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 miss brunch. Farnborough, where I currently live, is not a brunch hotspot. There are plenty of places to get a fry-up, but for snooty gourmands like myself, there is a distinct lack of free-range meaty goodness, artisan bread products and things smothered in Hollandaise. (Yes, I am as pretentious as I sound…)
We went out for brunch on a Sunday morning in Bristol, and after our first destination turned out to be closed, our friend led us to the nearby Primrose Cafe (1 Clifton Arcade, Clifton, Bristol).
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!
