Arabica Bar & Kitchen, Borough Market, London

Address: 3 Rochester Walk, Borough Market, SE1 9AF
WWW: http://www.arabicabarandkitchen.com

Summary: A good idea, but does not live up to expectation

I was very very very excited about Arabica. Coming from Turkey, least to say, I do enjoy my middle eastern food - and serving it as small nibbles means I can get more to taste. What could be more delightful?

On entering Arabica, we are immersed in a friendly atmosphere. Service is fast and competent, and comes with a smile. The menu reads very exciting, and hence, four of us start picking fast to create a considerable list of delicious-sounding tid-bits.

We end up ordering:
Bread (comes free, as also still water)
Moutabel
Muhummara (Muhammara)
Hummus
Magdous
Istanbul Mussel Roll
Aubergine Kibbeh
Armenian Style Luhmacun (Lahmacun)
Sujuk pide
Tabouleh

Except Muhammara, Istanbul Mussel Roll and Armenian Style Lahmacun, I definitely had better, and the others with less experience of middle eastern food, were not fully satisfied either. For instance, we have not tasted  a hummus that is better than sold in People's Market in Lambs Conduit Street, yet in any restaurant. Tabouleh lacked enough bulgour (cracked wheat) and any dressing. 
Magdous was way better in Abu Zaad (Shepherd's Bush Market) 
Aubergine Kibbeh was interesting, but maybe we should have gone with the original recipe. 
Others were not worth writing home about. 
However, Muhammara and Istanbul Mussel Roll were a delight, and I may return to this place just to have the mussel roll. 
And the Armenian Style Lahmacun, though thicker than the Turkish style, was very very tasty. 
 

Deserts:
Original Bean Choc Pot
Booza
Baklawa Pistachio

All desserts were very well done. However, my favorite had to be Booza which has Mastic in it. 
Mastic has the power to return to my childhood memories, and summer in Turkey. And for that, Arabica is still the winner for me. 

We paid a toal of 96.19 pounds for four (does not include wine).

I think Arabica is great for picking a few nibbles, probably for lunch or a coffee stop, but would not be one of our dinner destinations in the future. 
 
 

More addresses in Iceland

Here are a few more addresses in Reykjavik and its whereabouts.

 Graenn Kostur - The oldest vegetarian restaurant in Reykjavik.
http://www.graennkostur.is

The place looks unassuming, and also the food. But, the spinach quiche was amazing, and so was the burrito. And very filling too! But, our eyes were still hungry so we tried the no-bake desserts. There were some interesting flavors, and definitely good chocolate, but I would stick to savory in this restaurant.

The three savory dishes were 5300 Icelandic Krona (i.e., 27 pounds). I do not remember what we paid for the dessert. But, this was the most economical dinner we had in Iceland.

Icelandair Hotel Marina - Slipp Bar

We went here for both brunch and dinner. It was a surprise find, that we stumbled on while strolling along the marina. And, on top of it we were not hungry - just wanted to have coffee and cake, but ended up eating an open buffet brunch!!! That is how persuading the food was. The brunch for three people costed around 8900 Icelandic kronas (i.e., 45 pounds) for three.(More info here)

The stop in the Golden circle tour, run by Reykjavik Excursions:
The stop was in the Geysir part. Here, Steve ate the most elegantly presented salmon plate, and I had a tasty soup, which gave me all the nourishment I needed for the rest of the tour.


In summary, Iceland gave us plenty of happiness, and very fresh food. In Iceland, energy is free - so they invested in lots of green houses, which give them fresh produce.
The tomato greenhouse owner said that the tomatoes they pack in the morning are in the grocery stores in the afternoon! :D

Cafe Loki, Reykjavik, Iceland

Address: Lokastigur 28 | 101 Reykjavík, Reykjavik, Iceland
 WWW: http://www.loki.is/

Summary: Authentic Iceland with simple elegance

I am a big fan of Iceland - its nature, and its people. In my second time in Reykjavik, I feel as I returned to visit a friend. And, it did not fail to please me, my husband and our friend with its unique charm and beauty. 

When we started the trip, (we thought) we had a challenge: finding vegetarian food in Iceland. 
The home of lamb and fish, unique delicacies including shark fin, puffin, sheep's head jelly, and pickled rams balls'???!! (Read more here) We definitely did not want to be this adventurous, when it comes to eating. Iceland is full of options for all tastes and all the restaurants we have been were very pleasing. (I will give other addresses in Reykjavik in the next post.)

Cafe Loki was one of the best restaurants we have been in Reykjavik. It is situated right across the  imposing Hallgrimskirkja church, and the place is definitely popular with the locals. It did not take us long to understand why. We started with some Icelandic beers, which all had very different but pleasing tastes. 

Skjálfti is a Premium Lager composed of Icelandic water, malted barley, hops and yeast. Its alcohol content is 5%. Víking Gylltur is a Lager containing Icelandic water, malt, maize, sugar, hops, yeast with alcohol content 5.6%. Finally, Kaldi is also a Lager containing Icelandic water, Saaz hops, Czech malt and yeast with 5% alcohol.My favorite was Kaldi. I understood why later , when I learned that Saaz is a noble variety of hops, which apparently are less bitter and have more aroma :)

 For food, we had home-made rye bread with different styles of herring. For the vegetarian it was a very hearty salad, with lots of quinoa. The rye-bread was very tasty, and I definitely enjoyed the different ways the herring was prepared, accompanied with onions and eggs and lots of dill. All ingredients were very fresh and delicate looking. 

However, our favorites were the desserts made with Skyr, which is Icelandic for some type of strained yoghurt. Rich and creamy, just how we like it.It was accompanied by very good coffee too. 


In total, we ended up paying 14300 Icelandic Krona, which is around 70 pounds for 3 people. Very reasonable for typically expensive Iceland.
We will come again!

The Breakfast Club, London, UK

Address: Check the locations in the URL below
URL:http://www.thebreakfastclubcafes.com/

Summary: Good things come to those who wait!

We've been to two locations: Angel and Spitalfields.
While the one in Angel is smaller, and hence, you can understand the one-hour wait, things do not change in the larger Spitalfields location either. The other thing that does not change is the satisfying breakfasts for every appetite, and for me, the pancakes with maple syrup and berries.  Having lived in the USA for a long time, it is a surprise that I discovered my pancake love here!

We tried the following delicious menu items, and recommend all fervently:

THE FULL MONTY: Bacon, sausage, black pudding, eggs, home-style fried potatoes, mushrooms, beans, grilled tomato and toasted multigrain bloomer 9.70

REGGIE THE VEGGIE Veggie sausage, home-style fried potatoes, eggs, mushrooms, grilled tomato, beans and toasted multigrain bloomer 9.20

PANCAKES AND BERRIES With maple syrup and vanilla cream 7.50

HUEVOS AL BENNY Poached eggs, chorizo, roast peppers, avocado, fresh chillies, spicy hollandaise on toasted English Muffin 10.00

HUEVOS RANCHEROS Fried eggs, tortilla with melted cheddar, refried beans, chorizo, salsa, sour cream and guacamole 9.50

 

Sally Lunn's, Bath, UK

Address:  4 North Parade Passage, Bath BA1 1NX

WWW: http://www.sallylunns.co.uk/

Summary: Historical place to eat, not for the impatient or the one with very high expectations.

I love Bath, and simply because of that I was ready to love Sally Lunn's. After, not such a long wait as we feared - around 15 minutes - we are seated in the ground floor, in a historical setting. I am not sure about Steve, but I am enjoying the over-enthusiasm of the lady who seated us. Our waitress was more reserved, but fast.

It was my idea to come here. After all, it seemed the best place to go as their kitchen museum is believed to originally have been the birthplace of the first Bath bun.
 And today, the menu options revolve around this bun - there is the choice of getting a tea or some savoury dish served with this famous bun.

Steve went for: the Sally Lunn 2 course High Tea £11.95 - A round of Sally Lunn Bun topped with finest Scottish Smoked Salmon followed by the world famous Sally Lunn Cream Tea.

I chose a Steak Trencher £12.25 Casseroled slowly in a old English ale gravy.

The tea was excellent, the dishes were quite tasty but we were not able to appreciate what is so special about the Bath buns. As a bread lover, I did enjoy them but with such marketing, one expects something extraordinary.

To tell the truth, their Rich Chocolate cake (£4.35 A light Belgian chocolate and almond cake filled with rich chocolate butter cream, made without wheat  with Ivy House clotted cream. ) and 
Traditional Somerset apple cake (£3.95 Bramley apples, sultanas and cinnamon in a light sponge with Ivy House clotted cream) are much more satisfying than their savory dishes.

Ottolenghi, Islington, London

Address: 287 Upper Street, London N1 2TZ
Website: http://www.ottolenghi.co.uk/locations/

Summary: Worth the wait delicious and healthy

We went to Ottolenghi with brunch intentions, but after seeing the spread they have for lunch, we changed our mind quite fast. As typical to all the "in" locations in London, we waited around an hour to be seated. Our wait doubly painful as we kept staring to their savoury and sweet spreads!

The only good thing about the wait was that we exactly knew what we wanted, after having evaluated all the dishes to their finest detail. Hence, the ordering and getting served went quite swiftly afterwards.

Here is what we had:

One of our friends stayed true to the original plan and ordered a breakfast menu item.

Welsh rarebit on sourdough £7.70

Served with a poached egg and wilted chard with lemon

I think this is worth writing more about, as the name is curious.
According to Wikipedia: Welsh rarebit or Welsh rabbit is a dish made with a savoury sauce of melted cheese and various other ingredients and served hot, after being poured over slices (or other pieces) of toasted bread.
There are various sorts of legends and myths, so I do not know which one to believe. Here is one, again from Wikipedia:
A legend mentioned in Betty Crocker's Cookbook claims that Welsh peasants were not allowed to eat rabbits caught in hunts on the estates of the nobility, so they used melted cheese as a substitute.

This is the version my friend had, with an egg and salad on the side. 

 

By the way, if I ever want to make it at home, this recipe looks promising.

For the others, who opted for lunch, lunch selections are nicely configurable in Ottolenghi.

Salad selection

Small selection of three salads £11.50

Normal selection of four salads £14.00

Main course and salads

Small two salads with main £14.20

Normal three salads with main £16.70

While the guys chose the normal three salads with main,
I got small two salads with main, which was more than enough as you can see. My plate had:

•  Roasted aubergine with black garlic yoghurt, fried chilli, caramelised hazelnuts and herbs
•  Mixed peppers and brown bulgar tabbouleh with mixed nuts, red onion and pomegranate seeds
• Free range chicken with rosemary, chilli, chilli and garlic

The lunch went fast. And, after being tormented by the desserts displayed in their window, of course, we had to order some. We picked: Both the victorian sponge, and the cream filled chocolate cake (which I have no idea how it is called) were beautifully done.

Ottolenghi is definitely worth visiting many times.  I also plan to bring some of that goodness to home by trying their recipes at: http://www.ottolenghi.co.uk/recipes

Age & Sons, Ramsgate, Kent

Address: Age & Sons, Charlotte Court, Ramsgate, Kent CT11 8HE, United Kingdom
WWW: http://www.ageandsons.co.uk/age-restaurant 

Summary: A safe bet in Ramsgate


We visited Ramsgate last August - while the weather did not cooperate with too much rain, it was still refreshing to visit seaside of UK. We had lots of fresh fish - the best fish and chips I had so far was in Margate. Steve and I opted out of the traditional in Age & Sons, and had octopus salad, and grilled fish and steak, whereas Steve's parents preferred fish and chips. Large portions, served in a nice ambiance, and a friendly French waiter - we definitely enjoyed our time there. 

 

 We also got some desserts upon our waiter's suggestion. The souffle was interesting, though I am not really sure it was worth the wait. The chocolate cake is definitely a better option.