The Pudding Bar, London

The Pudding Bar was a dessert pop up bar serving afternoon tea and desserts in the evening. It was located on Greek Street and was a great idea and hopefully the guys behind it will pop up again or find a permanent fixture soon.

We visited for dessert after dinner one night and our eyes were bigger than our bellies again as we opted for three desserts to share and one glass of each of the four available dessert wines. Each of the desserts were quite large and priced very reasonably at £6-7.

Blackberry panna cotta with honeycomb, blackberries and spiced rum & nutmeg ice cream.

Apple and maple syrup baked Alaska, cinnamon spiced apple cake with maple syrup ice cream, wrapped in Italian meringue with maple glaze.

S’more cheesecake, milk chocolate cheesecake on a ginger nut biscuit base with peanut butter ice cream.

Dessert wines from right to left, Maury Grenat, Finca Le Estacada Secua Chardonnay Dulce, Royal Tokaiji Lake harvest and Chateau du Levant Sauternes.

Each of the desserts was made with skill and the baked Alaska was the unanimous favourite with the apple and maple combination edging out the peanut butter ice cream and chocolate cheesecake.

La Patisserie Des Reves, London

Entering the shop is like entering heaven for cake lovers. All of the day’s offerings are displayed in glass domes in the centre of the room with one delight after another as you circle the display. The patient staff were on hand eager to provide detailed descriptions of the beautiful cakes.

After taking an age to decide what to choose we decided on the small bites selection box to sample a few of the signature items and a delectable piece of Fraisier. With brunch booked a few hours after this was our planned light breakfast. 

The small bites box came with miniature sizes of cakes including the signature Satint Honoré, crisp caramelised puff patry base with lashings of cream and baubles of choux pastry filled with glossy crème pâtissière. The crunch of the top with the cream filled choux was just wonderful. A full slice is called for next time. The other pieces included three tartlets with different toppings and two other gorgeous cream cakes. The fraisier was a light sponge base topped with crème pâtissière and fresh strawberries.

As it is based in Marylebone then premium prices are to be expected but as a treat it is worth it. We enjoyed our cakes and coffee in the outdoor seating area as envious passers-by ogled our goods and soon found themselves drawn into the shop for a closer look.

The Quarter, Liverpool

We visited for a light meal on Christmas Eve nearly giving up trying to find a parking space with it beginning to rain heavily. At the last try a space had become available right outside. We were quickly seated and told we had the table for 40 minutes. Mr Nom noted that since the last time he had visited some four years ago it had doubled in size.

The service was swift and efficient and dishes arrived quicker than I expected. The vongole pasta dish was lovely, fresh fettuccine with clams, tomatoes, chilli and parsley. There was a generous amount of clams and the dish had a kick from the chilli. I was surprised there wasn’t much sauce with the dish but it didn’t need it.

The pizza base was light but the tomato sauce lacked depth. Topped with small amounts of ham, mushroom, parmesan and pine nuts.

Time was ticking but we figured we could still fit some of the home made cakes. We chose red velvet and a gluten free cake.  The red velvet was delicious however towards the end it got a bit sickly.

The gluten free sponge cake came with cream and fresh berries and was quite good although Mr Nom was not particularly fond of the texture.

It was starting to get very busy which was surprising with it being Christmas Eve and we overheard other customers being told tables were needed back in 30mins. The service however was good and we hope to return when it is less quiet so we do not feel pressured to gulp down our food and drinks.

William Curley, London

After coming across the wonderful creations by William Curley, a highly decorated luxury patissier & chocolatier based in London, I was extremely looking forward to trying the beautiful cakes. We already planned what cakes we wanted, earl grey, milk chocolate and coconut entremets and the rose, raspberry and lychee dome. 

Sadly we got to the Belgravia branch around 4pm after a trip to nearby Medlar and most of the cakes had sold out. I was devastated but ordered the yuzu and praline tart. The stunning creation with a vanilla yuzu bavaroise was nice with a slight hint of citrus. The praline was a tad too sweet but it was gooey and heavenly with the hazelnut and almond pastry.  

After one cake I wanted something more, although there were many tantalising chocolates displayed, but I did not feel like eating anymore chocolate. The ice cream selection was exciting and with different from the norm flavours which were enticing such as jasmine and miso & white chocolate. I chose the jasmine flavour, the ice cream or shall I say sorbet since it was quite icy was lovely; the jasmine was refreshing and so pure that the taste was lingering in my mouth for ages, a good palate cleanser after the sweet tart.

I hope to get there earlier next time or to visit Harrods to sample the other William Curley cakes I originally wanted. That will be the near the top of the agenda during the next London trip!

Yauatcha, London

A long anticipated visit to 1 Michelin starred Yauatcha in Soho London was finally fulfilled last month. We were all looking forward to sample the dim sum dishes, desserts and drinks that we had seen plenty of pictures online. As a party of 3 that evening, we ordered a selection of cocktails and mocktails.

Hakka cocktail is one of Yauatcha’s signature cocktails containing sake and vodka, it was strong but still fruity with the addition of lychee, lime, coconut and passion fruit.

Nara iced tea, refreshing lovely with a dose of cinnamon.

Strawberry and vanilla iced tea, there were strawberry bits and aromatic vanilla flavouring, what's not to like!

The venison puffs were first to arrive and were probably Mr Nom’s favourite dim sum. The meat was flavoursome, I reckon we could have all eaten a full portion to ourselves. A dish you don’t want to share with others and we highly recommend them!

Roasted duck pumpkin puff was a pretty looking dish. Pumpkin shaped puffs and pumpkin was incorporated in the dough as well. Additionally, inside there were cubes of pumpkin and shredded duck along with coriander for added flavour.

Lobster dumpling with tobiko caviar, quite a mild flavour, was not as special as we imagined it to taste.

The truffle and mushroom spring rolls were simple and nothing special.

Chicken shiu mai, presented in a mini sized steamer and garnished with a mushroom. Lovely bite sized pieces.

Striploin beef with enoki mushroom cheung fun, this was a tasty dish, the beef was delicious and the use of onions was fragrant alongside my favourite enoki mushroom which has some bite to it.

Jasmine tea smoked ribs was delicious, slightly smoked with a hint of jasmine. They were a winner on the table too.

Classic sweet and sour pork, the sweet and sour sauce was more tangy than sweet. I have tasted better sweet and sour sauce but nevertheless I would of liked a bit more sauce to mix with the rice.

We ordered a side of egg white fried rice with dried scallops and asparagus to accompany our mains; we were surprised how small the portion was. The rice was not oily which you might sometimes find with egg fried rice but this lacked some seasoning.

As you guys should know by now, I am a huge fan of desserts; I couldn’t possibly leave Yauatcha without ordering something. Mr Nom settled for the raspberry delice and I chose the apricot mille feuille. They were presented beautifully. The raspberry delice looked like it was almost inedible; I did not even want to stab my fork into it and the ice cream was lovely.

The apricot mille feuille looked amazing. I expected the layers of puff pastry to be crisp but in fact it was a little soggy. The flavours were subtle but it was a great contrast to the raspberry delice which was on the sweeter side. The apricot sorbet was really zingy, a refreshing accompaniment to the mille feuille.

Yauatcha also have freshly baked cakes available to take away, along with macaroons and chocolates. Looking at the display was enough as the desserts were so filling, when I’m next back in London I want to sample them all!

And The Dish Ran Away With The Spoon, Didsbury

I always crave a slice or two of cake! I find it hard to cut cakes out of my diet; I would rather look at the dessert menu first before I glance at the main menu. When Mr Nom told me he was taking me to “And the dish ran away with the spoon” I was super excited!  A little gem of a cafe situated on Burton Road in Didsbury.

Luckily we found a table by the window as we sat down the cafe was brimming with new customers who had to wait for a free table.  I was overwhelmed by the drinks and cakes on offer, this was cake heaven! The beverage list was also large and interesting, I love selecting drinks just as much as I like food.

Mr Nom wanted to share the Nutty professor iced mocha, but I decided I wanted the banoffee iced latte.  We would feel sick together I guess! Mr Nom told me to pick the cakes as he eats anything. I went to order but I kept running back to ask whether I should get the Special (Cherry Almond cake) or the Blueberry Surprise cake. I was just like a kid in a sweet shop! After a few minutes I settled for the Rose & Pistachio cake, no surprises there since I love pistachio and I’m a huge fan of rose as well.

The Nutty professor iced mocha was made using hazelnut syrup and double chocolate ice cream.  The drinks were rather light actually, not thick so they were easy to drink.

The cakes hit the spot too; looking at the photo now makes my mouth water.  The rose and pistachio cake was light and moist, and most importantly, not too sweet, just how I like my cakes. The blueberry surprise cake was equally as scrumptious.

I was rather tempted to purchase more cakes to take home; I had my eye on the salted caramel brownie as they kept staring at me. However I refrained myself, we will just have to come back and try the rest of the menu. If you are a cake lover like me, you definitely need to visit here.  Slightly out of the way from the City Centre but it’s worth it and as a bonus, the cake and drinks are extremely affordable.