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It was one of those nights where we had craving for some American dinner, which is not exactly calories-friendly. Well, as long as they are worth it, then the question would be 'why not?'. With a Hollywood theme setting as backdrop, Tinseltown pioneered the UK market specializing in premium quality milkshakes with a range containing chocolate bars, cakes to sweets. (Let those names come to mind, 'Mars', 'Snickers', 'Malteasers' etc)

Tinseltown advocates going directly to source for their meats, where they mature (age), cut, marinade and cure all served products, with each sauce and marinade created with their own unique recipes. We can certainly vouch for that..

But for now, let us return and focus on their 'to-die-for-milkshakes', yum!

The Ambassador
Ferrero Rocher, Oreo Cookies and ice cream milkshake topped with whipped cream.

Situated in the centre of medieval Leicester, the location of this pub Wetherspoon marks the site of the High Cross, where Highcross Street meets High Street. Outside this pub, some granite sets are laid into the road in the shape of a cross. This 'High Cross' was actually the last remaining pillar of the Old Market House.

Being Cask Marque accredited, it is no wonder that J D Wetherspoon (more commonly known simply as Wetherspoon) is a popular hunt for the locals. The Cask Marque scheme operates by having an independent assessor to check on all cask ales on sale for temperature (you don't really want your beer to be served warm, do you?), appearance, aroma and taste. If you care about beer, it would be worth visiting http://www.cask-marque.co.uk/, not forgetting to check out the tab under 'Beer Info'!

With more than 400 pubs country-wide, Wetherspoon offers a typical 'English pub' environment, serving quality pub food at affordable prices. There are ongoing offers such as 2 mains for £6.49 and lunch time offers that definitely suits the likes and interests of students and budget conscious.

Gourmet Butterfly Chicken Breast Burger
Topped with two bacon slices and a spicy Monterey Jack cheese and pepper sauce. Includes six beer-battered whole onion rings.

Tuborg

Strawberry Souffle ($6.60)

Strawberry Cheese Tart ($3.40)

Perhaps a stereotype, I was a little disappointed when I saw the cheese tarts coming out in sealed packages like that because it seems as though it's been pre-made. It turned out to be impressively good after unwrapping it and giving it a shot. The cheese was surprisingly light which didn't leave the 'je-lat' feel like what happens after eating most cheesecakes. I loved the crumble as it was well baked and still had a crisp to it. One slight downside to it, it didn't taste anything like strawberry at all. Would have easily passed off as a normal cheese tart. 

Nom Factor: 7.5/10

Napoleon ($6.60)

Nom Factor: 7.5/10

Overall, it wasn't quite an impressive experience with Flor. Perhaps I've had expectations after hearing all about the authentic Japanese culture, seeing the long queues and the slight linkage with The Patissier upon seeing similar names, which resulted in the cognitive dissonance. I still give credits to the high quality of ingredients used and freshness of its pastries, a rare sight with most dessert shops these days!

This restaurant has a presence in almost every English city. Surprisingly, we always took it for granted and never really got to trying it out in our years of living in the UK. We decided to give a shot for the 5pm England's opening game against France in the Euro 2012. Unfortunately, we were unable to do the booking on the same day itself, so we decided to pop in to the restaurant early to grab us a good table to enjoy our dinner with hopefully some good English football on display.




Cookie Cup Explosion (£4.95/-)
Like the name suggested, this was a cookie biscuit base, filled with chocolate brownie, marshmallow pieces and chocolate honeycomb, served with vanilla ice cream.


(+) Brownie chunks were moist and warm and went very well indeed with the rich creamy vanilla ice cream.
(+) Cookie biscuit base was soft and 'malleable', unlike the crisp 'biscuit-like' hard texture.
(+) The chocolate honeycomb and the soft mashed marshmallows gave a very rich 'gooey' taste.
(+) Particularly enjoyed a 'section' of the brownie + cookie + ice cream where there was a piece of sweet basil leave left to infuse the fragrance and tinge of freshness.
(+) A very interesting and unique selection of sinful and devilish treats, calories well worth though!


(-) Was expecting some chunks of marshmallow pieces, but it was barely visible.


(+) Similarly served with vanilla ice cream, you could see how smooth, rich and creamy it is in this picture!
(+) Great insertion of a lemon cremee ayer between the crumble and base of tart.
(+) The 'tart' itself was very rich in butter, albeit a good sense.

It had been a while since we last tasted authentic Thai-style fish cakes, so this starter was a must-have. Served with a bed of fried onion rings too, it was presented in a rather unique way. The sweet-chilli sauce was specially blended and tasted rich. It was unlike those bland sweet-chilli sauces available off the shelves at supermarkets. The fish cakes were very fragrant, owing to the herbs and spices used. The onion rings were big slices of sliced onions and fried covered in batter. The surimi-filling tasted fresh and had a bouncy texture to it. Coupled with the crisp fried surface, it was definitely a treat.


Tom Saep (Chicken) (£6.50/-)
Spicy soup, North-Eastern style with chilli and lime juice.


Labelled as one of their recommended dishes, we were left slightly disappointed with the green curry. It had a rich coconut taste to the curry, but it was prepared immoderately sweet (well to our tastebuds anyway). The menu listed aubergines as one of the key ingredients, but this was a 'green green-curry' with plenty of long beans and green peas to make up for the aubergines. As suggested above, the chicken slices were very tender and smooth. Despite chicken breast portions being used for the curry, it did not taste the slightest bit stiff, and that definitely won us over.


The sauce that accompanied this grilled dish was good and tasted unique. However, certain portions of the grilled meat tasted too stiff for our liking. This could probably be owed to the comparison made with the chicken dishes, so we had expected the pork dish to taste about the same or better. It was a simple grilled dish, nothing to rave about.


It had been a long while since we last tasted coconut and sticky rice (since the relatively nicer Thai restaurant in Leicester closed down). Anyhow, this version of coconut rice was too sweet for our liking. The fragrance was overwhelming though when it was first brought to our table, but it made us felt full rather quickly.


Steamed Sticky Rice (£2.95)

I would personally give this a miss if I were to revisit. The rice was not exactly very 'sticky'. Instead, it tasted rather dry and hard. Wrapped with the white plastic visible above, it was steamed in this bamboo canister. It scored points for presentation, but it was rather tasteless regrettably. We thought that normal plain rice might have done the job better. Also, the portion of rice for the price was not exactly worth it in my humble opinion.

Started the day early and skipped my usual cup of Americano at home, so there it was to make up for it! With the size of the 'large' Americano, it certainly perked me up! The above picture did not quite seem to illustrate clearly how big the cup was, but trust me, it was massive and definitely well worth. (Or maybe my caffeine craving was doing me in so badly...) Do not expect gourmet coffee to be served though at such a good deal, but it was definitely a quality brew above average standard.

Foxy's Mega Fish Finger Sandwich with wedges





Posh Pants Brekkie - Smoked salmon and scrambled eggs on chunky toast

Once again, when this was served, we were 'wowed' by the massive portion. The toast like the menu suggested was 'chunky', and much thicker compared to the fish finger sandwich. It was toasted too unlike the sandwich, and it was done to perfection too, with a surface layer of crisp crust, leaving the 'inside' of the bread tasting soft. The smoked salmon came in medium cut shreds which was passable though personally I would have preferred a large slab of it. (But for £6.50, I really could not ask for too much more) All 3 slices of the toast had a gentle spread of butter to it. The scrambled eggs were also cooked to perfection, leaving just about a wee bit of 'milkiness' and tasted very soft and 'curdy'. In general, it was another fine treat!

Apparently, what makes this place popular with the locals is this devilish looking brownie. Do not be deceived by the plain looks of it, for it was just about one of the best we had! The surface layer had a thin crisp crust, but the inside of the brownie tasted 'gooey' and very rich of chocolate. We were so full after the 2 big portions of sandwiches and had to take this on the go. Even when we left half of it till the following day, it still tasted as good. Little wonder why this was such a hit! We were left whining about not getting an extra slice, oh well..



When we left the cafe at about 12.30pm, it was packed full with customers waiting for a table or waiting for their take-out orders. There were plenty of other very tempting treats such as the peanut butter, chocolate and banana slice. They even have sundaes or simply cakes with additional scope of ice cream. With Ben & Jerrys ice cream to complement, I am pretty sure it tastes awesome. It was a shame though that we could not take in anymore food, but it is definitely a place we would return to if we visit Nottingham, at the very least for their to-die-for brownies. Also, they have a special menu for high-tea, offering scones and the likes along with their cakes, definitely worth a look.

On a side note, I believe Homemade offers catering services for parties or events. It would be worthwhile to check out their website while on the topic, or give them a buzz to check it out. For more details, be sure to check out www.homemadecafe.com.

Peking Duck

The skin of the duck was very well roasted and crispy. Foodies familiar with this dish should know what to expect. The pancakes were soft and served warm, like how it should be. With some spring onion and the skin of the roasted duck dipped with the specially prepared 'hoisin' sauce, it was definitely your classic starter  for a proper Cantonese cuisine. If you are the sort who prefers a more 'meaty' cut to your Peking duck, then you might be in for a slight letdown.

The daily soup was really good. Slow-boiled to perfection, and it was very rich. To be honest, we forgot what type of soup it was, but being the 'daily soup', it changes daily anyway. Bottomline, the soup was definitely a hit.

Verdict: 8.5/10

Abalone slice with goose feet and asparagus

Verdict: 7.0/10

Minced meat with salted egg yolk

Verdict: 6.5/10

Verdict: 6.0/10

Shop2068-70, 2/F, Elements,

1 Austin Road West,

Tsim Sha Tsui 

www.leigarden.hk