good.

Next was orange jellies, one globe shaped, and one slice shaped.  They were soft and I liked the sugar on the outside, but, they didn't really have any flavor besides sweet.  I made up the name "orange" based on the color, not the flavor.  Very boring.

Finally, little bites of cake.  The cake was dry.  On top was a spread, that I originally thought was red bean, but I think was actually chocolate.  It was bitter and just kinda mush on top.  There was also a sprinkle of something slightly crunchy.  I originally thought matcha, again because it was so bitter, but I think it was pistachio?  Chocolate and pistachio make more sense than red bean and matcha given our venue.  This was really not good.

None of these bites were good, and, instead of leaving us with a nice final sweet bite, we wished we didn't have them.  As my companion said, "These were the worst part of the meal, such a bad note to end on."

Dessert and Drinks @ Hawksmoor Seven Dials, London

After my first full day in London, a Friday night, I somehow wasn't suffering from jetlag too badly (don't worry, that would come the next day).  My office had a TGIF party with food and drinks, and some of us decided to go out from there, for a bit more food, and a few more drinks.  My colleagues know that I'm a foodie and would have a list of places to check out, which of course I did.

I selected Hawksmoor, a nice steakhouse.  But not for the steakhouse, for the bar.  The cocktail menu sounded amazing.  But I had other goals in mind as well: the sticky toffee pudding.  The internet claims that they have the best sticky toffee pudding in London.  As a total dessert girl, I clearly had to have the best ever of this classic British dessert, particularly as I had a decent version on my Virgin Atlantic flight there.

So our group of 7 made the trek to the nearest Hawksmoor outpost, in Seven Dials, which I knew had a decent sized bar area.

It also turned out to have crazy policies.  They said there was no space for our group of 7, and suggested we leave and come back later.  No list to put our names on or anything.  Ok.  But I desperately needed to use the bathroom, so I asked if I could use the bathroom first.  It was through the bar area.  Where I saw plenty of seats.  Hmm.

We asked if we could split up, and they told us no.  They can't split up parties.  We said it was fine, just pretend we were a 3 and a 4, we wouldn't try to share a bill, etc.  Still, no.

Half my group left to go scout out other locations, and 4 of us stayed behind to wait.  A different host asked what we were waiting around for, and we said the bar.  He said we could go down, no problem.  Once we got there, and confirmed there were plenty of seats, we sent a message to the others and told them to come back.  We told the bartender what was going on, and he said as long as we all had seats, it was fine.  No one inside had any problem with us the rest of the night.

I don't know if we just didn't look nice enough?  We *were* software engineers, and London is fancier ...

Anyway.  Spoiler: it wasn't worth the drama.

My "Meal": Cocktail, Chips, Dessert.

I was at Hawksmoor for two key reasons: I wanted a great cocktail and I wanted a great dessert.  But I figured I should ease into things with a savory bite, so I threw on some chips as well.

Everything was lackluster.

Custom Cocktail: Paloma-Ish.

The bartender was friendly and chatty, and kept suggesting that he could make anything we wanted, even though I was really excited by the menu.  When I asked if one drink was sweet (it had marmalade in it), he again really wanted to make me a custom cocktail instead.

Finally, I told him I like gin, tequila, and whiskey, and that I didn't want anything sweet.

What he came up with was basically a salt rimmed paloma.

It was bitter (I guess not sweet), but way too fruity for me (hmm, not sweet, technically).  It wasn't well balanced, and I didn't like it at all.

I licked the salt off the rim though?

Triple cooked chips. £4.50. Side of Anchovy Hollandaise. £3.00. 

When I ordered the chips, the bartender asked if we'd like to perhaps add on some anchovy hollandaise.  My heart skipped a beat.  What?! I could order that with my chips?!  YES!!!  I told him he was speaking my language.

You see, while I wasn't interested in steak really, I had read such great reviews of the sauces at Hawksmoor, and in particular, the anchovy hollandaise.  I would have never thought to order it with my fries, and I don't care if he was just upselling.  I was glad.  I wanted it.

That hollandaise was the highlight of the meal.  It came served in a little pot, warm, with a spoon.  I may have resorted to just eating it by the spoonful, after we were done the chips, and after I was saddened by the dessert.

The hollandaise was good.  Very good, but, I didn't really taste any anchovy in particular.  The ketchup was standard, but served in a cute bottle.  A cute bottle that was impossible to get ketchup out of.  Another server saw me struggling and came over with a straw to poke in it, saying he does this *all* all the time.  Or else, disasters.  Um, maybe they could change out those serving vessels?

But the chips?  Meh.

They were very greasy.  Not fluffy potatoes inside.  Crispy I guess, but all broken in pieces and just greasy crispy chunks of grease.  I didn't even want them to soak up the hollandaise, like I said, I resorted to just lapping it up by the spoonful.

I would not get this again.

Sticky toffee pudding with Clotted Cream. £8.

And then, the signature sticky toffee pudding.

I was so excited.  It was warm.  It was swimming in caramel.  It had a huge glob of clotted cream on top.  Oh boy.

One look, and I wished I hadn't offered spoons to the others.  I thought I'd want it all.  At least I had it first.  I was going to get my bites before passing it off.

One bite ... and I passed it off.  Ok, I had a second one just to verify that it wasn't actually tasty, and then passed it off.

The cake was dry inside.  It wasn't flavorful.  It was just ... brown cake.

The caramel sauce was warm, it was sweet, and it was nice I guess, but even I didn't feel compelled to lap it up.  It was just sweet mediocre caramel.

The clotted cream on top was ... clotted cream.  Even a spoonful of just cream and caramel wasn't awesome.

Overall this was shockingly lackluster.

Tibits, London

I went to a buffet.  A vegetarian buffet.  A largely vegan buffet at that.  In London of all places (obviously, pre-COVID).

And I recommend you do the same.  Seriously.  Ok, but with caveats of course.

I discovered Tibits on my way to Borough Market, it caught my eye as I walked by.  I poked my head in and was ... intrigued.  It was mid-day, and the place seemed to be a coffee shop, with a large menu of coffee and tea drinks, plus fresh juices and smoothies, and assorted baked goods along a counter.  But ... it was also a huge buffet.  A nice buffet.  Hot items, cold items, desserts.

Further examination just left me more interested.  A cocktail list.  Hot buttered rum.  What was this place?  I wanted to know more, and try it out, but, I was on the way to a food mecca, so, I took note, grabbed a business card, and went on my way.

I looked it up online later though.

The answer is: a higher end buffet (known as their "Food Boat"), entirely vegetarian (80% vegan actually), serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  Available to dine-in, or takeway.

"Every day you can choose from a selection of 40 vegetarian and vegan salads, hot dishes and desserts on our food boat. Everything is freshly homemade, several times a day. We cook with the season, using the best of the season’s produce. "

This is no ordinary buffet.  It is ... a boat, as they say.   Everything from the Boat is pay-by-weight. They also offer made to order items, baked goods, and drinks appropriate for the time of your visit.  Tuesdays are entirely vegan.  They use majority organic, local, seasonal produce.  Most stuff is pretty healthy.  Everything is clearly labelled with dish names, ingredients, and if it is Vegan/Lacto/Ovo, or if it has common allergens (gluten, nuts, soy, even onions or garlic), if it is spicy, and if it has much sugar.  If you have any food restrictions, this place is likely a dream come true.

It turned out to be for me too, even though I'm not vegetarian, and eat far, far, far more butter, cream, and cheese than the average person.  And I loved it ... the first day.  I liked it the second.  I did go back, literally, two days in a row, which is saying something, right?

Tibits has (er, had, sadly, they were a victim of COVID closures) two locations in London, the Bankside location I walked by that day, and a location right near Piccadilly that I later visited (twice).  And a bunch of locations in Switzerland and Germany, which *do* remain open.  Even more interesting!

The Setup

The concept is a buffet, known as the "Boat".

You fill your plate, get it weighed, pay.  The price is cheaper for takeway than dine-in, cheaper for lunch than dinner (although the same menu?).

The boat is double layered, with cold dishes on bottom, and hot dishes on top.  The hot dishes change out daily, the cold dishes are more fixed and seasonal.

You can return as many times as you wish, but, you must do separate transactions each time, no way to have a tab open for a table, which was a bit annoying if dining there.  The wisdom I read was to take a sample round of tiny portions, then go back for what you really wanted.  And to wait to have dessert, er, pudding, separate, so you could have the warm desserts warm.

I visited twice, once on the weekend for lunch, once during the week for dinner.  The sign at the entrance instructed me to wait to be seated, but, once I asked someone for a seat, they told me to seat myself ... at least, my first visit.  My second visit was at dinner when it was more crowded, and I was seated by the host.

Upstairs Seating.

The host seated us upstairs, the same floor as the bar and buffet.  Nearly everyone was seated in this area.

Seating.

But downstairs was a lovely oasis,  mostly vacant, comfortable bench seating.  It also had a kids play area, so I'm sure it doesn't stay an oasis, but on my second visit, I had the space to myself at first, and was only joined by a few other solo diners later on.

My second visit this area was also totally empty, but the host didn't offer it to us, but I sat there anyway.

Baked Goods.

Most of the cuisine is pay-by-weight from the buffet, but they do have an assortment of baked goods near the registers to order a la carte (including a vegan sausage roll ...).  I tried the mango coconut cake, and it was fairly dry and boring, although it had good mango flavor.

Chips, olives, and nuts were also available a la carte.

Drinks.

The drink lineup is huge, ranging from fresh juices and smoothies, to homemade soft drinks, to hot espresso and tea drinks (including more novel items like turmeric lattes and rooibos cappuccino), to beer, wine, and cocktails (alcoholic and not).

Really, something for everyone, no matter the time of day.  Drinks are ordered at the register when you weigh your food (or separately, but then, yet another transaction).

Hot Buttered Rum. 8.50.

"Havana club, spices, orange juice, & butter."

My second visit was a blustery cold night, and I really wanted a warming beverage.  I could have easily selected from the large range of tea drinks, but, the hot cocktails caught my eye.  I gleefully ordered a hot buttered rum.

And then things went downhill.  I ordered when I paid for my main meal, which was mostly hot food this time around.  And then I waited.  And waited.  The person who handled my payment told me to wait there while it was being made (rather than to take a seat and have it delivered, as I had seen done the previous day).

I waited.  And waited more.  My dining companion was slower than me at working the buffet, but he finally filled his plate, ordered a cappuccino, got his cappuccino, and went to sit without me.

My food was getting cold.  And colder.  And I was waiting.  And waiting.

During this time, the person making my drink was looking around confused.  He clearly had no idea how to make the drink.  He asked someone else, who said they didn't know either, and pulled out a recipe card.  Oooph.

So he started following the instructions.  Added one ingredient, walked back across the bar to the recipe card.  Walked back, added the next thing.  Again and again.  I wished I could cancel it.  My food was stone cold by this point.

And still I waited.  Eventually, after an excruciating long wait, my drink was handed over.

It. Was. Awful.

It tasted like water.  I didn't taste rum.  I didn't taste spices.  I didn't taste butter.  I did taste orange.  Basically, warm orange water, with a huge cinnamon stick poking out of it.

I stirred it.  I tried again.  Still just mildly warm, mildly orange, water.

Not good at all.  And, my food suffered greatly as a result.

Buffet

And now, for the buffet.

My visits were two days apart, Sunday lunch and Monday dinner, but most of the hot foods were entirely different between the two days.

Cold Items

Cold items were the bottom row of the buffet, on ice.  The cold items were unchanged for the most part between the days.

The first day, I went for mostly cold items.  They were certainly the stars.

Salad base & Dressing.

The buffet starts out fairly simple, with basic salad making ingredients, lettuce and rocket, assorted dressings, cottage cheese, tofu, seasonings.  Also on top here was crispy fried onions (yum) and teriyaki spiced seed mix (super tasty).

More Cold Salads.

More basics came next (shredded carrot, cucumbers), before moving into some grains and composed salads (Indian spiced dal, barley salad, Za'atar hummus, Kale-Swede Salad, and Beetroot Salad.  All the composed salads had descriptions, dressings and seasonings, and interesting ingredients.

More Cold Salads.

A few more cold composed salads were next,  both with walnuts (Persimmon or Dried Beans), and then a vegetable based tartar.

I really liked both the persimmon and dried beans salad, but not the vegetable tartar.

 More Cold Salads, Dips, Chutneys, Bread.

Rounding the corner was curried quinoa salad, pumpkin salad, wakame and glass noodle salad, asian slaw, and panzanella, along with dips and chutneys.  I tried most of this.

On top was a bread assortment, with gluten-free options in a separate location.

Antipasti.

The rest of the cold area was sorta antipasti style: marinated olives, marinated artichoke hearts, tofu and avocado salad, orecchiette salad, and edamame salad.

This merged into the final section, fruit and desserts, starting with pineapple, grapes, and figs.  Keep reading to find out more about the "real" desserts.

Dips!

I was thrilled to see all the sauces and dips at the end.  I'm all about sauces.

This section had sweet chili sauce, lingonberry chutney, tomato ketchup, and caramelized onion chutney.  I tried them all.

Sauces.

More sauces, only 3 were labelled though: tzatziki, sambal, cocktail sauce.  I tried all these too.

Hot Foods

Hot foods formed the upper level, under heat lamps to stay warm.

These changed almost entirely between my two visits.  I think less than half the items were the same, although they had a similar format.  I focused on this section more on my second visit, just to mix it up.

The hot foods were mostly, well, what you'd expect from a buffet.  Salads do better in buffets than hot foods, but, one signature item is the onion rings, and those were glorious both times.

Vegetable moussaka, Onoe Alla Arrabbiata.

Day one, the hot foods started with feta based veggie moussaka, and slightly spicy pasta with tomato sauce, neither of which I tried.

Kale-Persimmon Bake, Saffron Spaghetti.

In their slots the next day, a hot persimmon dish, and a different pasta, both of which I tried.

Savoy cabbage, Thai-tofu-curry.

Next on day one was veggies (savoy cabbage) and tofu curry, both of which I skipped.

Brussels Sprouts, Pumpkin.

The next day, the green veggie of the day was brussels sprouts, and next was mashed pumpkin, which I did try.

Brown Rice, Roast Beetroot.

And then basic grains and more veggies (beets), which both showed up the next day too.

Spinach-kale falafel, Beer battered onion rings.

The segue between the healthy veggie warm dishes and the decedent began with falafel, which made way for their signature beer battered onion rings.

These all came with the recommendation to try the chutneys with them.  Like I needed that advice!

These were both on the menu both days, and the onion rings were the hit of the buffet both days.

Breaded Mushrooms, Sour Cream Stuffed Jalapeños.

More fried, battered goodies came next, breaded mushrooms and cream stuffed jalapeños the first day.

I went for the mushrooms.

Okra Tempura, Sour Cream Stuffed Jalapeños.

Rounding the corner the second day was fried food again, this time, okra tempura and the same fried sour cream filled jalapeños.

I went for okra, and somehow never managed to grab a jalapeño.  I'm not sure why.

Mashed potatoes, Sicilian Focaccia, Boston Baked Beans.

And finally, the hot foods were rounded off by mashed potatoes, focaccia based pizza, and baked beans the first day.  I tried just the mash.

Carrot-ginger Quiche, Brown Basmati Rice, Swedish Kottbullar, Mashed Potatoes.

The second day a quiche with puff pastry crust replaced the pizza, the brown rice and mashed potatoes were there again just in different order, and some Swedish Kottbullar ("Meatballs") were introduced.  I tried the later.

The Food

So, I took the advice I read, and made a sampler platter to start, both times.  I felt a bit silly taking a bite or two of all the best looking stuff, but, this approach made sense.  I returned to get more of what I liked, and try a few new things.  Then, I went for desserts.

The first day, I wanted all the desserts.  Seriously.  You know what a dessert person I am in general, but these also were just awesome selections.  So I packed up the cold ones to go, and had the hot ones as dine in, along with a drink.  

So, one meal, three separate transactions, a bit annoying.  I still recommend this approach though.  I saw families doing annoying individual transactions too, like one parent getting a platter for themselves while the other sat with child, and then swapping, each needing to separately wait in payment line, weight, and pay.  I wish they allowed per table tabs!

By the second visit, I had tried many of the items already, so, I was able to consolidate down into only two transactions: sampler round, and then final savory + desserts in one.

Sampler Platter, Day 1, Round 1.

I know my sampler plate looked silly. I assume they see this sort of thing all the time though, and stopped judging people long ago?

I had all the dips and sauces.  Yes, every single one.  All the fried things.  Several salads.  Some of the salad toppings.

And?  I mostly really liked it.

The breaded fried mushroom was the least successful, just a slimy wet mushroom inside the crispy shell.  The onion rings were glorious, and I was glad I took a pile on my first round.  They somehow were crispy, even though in a buffet.

Of course, I loved dunking the fried items into sauces and dips.  The sambal was a bit spicy, the tomato ketchup and sweet-chili sauce pretty standard.  The cocktail sauce "Tibits secret recipe" was probably my favorite, a creamy blend of ... something.  The lingonberry chutney was sweet and fruity and unique.  I liked the flavors in the caramelized onion chutney, but I didn't really have a use for it.

The only other hot item I tried this round was a bit of mashed potato, fine, but not particularly interesting.

The panzanella was a letdown, some pieces of the bread way too soggy, others way too hard, and the tomatoes not very ripe nor flavorful.

Asian slaw was a bit boring, it had carrot, daikon, cabbage, ginger, and sesame but was fairly flavorless.

The pumpkin salad was similarly kinda bland, although healthy tasting, with white balsamic vinegar, walnut oil, and roasted sesame seeds.

The wakame salad was the surprise hit, mixed with glass noodles, and really great flavors and textures.  My favorite savory item, by far.

The vegetable tartar was super boring. Just red mush.  It said it had pickled gherkin, carrot, parsnip, and capers, but, it was pretty bland.

I tried the kale and swede salad because I wasn't familiar with swede.  Or so I thought.  Turns out, it is rutabega.  This one was very bitter, and the bitter walnuts didn't help.  The only thing I didn't finish.

The persimmon salad was great, super ripe large chunks of persimmion with sambal and more walnuts.  I was shocked by the number of dishes with walnuts or walnut oil.  Beware if you have a walnut allergy.

Finally, I liked the the crispy fried onions and the teriyaki seed mix, both of which were tasty things to nibble on.  I'd totally buy that seed mix as a snack.

I went back for much more of the wakame salad, tons more fried things and sauces, and persimmon salad.  I also tried the dried bean salad with walnuts + coriander dressing, and really liked it.  The green beans were soft and seemed roasted, but perhaps they really were just dried?  There was a lot of flavor to it, and I really enjoyed it.

The first day, I was thrilled with my choices.

Sampler Platter, Day 2, Round 1.

The second day, I got the wakame and glass noodle salad again, as I had liked it before.  It was fine, but I liked it less this time.  There seemed to be more glass noodles?

I also got the persimmon salad again, and again really liked it, and went back for more.  Ripe, fresh, crisp persimmon.  Very tasty.  Same with the teriyaki seeds and fried shallots, yummy tasty little nibbles.  Everything else, besides the dips, that I tried was hot this time.

For hot items, I went right for the fascinating hot kale-persimmon bake with cap mushrooms, but, discovered I don't really care for cooked persimmon.  The crisp sweet freshness is apparently part of the appeal to me.

The pasta this time was saffron spaghetti with kelp, capers, and white wine, in a creamy sauce.  It looked, and sounded pretty good, but, alas, it was basically just, uh, buffet food.  Kinda mushy.

For a veggie, I went for the mashed pumpkin with sweet paprika sauce and terriyaki seeds.  It was ... fine?  The toppings were interesting at least.

For protein, a Swedish Kottbullar, which I paired with the lingonberry chutney.  I knew I would find a good use for that chutney!  I have no idea what the meatball was made from, clearly soy protein or something like that, but I didn't like it.  The cream sauce was fine.

And finally, the fried okra was better than the mushroom as it wasn't as slimy, but I didn't actually love it.  The onion rings on the other hand though ... I again *loved* those!  When I returned for seconds, they were the first thing I went for.  I did like the cocktail sauce better this time too.

Overall, I was less enamored this time around.  I think the salads were certainly better than the hot foods, but also, I think my expectations were likely higher this time.

Desserts / Puddings

And finally ... desserts galore.  So many desserts.  Sorry, puddings.  All the puddings.  Hot and cold.  Healthy and ... not.

These items were about half the same between my visits.

Puddings, Day 1.

The hot items were a fruit crisp and their signature sticky toffee pudding.

Down below was the aforementioned fruit, vegan gummy bears, chai-chocolate cream pudding, raspberry cream pudding, creme caramel, tiramisu, vegan cream, and fruity bircher muesli.

Something for everyone, right?

Cold Puddings: Day Two.

The second day the chai-chocolate cream was replaced by mocha cream, and the flan by cheesecake.  The fruit and raspberry cream remained the same.

More Cold, Day 2.

The gummy bears, tiramisu, berry bircher muesli, and vegan cream remained the second day, but ... real double cream was added!  Where was this the day before??!!

Hot Puddings Day 2.

For the hot puddings, the fruit crisp turned into Orange-Ginger bake, and the signature sticky toffee pudding remained.

Coffee and Dessert, Day 1.

The first day, I got ... everything.  Ok, everything but the grapes and pineapple.  Literally.

I also ordered a decaf Americano to go with it, which was made to order.

I intended to eat the hot items there, and bring the cold ones takeaway, so I boxed up the cold ones, and put the warm ones on a plate.  But I couldn't resist trying a bite of each, and, well, nearly finished the whole thing there.  Ooops.

The coffee was actually quite good, not decaf funky, not acidic, not bitter.  Best coffee of my trip actually.

The hot puddings were a berry crumble and their famous sticky toffee pudding.  I plated these with vegan cream on the side.

The crumble was the only dessert I didn't like.  The fruit was decent, but the base was total mush, not quite sure what it was, but I hated the flavor and texture.  The crumble on top was crispy, but again, I didn't care for the flavor at all.

But its friend, the sticky toffee pudding ... swoon.  This was good.  Very good.  Moist.  Rich.  Great toffee sauce.  Studded with bits of dates and walnuts.  A bit of ginger for spice.  Warm.  It was everything I was looking for in a sticky toffee pudding.  It beat the pants off the supposed "Best" sticky toffee pudding in London that I had at Hawksmoor a couple nights prior (review coming soon!).  It was vegan even.  It didn't even *need* clotted cream topping, which is good, as the vegan cream was ... lackluster.  Hands down, best of the puddings.

The creme caramel was no slouch though, pretty classic, smooth eggy rich custard, plenty of very sweet sauce.  The tiramisu too was good, the ladyfingers soaked in plenty of espresso base, so very moist, and the cream on top was thick and rich.

The raspberry cream was ... ok.  Very fruity, with real raspberries inside.  The chai-chocolate cream was similar, a bit bitter, but a really nice fluffy consistency.  I didn't really taste chai.  It was vegan though, so, impressive.

The figs were fine, a good healthy option.  I did skip the grapes and pineapple, and bircher muesli, as in, the real healthy options.

The gummy bears were more like jellies, I guess since vegetarian they didn't use gelatin, and thus were a different texture than I'm used to.

I was thrilled with my coffee and sticky toffee pudding, and loved that I could make up a dessert platter like this.

Traditional Cheesecake with Walnuts.

The second time I visited, I tried the cheesecake, hoping it would be as good as the creme caramel.  It wasn't.  Neither I nor my dining companion finished our portions.

The crust was similar to the mush under the crumble that I disliked, and the cheesecake wasn't rich, it wasn't cream cheesy, and I was really surprised this was actually traditional cheesecake.  It tasted like a vegan gluten-free item, if you know what I mean. Like tofu, with strange texture to the cheesecake, and mushy horrible crust.

Worst of the desserts by far.

Sticky Toffee Pudding: Day 2.

As I was standing around the dessert bar making my selections, the sad looking portion of sticky toffee pudding was whisked away. It had 2-3 quasi chunks left in it, and clearly had been there a while.  But I still wanted sticky toffee pudding, as it was *so* good the first day.  I asked, "are you bringing a fresh one?", intending to grab the remnants if they weren't.  Luckily, they were, and I was rewarded with a full fresh batch.

Except ... it wasn't great.  It wasn't bad, but it wasn't nearly as magical as the day before.  Warm-ish, but not very flavorful, not nearly as much sticky toffee sauce.

Vegan Cream & Double Cream.

The real double cream was better, but still, this was just ... ok.  Maybe I was sick of sticky toffee pudding 3 days in a row?

I also tried the bircher muesli, but it was just soggy mushy cold oatmeal, with berries, nuts, coconut, and apple in it.  Meh.

Orange Ginger Bake.

The orange ginger bake was not great, just a dry cake, more like a quick bread, with orange and ginger flavors, powdered sugar on top.  Still, better than the crisp.