Garfunkel’s London

Remember Simon & Garfunkel?

No

 The American duo ?

Still no

Well, the singer-songwriter team of Paul Simon & Art Garfunkel

Ah, yes, I do now.

Well, Garfunkel’s is all about that. In fact they do sell the CDs too. Garfunkel’s prides itself as being the original British restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and of course dinner since 1979.
 

I walked into one of its many outlets – this one is located near Tralfagar Square.

A quick browse through the menu was all I did before deciding on this – a ‘one-course lunch’ for £6.95. My choice was a pizza. Thin and crisp, aromatic and bursting with flavour – need I say more?
 

These were the drinks we had – bottled ice lemon tea (£2.80), vanilla milk shake (£3.95). The other 2 drinks came with the kids meal – milk and orange juice. Once again, like in other London eateries,  the orange juice was sour.
 

Kids meal are reasonably priced at  £6.45 and they come with a choice of corn on the cob or a visit to the salad bar, a drink, a main course and definitely 2 scoops of ice cream for dessert. Very worthwhile.

Just look at what we got from the salad bar – this can already feed one hungry child –  yummy slices of ham, tuna, lettuce, romaine salad, corn and lots more. Come to think of it, the choice of corn on the cob wasn’t that good, huh?

 

 

 

 

These are the main course for kids – spaghetti bolognese and kids pizza. The pizza needs a special mention as it was super cheesy and the kids loved it very much.

 

 

 

 

If you frequent Garfunkel’s a lot then don’t forget to get their loyalty card. Every visit earns you a stamp. On your third visit you are entitled to a free dessert or entrée. And by the 5^th visit, you will get a main course on the house. Now, doesn’t that make eating at Garfunkel’s even better?

 

Address: 3 Northumberland Avenue

London

Tel : +44 20 7839 5148

Café Nero

I did see many Café Nero outlets whilst in London and decided to pay a visit to their Westbourne Grove outlet. From the outside it didn’t look that big, but when I walked in, I noticed that there was more seats in the basement, which was where I sat.

 

The biscuit in the photo below is known as Palmine biscuit (80p) which, according to the label on the big container in which the biscuits were placed in, were made in Italy. The bar of chocolate costs £1 and it was rich and delicious.

 

 

Soft ginger breadman (£1.25) – this lived up to its name – soft, though  it didn’t have too much ginger in it.

 

 

I reached out for their classic salad (£2.05) as I was dying for some fruits. This had some pineapples, rock melon and apples – it was good!

 

 

I also had the blackcurrant yoghurt (£1.65). Although it was pricey, I loved this silky smooth yoghurt with its rich blackcurrant.

 

 

BLT sandwich (£2.95) – probably one of the more expensive sandwiches which I had during my trip, the BLT –bacon, lettuce, tomato- were all fresh and I certainly have no complaints.

 

 

The milkshakes are all priced at £3 each – I tried the vanilla as well as strawberry and found both to be equally good. Loved them all!

 

Address : 113 Westbourne Grove

London W2 4UP

Tel : + 44 20 7243 5882

 

Bella Italia, London

I walked into this Italian restaurant called Bella Italia in Queensway. I was pretty sure I saw another restaurant by the same name along the same road a while ago. A check with the waitress confirmed that yes, they do have another outlet just nearby.

 

 

 

The menu clearly shows they do pizzas and pasta. I browsed through the mini card on my table which showed a ‘Bella New Year’ 3-course meal going for £19.95 but decided not to go for it.

 

I settled for a magherita pizza priced at £6.95. The menu promised that the pizza would be as traditionally pizzas should be – thin and crisp, topped with sauce specially made in Italy with 100% Italian tomatoes – wow! I just couldn’t wait. This was what I got:-

 

With tomatoes, mozzarella and fresh basil, this pizza was very aromatic. I took a bite and knew instantly that I had fallen head over heels in love with the pizza here.

Finish your pizza & this is what it says!

The orange juice I had (£2.50) was nothing near our Malaysian version. I then recalled that someone once told me that in London they made fresh orange juice just with oranges – no sugar added. No wonder it was a tad too sour for me.

 

Raspberry and rose (£2.15) – this was indeed  very thirst quenching.

 

This is polpetti America (£9.95) – quite an expensive plate of spaghetti..almost RM50. I had to keep telling myself not to convert to RM. Well, polpetti refers to Italian meatballs. I was told that a dish of spaghetti and meatballs, though often associated with Italian food, is virtually non-existent in Italy. Therefore the ‘America’ is the name of this dish is probably so because Americans often think that spaghetti should be served with huge meatballs. This dish was simply awesome.

 

This is spaghetti Bolognese which comes with a complimentary drink & some carrot-cucumber sticks and of course ice cream(£5.25). The al dente texture of the pasta along with the well-cooked sauce made this dish very appetising.

 

 

 

Entree

 

Ice cream

 

 

Address : 55 Queensway

London W2 4QH

Tel : +44 20 7792 2880

Credit cards accepted

CH & Co Catering Ltd, Tower Hill

Located within the compounds of the Tower of London, this eatery serves quite an impressive selection of food and of course drinks too.

 

Drinking water is also provided, free of charge and the jugs are placed on the same cabinets as the cutlery and napkin – you won’t miss it for sure.

 

I chose a chicken dish. For £9.50, it came with a choice of 2 side dishes. I chose brussel sprouts and some carrots and potatoes. The chicken was tender and yummy. The brussel sprouts were however a little burnt and I did not like them.

 

 

We  also had a turkey sandwich (£5.50) – it was alright.

 

But the star of the meal had to be this – Marshfield Farm vanilla ice cream.  Unlike their Malaysian counterparts, the vanilla ice cream here was made from real vanilla and not just vanilla flavouring. I could see the tiny dots which proved that this was real, authentic vanilla! The texture was smooth and creamy…truly heavenly!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also bought 2 kids boxes (£4.50 each) for our snack. Kept these in my bags until it was tea time. For £9 this was what we got -  8 items which consisted of drinks, 2 buns, raisins & mini cheddars.

 

Tower Bar & Grill, London

I met up with a friend at the Tower Bar & Grill located on the ground floor of Grange Tower Bridge Hotel for dinner. This was conveniently located within walking distance of the Aldgate tube station. We chose this place as she had a voucher for ‘Kids eat for free’ ….so the kids she brought along literally ate for no charges at all.

For the adults we decided to  share a salad and order a main course each.

Like all other mediterranean salad that I have come across, this one came with crumbled cheese –something that I definitely do not fancy. The colour however was rich and interesting. With lots of olives,  I loved it (except for the crumbled cheese, that is!)



 This is my friend's order which was the Grange Hotel's special pizza.



This is the rabbit dish I had – it was rather bland and I did feel a little disappointed with it.

 

The kids had starters and main course – all of which were huge by Malaysian standards. I would say that in Malaysia these would have definitely made it to the adults menu. In fact, the poor kids had to cancel their dessert as they were really full by then…..by the way, dessert was supposed to be ice cream.


Entree - for kids!!!

Prawn salad



Spaghetti - even I can't finish this!
 

Main course - just look at the amount of fries!

We continued to chit chat for some time and the waiters left us alone. Soon the little ones were yawning and it was time for me to say my goodbyes.

I don’t know how much this meal costs as I did not pay for it.

 

Address : 45 Prescot Street

London E1 8GP

Tel : +44 20 7959 5000

Fukuya KLIA

Before leaving Malaysia with the knowledge that I’ll be in a foreign land for the next few days, I decided to try the Japanese food at Fukuya. Located on the mezzanine floor, locating Fukuya was easier than I thought.

The place was literally empty as I walked in at 9am. I chose a table near the window, where I got a good view of suitcases being loaded into the aeroplanes.

I ordered the breakfast set A (RM20) – a pot of porridge served in a claypot was what I got along with a cup of coffee and a side dish. The porridge did not look appealing to me but it tasted alright. With some vegetables and eggs, it was indeed a healthy option.

I also had 2 green plates (RM13 each) and I must say that the crab sticks were rather delicious.

Ciao! Gotta run now…I’ve got a plane to board.

Address : SATMZ 24, Mezzanine Level

Kuala Lumpur International Airport

Tel : +603 8787 4187

Opens 24 hours a day

Master, Visa & Amex accepted.