Lunch at Flesh & Buns, London

Since I have already written about Bone Daddies, let me now show you around its sister concern Flesh and Buns. If I have to choose from either of these two places, I would definitely go for Flesh & Buns. The place is bigger and brighter, the foods great and made in front of you (its an open kitchen) and you have a variety of seating options: sharing tables, booths and round tables if you go with your friends and family. Its also located near a very cute pet store which houses loads of interesting stuff, sort of Korean fashion for man's best friend. I bought a faux fur pink jacket for Lilly and she was quite a fashionista in our nook of the woods last winter. Anyways back to Flesh & Buns, here's what it looks like:

And here's the menu, lots of options for everyone. The drinks here were better than Bone Daddies or maybe my selection was better. Who knows but this meal was a success.

And one more thing, this place has interesting anime wall paper in the loo, so basically you have something to read while you pee or do the number two. I actually have an uncle who always checks the loo before ordering food in a restaurant, this would have been a good fit for him. When we went in the place was quite empty but slowly it filled up, a good mix of families, groups of friends and city types. So now to the business of food, we ordered a plate of sashimi and a whole load of sticky pork belly and fried sole as our mains.

 
The sashimi was good, the fried sole was better, perfectly crispy and great with a spritz of lemon on top. But the pork, aah it was heaven. I always have a soft spot for pork and this was awesome, sticky, slightly sweet with light fluffy buns to sandwich them in. The buns reminded me of the thukpas at Tee Dee, Majnu ka Tila in Delhi.

It does require a bit of an assembly job, but the end result is pretty awesome, so no complaints. Flesh & Buns do dessert as well but we were pretty stuffed by the end of the meal. No complaints though.

Macaroons & Laduree

I was born with a sweet tooth. And over the years my palate has reached epic proportions of flavour discernment as far as the taste of sweet is concerned. You have the delicate spun sugar flavour of macaroons, an ingenue, with lingering traces of innocence. You have the deeper more comforting taste of pecan pie, more syrupy laced with bourbon. And then you have the sweet for the grown ups, rich dark chocolate mousse tinged with chilli powder, a treat to be enjoyed in the dark. These are the tastes that I have savoured and committed to memory. But if I am honest, a tiny part of me will agree that part of enjoying a dessert is visceral. A sweet or a dessert is by nature an enticement, something illicit to be enjoyed with each bite. And in these times when eating anything with white sugar is a sin, desserts have taken on a more forbidden fruit kind of analogy. I mean just look at these macaroons, they just scream "look at me".

I couldn't resist so much of "pink", I just had to go in and taste them. And I did so twice, both times from the same brand but each experience was different. Laduree is of course the byword for macaroons, so popular that its a bit pretentious. Sells itself on its Frenchness and Sophia Copolla's Marie Antoinette certainly helped. I first went into the Harrods branch. Bad choice. The decor is very dark, not what I associate with the pastel macaroons. And all around me were rich arabic women, all burqa'd up relaxing after marathon shopping expedition at Harrods. Still the weather was cold and I was hungry so I ordered myself the afternoon tea which consist of sandwiches, macaroons and pastries. Did I enjoy it? Of course I did. I never let anything come between me and my food, not even screechy 

20 somethings wearing Isabel Marant wedge sneakers. I took the obligatory pictures, stuffed my face, paid my bill and left. The macaroons were great no doubts on that, but the whole tea drinking experience was just a bit off. I didn't have any charm. 

  

And then I visited their Covent Garden branch and i was sold. Right from the pretty menus to the seating areas, everything was perfect. I could imagine sitting here and giggling with friends, spending a first date, or just enjoying a cuppa on my own, with no books, iphone or friends for company. 

The green-blue one is actually called Marie Antoinette

You can also get champagne to go with your treats if you prefer. I stuck to good old Darjeeling. There is a very nice terrace to sit on if the weather is warm. And of course you can bring some millefeuille back home to share with your dog in your backyard. 

Tapas @ Covent Garden

For me, a brunch is something to be shared. If I am eating alone I always end up ordering more than I can eat. And because I don't want to walk around carrying food all day, I end up stuffing myself and feel completely bloated. Thats why I love a tapas bar. And the Pix Bar wins it for me in terms of choice and price. I have only been to their Covent Garden branch which is quite cozy and on Neal Street which I love.

How it works is that you grab a plate, choose your nibbles with their sticks and head to the den. You will be given a glass jar to collect all your sticks. At the end of your meal the tab is counted against the sticks, small ones cost £1.95, the longer ones are priced at £2.95. Cocktails and drinks are to be ordered separately. I went for a watermelon martini and happily hogged away for the better part of an hour. Felt like a proper feast without the bloated feeling.

Tapas choices

Chocolate Mousse

Churros with Chocolate

I chose this

Plates get empty fast

Bacon & quails egg, stuffed pepper, summer fruits chantilly

Goats cheese and fig in the middle

Watermelon martini