I recently visited this Café recommended by my niece.
On that idle Saturday morning we took a walk around the town of East Dulwich. There were the street vendors out with antiques, food, picture frames, etc. There were some quirky shops selling quirky things. We strolled by the flea market and a lot of shops selling pre-loved goods. There were a lot of cafés, bars and restaurants. We enjoyed ourselves browsing the shops and did some shopping.
It was lunch time and I wanted my niece to take me to a place where I can get food that is not so common. Something not so regular. So she decided to take me to this place, which is a bakery and a café.
The outside of the café was non descript. A big white brick building. Upon entering, we noticed that the place is rather huge with the tables and chairs laid out canteen style. There was the main counter for ordering with a display for food and also a display area for the products they sell, like bread, bread making essentials, cook books, etc. The whole place was open plan so we could see what was going on behind the counter.
When we reached there, it was a bit late, after 2pm, I guess. So some of the regular items were sold out. We intended to have a light lunch. So we looked at the menu and as usual went to the display area. And as usual our eyes are bigger than our stomachs!
These were what we ordered:
Chilli Cheddar Corn Muffin
The Chilli Cheddar Muffin was unusual. The taste was alright, and because the muffin was big, I found it a bit dry. I was tasty, though.
Beet Root and Cheese Salad.
In the background of the photos above, you can see the beet root salad with cheese. I love beet root and I usually by ready cooked ones from the supermarkets or shops. I find beet roots are now not as sweet as it used to be 20 to 30 years back. I normally use the cooked ones in my salad. Somehow, I find that the fragrant is like that of sweet corn. Both beet root and sweet corn are sweet. Coming back to the salad, it was something interesting and I have come across similar types of recipes using beetroot as an ingredient for salads. So we ordered it to share. The salad was not as tasty as I imagined it to be. Perhaps this is because I do not like cheese very much. If you like cheese, you would love the combination. By the way, the cheese was a mild cheese. There was lentils as well, so this would make a perfect dish for a vegetarian.The salad was a bit peaty.
Then, I saw in the menu that they do Spanish Almond Soup. I have wanted to try this soup, which is served cold like the gazpacho. It was also mentioned in a newspaper article on Nick Clegg’s wife, who recently published a Spanish cook book. I was not going to let this opportunity slip away. So we ordered that as well.
So we thought that was it. But me being me, and my small Chinese eyes are bigger than my stomach ( not that my stomach is small, because I do have an appetite at times), I decided to order something extra, a sweet thing. I am more of a savoury person, but the bun looked so tempting, It was dark and luscious looking, glistening in the display shelf shouting ‘eat me, eat me’. How can I resist? So stomach wins. My niece reminded me that we were going out for dinner, and we had agreed to have a light lunch. Sod the reminder.
Spanish Almond Soup – Ajo Blanco
The soup arrived. It was white, with droplets of olive oil on the surface. It looks rather plain and came with slices of sour dough bread. So we shared the soup. It was served cold – as expected and the almond taste and flavour was strong. On further digging, there were grapes in it as well. On the whole it was pleasant. It was interesting as we had it for the first time. Would I try this again on another occasion? Yes, probably.
Cinnamon Sticky Bun.
The Cinnamon Sticky Bun was sticky and gooey as its name implies. It was sweet enough for me to cure my sweet craving. There were nuts on the outside and the usual cinnamon layer inside the roll. In the whole it was a delicious bun, worth the extra calories.
Of course we ordered drinks to go with it.
Verdict:
All in all, it was a nice lunch and the price was reasonable. I have lost the receipt and I am not able to tell you how much it was, but I considered the price to be ok.
Will I go back again? Yes, it is worth another visit.
I hope you like my post. Have you had any occasion where you gave up to temptations like me? If you have a hilarious one, it is even better. Please share with me. I would to hear from you. In the mean time, please like and share this post with your family and friends so that I can be motivated to post more.
Cheers, and until the next post,
Penang Lassie.
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