Category Archives: Retail

Ayrshire, Bakeries, Cafés

La Petite Patisserie, Ayr

1 Comment

I love returning back to Ayrshire and finding out what new places have opened up. Before every visit I always do a little research – checking out popular places on TripAdvisor, reading up on new openings and so on.

I learned of La Petite Patisserie this way. It’s a recently opened cake shop tucked down Cow Wynd off Alloway Street in Ayr (look out for a board on the pavement guiding you into a courtyard).

Doing a little background reading I found out about the help they had received from Reddit users to enhance the business. I’m hugely fond of independent “dream-realising” outlets, plus the photos on their site looked delicious so I felt obliged to drag H and T down there for some mid-morning cake.

patisserie

Continue reading La Petite Patisserie, Ayr →

Ayrshire, Bakeries, Cafés

Daisy Cupcakes, Ayr

Leave a comment

Way back when I did a few posts on The Daisy Cupcake Cafe in Ayr. Lovely cakes and a really friendly place.

I was very sad to hear that it had closed earlier this year. However all is not over, as the owner is still making cupcakes and delivering them locally. Visit the website to find out how to get your order in.

I also learned that The Basement Coffee House (13 Old Bridge Street) in Ayr stocks Daisy cupcakes too, and on my recent Scottish travels I picked a few up. I can also recommend a white hot chocolate with rose I had in the cafe while I was there – smooth and sweet.

Restaurants, Takeaways

Taste Buds Caribbean Cuisine, Aldershot

2 Comments

One night recently H and I fancied some takeaway and decided to try out a restaurant in Aldershot called Taste Buds Caribbean Cuisine (98 Grosvenor Road).

We tried phoning a few times, but it went through to answer machine, so we decided to drive over and see if it still existed, with a back-up plan of going to the Nanglo Cafe if not.

jerk and sides

Continue reading Taste Buds Caribbean Cuisine, Aldershot →

Cafés, Food Analysis, Ice-cream Parlours, Italy, Restaurants

A Few Venice Highlights

Leave a comment

Picture a couple in a gondola, gently propelled along a narrow canal by a skilled gondolier. Now add 3 other passengers, a crap ton of rain, umbrellas and cameras in all hands, and the romance rapidly evporates. We watched them drift past us as we splashed our way through the streets on the first full day of our recent brief trip to Venice.

It was sunny the next day. And to be fair, Venice is pretty amazing whatever the weather. Dilapidated ornate buildings lapped by lagoon waters, maze-like passageways, tiny steep bridges over miniature canals – it certainly isn’t like anywhere else I’ve ever been.

But other people can tell you more about that stuff. I’m all about the food.

cicchetti

Continue reading A Few Venice Highlights →

Cafés, Canada, East Sussex, Food Analysis, France, London, Shops

Food Analysis: Paladin Minuto

Leave a comment

The average hot chocolate you get in the UK is pretty uninspiring. I mean, sure, it has a chocolate taste and is warmly comforting, but its lacklustre nature is undeniable, and it doesn’t matter how much whipped cream or marshmallows are piled on top.

I’m always in search of pure, intense hot chocolate. The kind you get if you make it yourself at home with real chocolate and milk (or even, eep, cream).

I’ve had a killer one in the renowned Angelina in Paris*; an excellent shot in Chocolat Chocolat, Cambridge; a dark and delicious 70% courtesy of Mink, Vancouver; and what I swear was just a cup of melted chocolate down in Brighton’s Bar Du Chocolat. However a particularly fond memory comes from a brief visit to Barcelona and assorted stops for chocolate and churros.

paladin minuto

Continue reading Food Analysis: Paladin Minuto →