Secret London Cafes - d'Orange Cafe, Westbourne Grove

I'm searching for cozy cafes in London

It’s hard to find independent cafes in Central London where every street corner has a coffee franchise. I’m making it a goal to discover great London cafes with atmosphere, affordable and quality food and drink with a bit of an edge.

D’Orange café in Westbourne Grove is a charming café with mismatched tables and chairs with a few leather couches and coffee tables for good measure. This unassuming café serves up no fuss fare. It attracts a mixed clientele of tourists, locals on work breaks and the odd model-actress type looking to avoid the paparazzi.

The blackboard menu changes with daily soups, muffins and sandwiches. We went directly for the best value meal which was the English breakfast which also comes with a selection of cereals and toast.

The breakfast covers a full plate with sausages, bacon, scrambled eggs, mushroom and onions, baked beans and potatoes. You can help yourself to toast from the “buffet”. For £5.95 it was good value although any tea or coffee was an additional charge. I had a latte for £2.45 which was quite frothy.

The service is prompt and the waitress was very helpful and accommodating, as when my friend asked to swap her sausages and bacon for porridge she was only charged an extra pound.

On weekends a full brunch buffet is offered, which I have yet to try out. In this frosty London weather, a café with good breakfast and free wifi makes venturing outdoors worthwhile.  

80 Westbourne Grove, Bayswater

W25RT

Wanderlust Wednesday - Edinburgh Castle, Scotland

The view from Edinburgh Castle on a beautiful autumn day.

Cheap Thrills in London - Ice-Skating in Queensway

It may not be as glamourous as ice-skating at Somerset House, at the Natural History Museum or in Hyde Park, but Queens Ice-skating & Bowling is the cheapest place to hit the rink in Central London.

On Monday nights it’s only £6.50 to ice-skate from 8 - 11 pm.  The disco lights and pop music gets you warmed up and doing figure eights in no time.

For beginners, an ice-skating rink can be a daunting place. The urban myth of getting your fingers chopped off if you fall and someone skates over them is highly perpetuated. If you do fall, this is pretty unlikely, mostly you’ll just end up with an icy bottom!

The only thing to be careful of is avoiding the wannabe pro’s that speed skate around the rink like they’re extras from the Mighty Ducks movies. 

For the price alone, it’s lots of good natured fun on a usually quiet Monday evening, without the crowds at the outdoor rinks. 

QUEENS Iceskating & Bowling, 17 Queensway, London W2 

A Winter Wonderland Photolog - Hyde Park, London

Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park is a Christmas sensory overload. The smell of cinnamon wafts through the chilly air - from the Belgian waffles, crepes, mulled wine and other sweets. Santa is everywhere. 

The highlights include: 

• a singing Moose, 
• rides for all ages, 
• an ice-skating rink, 
• a Bavarian village - with currywurst, bretzen and bier, 
• lots of Christmas market stalls including one that sells wooden ties and 
• a VIP white bar with oysters, champagne and a Ferrari

It's completely free to enter and the Christmas cheer will be on everyday until Jan 4th 2011. 

It's also simply too hard to resist having Nutella crepes when you're in Wonderland...

Wanderlust Wednesday - The Kissmas Tree, Covent Garden, London

For an Aussie like me, a Northern Christmas is utterly magical. I dream of a white Christmas, of chestnuts roasting by an open fire, a real wintery holiday. No BBQs, beaches or 40 degree Celcius Christmas days which is generally what it's like back home.

London lights up for Christmas. The streets sparkle with fairy lights. Shop windows have impressive displays. Everything is unashamedly Christmas themed, I've even succumbed to ordering Peppermint Mochas instead of a normal one!

In Covent Garden there is a Kissmas tree. It only lights up when couples kiss under the mistletoe. Even the biggest scrooge breaks into a sappy smile when the tree lights up! 

A Sunday Afternoon Tea in London - Bea's of Bloomsbury

There are some quintessentially British traditions that you have to do in London. Indulging in afternoon tea is one of them. Also known as high tea, afternoon tea is usually served from 2 pm till 5 pm. I like to imagine that the Queen has afternoon tea every day and drinks Twinings.

In my case, afternoon tea is reserved for the weekend when you skip lunch and try not to feel too guilty about eating a lot of sweets.

Bea's of Bloomsbury recently opened a tearoom at One New Change opposite St Paul's Cathedral. The two-level eatery is bright with a warm atmosphere, the antique style chairs and unique interiors create an Alice in Wonderland feeling particularly with the hanging teapot lights and other small touches.

We ordered one afternoon tea set - which comes with savoury baguettes, a proper scone (plain), clotted cream and raspberry jam, a signature cupcakes, petit fours, a mini Valrhona brownie, a mini Belgian Blondie, and a mini meringue and a pot of Jing tea - White jasmine herbal for Chiara. Unfortunately they had run out of petit fours so we compensated with more brownies. 


Rather than being greedy and ordering another afternoon tea, though we did briefly consider this, we opted for the Jam Tea - two plain scones with clotted cream and jam and a pot of Darjeeling Jing tea.

This high tea lady has fallen victim to clotted cream

Rustic looking scones

We look awfully excited and hungry at the same time!

Tea

The Darjeeling was light and refreshing however the teapots were small and we ran out of tea before we finished our last brownie. We ordered a pot of Earl Grey which was just what we needed to cleanse our palette of sugar. The tiny little Jug of milk runs out pretty quickly.

Sweets

The scones were buttery and melted in your mouth with the heavenly clotted cream and runny raspberry jam. I liked the consistency of the jam as it spread easily. The little brownie needed a tad more chocolate in it. However the Belgian Blondie - a moist yellow cake - was divine. The jam-smeared meringue was just the right size and not overtly sweet.

We were a bit disappointed by the velvet cupcake as it had cream, not icing, on the top and in the middle was a giant hole when we sliced it open which was meant to be a layer of chocolate icing. I like solid cupcakes and it didn't taste like a normal red velvet. We ordered the double chocolate cupcake to test another - yet this was incredibly rich. A very wicked cupcake indeed.

Savouries

I've never had baguettes with high  tea as you're usually served finger sandwiches. This was a nice surprise although they weren't cut very evenly - or spread out on the bottom plate. As there were only 3 baguettes, it looked like something was missing on the empty side of the plate! The filling was made up of ham, pesto, salad and cream cheese. The bread was a bit tough but complimented the sweets well.

The verdict - 3.5 out of 5

Service was a bit slow to begin with and we had to flag the waitstaff a few times. For 15 pounds this afternoon tea price is on par with similar sets served at some of London's galleries though cheaper than most hotels. It is a decent serving size though I would've liked to have sampled some of the petit fours. On a second visit I would probably just stick to the tea and scones for 6 pounds. 

We have an agenda of trying out as many afternoon teas as possible in London...so stay tuned.

Wanderlust Wednesday - Inverness, Scotland

Inverness is known as the gateway to northern Scotland and the highlands. Travelling by train from Edinburgh takes 3.5 hours. When there's a mechanical failure and a broken down train ahead of you, it takes a total of 4 hours! Lucky we had Scottish shortbread to get us through the journey and a fellow passenger/ great Scotsman shared his malt whiskey with Chiara.

Perth, Scotland

The main reason why people visit Inverness is to get to Loch Ness. With a hire car, we drove along the River Ness to the closest point of the Loch Ness and looked out over Urquhart Castle. No Nessie to be seen in autumn, but the trees were turning beautiful, golden colours.

The drive to Loch Ness

Urquhart Castle

Culloden Battlefield is a popular destination in Inverness. It has a serene feeling about it as it's so quiet, particularly late afternoon when we visited. In respectful silence, we strolled along the main path in the crisp air.

A sombre sign at Culloden Battlefield.

To complete our Scottish adventure - a pub dinner is required before a very long bus ride home. 

Edinburgh in 24 Hours

How much can you do in Edinburgh in only 24 hours? The answer is...a lot! 

For my very first weekend trip away since living in London, my friend Chiara and I planned out a grand itinerary for our weekend in Scotland. It consisted of our main priorities:

• Eating Scottish food eg. porridge, shortbread, neeps and tatties
• Drinking tea and sampling whisky
• Soaking up Scottish culture

Edinburgh smells like...

Sweet corn. To be more precise, it's actually barley or "hops" from the Caledonian brewery. Depending on which way the wind blows, the air is permeated with this lingering smell. 

The autumn weather was slightly chilly but we basked in the sunshine and walked everywhere, breathing in the fresh "sweetcorn" air. 

I officially love B&Bs...

We stayed at Duthus Lodge, a quaint bed and breakfast. I've never stayed at a B&B before and now I understand why they're so popular. Greeted by Bracken, the bulldog, upon entering the B&B - it was warm, welcoming and utterly charming. The hosts were friendly and very helpful, even though it appeared that our booking hadn't been confirmed.

Our twin double room was bright and sunny, with a view overlooking the front garden. The room itself was well equipped with small touches like the white teapot, biscuits and chocolates making us feel right at home.

The breakfast on Sunday morning was the best part of our stay! We were incredibly pushed for time as we had to duck onto a train ride to Inverness. However the breakfast was better than any hotel breakfast I've ever had. It was a substantial Scottish breakfast with sausages, bacon, a poached egg on a pancake, baked beans and toast. A heartwarming feast.

Must Do's in Edinburgh

Visit the National Portrait Gallery
The NPS is incredibly patriotic. It boasts of its Scottish artists featured in the lowest level of the gallery with a large collection of William McTaggart. His watercolours were my favourite, evoking a sense of calm.

Visit Edinburgh Castle
This isn't just a castle, it's almost a miniature village as it's comprised of several separate buildings. We joined a short and sharp 30 minute tour which gave us an overview of the castle complex. Definitely check out the sombre War Memorial, the small but peaceful St Margaret's Chapel, which had only just hosted a wedding for its maximum guest space of 25 people, Mons Meg, the giant cannon and the Crown Jewels. You can also see the Royal Apartments where Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to King James VI.

We lunched at Queen Anne's, eating wild boar sausages with tatties and gravy and Scottish brew so thick you could stand your spoon in it!

Walk the Royal Mile
Although it's touristy in some parts where there's wall to wall shops selling tartan, kilts and toy bagpipes, the Royal Mile brings you to the heart of Old Town. St Giles Cathedral is located further down the Mile. You can almost imagine royal processions taking place in yesteryear.

Savour an Afternoon Tea
A ladies weekend always involves afternoon tea - preferably with scones gently warmed just so your strawberry jam and cream can melt in your mouth. There's no such thing as too many scones...We enjoyed our scones at the Scottish Cafe.

Party at...Frankenstein Bar
On Halloween where else would you go but a bar named Frankenstein? The three level nightclub was full of zombies, witches, cats, lions, a Spongebob Squarepants and an Amy Winehouse. The bar's mascot Frankenstein made an appearance, as the mannequin was dropped down from the ceiling and brought to life on the table!