Every now and again I like to daydream about having my own little cake shop. I’d mostly just be baking. And eating. And I probably wouldn’t have any customers, but I’d have an array of cakes to choose from.
If my fantasy ever became reality, I wouldn’t want it to be all that different from the Daisy Cupcake Cafe (15 High Street, Ayr).
I don’t know how, but when I was living up in Ayrshire last year I totally neglected to post on my favourite UK fish and chip shop, the Wee Hurrie in Troon.
On our recent visit to H’s mum T, this was the first place we headed after our train reached Ayr, and I realised I had to rectify this terrible error. So with the year-old pics I had ready and waiting, let me try to make amends.
Visiting a friend in Bristol recently, I meandered past a cupcake shop en route to lunch (Lilly and Boo’s Cupcakery, corner of Cotham Hill and Whiteladies Road), and immediately stopped and pressed my face up against the window. Rows of gorgeous cakes winked back at me, definitely insisting that my visit would not be complete without a cake stop.
An hour or so later I was in possession of a Velvet Elvis, for the princely sum of £2.20. The guy behind the counter was wonderfully friendly, and my cake was carefully packaged into a little plastic case shaped to protect its dome of icing.
I am a great believer in research. Why waste time eating something disappointing when a little research can minimise the risk of traumatising your tastebuds?
Of course happening across good places is wonderful. There is always a little risk involved, but if you rely on your instincts, things usually turn out okay.
Over a year ago, I posted about an awesome fro-yo place in Hong Kong: Orangi-Yo. Here you could serve yourself from a choice of fro-yo flavours and then sprinkle with as many toppings as you liked.
H loved the place, and since then, we’ve occasionally reminisced about it, wishing there was somewhere similar in the UK.
The other week, we decided to pop up on the train to Clapham Junction to have a mooch around. Imagine my delight when, undertaking some pre-trip research, I came across a website for a 3-shop chain of self-serve fro-yo places in London!
