Cocorino

Today I'm here to talk about an ice-cream shop that rules. Even if it's still winter... Who cares? It's ice cream! This is Cocorino.

 

The shop is located on Thayer Street, and it's not just an ice-cream shop. There is also a focacceria next door, but since I haven't been there I can't talk about it... The only thing I know is I've read some reviews online and they aren't all that good so... you should just stick to the ice-cream for now.

I must admit I've never been a huge fan of ice-cream in general; I only like (well, really like) chocolate or hazelnut flavors, and I even find it hard to find a chocolate ice-cream that I really like, but the one I ordered here (chocolate and hazelnut) was fantastic. My friend Sara ordered a mint one, which she also really enjoyed (although she actually wanted a mint and chocolate one, but it's kind of hard finding that around here!).

They also sell cakes and the like, so as you can see there are more options. So if you are in the area and are a bit hungry or just want to get something sweet, this is a place where you could go!

The Diner

In Curtain Road, in the Shoreditch area, is located the Diner, an American restaurant (or, well, diner) specialized in (obviously) burgers, pancakes, and more. In these photos I'll show you the one on Shoreditch, but there are more across the city (Camden, Soho, Islington...). 

Basically, it is a diner located on a very interesting area of London, and the restaurant itself is very cozy, especially if you seat in a booth next to the windows. There are vegetarian options aside from the regular hamburgers, and the price is alright, as you can see:

I also have to admit that I've never had a burger there so I can't really talk about its quality, but I did have some pancakes as per a friend's suggestion and they were very good. If you order the "high stack" you won't need to eat in months, seriously... or I mean, until dinner. Also, the waiters are very nice. My friend ordered some pancakes with blueberries and maple syrup, but since I don't really like those ingredients, I asked for some chocolate and got some Nutella! Amazing.

So yeah, I really recommend this place. And it's much nicer to go have a burger here (on in Byron, a small chain of burger restaurants that have one in Angel, and it is delicious; you can also go to Haché, in Camden - it is also very good) than in McDonald's. I'm tellin' ya.

Oriental Delight

Hello friends,

today I present you a small store located in Chinatown (specifically Gerrard Street), between Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square. This is one of the few stores of the street, which mainly consists of restaurants. There is also another store like this one close to this one, towards Tokyo Diner.

You'll mainly find food in this store, and in particular candies. This is probably just a regular store but if you're into Asian culture it's really nice, because all the candy wrapping is wonderful! I have to admit, lately I've been listening to and watching videos of Korean pop... Yes, yes, it's true. And it's AWESOME. So anything that reminds me of it is a plus.

That said, be careful and look at the expiration date on the products because a friend of mine bought some candy and some of it was expired! And so maybe you're thinking, so why the heck are you posting about this store? Well, because ...I guess not all of it is expired, and plus it's hard to find this kind of store in Spain, so... yeah. And, as I mentioned before, the wrapping and boxes have all these colorful drawings and it makes for a nice and simple gift. For instance, I like these:

As you can see they also have some "Hello Kitty" stuff so there's a bit for everyone (that is, everyone that is into these kinds of things). It might no be the best store in London, but it's in the city centre and around Chinatown, so if you're in the area it's nice if you want some pink and blue chewing gum or something...

By the way, I know I already posted about this but my brother and I just started posting recipes again on our cooking blog... We're going to try to update it as much as we can from now on! I still have to translate the last couple of recipes but most if it is already translated! Hopefully you'll find something you like. Enjoy!

Louis Patisserie

Hello, world. I'm Andrea and I usually blog over at the art of staying up all night. Ever since I first went to London, the only thing I knew I wanted in life was to move there. I've visited many many times since then, and I've lived somewhere that allowed me to go into London several times a week, but the city still manages to amaze me every time. From now on I will be helping my friend Clara from time to time. I think this is absolutely delightful.

Do you know what else is delightful? The first place I'm gonna share with you; Louis Patisserie. Strange things happen often when I go to London. Things that don't make any sense, like going to London for one day to see a band, waking up at 7am and deciding to go all the way to Hampstead simply because I hadn't been there for a long time and I wanted to feel like Herr Freud or Mr Keats, who both lived in the area. I found Louis Patisserie at the right time for breakfast. A quick look at their window display made me salivate so much that I didn't hesitate and went in. Tea is served the way it should be served, despite the place being Hungarian (I absolutely ignore if Hungarian people are fond of tea), in a silver pot and delicate looking china cups. I was so overwhelmed by the choice of sweets that I asked the lady what she recommended. She suggested a Danish bun with apricot jam and I hesitated because I'm not the biggest fan of jam, but felt like I should order that anyway. As you can see in the photo, it looked delicious, and I can guarantee it tasted as good as it looked.

One of the best things about this place is that it didn't feel like being in London at all, and I know this is ironic considering I have just talked about how much I love London. It felt like being in a small town café where customer and owner are on first name terms. The decor looks like it hasn't changed at all since the opening in the early 60s, which makes the place even more charming and unique, especially in these times of massive coffee chains.

Hampstead at 8am

Text and photos by Andrea. Make sure you check out her blog, flickr, and etsy shop. We love being all over the Internet.

More guest posts to come soon!

Tenshi Restaurant

I must say that I love Japanese food. I recently realized, while browsing through my London photos, that most of the restaurants I have talked or will talk about are Japanese. Therefore I hope you enjoy this kind of food as much as I do! I promise I'll talk about other kinds of food sometime soon.

On 61, Upper Street there is a little restaurant barely noticeable between all the food chains surrounding it (such as Caffè Uno, etc.). Well, when I say barely noticeable I may be lying a bit, it's not like you can't see it, but it's not obviously there either. Or, whatever. Here is a picture of Tenshi Restaurant, so you can recognize it if you ever decide to go. Please notice the highly professional framing of the picture.


That CLOSED sign is a total LIE because right when I took this picture, two girls went inside. So don't let them fool you. Anyway. LOVE IT. I've been reading reviews about this restaurant on the web and they all agree on the fact that this is a good restaurant (the food, the service, the place, etc.). Apparently it opened recently, but soon the second floor will be available too (it is currently only open because the toilets are there).

Check out the first floor:


As far as the food is concerned, it is also very good. Or at least it was the two times I went there. But I have to admit that I always order the same thing - chicken teriyaki with rice. But there is a wide selection of dishes on the menu, including, of course, sushi, noodles, and more. Personally I think that one of the best options is ordering, for 8,95 pounds, the "Bento" menu, which comes in a wooden box (a Bento box) with several compartments where the food is served. If you ask the chicken teriyaki one it comes with chicken (obviously), rice, salad, vegetable tempura and a piece of omelette (though the latter may vary). It also includes miso soup. So good!

Brick Lane Coffee

Dear Internauts of the new decade: today, June, 5, is a beautiful day and I turn 22. Just thought I'd let you know. And while I listen to Toundra, I introduce you to the Brick Lane Coffee.

Now that summer's on its way (although in London you never now), this café comes in handy as you can either go in to avoid the heat or stay outside to enjoy the sun.

Brick Lane Coffee is a really small café that is, as its name indicates, located on 157, Brick Lane. It seems that it used to go by another name as part of a chain of cafés that closed in 2009, but apart from the name change, the café is still pretty much the same.


On the inside, which, as I mentioned, is not especially big, you will find sofas, chairs and tables that are slightly KITSCH (at least when I went there they were), and there's usually quite a bit of people. The coffee is allegedly good, but I can't prove it since I'm not really into coffee. But I can tell you that the hot chocolate (with or without soy milk) is pretty good (and boiling, so be patient my friends). You can also find different kinds of sweets like muffins, cookies, etc. It may not be different than any other café, but I like that it's small and doesn't belong to a big chain. Also, it's in a really COOL area.


Maybe now that the weather's warmer you won't want a hot beverage, but I'm sure they have ice teas and stuff like that now. So there!

Tokyo Diner

Greetings companions; today, while listening to No Knife's Riot for Romance!, I will talk about Tokyo Diner.


This is one of my favorite restaurants in London. Ironically, it is located in Chinatown... the nearest tube station is Leicester Square, so as you can see it is in the center of the city. A road that is pretty close to the restaurant is Charing Cross, which is full of nice bookstores that I'll talk about in future entries.

Tokyo Diner is a little and cozy restaurant that also happens to be affordable. Besides, they don't ask for a tip, contrarily to most London restaurants. As for the food, I've only tried the chicken teriyaki or kara-age, the aubergines, and the plain rice, but it was excellent, really. I've been with a lot of friends and they all say it's really good (and they've ordered other things, like chicken katsu curry, sushi, etc.). Also, they give you free green tea. Not bad, right?

Here is a picture of a delicious chicken kara-age dish. In the background you can perfectly see (notice the irony, hilarious I know) chicken teriyaki, plain rice, and aubergines:


Awesome. If you don't like japanese food you can always order this dish, but if you do, there are plenty of great options, like sushi, sashimi, donburi, noodles, bento boxes, etc. You can download a pdf version of the menu here.

Santi and his tea.

I hope you get to go to this nice restaurant and you enjoy the food! I always do.

The Hummingbird Bakery

Dear friends!

Today I'm sitting in my room listening to Osker's Idle Will Kill.

The Hummingbird Bakery is a little bakery situated on 133, Portobello Road, near Portobello Market (which is a market I highly recommend, but I'll talk about that another day). It rules. They specialize in cupcakes, although you can always find some pretty good looking cakes and beverages.

 

It is usually packed because since its opening in 2004 it has had plenty of success. In the UK you find muffins everywhere, but it's not that easy to find (good) cupcakes, which is why this small bakery decided to create their personal cupcakes. The place is really cosy, and although I've only tried one of the different varieties of cupcakes they offer, I can honestly say it's really good. I've also talked to some friends who have been there at some point and they all agree that it's worth going. So I guess that's pretty much it! The nearest tube station is Notting Hill Gate, in case you want to go check it out.
Here are a couple of pictures of the shop!