Brunch at 'Jacks at the Junction' - Clapham Junction

So. Much. Food.

A couple of weekends ago we went to Battersea on Sunday morning to drop off some baking for a charity bake sale (berry brownies) and also to have brunch. It turns out that Battersea is basically just Clapham, I mean they seem to be the actual same place.. weird. Anyway I looked up a place to go online and there was one which had really high tripadviser reviews so we thought we should go check it out (I think they were 70 something out of thousands of places in London.

It was super easy to find because we walked past on the way to drop off the baking. When we got back it looked pretty busy and had a line of people to be seated, usually that would totally put us off but we were starved by then so went in. We didn't have to wait long for a table, but did have to share a table with another couple which was a little weird but we just ignored each other! I think they were on a blind date or something.. but also tried not to listen to their conversation too much.

Quentin and I both chose the vegetarian big breakfast, Quentin got his without eggs of course. We also both got milkshakes which may not have been the best decision since I was so full after the milkshake there was no way I could eat all my breakfast. Also it was massive. I mean look at it! We should have got one breakfast to share really, if we go back that is what we will do.

So, what came with the breakfast was two slices of toast, a whole grilled tomato, two eggs (I got mine poached, Quentin swapped his for more hash browns), two hash browns (four for Quentin), baked beans, chips, and two sausage shaped items which may have been Glamorgan sausages although I can't say for sure.

The sausages were delicious although not at all like meat, they seemed to have a bunch of veges grated up inside. I hadn't tried them before but would definitely eat them again. They were packed full of flavour from herbs and stuff as well so super delish. The hash browns and chips were cooked pretty perfectly, sometimes hash browns aren't cooked enough and are soggy which makes me sad. These were super crunchy (but not too much) so they made me happy.

The eggs (I only ate one actually) were the best I have had so far in London. I hate over poached eggs because then what is the point, you may as well boil them. But I also hate under poached eggs because then you get the creepy uncooked white which makes me feel sick when I look at it. This egg had neither of those problems so I enjoyed it a lot. I don't usually eat white bread (unless I am having a chip buttie) but with everything else it was actually just right.

We both only ended up being able to eat half our breakfasts. I tried hard to eat more since I hate to waste food but I failed. Too full! It was a great meal though. Oh and I forgot to mention that you can get bottomless filter coffee with your breakfast which basically rules. It was good coffee too. And the service was good. Overall I would give them a 4. Everything was cooked well and delicious, but it was really noisy and the tables were super close together. I would go back there for sure but just share a breakfast!

It looked like they did a huge range of things to take away, including choose your own sandwiches with delicious looking ingredients so that would be an option as well.

Homemade Pizza

"Chicken", cranberry and cream cheese

All of the vegetables

Mexican style

So I have a lot of catching up to do with this blog since I have been super busy the past couple of weeks at work and planning our trip to Switzerland/Netherlands... Fondue, rosti and croquettes, here we come! These pizzas are from when our friend Lindsay came over a couple of weeks ago so we could decide where to stay in the Netherlands.

We had made pizza for our flatmates a few days earlier but I forgot to take any photos of those. These ones turned out better looking anyway. I bought a couple of pizza trays with holes in the bottom from Pound Land so our pizzas could get a crispy base and they worked pretty well although I think we are now planning to get a pizza stone. Quentin always makes the bread and pizza dough and is really awesome at it now, I just put on the toppings and make up ideas of pizzas to have.

We made three pizzas, the first one with "chicken" was because we had the quorn chicken left from the vege fest and I remembered how jealous I used to be of people who could get chicken, apricot and cream cheese pizzas. Unfortunately it seems that apricot sauce does not exist in London, at least in the three supermarkets I went to so we used cranberry instead. It may have actually turned out better!

We used cranberry sauce for the base, then put on the quorn "chicken", pinenuts, cream cheese and mozzarella, it was super simple. I just popped some rocket on top once it was done and that was it. This pizza actually turned out to be everyone's favourite, although I am not the hugest fan of quorn. I may be able to find something better to use.

The second pizza was basically all of the things that were in the fridge. We used barbeque sauce for the base because I love barbeque sauce on pizza, then we added onions, three colours of peppers, tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, pumpkin seeds, mozzarella, and possibly some other things which I can't remember. This one was good but not as exciting as the other two so was probably the least favourite.

The third one was inspired by our visit to the Robin Hood restaurant and had a mix of Mexican vegetables on the base (I know we used sauce, maybe just tomato??), then some fresh tomato, peppers and onions, then corn chips and mozzarella. Once it was cooked I added the salsa and rocket. This pizza was a bit different to usual and a bit weird but actually really good. I think  I would definitely make it again if I had leftovers from Mexican. I probably wouldn't bother if I didn't have all the ingredients around already though because it would be a bit like making dinner twice.

We managed to eat all three pizzas between the three of us, although we almost didn't make it. I thought that was pretty impressive though! All the pizza was popular, with out flatmates as well, which is encouraging. Quentin and I think that when we are old we will open a pub which sells awesome food and pizza will be on the menu so we need to spend a long time practicing!

Lunch at the Prince of Wales in Putney

Beautiful Food!

On Monday our Finance team went out to lunch because we had a new intern starting and it was also his birthday. We went to the Prince of Wales because our new intern wanted to try fish and chips and apparently is the place to go for fish and chips in Putney. It has really good ratings online which was a good sign, and my workmates all seemed to like it as well.

It smelt a bit weird when we first walked in, like a bit musty maybe which wasn't great but after a few minutes I didn't notice anymore. They change their menu most days I think, but have some things which are always on there like the fish and chips. There was only one vegetarian option and it didn't sound that good since the main ingredient was celeriac which I don't think I like. There was a fish dish so I went for that even though I would have preferred to have something vegetarian.

The fish was sea trout which I hadn't tried before, which came with a cauliflower puree, poached egg, fried potatoes with almonds and spinach and the fish over top with a crispy skin. The fish was nice, it was a similar colour to salmon and the crispy skin was pretty good. The potatoes, poached egg and cauliflower puree were the best parts for me though! If they had just had that for a meal instead of adding the fish as well it would have still been awesome.

The food was so nicely presented, not only mine but all the food people ordered. I think I was the only person who didn't order the fish and chips or the burger and both looked amazing. The burger looked so good it made me wish that I ate meat! The fish and chips were huge and apparently really good. I got to try one of the chips and they were quite delicious!

I was happy with my food but would have been happier if there was at least one more vegetarian option. I think if I was going to go back I would have to check before going that they had a vegetarian option I could eat so as not to have to have fish again. It is a shame they don't have more vegetarian options because the food is so beautifully presented and delicious.

I would give them a 3.5 out of 5 because they didn't have much choice but the food I did get was really nice. It is a bit expensive and the service wasn't great, none of us were asked if we wanted drinks other than wine (which we didn't want on a Monday lunch time!) and my food came a good 5-10 minutes after everyone else's. I might go back for lunch or dinner since it is so close to work but would check the menu first.

Dinner at "Robin Hood Zorro", a Mexican Polish restaurant!

Starters, so many things

Fajita frenzy!

Enchiladas with lots of things

One of the many murals

On Monday Quentin and I went to Hammersmith to go winter clothes shopping and get dinner. I was looking up what kind of restaurants there were in Hammersmith and saw that there was one called 'Robin Hood Zorro' which was a Mexican/Polish restaurant which I thought sounded hilarious so we should definitely go there. It wasn't too far down the road from where the shops are in Hammersmith so it was a good location.

When we walked in we were a bit taken aback because it is extremely decorated in there! They have murals everywhere of Robin Hood and Zorro, both apart and together, including one of the two of them having a sword fight with real swords (well metal anyway) which were stuck to the painting as well as a gun which was also stuck on, super hilarious!

The menu was interesting because it was like a whole Mexican menu and a whole polish menu with some other random stuff as well. We decided to go for Mexican since it is one of our favourite foods rather than polish, although I would like to try more Polish food as well.

We ordered one starter to share which was lucky because the starter and the mains were really huge! For the starter it was all sorts of random things, some onion rings, deep fried cheese sticks, deep fried peppers stuffed with cheese, garlic mushrooms, spring rolls and a sort of nacho tortilla thing. It wasn't much on presentation but it all tasted good and gave us the idea to make a Mexican pizza which we did later in the week.

For mains I got fajitas because they are my favourite, and Quentin got enchiladas because they are his favourite. Quentin's enchiladas came with Mexican rice, chips and salad. The rice was really tasty but a bit spicy for him so he didn't eat it all. The enchiladas were good and had plenty of vegetables as well as cheese. It may have been the same vegetable mix as my fajitas but we weren't sure. He was happy anyway and managed to eat most of it although he did have to use some of my sour cream to make it less spicy.

On the other hand I thought my fajitas were a bit lacking in spice. The vegetables had a nice flavour but I would have to say they were very mild which was a little disappointing. The vegetable mix was a bit strange as well since it included things like baby corn and baby carrots but was still good since it had onions, peppers, beans and so on. The vegetables came on a sizzling platter which was exciting, and came with a heated container of tortillas, cheese, guacamole, salsa and cheese. I managed to eat two tortillas and about half the vegetables but then I was super full. The lady who was serving us put it in a container for me to take home which was nice of her.

There seemed to be only the one lady working although there must have been a chef as well, and she was really lovely. She didn't seem in a hurry and had a little chat with us which was nice. Quentin and I both agreed that the food was good but not great. It was delicious because it was Mexican but it wasn't the best Mexican we had ever had. Overall I would score them a 3.5 because the food was good but not great, although the service was excellent. I would consider going back there for entertainment value, maybe with a group of friends.

Amazing lunch at the Coach and Horses in Soho

Welsh Rarebit

With a poached egg!

Pie of the day

Last weekend we were going to see the Queens of the Stoneage at Wembley but wanted to go out and do something during the day. Our friend Lindsay was keen to do something as well so he suggested meeting for a late lunch at this vegetarian pub in Soho which sounded great to us! I was getting my hair cut in the morning so went to meet the boys there. The Piccadilly line was having a mare so we were all late by varying degrees although no one was too bothered, we just had several drinks while waiting for each other!

The pub was a bit busy when we arrived and just got busier as it got later in the day. I'm not sure if it is the location or the food or the drink that brought people in but the food was definitely good and the man who ran the pub was lovely. They have a restaurant upstairs but we sat downstairs in the bar which is small but cool, super old fashioned.

They had a menu downstairs which may be the same as the one upstairs, and also a bar snack menu. I decided to get the Welsh Rarebit since I had never tried it before, and it came with the option of adding a poached egg, which I totally love. Adding a poached egg to things definitely makes them better. The meal was delicious, super tasty! The egg was poached perfectly which made me happy and the carrot salad went really well with the rich rarebit. It was a bit spicy because I think it was made with hot English mustard but it was just right for me. Quentin said he probably wouldn't have been able to eat the whole thing because it would be too hot for him. For me it was cheesy and spicy and creamy all at the same time, on sourdough which made it a bit chewy as well. It may be one of my new favourite foods and I am thinking about eating it again just writing it, the memories are making me hungry!

Quentin was tossing up between the burger and the pie and decided on the pie since he is always getting burgers. The pie came with butternut mash and the crust was made from bread dough. The pie was pretty large and filled with all sorts of veges and grains in a rich gravy. The butternut mash was average, I don't know why anyone eats butternut because it basically has no flavour. Quentin enjoyed the pie though which was good. We were talking about the bread as pastry and the owner overheard and told us about how they are trying to work down to zero food waste so if they run out of something (e.g. pastry) they will replace it or take it off the menu. He said he would rather run out of something than waste it which is something I totally agree with, I hate wasting food!

Lindsay order the 'tofush and chips' which came out looking exactly like fish and chips! He let us have a try of some and it was really good! It tasted surprisingly like fish but kind of better because it was tofu. The chips were really good as well and I got to eat some, excellent!

I would give them a 4 out of 5 because my food was so tasty and delicious, the host was great and the service was quick. We are already talking about going back to try the burger, and there were a bunch of other options to try as well, like a beetroot ravioli where instead of pasta it is beetroot and it is stuffed with cheese, that sounds awesome!

The only real downside was the butternut mash, and also the bathrooms which were absolutely tiny, you would not fit a large person in there I don't think, and I wouldn't be too keen on going in there while drunk! Overall though it was great, we stayed there for several hours and felt comfortable and welcome, although a little cold from all the people going in and out. I would recommend this place to vegetarians and meat eaters.

Lunch at the Hare and Tortoise in Putney

Vegetarian "duck" pancakes

Tofu and Vegetable Lo Mein

The internal auditors from America were visiting my work over the last couple of weeks so we went out for lunch with some of them to the Hare and Tortoise which is a Japanese place near my work in Putney. I think I may have posted about it before, when I got Ramen from them. This time was more delicious!

We were all getting starters so I picked vegetarian duck pancakes which sounded yummy! Also it's something I hadn't seen on a menu before but I had always thought the meat version sounded good. It came with four pancakes filled with deep fried tofu, cucumber, hoisin sauce and spring onions. It also came with a delicious dipping sauce which seemed a bit like plum sauce but maybe with the addition of some soy and maybe even more hoisin. They were delicious, I could have just eaten several portions for my lunch and nothing else! I loved the freshness of the vegetables with the savoury from the tofu and the sweetness from the sauce, so good.

For main I got tofu and vegetable lo mein, there are a lot of choices here so I might have to keep going back until I have tried them all! They gave me an option of rice or noodles with this one but of course I chose noodles since I think rice sucks! It was a bit overloaded with noodles, like far more than I could ever eat, but maybe a good amount for Quentin.

The actual dish was really good, I enjoyed it much more than the Ramen because it had more flavour, although I could have done with a little extra soy, there was none on the table so I ate it as it was. There was a good amount of tofu and vegetables but I think I only got through about a third of the noodles! Not that I am complaining but I do often find things a bit heavy on the carbs when I go out to eat, maybe because vegetables are more expensive than rice/noodles.

I love carbs and love to have them at every meal but I also love vegetables and would prefer an equal amount of each, or more veges than carbs even. Anyway there was good variety in this dish, some bok (or pak or something else) choy, carrots, onions, spring onions, broccoli and mushrooms. The tofu is so good here because it is deep fried but also in such large pieces that it still has that soft delicious inside.

The food here is quite cheap as well, I don't think I would have paid more than 10 pounds for this meal which I think is a good deal. I would give them a 4 out of 5 because the food is delicious, the service is good and it is also good value for money. I definitely intend to go back and try more things there. Yum.

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

So tasty

Delicious Cookies

I have been doing a bit of baking recently since my flatmates and workmates seem to appreciate it! I wanted to make some chocolate chip cookies since I used to make them quite often and they were always pretty tasty. Unfortunately all my recipe books are still in NZ and I used to use the recipe for chocolate chip biscuits from the Edmonds Junior Cookbook with a couple of adjustments.

I did a google search and couldn't find the Edmonds Junior Cookbook one but I did find the Edmonds Cookbook one so I thought I would try them. I don't think they came out as well as usual because they were much crunchier and I prefer them a bit more soft and chewy. They still got eaten pretty quickly though so they cant have been too bad!

They are totally easy to make as well which is a bonus, here is the recipe;
125g butter
1/4 cup sugar
3 tbsp. sweetened condensed milk
A few drops of vanilla essence
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Then you just need to cream the butter and sugar, add the vanilla and condensed milk and mix it well, then add the flour and baking powder and mix again, and finally mix in the chocolate chips.

You can add extra things if you want, for example I added extra condensed milk because I thought it seemed a little dry, and also added dark and white chocolate chips so there were about 1.5x the amount in the recipe. I also doubled the recipe.

I am still getting used to our oven which is a gas one and cooks much faster on the top shelf than the bottom, as well as being hotter in the back than the front! I have to make sure I move things around while they are cooking so they cook evenly.

It is supposed to take about 20 minutes at 170 degrees but I think mine cook more quickly than that so you will want to keep an eye on them every 5 minutes or so. I find if I wait until I can smell them they are likely to be overcooked.

I will keep looking for a recipe which makes chewy cookies though since I think they are better so that might be coming up soon.