Thalis and curry @ Masala Zone, Earl's Court, London, UK

L: Dahi Puri; R: Papadum & Chutney

So, I've heard that British loves Indian curry and there are lots of curry houses around. Strangely, not all are authentic Indian curry. Masala Zone is a casual Indian dining chain restaurant that boasts an array of authentic Indian street food and Thalis, the cornerstone of their menu. It was a rainy day in London, so we decided to just hang out around Earl's Court, where we were staying. We passed by this restaurant a couple of times previously and were always tempted by the Indian dishes that people were eating, so we decided to try them out ourselves. Good description of each item in their menu so no worries on that. For starters, we had dahi puri which was puffy hollow biscuits filled with chick peas mash with a splash of yoghurt and chutney. It has a really refreshing taste although I did not really like how the hot item with yoghurt topping gave you a weird hot-cold sensation when eating it. More to our liking, was the side of papadum (like huge chips made with some type of flour) and chutney.

Grand Thali

Regular Thali

For mains, Panda and mum had their Thali, which is a unique authentic Indian item on their menu. This is probably the largest meal offered by them. Thalis are complete, balanced, traditional Indian home food served on stainless steel platter with a couple of side dishes The Grand Thali is actually equivalent to a starter and main course and consisted of a canapé (bite-size item), a choice of curry, two veges, salad, dal (lentil), yoghurt, papadum, a piece of chapatti (indian bread) and rice. 

Mum had the regular Thali which is basically the same as Grand Thali without some sides and chapatti. The rice served with regular Thali however was almost double the amount of rice came with Grand Thali. So for big-eaters, this regular Thali actually is quite enough. Panda and mum had nothing but good comments of the thick, flavorful chicken curry they chose. The HOT level was actually quite spicy which was just nice for spicy lovers like us.

Chicken Briyani

Since both of them had Thalis, I decided to give their Chicken Briyani a try. This delectable briyani did not look as tempting compared to the usual briyani in claypots that I have back home, but surprisingly it tasted pretty good. The portion, level of spiciness and amount of spices were just nice, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. We also had Masala milk tea, which was brewed black tea with milk and aromatic Indian spices (you've gotta love spices to drink this though). Overall, we had a nice lovely lunch at this place. We were there slightly after lunch hours so there weren't many customers around. Well-decorated, modern siting restaurant which would be perfect for meet-ups and if you're looking for good, comforting Indian food.

Address: 147, Earl's Court Road, London, UK

Website: Masala Zone

Other places in London that you might be interested with:

The proposal @ The Strand Dining Rooms
Noodles for everyone @ Wagamama, Earls Court, London, UK

Discovering the royal palace & Chinese food @ Middlesex, UK

Old-style trolley dimsum @ New World, Chinatown, London

The English Breakfast @ London

Shrimp dumplings and Laksa @ Momo Cafe, Staines, London, UK

A Pork-y affair @ Pig's Ears, London, UK

The Proposal @ The Strand Dining Rooms, London, UK

Did I see this coming? Not exactly…In fact, Panda and I just had a random plan to meet up in London, UK with me and mum flying in from Saskatoon, to meet him, sis and hub. It was basically a free and easy trip (our third..fourth visit..lols) and we didn't have much in plan. Since mum wanted to watch a play, sis chose Agatha Christie's Mousetrap. Panda and I decided to forego that and visited London Eye instead (not that it matters to them cause they are afraid of heights..muahahaha). So, London Eye ( just like the rest of the Eyes; Malaysian Eye (wait, thats long gone), Singapore Eye etc.), is a giant ferris wheel, currently the tallest in Europe and provides the highest viewing point in London (that is, until last year when The Shard was open to public…lols). If you are afraid of heights, or do not see the point of lining up for about 30 minutes for one revolution of 30 minutes, then forget it. A standard adult ticket costs £19. Check out their website for various ticket prices; flexi, fast track, guided, day and night. Honestly, 30 minutes is not that long, and you save £8 rather than paying £27 for the fast track ticket.

If you have time and a first-timer to London, I would think its worth the money, especially when you get a view point of London. The surrounding area is also nice but lots of people. You can easily spend a whole afternoon there; living statue, street performers, river cruise, aquarium and so forth. 

The Proposal

The ring

The happiest girl :))))

It happened while we were dining at The Strand Dining Rooms, an all-day British dining (fairly new place opened in May 2014) located at Trafalgar Square. We took a leisurely walk (blindly because our hotspot didn't work, and we didn't have a map) from the Eye to Trafalgar Square which was quite an experience. It was fun actually though chilly. Panda requested for an isolated dining table with nobody (and I meant Nobody except the bartender). After ordering, he started his quest with a formal verbal proposal which made me super embarassed (not that there's anybody around, its just me @__@). When he went down on his knees, I said yes without hesitation (I mean, which girl can resist a Tiffany right? haha) and the server came along just at the right time to capture the precious moment! Sweet...

He finally took a deep breath completing his task with success (lols). We were so famished by then and luckily food was served soon after. For starters, we shared the slow cooked pork belly with pan seared scallops, butternut mousseline & veal jus vinaigrette (£9). Panda had the 8oz Sirloin of Dedham Vale beef with chips, roasted vine cherry tomatoes and béarnaise sauce (£25) whereas I had The Strand seafood crumble (£15), something I've never tasted before. His medium rare steak was absolutely to his liking and those fat chips were super good. The seafood crumble was really a luxury savoury crumble with chunks of prawns, scallop, squid, and salmon. You've gotta love seafood to eat this. If only I had some bread to go with it as it was little bit too salty to be eaten as it is. Otherwise, I loved this alot! Servers were friendly, helpful and attentive and totally worth tipping! A lovely place for a classic dining experience with higher end prices but I wouldn't say its those fancy fine dining restaurants with exorbitantly high prices (I was dressed in just a sweater shirt and leggings! Customers were families, group of friends, individuals and tourists).

Address: Grand Buildings, Trafalgar Square, 1-3 Strand, London, WC2N 5EJ

Website: The Strand Dining Rooms

Other places in London that you might be interested with:

Noodles for everyone @ Wagamama, Earls Court, London, UK

Discovering the royal palace & Chinese food @ Middlesex, UK

Old-style trolley dimsum @ New World, Chinatown, London

The English Breakfast @ London

Shrimp dumplings and Laksa @ Momo Cafe, Staines, London, UK

A Pork-y affair @ Pig's Ears, London, UK

Noodles for everyone @ Wagamama, Earls Court, London, UK

Ramen-inspired cuisine (and some other Asian-Western fusion stuff). Long tables. Open kitchen. There's a reason why Wagamama is an award-winning restaurant with franchises in over 17 countries! Another awesome reason to be staying near Earls Court Road-Lots of restaurants and fast food. We had dinner there on our last night. Sis and hub met us there after work. Seems like eating in a food court of school cafeteria with those long tables. Never mind that though….Loved their menu with plenty of options. We had a hard time choosing and decided to go with whatever my sis suggested.

Wagamama Pad Thai £9.95

Prawn curry lomen £11.50

Pork ramen £9.25

Grilled duck ramen £12.95

Ginger chicken udon £9.50

Of all the noodles ordered, I personally like mine the best, Prawn Curry Lomen which was basically prawn in spicy coconut soup with ramen noodles. The curry was surprisingly quite thick and rich with coconut milk, tasty and spicy as well. Grilled prawns were fresh too although the ramen serving was way to big for me. I had a hard time finishing all the noodles but still managed to finish it (lols). Tasted the ramen broth (miso broth) from the grilled pork ramen and grilled duck ramen which were the same broth used. They were really generous with the huge slices of pork! The pad thai was not really authentic and probably an adapted version for the British with lots of vegetables though it has the wok-hei taste, which is a good thing. Also, the rice noodles used were the thicker ones compared to the usual noodles used for pad thai in Canada. The ramen soup were just ok for me (not a big fan of miso soup and for me it tasted more or less the same). Oh, and the green tea is served for free! 

Coconut & toasted sesame mochi ice cream £4.95

Although we were already so full with the large servings, we still decided to order their mochi ice cream. The coconut ones were just ok, not much of coconut taste to it but we all agreed that the toasted sesame mochi was better (and we ordered more of the coconut ones….@__@). Overall, food was good, quick serving and price acceptable. If you're looking for Asian food, Wagamama is the place to be without spending a bomb on it. 

Tips: In London, it is not obligatory to tip the servers. Check the receipt (cheque) beforehand, and if you see a service charge of usually between 10 to 12.5 %, you have a choice to pay and if not, you can request it to be removed from the cheque and then tip the server according to your preference. 

Address: 180 Earls Court Rd, SW5 9QG
Website: Wagamama



Other places in London that you might be interested with:
The Proposal @ The Strand Dining Rooms, London, UK
Discovering the royal palace & Chinese food @ Middlesex, UK
Old-style trolley dimsum @ New World, Chinatown, London
The English Breakfast @ London
Shrimp dumplings and Laksa @ Momo Cafe, Staines, London, UK
A Pork-y affair @ Pig's Ears, London, UK

Discovering the royal palace (Hampton Court Palace) & Chinese food (Imperial China) @ Middlesex, UK

If you've been to Kensington Palace and Tower of London in London, remember to visit another historic royal palace, the Hampton Court Palace in your next trip! This palace is located in Middlesex and was the royal residence of King Henry VIII. Although not as big or grand like Windsor Castle, Hampton Court has its own uniqueness, majestic and charm. We took a tube from Earls Court to Richmond via District Line and from there, sis and hub drove us to the palace. Their website suggested a couple of ways to get here. 

Apart from the palace itself, there are also gardens, a maze, royal tennis court and the largest grape vine in the world to explore. Make sure to put aside a couple of hours to fully wander around all the attractions. There are audio guides and maps for visitors and even formal royal gowns that can be worn while you're exploring the place!

King Henry VII's royal chamber. So drappy and I feel so warm by just looking at it @__@. Ok, to be fair, it was really warm at the chamber section.

Brekkie of chicken pie and mash peas at Privy Kitchen with a 16th century dining hall atmosphere.

Beautiful and majestic work of art!

Once done wandering around the palace, we explored the gardens and palace ground. Weather was wonderful and sunny so, lots of selfie, wefie, sakai-ing and walking! Mum, sis and hub did not enter the palace so they wandered the grounds and took the horse drawn carriage ride (if walking is not your thing;p).We made a mistake of spending too much time at the start of the visit (listening attentively to the audio guide) that we had too little time to actually explore the gardens (okay, maybe too much time wefie-ing as well). We had to skip the maze but we did take a peep inside; so remember to set aside some time for this! 

Visit their website for more info, getting here and admissions: Hampton Court Palace 
Address: East Molesey, Surrey KT8 9AU, United Kingdom

After the royal visit during the day, we had dinner at Imperial China Restaurant, Teddington as an early birthday celebration for mum. We were probably their first customer for that evening! Nice-looking Chinese restaurant with Cantonese-speaking servers. After some disappointing meals at some Chinese restaurants in Saskatoon, I was not expecting much from this. Surprisingly, I would say they are quite good and in fact, it fits my taste bud. Quite close to what we usually get in Malaysia although certain things like the lemon chicken was just mediocre (I thought the batter was too thick). The spicy udon and lotus leaf-wrapped rice were my favourite. The udon looked like your typical udon dish but it has the wok-hei and the spiciness added to the tastiness of it. Same goes for the rice; good consistency, not too greasy, generous amount of ingredient inside and of course the wok hei to make it taste even better! If you like salted fish, you will like the to fu hot pot :) The prawn basket was unique with the 'gold and silver' referring to a mixture of coated, fried prawns while the other is without the coating. Fresh, huge and generous portion of prawns. Unfortunately the 'potato basket' is a mere deco and not edible (we tried eating it and it tasted terrible @__@ lols).

Gold and silver prawns in a potato basket

L to R: Lotus leaf-wrapped fried rice (hor yip fan) and mixed vege hot pot.

Clockwise from top L: Lemon chicken, spicy udon, to fu hot pot

Overall, food and ambience was good, price was ok and servers were attentive and helpful. Came with a complimentary dessert and here's a tip; discounted rate if you're paying by cash, so prepare your pounds! I can't remember how much discount was it but just check with the servers. We were not aware of it till the servers actually asked us for our method of payment. Parking may be a little tight. This place also serves good dim sum so I've heard. 

Address: 196-198 Stanley Rd, Teddington, Middlesex TW11 8UE, UK
Website: Imperial China Restaurant

Other places in London that you might be interested with:

The Proposal @ The Strand Dining Rooms, London, UK

Old style trolley dim sum @ New World, London, UK
The English breakfast @ London, UK
Noodles for everyone @ Wagamama, Earls Court, London, UK

Shrimp dumplings and Laksa @ Momo Cafe, Staines, London, UK

A Pork-y affair @ Pig's Ears, London, UK

Old-style trolley dim sum @ New World, Chinatown, London, UK

 After 3 trips to London over the past few years, I finally tasted their Chinese dimsum. Sis and hub are what I would say, loyal customer of New World, it being one of the very few or perhaps the only one that has the old style dim sum trolley service. We were there on a Sunday so there's lots of people and place looked hectic. Cantonese-speaking staff were efficient but servers pushing carts were moving at quite a slow pace and seemed to be in the word of their own ( can't blame them…they looked like high school kids or something or maybe they are just new with their job). Anyways, we already targeted what we wanted and we were quite determined to get what we want;p

Clockwise from top (L): Steamed shrimp rice rolls, siu mai (pork dim sum), bean curd stuffed pork dim sum and fried shrimp (wan ton style)

Steamed shrimp dumpling (our favourite!)

The 'thing' that made everything tasted superb! Chilli flakes oil

Steamed lotus paste bun and BBQ char siew pork bun

Shanghai (Gyoza-style) dumpling and fried yam stuffed with pork

Another must-have: Fried turnip cake and water chestnut cake

Steamed shrimp rice rolls tasted good especially with the chilli oil, though the rice rolls were slightly thick and not as delicate as those HK-style chee cheong fun we usually have in Malaysia. Our favourite item would be the beautifully-made shrimp dumplings which looked too perfect to be eaten (lols). The skin was thin enough yet it held the generous amount of shrimp inside perfectly well. The lady pushing the cart for the turnip, yam and water chestnut cake is also a must-have! Tell her which you would like and she will quick-fry it fresh for you! The water chestnut cake was really good; imagine slightly fried, sweetish, slightly chewy with chunks of chestnut. Make a good dim sum dessert apart from those commonly have items such as puddings and soybean. 

If you are in London, you've gotta stop by this restaurant. Make it a brunch and then spend some time exploring Chinatown thereafter. This place is less touristy and seemed to accommodate more of the locals.

Address: 1 Gerrard Place, Soho, UK W1D 5PA

Website: New World

Other places in London that you might be interested with:

The Proposal @ The Strand Dining Rooms, London, UK

The English breakfast @ London, UK
Discovering the royal palace and Chinese food @ Middlesex, UK
Noodles for everyone @ Wagamama, Earls Court, London, UK

Shrimp dumplings and Laksa @ Momo Cafe, Staines, London, UK

A Pork-y affair @ Pig's Ears, London, UK

The English Breakfast @ London, UK

Awaken from hibernation! A recent trip to London, UK with mum to meet Panda, sis and Heiko. A short, sweet trip (considering I've not seen them for almost 1.5 years). We had a 'thing' for English breakfast and had them like 3 times during our short trip @__@. A trip to the UK is never complete if you've not at least had once this traditional UK cuisine. There are vegetarian options for non-meat eaters and practically everything can be customized. We did not search before hand for 'the best' breakfast and just randomly went in to restaurants serving breakfast (can be easily spotted). Both pub breakfast we had were on Earls Court Rd as we were staying nearby. English breakfast typically sets at approximately 5 to 8 pounds depending on restaurants / pubs. I don't really see much differences between English and Canadian breakfast but one thing I'm sure is that an English bacon and an American/Canadian bacon is not the same thing (the cut and cooking).

Garfunkel's Restaurant
An original British restaurant with franchises also in Bath and Edinburgh. The one we went to was just at the corner of Paddington station exit. Good for those who will arrive in London early in the morning and planning to take the Heathrow Express to Paddington station. Their hot breakfast are all priced at £5.95 with additional items added at £1.50.

Full English breakfast

Mum's 'vegetarian breakfast' with an additional side of bacon (to skip the sausages..lols)

Eggs Benedict

Among those that we had, Garfunkel's offered a good portion breakfast with a lower price. Despite the majority of 'meh' reviews on this place, many are probably referring to their lunches and dinners. We generally thought their breakfast was good and though bacon was different from the one I usually have in Canada, it was just as addictive on top of it being juicier as well! 

Address: 144 Praed St, Paddington UK 

Prince of Teck

A pub on Earl's Court road serving quality English breakfast in the morning. Panda had the Eggs Royale which was Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon rather than ham. Brilliant combination and totally recommendable! Decided to skip meat and had the vege-breakfast which was pretty ok but  personally felt that Garfunkel's was better. Seats are a little bit tight as there aren't many tables on the main floor (and upper floor was not open) but getting a table wasn't too difficult. Only one server running around but she was considerably good and worth tipping.

Eggs Royale £7.50

Vegetarian breakfast £6.30

Address: 161 Earl's Court Rd, London, UK


Earls Court Tavern

Another traditional British pub on Earl's Court Rd. We had breakfast here before our flight back to Canada. This was by far, our least favourite among the three in terms of quality and waiting time. We however had to wait for a long time for food to be served although there were not that many patrons. I like the garlicky hollandaise sauce on the Eggs Benedict however, sauce was too little. Muffins were quite hard and would have been better if its toasted properly. 

Eggs Benedict £5.49

Eggs and bacon with toast £5.49

Address: 123 Earls Court Road, London, UK

Other places in London that you might be interested with:

The Proposal @ The Strand Dining Rooms, London, UK

Discovering the royal palace and Chinese food @ Middlesex, UK
Old-style trolley dim sum @ New World, London, UK
Noodles for everyone @ Wagamama, Earls Court, London, UK

Shrimp dumplings and Laksa @ Momo Cafe, Staines, London, UK

A Pork-y affair @ Pig's Ears, London, UK

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)

You might also like:
A Pork-y affair @ Pig's Ears, London, UK
Discovering the royal palace and Chinese food @ Middlesex, UK
Old-style trolley dim sum @ New World, London, UK
Noodles for everyone @ Wagamama, Earls Court, London, UK
The English Breakfast @ London, UK