Cereal Killer Cafe - Brick Lane

Ladies and Gentlemen, guys and girls, dudes and dudettes ( is that even a word?) let me talk to you about a place that I visited on Monday night which has been getting a lot of attention of late, CEREAL KILLER CAFE!!!

 

 

 

This place has been open for business for a few months now and people were quickly jumping on the bandwagon wanting to get a piece on the action. I know that its only cereal, a meal that we eat every morning Monday to Saturday ( I exclude Sunday because that's Full English day), but its cereal that  takes me back to when I was a little kid.

 

 

Yes I can understand  there are a fair share of people who think the whole concept is stupid, reasons being that its too pricey and secondly the novelty will wear off, and perhaps it will but only time will tell.

But for me its just a bit of fun and I can appreciate and roll along with it.

 

So was it what I expected? Yes and No.

 Obviously I knew what I was getting but I did not expect to come out with the biggest sugar rush and be in awe of what was inside. The kids of today are going to have a field day with this place.

 

 

 

 



As soon as you walk in you are surrounded by awesome old school memorabilia and cereal boxes. Towards the end of the room there are two massive and impressive portraits of Dexter and Hannibal Lecter created using cereal grains.

I should have asked to buy the Mr. Freeze box. It had Arnie on the front!!

The cereals on offer (above and below)

Hannibal Lecter and Dexter cereal art

 

The concept is pretty straightforward.  You pick any cereal on offer, either a small, medium or large bowl. Once you've picked what cereal you want, you choose a flavoured milk followed by toppings of either fruit or sweets.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 If you can't decide on a particular mix you want they do have suggestions and offer set cereal mixes but its fun to pick what you want yourself.

 

So this is what I had.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reeses Puffs with party rings and soya milk

Cap'ain Crunch with strawberry flavoured milk and milky way stars

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lucky charms with Kinder hippo and chocolate flavoured milk

 

Hawaiian punch to wash it all down with .

 

 

 



  

Yep I look like a goon in this picture but by this point I had such a big sugar rush.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cereal Killer Café will have its haters for being a one trick pony. I wanted to go there to see what all the fuss was all about and I had fun. I mean that's all it is, fun right?. Ok I spent more than above the average on a bowl of cereal but it's not like its the end of the world and it got me buzzing and high on sugar!. I wouldn't necessarily make the effort to go there again but if I was nearby, I would more than likely pop in for half hour and have a bowl of cereal and top up my sugar levels. I would say to all of you, go there and try it out. Its not bad as the papers and reviews are trying to make it out to be.

 

 



 

 



Social Meat Club



Pop restaurants have been on the increase where for a period of time foodies and chefs showcase their culinary delights to the general public. Its a great way of connecting with people who enjoy their food and at the same time create a reputation and buzz.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is where Social Meat Club comes into the picture. Not only do I love the word play but the food is seriously on another level. Located in Soho, its small dining area is situated at The Sun & Thirteen Cantons pub. A pub full of life with its regular drinkers but on the other side, a fantastic environment for people to sample and enjoy a menu designed and created by Matt Young, a chef who is deeply passionate, creative and gets a real thrill with the work he produces.

 



So what can I say about the food? Well I think by looking at the photos below says it all. They do say every picture tells a story and for me the whole experience was ten out of ten. Every dish that came out was perfection, seriously the bees knees. After finishing one dish I was like nothing will top that but as soon as they came one after another it just got better and better.

The mussels were plump, juicy and the broth underneath was just so fresh and clean that thankfully there was a lovely warm crusty bread to mop it all up and leave the bowl dry.

As for the pork belly, it was so tender that it just peeled away with a fork. I bloody love scallops and the sweetness of them worked so well with the sour broth and the poached tomato just exploded in the mouth. Again like the base of the mussels, the flavours were just fresh and clean. Not one part of the dish tried to steal the limelight, they all complimented each other. It really was a delight to eat.

 
 
 


I love a good old traditional scotch egg. Here was the king of scotch eggs and with its crunchy golden brown shell, soft crumbly meat on the inside, it had a nice little spicy kick.

 I love my fried chicken, I could seriously eat it everyday for the rest of my life. I gnawed away at it like no tomorrow, It was salty, crunchy and moist and the slaw and mayo accompanying was awesome.
The pastry on the sausage roll crumbled, it was light and flaky and it was packed with meat.
I admit, I've never been a fan of hot smoked salmon, maybe because I've had terrible experiences but I think that this is the only time where I've actually enjoyed it. The smokiness of it wasn't overpowering and certainly didn't taint the taste of the other components. The pickled cucumber had that sharpness which balanced the flavour of the fish.

It's very difficult to choose which was the best part of the meal but in my opinion the juniper rare venison just edges it. It rocked.
Venison can be rich but the meat was moist, pink in the middle and thinly sliced that it just melted in your mouth. The balance of the sharpness of the pickled trompettes and the sweetness of the jam propelled the dish to another level and worked perfectly with the deer.








Matt is a top guy and such a talented individual who has aimed high and is on the ascendency to bigger and better things. I really do hope he has more little gems like the Social Meat Club because London needs pop up restaurants  like this to get people to be more adventurous and really expand their knowledge and pallet. 
Its great to see that food like the ones Matt has conjured up can be served at a pub for all to experience and enjoy. It certainly was a memorable evening and one that I won't forget in a hurry. I've got to give a special mention to my good friend Courtney who kindly got in contact with Matt and came with me to this quality pop up.




Fish Central

Since starting way back in 1968  Fish Central has come through leaps and bounds offering London some of the best fish dishes, prepared with honesty and from the heart. Back then in old London town it was a place that people would go and enjoy their Friday fish supper. Now its evolved with the times, not only offering the great British favourite traditional fish and chips but also fresh lobster, scallops and oysters all sourced from Billingsgate market. You only have to go to the main homepage of the website to see that big media names like Time out and celebrity chef Rick Stein give it the thumbs up. http://www.fishcentral.co.uk/

 

 

The restaurant is a ten minute or so walk from Old Street station on Central street, Kings square. On a cold winters Friday night what better than to have Fish and Chips and I definitely was in the mood for it. The place has a real buzz and on a Friday night, is packed out with couples and families all there to scoff their faces with delicious sustainable fresh fish. There's no faffing around, its short and simple and the dishes on offer does all the explaining.

Salmon fishcakes

 

Whilst waiting for the starters, I was offered salmon fishcakes which was a really nice touch and certainly set me up for what was about to come from the kitchen.







 

 

 

 

The griddled squid and the pan fried scallops was a great way to start the evening off. The squid was
 tender and the warm Asian slaw was vibrant and still had that lovely crunch.

 I'm a sucker for scallops and most of the time would order them at a restaurant. (that's if steak tartare is not on there).

 However on this occasion I'm so glad that I had these beauties. They were succulent, plump, sweet and juicy .

 

 

 

 

 

 



Hake and Chips



 

 

 

 

 





Hake and chips is an absolute favourite of mine. The batter was golden brown and so brilliantly crispy. The fish itself was flaky, succulent and meaty. That served with a good dollop of homemade tartare sauce made me a very happy chappy.




Grilled cod

The one thing I love about this place is that not everything is  battered. Sure everyone likes to be  naughty now and again and eat food that is deep fried. Who doesn't? But if you want to be good and go for the healthy option then the variety of fish on offer can be grilled. The Cod on this occasion was cooked perfectly. There's nothing worse than rubbery over cooked fish, but the way the chefs do it is clean, fresh and simple. Moreover I like the fact that its presented with the just the fish on the plate. Why garnish when there's a beautiful piece of fish waiting to be devoured.







Panna cotta

My stomach was about to burst from the enormity of the dishes but being a coffee lover and always having a mug after dinner there was no way I could turn down dessert to go with my drink. The panna cotta was the perfect pudding to finish of what was an epic evening.

 

There are no gimmicks at Fish Central and it very much gets straight to the point. It is what it is and its very proud to showcase that. Yes it is known for being fish and chips, but whether the fish is deep fried or simply pan fried, its done with passion and that goes a long way. Like I said earlier you don't have to go for the traditional option, there are more varieties such as having lobster and oysters which I'm sure that if you're a fan of both it wont disappoint. Ziya and his family have got an absolute little goldmine of a restaurant and I'm grateful to have been invited to eat there. Fish Central definitely gets the FoodPunk seal of approval.

Sapporo Teppanyaki Restaurant in Manchester

Sapporo has to be one of the best restaurants I have been fortunate to eat at. Ok so it's  not in London which my blog is based on but its an absolutely incredible place and with its tables fully booked for the next four weeks, I had to seize my chance.

 I've never been to a Teppanyaki place before so I did not know what to expect. I thought it was going to be an evening of good Asian food but with that tackiness theatre style that you would expect from those buffet restaurants. Oh how wrong was I.

After a little mishap with my booking at reception (where they couldn't find my booking), my eventful evening was about to unfold. Whilst waiting for my table, I treated myself to an awesome cocktail known at the "Easy Ninja", similar to a Pina Colada (cue Pina Colada song) but with Sake added to it. A delicious fruity, creamy cocktail and trust me after having one of these, you'll be knocking them back all night. Even the lady next to me during dinner was intrigued by it and asked me what it was.

 

The restaurant had a great atmosphere, everyone was buzzing and getting tanked up on alcohol. The food was fantastic. My brother and I, his girlfriend and my uncle selected starters to share and we all picked extraordinary dishes. They all looked and tasted fantastic and you couldn't fault any of it. In my opinion the fish dishes were the pick of the bunch, I have never tasted fish so good. The salmon with the mirin and soy sauce was tantalising. It was a match made in heaven and it was flaky and moist. The tuna was so fresh and was seared to the point it was still raw in the middle, the way it should be cooked and eaten.

 

 



Chicken Gyozas



Peppercorn Salmon marinated in soy sauce and mirin.



Beef roll. Grilled sirloin of beef with asparagus. Dressed in teriyaki, sesame and spring onions



Duck rolls, Wrapped in pancake, mixed vegetables and served with a raspberry coulis



Smoked chicken rolls with beansprouts and mixed vegetables with a barbeque dipping sauce. In the background is the black pepper tuna loin

 

 

 

Vegetable spring rolls

 

When it came to the main course, it was the chefs who stole the show by showing off their tricks and brilliant theatre style cooking. Just watch the videos and check out the pictures to see how much fun it was to be a part of this amazing dining experience.

 









 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before the show

Chef preparing himself

So it begins, potatoes being fried

Egg roll

Assortment of fish and meat

Griddled vegetables and noodles

Duck breast in teriyaki sauce

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sapporo is an absolute gem of a restaurant. I implore anyone to go there if they're in Manchester, Liverpool or Glasgow. Its a fantastic fun place to be at and the food is top stuff and done to a very high quality standard. It was so impressive that its now my uncles favourite restaurant. What more of a reason do you need than that.



The Bayou Has No Soul In Camden

This has got to be the funniest blog that I have published thus far. I'm going to keep this short and sweet if possible.

So lets set the scene. It was a cold Monday and I had just finished work for the week and I met up with a friend in North London because we were going to a gig later on in the evening. We took a detour and stopped at Euston to down a few pints and what a schoolboy error that was as we were drinking on empty stomachs .

We took the underground to Camden and after walking about a minute or so up the road, Alex and I went down a quiet street occupied by tiny restaurants, from Mexican to Italian. The one that caught our eye was the Bayou Soul, a restaurant that boasts about good old deep south American cooking. We were bloody starving and having deep fried, barbeque, high in cholesterol dishes was what we needed.

The restaurant itself looked okay if somewhat a little tacky. It was quiet, pleasant enough but I suppose it was a Monday night not a Friday. At the back end of the restaurant was a cool little platform with an impressive grand piano and a vintage silver microphone, the type Elvis would sing in to Oh and obviously no stage is set without the pioneer dj decks.

Before I get on with the food, I have to talk about the staff. The waiter who served us, I don't know whether to have felt sorry for the guy or embarrassed for him.
First of all, his uniform made him look as if he was dressed for the circus. Either I had beer goggles on or he was wearing clothes that were two sizes bigger than him. He brought our food out and dropped some of it on the floor, some landing on my jacket and the rest decorating the ground. A couple of minutes later he skidded across the floor as if he was trying to impress us with his dancing on ice moves. He did a Todd Carty and if you don't know what I mean, YouTube it. It was awkward to say the least and I don't know how Alex and I didn't laugh our faces off.


So now onto the food and drink. I will keep this very brief to be honest. Like I mentioned earlier we were starving and reading the menu displayed outside the restaurant enticed us to go in. We had a bunch of starters and made the mistake of ordering a main to share. We wanted to order it because it was fried chicken marinated in buttermilk and that sounded bloody good. We had it with a bunch of sides and unfortunately we wasted our money and the chefs effort and time because our eyes were bigger than our belly's. We hardly scraped the surface with the sides and ate about three quarters of the chicken. I did have a cocktail as it was happy hour and the name "The suffering Bastard" amused me. Actually that name sums up the waiters performance and mine and Alex's experience.

Smoked pork, grit cake (similar to polenta) and corn



The Suffering Bastard cocktail

Barbeque Chicken






Smoked shredded beef and gravy in pastry with garlic aioli

Creole style calamari, spring onions, chillies and lime chipotle



Bayou's Hot and Creole sauces



Buttermilk fried chicken with gravy, onion rings and cornbread










To sum up the food, it was average at best, most of it, if not all of it wasn't seasoned. Looking back, we went to town on it because we were like I keep saying starving and drank quite a fair amount of alcohol at which probably made the food taste better than it was.
I will however like to say that I was impressed by their hot sauces, all of which was homemade and they were excellent.

I wouldn't say that I wouldn't  eat at the Bayou Soul again, I just wouldn't go out of my way to go there.  I would maybe consider going there if they improved because it does have the potential to be a lot better and I hope they do because I don't like being negative.
Its up to you guys to decide whether to give it a go. If so let me know what you think. Peace out FoodPunkers.