Shepherdess Cafe review - a hearty English breakfast in the heart of London

everything for sale is on the wall, just point

Nothing beats starting the day with a hearty English breakfast. Definitely not from the local diner that seemed to have popped up overnight just round the corner and offers kebab burger and loads of chips. Not even the S&M on the high streets with their friendly staff whose smiles only serve to distract you from the fact that you are being served rock hard sausages.

I am talking about a full English breakfast with sausages that your fork can actually pierce into, eggs still runny, beans that doesn't look like it's straight out from a can and bacon that is neither soaked in brine nor require you to lose a tooth.

I walked into Shepherdess Cafe on a bright cheery Sunday morning full of expectations. After what I had read online, I expected to see tables of celebrities nursing their hangovers and BBC journalists conducting interviews over cups of tea.

Instead I saw a couple of construction workers who looked like they would prefer to stay in bed, a bobby getting his daily caffeine fix before his shift, a couple who were more interested in staring in each others' eyes than tucking into their bacon, another couple who were furiously attacking their eggs and totally oblivious to each other. A guy in what I assumed to be the clothes he slept in occupied a corner seat and was reading a Guardian - a Labour supporter, I noted as I settled down opposite him. I like to live my life dangerously.

The waitress came up promptly with a coffee stained menu. I took a cursory glance at it and it took me all of two seconds to decide on a full English breakfast with a tea to boot. 'Would you like to have some toast?' she asked sweetly. 'Definitely', I replied without hesitation, I mean, what is breakfast without toast? I sat back twiddling my thumbs, trying to read the headlines of the Guardian that the guy in front of me was poring over.

With the radio playing in the background, Shepherdess Cafe did have a certain charm in it. It belonged to an era where cafes not only sold hot food but also treats like sweets, crisps, chocolate bars and even more sweets. Every single item on sale was listed on a board hung prominently behind the counter.

The couple besotted with each other finally decided that they were hungry and started poking at their food but not without holding on to each other hands. I had no idea how one could manoeuvre mushrooms and bacon with a single fork. Love is amazing isn't it for it enables you to do amazing tricks.

When my full English breakfast finally came, I sat there staring at it for some time. Thoughts ran through my mind and it went like, "Whoa, it's huge, I have no idea how I'm going to finish that. Do they do doggy bags?" Well, at £5.10, the English breakfast would have made Henry VIII a very proud man. I decided that if the guy reading the Guardian could clean up his plate, there was no reason why I couldn't.


breakfast fit for a king, in quantity that is

I must add that the English breakfast served at Shepherdess Cafe was among the better ones that I have tasted. In fact, it was exactly what a good hearty breakfast should be, soft sausages, runny eggs, not too salty bacon and beans with the right consistency. It wasn't exactly a healthy way to start a morning but it went down just fine with my cup of tea and the radio playing in the background.

Didn't see anyone famous on that day. Darn.

Address: 221 City Road, London EC1V 1JN
Tel: 020 7253 2463
Nearest Tube station: Old Street

Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: below £10 pp
Service charge: N/A
Taste: ***
Service: **
Ambience: *
Suitable for: a slow and lazy Sunday brunch while reading the newspapers

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Bugis Street Brasserie review at Millennium Gloucester Hotel - a taste of Singapore in London

Some time back, someone left a comment on London Chow suggesting that Millennium Gloucester Hotel's Bugis Street Brasserie serves the best Singaporean food outside Singapore. According to him, those the people who first made that comment are Singapore Airlines cabin crew. For the uninitiated, Singapore Airline operates frequent flights into Heathrow and put up their crew at two main hotels - Gloucester Hotel and Corpthorn Hotel, both in the vicinity of Kensington.

I was told that the the air stewardess would make a beeline for Harrods the moment they reached their respective hotels and looking for Singaporean food would be the last thing on their mind so I would take their recommendation with a pinch of salt. Then again, after visitng the many cities that Singapore Airline covers, they might just be right. It looked like I had to find out for myself whether their claims were true.

A pal of mine flew into London and we took the opportunity to head towards Bugis Street Brasserie for lunch on Sunday. Business was rather brisk at the brasserie when we arrived with a noticeably Singaporean clientele. With old styled copper coloured fans twirling above, faux marble topped table and checkered tile floor, the brasserie does have some old world charm.



On our way to our table, we passed by their buffet table, which is available only on Sundays. At just under £9 per head, the variety is nothing to be compared to the Mr. Wu's buffet facing Shaftesbury Avenue not to mention that it was rather messily presented. But it seemed that most customers were there for the buffet.

Rather disappointed with the fact that the menu did not offer any teh tarik, we had to contend with Soya Milk (£1.95), Chin Chow - grass jelly drink (£1.95), English tea (£1.65) and Apple juice (£1.80). It was quite evident that without we were quite lost without teh tarik.

For the sake of variety, our band of four ordered a Diced Roast Duck to share followed by Laksa (£7.5), Singapore Mee Po (£7.50), Prawn noodle soup (£7.50) and Hainanese Chicken Rice (£8.75). So far so good, or so we thought.

Ten minutes later, a rather pleasant member of the staff came up and informed us that they ran out of roast duck. Fine, we thought nothing of it and replaced the order with Salt and Pepper Prawns. After 20 minutes, the laksa, mee po and chicken rice arrived but the prawn noodles was nowhere in sight. Another staff came up and told us that they have ran out of that and shoved the menu under our nose. Another laksa to replace that prawn noodles. The replacement dish arrived a couple of minutes later. No issue with that as it doesn't really take long to prepare laksa provided that the gravy was preprepared.

Halfway through my chicken rice, yet another staff came up to me and whispered conspiratorially into my ear.

"Erm, we gave you the wrong type of rice for your chicken rice." and he proceeded to remove my half eaten dish before I could respond. After the time spent in London, I guess my standards have dropped quite a bit. Not that I didn't notice that the chicken was served with plain white rice (instead of fragrant rice) but I actually thought that it was meant to be.



One would have thought that I would be presented with a fresh dish but when the chicken rice was returned to the table moments later, much to my dismay, the staff merely scrapped off the white rice and replaced it with fragrant rice. I wouldn't bat an eyelid if I were in a Singapore hawker centre paying S$3 (£1.26) for a plate of chicken rice but that sure didn't left me with a good impression.

Then again, to give Bugis Street Brasserie some credit, the chicken rice was one of the better ones that I tasted in London. Neither too oily nor dry, it went well with a douse of dark soy sauce. It was also the first time in London where I had grated ginger served with grinded chilli, just like the way we had it back home. Though the chicken was a bit tough, I like to think that it was due to the low fat content.

Likewise, my lunch mates have no issues with the laksa and mee po. The laksa gravy was creamy and packed a strong flavour, in fact, it tasted very much like the Prima Taste, which had since became the benchmark. The serving was sizable with fishcake slices and fresh prawns.

The mee po likewise was came in a large portion. My pal loved the tanginess of the flat noodles and claimed that the sauce it came with was 'just like how they had it back home'. Even the soup was MSG laden - just like those back home.

The salt and pepper prawns (five of them in all) were a delight. Though it didn't turn out to be crispy but it was fried in fresh oil and came out really fresh.

If you feel like having a taste of home, you should probably head towards Bugis Street Brasserie. But beware, for the service can be pretty abrupt and lacklustre. To give the air stewardess some credit, it does taste pretty much like what you could get on the streets of Singapore.

Better still, grab along a Singapore Airline cabin crew along with you for the meal and you'll get 30% off the bill.





Address: Millennium Gloucester Hotel, 4 -18 Harrington Gardens, London, SW7 4LH
Tel: 020 7331 6211
Nearest Tube station: Gloucester Road

Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: below £15 pp
Service charge: N/A

Taste: ****
Service: **
Ambience: ***
Suitable for: Singaporeans looking for a taste of home

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Hawksmoor review - Absolutely the best steak house in London

Like most guys, I have always preferred quantity over quality for my steak. That was mainly because I had yet to find a really good steak house in London. That was before I stepped into Hawksmoor, which in my humble opinion, served the best steak in London.

Interestingly, I would never had found out about the place if not for a colleague who, after a meeting, proclaimed with conviction to the rest of us that Hawksmoor serves the best steak that she has ever eaten. Now, that coming from a normally reserved person is something to be reckoned with. I called that very afternoon to make a reservation for the same evening but was told that its books was full (surprise surprise). I had to settle for the following evening instead.

My colleague did warn me that Hawksmoor, which is located along Commercial Street, was rather indiscreet. She was spot on about that for we nearly walked straight past it. Other than a plain signboard that featured its name, Hawksmoor's façade betrayed nothing about the fabulous steaks they served.

We were greeted by a friendly staff who promptly showed us to our table when it was clear that we weren't enthusiastic about joining the sizable group at the bar. I guess the fact that my anticipation was killing me was plain for all to see.

Having checked out Hawksmoor's website earlier, I knew that the steaks served were rather large so we ordered a 700g Porterhouse steak (£6 per 100g) to share with Grilled Scallops (£9.50) for starters, Field Mushrooms (£4) and Chips (£4) as sides.



The scallops, which came with peas and bacon (a curious combination) was done just nice. The three sizable scallops all came with roe were succulent and sweet, although I must confess that the salty bacon seemed to have spoilt it somewhat.

While munching on the scallops, our attention were turned to a chalkboard that was hung up prominently on a wall behind us. A staff wrote all the cuts (in terms of variety and weight) available for the day. Upon us ordering the 700g Porterhouse, he proceeded to cancel that off the menu. It seemed that we had gotten the only 700g Porterhouse for the day, what joy!

The medium rare Porterhouse t-bone followed soon after the scallops and we discovered much to our delight that it has been cut to manageable slices. Top marks for thoughtful service. With it comes a couple of sauces - homemade ketchup, a variety of mustard and blue cheese.

It's really hard to describe how it felt when I pushed the first piece of steak into my mouth. The chargrilled steak had a very fine crust outside but remain suitably juicy inside. That must be what food heaven was like - and I have not even added any sauce to it yet. In fact, we were actually planning our second visit after the third bite.

The mushrooms, the size of a kid's palm, was suitably impressive and went well with the marvellous steak. The chips, which Hawksmoor claimed to be triple cooked, wasn't too bad. Perhaps I was spoilt by the steak but I was expecting more from the chips considering that its triple cooked.

I can assure you that no steak would ever taste the same ever again after you have tried the one at Hawksmoor. Besides, the level of service at Hawksmoor was among the finer ones that I have come across in London. (see also review of Hawksmoor at Covent Garden Seven Dials)

Address: 157 Commercial Street, London E1 6BJ
Tel: 020 7247 7392 (reservation is a must)
Nearest Tube station: Liverpool Street

Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: below £50 pp
Service charge: 12.5%

Taste: *****
Service: ****
Ambience: ***
Suitable for: any steak lovers

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The Fryer's Delight review - delightful little chippy at Holborn

Long before the Turkish kebabs, Lebanese Fried Chicken, Indian Curries and Chinese takeway invade London's streets, shops pedding Fish and Chips used to dominate and fill up the gap that McDonald and Burger King somehow missed.

I try to avoid the kebabs as they are usually a messy affair. Fried Chicken from the Middle East could do with more crispiness. Curries are fine but layer of glistering oil covering the bits of lamb does not exactly promote longevity. As for Chinese food, well, I can pretty well prepare them myself, at least the simple dishes.

Though Fish and Chips shops are on the decline with the changing demography in London, the simple fare does occupy a special place in Londoners' heart. Unfortunately, the standard over at Rock and Sole Plaice along Shorts Gardens has declined quite a bit since I first visited it two years back. At £11 per serving, its Cod has somewhat shrunk in size.

While trekking back home from Holborn last weekend, Wife and I came across The Fryer's Delight along Theobalds Road and decided to give it a try. The Fryer's Delight looked like any other Fish n Chips joint, only larger with the counter dominating half of the floor area and seating enough for around 20 customers. And like any other Fish n Chips joint, it could do with a more efficient ventilator.

What set The Fryer's Delight apart from the competition was its service and the freshness of its cod. The ever smiling waitress was all over the place without skipping a beat while we were there. The Fillet of Cod n Chips (£7) was one of the fresher ones that I have tasted of comparable price. Cut into the cod and you could literally see the flakes sliced away cleanly.



We ordered a Steak and Kidney Pie with Chips (£4.30) as well. Though the pie looks suspiciously like one of those on Iceland's shelves going for £1 each, the aromo of the beef fillings was thick and the pie crust relatively thin.



Even though The Fryer's Delight is far from the tourists' route, it did seem to have its own regular clientile; the five tables were occupied with customers coming in throughout the time we were there. If you happen to be in the area and do not happen to fancy another kebab, consider giving it a try.

Address: 19 Theobalds Road, London WC1X 8SL
Tel: 0871 4263798
Nearest Tube station: Holborn

Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: below £10 pp
Service charge: N/A
Taste: ***
Service: ***
Ambience: *
Suitable for: a sudden craving for fish and chip... and you happen to be in the neighbourhood.

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