freakzspeaks

freakzspeaks

Tuesday 4 February 2014

Shrimp dumplings & Laksa @ Momo Café, Staines, London UK


Staines is a little town located in Surrey, England about 4.8km from London Heathrow Airport. So since my sis' place is in Middlesex, she put us up in Travelodge, Staines during our visit for her wedding. She recommended us Momo for their laksa ( since she knew of my cravings for spicy stuff!) so we decided to head there for lunch on one of the days. Momo is a little cafe with a fusion concept on their meals. Menu might not be extensive but they do offer dumplings, sandwiches, rice, noodles and sushi as well. The cafe was really convenient and within walking distance from our hotel and Staines shopping central.

Shrimp dumplings
Since we were there lunch hours, the little cafe was pretty full so we had to wait for a couple of minutes. While waiting, I observed that most London-ers actually have the whole plate of dumplings for lunch ( something we do not really see in Malaysia ). Once seated, we almost immediately ordered as we knew what we were targeting. For starters we had the shrimp dumplings. It was superbly good ( so far, none that I can find in Saskatoon but I had something like that in Vancouver). It almost tasted like the shrimp dim sum ( har gau) but the soup-y version. I could probably eat the whole bowl by myself !
Laksa ( coconut curry noodles)
For mains, all three of us had the same thing-Laksa. Even though they improvised it with different ingredients, the laksa had the original taste and a slight tinge of lemon ( if you squeeze it). I didn't know that eggplant in laksa would actually taste so good as well. The portion was just nice for each person. Soup may be a little spicy for some but for me, it was just nice! The lady owner almost immediately offered us chilli paste (she probably knew we could eat spicy!) and it added the punch to the laksa which was absolutely superb. 
Stir-fry udon with teriyaki chicken (chilli paste on top right is a must have !)
In fact food was so good that we decided to have a take-away on the following night. My mum ordered the stir-fry udon with teriyaki chicken ( again, another fusion of Japanese-Chinese cuisine) which came in a cute Momo box with some freshly steamed Bok Choy and Edamame. Remember to ask for the sambal which is a must-have with the noodles ! 

Overall, the items we had were all absolutely good and price-wise was acceptable for London standard. I should probably open a franchise here in Canada ! Check out their website here.

Address : No. 1 Clarence Street, Staines TW18 4SU, London, UK
Hours : Mon-Sat (11am to 9pm)

Momo on Urbanspoon

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The English Breakfast @ London, UK

Saturday 1 February 2014

Go For Sushi on 8th Street, Saskatoon

Its been a month since my last post, sorry for being MIA ! Its the new term, so busy organizing my schedules, labs and seminars ( so that I can graduate in a timely manner ? ;P). For those who have been in Canada ( not sure of other provinces though) , Japanese buffet is quite a thing. For a small town like Saskatoon, we have a considerable amount of Japanese buffet restaurants to choose from. To celebrate the end of last term ( and Xmas hols!), a couple of us had a crazy time shopping ( and it was not even Boxing day !) and finally settled for Japanese buffet ( since we were so hungry we could probably eat a cow !). I have been here once previously but due to lack of photos, I did not post a blog on it. So here am I again. What put this restaurant above the rest of the buffet restaurants is that it has a buffet session which comprised of Asian ( mainly Chinese) dishes, a salad and dessert bar as well; while other places is solely Japanese. So, this place is good for those who wants a mixture of cuisines ( or if you are with a friend who does not really like Jap food)
I think this restaurant has one of the best ambience ; comparative to the rest!
What I had from the buffet spread. Tempuras, fried fish and chicken fillet, spring rolls and Chinese bun,  stir-fry noodles, red bean paste balls etc
Deep fried scallops, crab meat, fish fillet and chicken and some siu mai ( pork dim sum)
My friend's plate ! It was her first time here and she was soo hungry that she just piled up her plate at the first sight of food. Lols !
Buffet spread ( mainly Chinese dishes) : Overall, food was ok. They had quite a good variety dishes which includes stir-fry noodles, fried rice, spring rolls, dim sum, crab legs, wan ton soup, fried items, sweet and sour meat, Chinese buns etc. It may not have the best taste but for the price you pay, you do get a good amount of selection!

Menu : Japanese food. Browse and checked the items and quantity you want and pass it to the waitress. 
Sushi rolls. I dont remember what we had though , sorry ! It was good and acceptable.
Green dragon : Cucumber, tempura shrimp wrapped with avocado and eel sauce. One of my fav!  
Grilled meat. Just ok.
Well-grilled Japanese fish but tasted weird, according to my friend
Never go wrong with shrimp tempura ! I had this twice !
A variety of sushi. Loved all of these !
Never ever miss the specialty rolls. They are awesome!
Sashimi-based sushi, usually the most expensive items on a Japanese menu. Eat as much as you want !
Japanese menu : Overall, a great variety to select from. If you have more friends with you, the better ( four would be the best) , so that you can order, share the items and eat more instead of chowing down the same thing.
Tips : Do not miss the specialty rolls, sashimi and tempura. The ingredient combination is really good and depending what you like, I'm sure you will find one that fits your taste bud ( usual price of specialty rolls in a Japanese restaurant ranges from $ 10-14). Sashimi is fresh and tasted good as well, so be smart and order those that will be worth it for the price you pay). We paid about $ 26-ish / person ( excluding tips) for a dinner buffet. Apparently, lunch buffet had almost the same menu ( probably minus the sashimi) at a cheaper price ( I think it is between $ 14-16); so some said its more worth it. 

Dessert. Picture doesn't do justice to it but we were pretty full to really enjoy them anyways. Mango pudding (bottom right) was really good. Yellow and black jelly were Konyaku ( I think!). Cakes tasted like from pre-mixes you get from the supermarket; so you will not miss much if you skip these!


Address : Go For Sushi, 2105 8th Street E, SaskatoonSK S7H5N9 
Website : Go For Sushi 
Go For Sushi on Urbanspoon