A Hot Day in Brighton with Fabulous Tea and Gelato

Here are two little places in Brighton in which they were never there when I was living in Brighton. It was a hot day when I paid a visit to this little beach town. As I was strolling from Brighton Pier through Pool Valley, I popped by a gelato shop called Boho Gelato in Pool Valley before stopped by Blackbird Tea Rooms for afternoon tea chitchat with my cousin. But hey, these two places were awesome, especially, Boho Gelato. What a delicious ice-cream.

Blackbird Tea Rooms @ Brighton

Map: Blackbird Tea Rooms @ Brighton

Charged Price: GBP7.00 per person

Visited: 1 July 2015

Food: 8/10

Atmosphere: 8/10

Value for money: 8/10

Services: 7/10
Scale: [1=poor ---- 5=average/standard ---- 10=outstanding/exceptional]

Blackbird Tea Rooms is located in the famous shopping area of Brighton, The Lanes. It is rather small. The atmosphere is lovely which would bring you back to the rustic old time of England. It was a fine summer day when we paid a visit to Blackbird and we were fortunate to be able to grab a table in the backyard. There were on a few tables there in the backyard. Believe me it could be great sipping tea in the old fashion atmosphere here but it was fantastic, in my view, in the backyard on a fine day.

Blackbird Tea Rooms store front

getting more rustic inside

old fashion counter

a perfect day for courtyard afternoon tea

Typical and classic afternoon tea here. We had Cream Tea and Banana, Pecan & Date Cake and we did not disappoint. Scone came in a big chunk. It was not just about the size of scone here. It was delicious too. Soft on the touch and delicate. Wonderful scone indeed. The cake was as well in par with scone. Large slice and yummy. Perfect with its frosting. As for tea, there were around 10+ choices ranging from something classic to more exotic choices: English Breakfast, Earl Grey, Rose Congou, Rooibos, and etc.

In short, this is an excellent place to stop by for tea, snack, and dessert. A must return for me (if I have a chance).

our afternoon break treat

Cream Tea (GBP6.00)

delicious scone with jam and clotted cream

Banana, Pecan & Date Cake (GBP3.90)

Blackbird Tea Rooms @ Brighton

30 Ship Street
Brighton
BN1 1AD
United Kingdom

Open Hours: daily from 08:30am - 05:30pm
Tel: +44 (0) 1273 249 454
Web: http://www.blackbirdtearooms.com/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/BlackbirdTeaRooms

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Boho Gelato @ Brighton

Map: Boho Gelato @ Brighton

Charged Price: GBP2.40 per person

Visited: 1 July 2015

Food: 9/10

Atmosphere: n.m.

Value for money: 8/10

Services: n.m.
Scale: [1=poor ---- 5=average/standard ---- 10=outstanding/exceptional]

Needless to say much about Boho Gelato. It is just a tiny shop with all about ice-cream. There are somewhat 24 flavours daily here. Again flavour ranges from something classic to exotic ice-cream. So so delicious ice-cream here. It was smooth, it was creamy, it was delicate, and yet flavourful. I had Cucumber and Rose on a cone on such a hot day and it was wowwww. Cucumber and Rose, what a combination. It somehow support each other pretty well. Freshness of cucumber seems to go unexpectedly well with aroma of rose. I miss it already as I am typing now. In two words, "MUST VISIT".

Cucumber and Rose on Cone (GBP2.40)

mini store of Boho

the menu board

Boho Gelato @ Brighton

6 Pool Valley
Brighton
BN1 1NJ
United Kingdom

Open Hours: daily from 11:00am - 06:00pm

Tel: +44 (0) 1273 727 205
Web: http://www.bohogelato.co.uk/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/bohogelato

2 East London Bakeries Within A Glab : Lily Vanilli and Violet

Returned to London for the first time after 7 years, we had a chance to visit a couple of bakery joints as well. Both of them are not quite in Zone 1 but still in an acceptable distance. One of them is lovely and adorable whilst the other one is nice but overrated in my opinion. It seems that there are certain trends going on in London either for local or for tourists. So I decided to hop by places with its own personality rather than typicity. Here are the two bakeries.


The Lily Vanilli Bakery and Flour Market @ Columbia Road Flower Market

Map: The Lily Vanilli Bakery and Flour Market @ Columbia Road Flower Market

Charged Price: GBP7 per person for a piece of cake and beverage

Visited: 21 June 2015

Food: 7/10

Atmosphere: 8/10

Value for money: 7/10

Services: n.m.
Scale: [1=poor ---- 5=average/standard ---- 10=outstanding/exceptional]

Lily Vanilli Bakery is my very first stop during the trip to UK. It is just a little bakery hidden in a courtyard on Columbia Road. The most important thing to remember when visiting this lovely bakery is it only opens on Sunday: i.e. when Columbia Road Flower Market gets busy with its visitors. Coming to Lily Vanilli can be a little tedious but it's worthwhile. If you are taking tube, the shop is approx. 15 minutes walk from Bethnal Green Station.

As mentioned, Lily Vanilli might be just a small bakery but satisfaction is not small at all. The place is kept clean and tidy with minimal but lovely decoration. There are a few tables and benches for you to sit while sipping your coffee and eating your cake. I believe it is best to visit during nice summer days when you can enjoy outdoor weather (fingers crossed for rain). It is more like a half self-service here. You choose your interested cake at the counter, where there will be choices to be chosen but the range can alter each week, order your beverage, pay your bill, and enjoy. Range of cake here is interesting and pretty too. I promise they are not those weird combination that would make you think "Uhhh....what is this?".

Lily Vanilli Bakery hidden in a courtyard

variety of freshly baked cakes on store counter

It's tiny but comfy enough inside

What I had during the visit was Elderflower & Almond Layer Cake (8/10) and Banana Choc Rye Cakes with Tonka Beans, Banana, Cacao, & Toffee Shard (7/10). I, especially, fall in love with the elderflower cake one. The texture was nice and dense whilst the frosting added sweetness to balance. The aroma was as well wonderful. Cheers for this pretty cake. On the other hand, banana choc rye cake was enjoyable too. However, its stiffness was a little too much to my liking. Each component played its role harmoniously well.

Indeed a cup of coffee or tea would be nice with these rich cakes. I had cafe latte and it was decent. Not the best but decent. Lastly, I do recommend this little place to anyone who is fond for cakes and those who are visiting Columbia Road Flower Market. It would be wonderful to have half an hour relax before strolling around and shopping your favourite flowers.

Elderflower & Almond Layer Cake (GBP4.20)

Banana Choc Rye Cakes with Tonka Beans, Banana, Cacao, & Toffee Shard (GBP4.20)

nicely together with cafe latte

The Lily Vanilli Bakery and Flour Market @ Columbia Road Flower Market

6 The Courtyard
Erza Street
London, E2 7RH
United Kingdom

Open Hours: Sunday from 08:00am - 04:00pm

Web: http://www.lilyvanilli.com/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/lilyvanillicakes


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Violet @ Hackney

Map: Violet @ Hackney

Charged Price: GBP7 per person for a piece of cake and beverage

Visited: 1 July 2015

Food: 6/10

Atmosphere: 6/10

Value for money: 4/10

Services: n.m.
Scale: [1=poor ---- 5=average/standard ---- 10=outstanding/exceptional]

Violet is another interesting bakery. However, it is a little further from Lily Vanilli in Hackney area. The concept of Violet is chic bakery making american style cake. You can find those classic range of pastry here: cupcakes, loaf cakes, muffins, cookies, brownies, and etc. This place is kept in an even more plain style: hardly any decoration in a two storey house. Yes, it is small and there is no seat indoor. There are some seats in front of the bakery and a few more in the backyard.

Walking inside the store, you can find ranges of pastry in a window shelf on your right and on your left, you will find working space for staffs: i.e. open kitchen right there. To me, this place is enjoyable but not really kick my butt just yet. Things tend to be on the sweet side here but thanks to minimal amount of frosting that keep it alive. In term of pricing, it is expensive in my opinion, especially for a place outside centre of London.

the very local bakery but chic in Hackney

American style cake and bakery products

sliced cakes range

cupcakes of the day

For the day, we Chocolate Violet Cupcake (6/10) and Chocolate Caramel Rum Slice (6/10). Both are kind of similar for me. The chocolate violet cupcake has frosting with violet floral scent whilst chocolate caramel rum slice is topped with cream cheese frosting and is richer on the palate. The texture of both were decent with softness and moisture. To coupling with cakes, we had Iced Coffee: Salty vs. Sweet (5/10) to attack the heat of such a hot day in London. Both were brewed in the same way but one was stirred with a touch of salt and the other one was obviously sugar. They were different in contrast but were just similarly enjoyable. It was ok to drink this beverage. But GBP3.00 per small glass of coffee is just too much indeed.

If I have to choose to go back between the two places, Lily Vanilli indeed has won my heart. I would not hesitate at all to return to the place.

Chocolate Violet Cupcake (GBP2.90)

square cut view of Chocolate Violet Cupcake

Chocolate Caramel Rum Slice (GBP3.50)

Iced Coffee: Salty vs. Sweet (GBP3.00)

Violet @ Hackney

47 Wilton Way
London, E8 3ED
United Kingdom

Open Hours: Tue - Fri from 08:00am - 06:00pm, Sat from 09:30am - 06:00pm, and Sun from 09:30am - 05:00pm

Tel: +44 (0) 207 275 8360
Web: http://www.violetcakes.com/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/violetcakeslondon

Maverick Restaurant and Bar @ Asoke 3, Bangkok

Cuisine: French

Map: Maverick Restaurant and Bar @ Asoke 3, Bangkok

Price: THB700 per person (what we paid for)

Visited: 30 December 2013

Food: 7/10

Atmosphere: 6/10

Value for money: 7/10

Services: 7/10

Maverick Restaurant and Bar at Soi Asoke 3 is another joint that I have just recently discovered, though it has started since early 2013. I kind of like the multi purpose character of Maverick: hanging out with friends, entertaining clients, dating, or even a family meal. The setting is more of casual like. There is a bar and a pastry counter right next to the entrance. The place is also spacious with capacity to hold more than 50 clients comfortably.

Maverick Restaurant and Bar at Ocean Tower 2

chill atmosphere

the open kitchen

lunch menu

Apart from decent French food that they serve, pricing is also not too excessive. I would like to draw a particular attention to weekday lunch menu which costs THB350 for 2 courses and THB450 for 3 courses. We think this menu is a really value for money. The beverage range is also fabulous for hanging out. Even the wine list is also splendid: reasonable mark up and rather wide choices of wine by glass.

bar and pastry corner

the bar

the pastry

wine by glass range

wine display

We popped by Maverick for lunch and decided to have 2 courses lunch. For starter, we had soup of roasted pepper, garlic croutons (7/10) and beetroot salmon, pickled beetroots and walnut salad (6/10). The soup was a pleasant one for me. But if you do not like pepper that much, this might not be the choice for you. It gave really strong aroma and scent of roasted pepper but with fine touch. As for beetroot salmon, it really was beetroot everywhere. Salmon was well marinated to give beetroot character. The colour of salmon was in fact red. It was served with chopped chives on top. Nevertheless, I felt a bit raw fishy scent from salmon though.

bread

soup of roasted peppers, garlic croutons

beetroot salmon, pickled beetroots and walnut salad

For the mains, there were grilled steak, herbed polenta, roasted tubers, Sangria red wine sauce (7/10) and beef bourguignon, smashed potatoes, braised pearl onions (6/10). Both were really nice, I have to admit. Beef was tender and well prepared. The grilled steak may be an ordinary dish but it was delicious. I love the herbed polenta which was fine and smooth. Beef bourguignon was also enjoyable to have with its rich flavour.

All in all, lunch set here was indeed splendid with value for money. A really good place to have a quick fine lunch and hanging with friends at night.

grilled steak, herbed polenta, roasted tubers, Sangria red wine sauce

beef bourguignon, smashed potatoes, braised pearl onions

Maverick Restaurant and Bar @ Asoke 3, Bangkok

Floor G Ocean Tower II
Soi Asoke 3 (Sukhumvit 21 Soi 3)
Khlong Toei Nuea, Wattana
Bangkok 10110
Thailand

Open Hours: Mon-Fri 08:00am - 11:00pm and Sat-Sun 05:00pm - 11:00pm (lunch from 11:30am to 03:00pm, dinner from 05:45pm to 10:30pm, and all day coffee and pastry)

Tel: +66 (0) 2665 2772
Web: http://www.maverickbkk.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/maverickrestaurant

Singapore Patisserie & Tea Room: Ah Teng's Bakery & TWG Tea Salon

Cuisine: Tea Room & Patisserie

Visited: 28-29 May 2011

During our short trip to Singapore at the end of May, we had a chance to visit 2 tea room, one being Ah Teng's Bakery @ Raffles Singapore and the other one was TWG Tea Room @ ION Shopping Mall.

Ah Teng's Bakery @ Raffles Singapore

Map: Ah Teng's Bakery @ Raffles Singapore

Price: SGD9.00 per person (what I paid for)

Food: 5/10

Atmosphere: 6/10

Value for money: 4/10

This Chinese style tea house of Raffles Singapore serves rather quality bakery daily. The area of this place is sharing with the adjacent Empire Cafe. We love the classic colonial decoration of this place, a bit of old fashion but look really calm and fabulous in style.

Ah Teng's Bakery @ Raffles Singapore

Menu Board

The Chinese Style Surrounding

We did not have much chance to try many different things, including the famous banana pastry, but photos were taken to share here.

Lychee Raspberry Tart

Tropical Fruits Choux a la Creme

Sacher Cake

Chocolate Banana Cake

Cheese Cake

Scone Set with English Breakfast Tea had soft texture but would be much appreciated if it was warm. It came with clotted cream that was not so rich in taste and jam was not a home-made one (5/10).

Scone Set with English Breakfast Tea

Black Forest Cake tasted rather standard. Though it was an enjoyable one but more smoothness and cherry would be preferable (5/10). 

Black Forest Cake

Strawberry Jelly Lemon Panna Cotta was just a typical panna cotta with jelly but delightful to have though (4/10).

Strawberry Jelly Lemon Panna Cotta

Ah Teng's Bakery @ Raffles Singapore

1 Beach Road

Singapore 189673

Open Hours: Sun-Thu 07:30am - 10:00pm and Fri-Sat 07:30am - 11:00pm

Tel: +65 (0) 6412 1816

Web: http://www.raffles.com/EN_RA/Property/RHS/Restaurants_Bars/Ah_Tengs_Bakery.htm

TWG Tea Salon & Boutique @ ION Shopping Mall, Singapore

Map: TWG Tea Salon & Boutique @ ION Shopping Mall, Singapore

Price: SGD14.00 per person (what I paid for)

Food: 4/10

Atmosphere: 4/10

Value for money: 5/10

TWG is a well-known tea house of Singapore. There are a few houses around Singapore Island. We managed to go there during weekend and without surprise, the shop was packed with customers. For TWG Tea Salon & Boutique @ ION Shopping Mall, the place is rather tiny and can accommodate around 30 guests only. The decoration is elegant but we do not like the large window that allows outsiders to look through though. What impressed us was the long list of fine tea with description, there were around 100 choices of tea to be chosen (just guess ^^).

TWG Tea Salon & Boutique @ ION Shopping Mall

The Entrance

Shelf of Tea

Pile of Muffin

We chose Rwanda Express for the choice of tea. It was a light black tea with hint of caramel. This should be great with pastry that is thick and creamy. Scones came with tea jelly and whipped cream rather that clotted cream. It was dry in texture but tea jelly was interesting (4/10).

Rwanda Express

Scones Set

Raspberry Mille-feuille was wonderful. Unlike scones, this had soft and smooth filling of vanilla chestnut cream with crisp pastry. Loads of raspberry. Not so sweet on the overall (7/10).

We did also try a few macarons: Napoleon Tea & Caramel, Earl Grey Fortune & Chocolate, and 1837 Black Tea & Blackcurrant. Disappointed really but unique. Blending of TWG tea into maroons was interesting but did not go well from our perspective (3/10).

Raspberry Mille-feuille

TWG Tea Macarons

TWG Tea Salon & Boutique @ ION Shopping Mall, Singapore

2 Orchard Turn, #02-21

Singapore 238801

Open Hours: 10:00am - 10:00pm daily

Tel: +65 (0) 6735 1837

Web: http://www.twgtea.com