Places To Eat In London : Part 1
I have only been to London two times but I feel like I am qualified enough to blog my two cents about the 10 in 22,316 pubs and restaurants in London. Haha! So these are some of the places I have been to and thought were worth visiting if you're a hungry mthrfkr like me. It is a huge help to go into Pinterest for reference, but sometimes it is not always the case. The best way perhaps is to just let your hunger lead you anywhere convenient. I mean anywhere you turn your head, there's always a restaurant, a cafe, a pub, or a kiosk in sight when you are in London. This is a fact about the city that goes understated. You can never go hungry in London. It's just a matter of what you fancy. And whatever your impression of the food experience is, it mostly depends on the company you're with. You can be in a Michelin-star restaurant in London but your date is the dullest man in town, so everything else just becomes bleh... you know what I'm saying!? My list of places to eat is based on where I actually had the chance to eat during my two trips in London.
A legit filipino dessert joint where they serve ice cream scoops in warm buns or should I call it, pan de sal. You got that right. These ice cream sandwiches in the menu are called Bilog and you'd be nuts not to stop by for one or two bilogs. If you are a kid who grew up in the Philippines, you'd be so thrilled to find out that they have a Milo flavoured ice cream. I was so psyched! The ice creams are handmade the traditional way in steel drums covered in crushed ice and rock salt, hence the term "dirty ice cream". They also have other familiar flavors like ube, halo-halo, and one that was called milk bun which I assume would be similar to condensed milk which we traditionally use as a pan de sal filling for meryendas back home. The place is cute but there's always a long line. The good thing is, you can place your order on digital screens. It is so asian-tech, amiright?
They have four branches in London as of now but the one we went to was in 32 Newport Ct, West End, London, WC2H 7PQ.
The Borough Market must be a part of the itinerary because a trip to London would be senseless without a gastronomic experience at the traders' market. I am drawn in particular to this seafood stall with handsome, bearded, tattoo-clad men who are the image of "sailors" and were standing behind towers of oysters and a gigantic pan where they make hundreds of kilos worth of paella.
The oysters were so damn fresh, they still taste so sweet with a hint of sea water! Topped it with chopped red onions of course and vinegar, I had to savour the moment and chewed each oyster. I can never understand why some people would just slurp it down when it is so vital to chew and taste the oyster's insides and even catch some tiny bit of rocks or pebbles as you chew. It is just a part of it, I guess! The sea urchins just tasted of the sea. Nothing more. Haha. The paella was a bit too salty that time we were there but I am pretty sure the long line of people says a lot.
The Borough Market is in itself a place of 100 traders with their own respective stalls so it is not just a place to eat oysters. They have everything you could ever imagine from real truffles, mushroom paté, the spiciest bottled chilis, teas, wines... the list goes on.
The address: Borough Market , 8 Southwark Street, London SE1 1TL
This one was something a friend just mentioned in passing. She told me that if we ever were at the Tower Bridge, we should try BrewDog. But it was unfortunately closed by the time we were done taking pictures at the Tower Bridge. The day after, I planned on shopping at TK Maxx but BrewDog at Seven Dials got me distracted instead. I was alone and I was so hungry so I went in and ordered myself a burger for brunch.
The burger size wasn't at all what I expected. It was smaller than the average but boy did I underestimate it! I ordered the Cluck Norris just because I love the internet's Chuck Norris memes. Plus deep-fried buttermilk chicken with avocado, cajun mayo, red onion, and coriander sounded like the best combo the world has ever invented. Had to get a korean barbecue sauce and a side called Spicy Cleaver Smashed Cucumbers. I was expecting nothing less from BrewDog since my walking TripAdvisor friend Monica recommended it. I had a food coma on the bus on my way to the parliament. I swear I was sleeping on the bus like nothing else mattered.
The address: BrewDog Seven Dials, 142 Shaftesbury Ave, London WC2H 8HJ
BUNBUNBUN : VIETNAMESE FOOD
Oh what a fucking wonderful way to feed our famished selves after a long flight to London. This was one of the Airbnb owner's recos. Bun Bun Bun is a Vietnamese restaurant located just around the corner in this hipster neighborhood of Hoxton. It is one of the restaurants the owner usually frequents and I can see damn why. We ordered the catfish in a claypot and it was just absolutely amazing. Every bite hits home. I never knew catfish could be romanticized so well. It was fried and caramelized to perfection. I assumed that they made the sauce by sautéing the garlic and vegetables in the catfish’s own oil. I wondered if it was black bean sauce because it definitely tasted like it? But it did have that sweetness from brown sugar, spiciness from the fresh red chilis, and a tangy hint of rice vinegar. The meal came with some sort of clear broth, rice (that I replaced with salad), and pickled carrots. I mean, it couldn't get any better than this especially for a set of pseudo jet-lagged travellers like us. Definitely a 5-star for me!
I don't know why but TikTok led me to Speedboat Bar. I guess the algorithms told me to come here before our night of gay-bar hopping. First impression was, wow. They really nailed the job in making the bar/restaurant look like you were zapped at a bar somewhere in Phuket, Thailand. It's not as if I have been in Thailand but the 80's New Wave playing in the background, mismatched colors on the walls, neon lights, and a framed picture of the majesty king and queen of Thailand were displayed on the walls. Every single food in the menu sounded so enticing. Some of their best selling dishes are so straightforward:
Beef Tongue & Tendon Curry
The most instagrammable of them all is the Tom Yum MAMA. But I settled for the Drunkard's Seafood and Beef Noodles which best described me at that time-- drunk! No regrets though! One thing though, be prepared for the spicy hot levels of their dishes. They won't water ir down for vanilla people. In other words, be prepared to burn your tongue and a purge the day after.
They have a very quirky website too. Click here if you are curious. And maybe you can book a table or two in advance especially in the evenings because Speedboat is almost always jam-packed and I have experienced first-hand how hard it was to get a table unless sitting outside is your thing. But that should be the last option because there were two annoying drunk men at the neighbouring pub who questioned why people would pay 20 quid for a bowl of noodles. So judgy! :(
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