Yum Bun

After 5 + City Pig’s summary

Snapshot
Cuisine/Speciality:	Oriental/Street food
Price:	£3.50 for one bun or £6 for two buns.
Healthy:	·         Healthy scale 3.5/5 Steamed bun has no oil and meat cuts seem to be tender cuts and lean.
Tasty:	·         3.5/5 – Food ·       4/5 – Service (Yum Bun customers may bring their buns and eat inside the Rotary Bar and Diner which is right next door. There is a door linking the two eateries.) ·         3.5/5 – Comfort of dining in (Only assessed if you are eating your buns in the Rotary Bar and Diner. ·         3.5/5 - Value ·         3.5/5 – Overall rating
Occasion:	·         Snacking/Street food/Night time munchies ·         Light lunch/dinner
Address:	31 Featherstone Street, London, EC1Y 2BJ. Nearest tube station is Old Street Station.
Opening times	Monday to Friday: 11:30am - 2:30pm for lunchtime trading. Thursday to Saturday: 6-10pm for evening trading.
Eat in/Takeaway:	Eat-in and take-away. Note: Eat-in next door at the Rotary Bar and Diner is allowed as there is not really any space to eat at Yum Bun.
Recommended dishes & drinks	·         Classic Pork yum bun with hoi sin sauce.
Vegetarian dishes	Suitable for Vegetarians.There is a vegetarian option.
Loyalty card	No.
Website	www.yumbun.co.uk/

Yum Bun just opened in Old Street right next to the new Rotary Bar and Diner. This place offers soft white steamed buns filled with either pork, beef, mushroom and chicken options.

The classic bun is the pork bun, filled with hoi sin sauce and spring onions and cucumbers  This creation is very similar to a duck hoi sin wrap but minus the duck.

This definitely works, as the bun is very soft, moreish and the pork tender and moist with the hoi sin sauce. At £3.50 a bun, this really is an affordable snack. The only problem is that you probably could definitely eat more than one.

I am intrigued about the other options and whether the other combinations works just as well. Steamed buns or oriental style buns could be the new street food trend and I always have craved for something like this to arrive in London. I could do with a bubble tea in one hand and a yum bun in the other. This would be the perfect combination.

Just as people enjoy the pub crawl, a food crawl might be the latest trend we see in London. I hope there will be more places like Yum bun where you can eat one snack and then move to the next food stall. 

Pinkberry - Frozen yoghurt

After 5 + City Pig’s summary

Snapshot
Cuisine/Speciality:	Dessert – Frozen yoghurt
Price:	£2.75 – a small cup of frozen yoghurt without toppings.
Healthy:	·         Healthy scale 3/5 Although, this is frozen yoghurt and not ice cream, there is still a lot of sugar and with the additional toppings could be unhealthier than you imagined. Add fruit if you want to be healthy.
Tasty:	·         4/5 – Food ·         2.5/5 – Service ·        3/5 - Value ·         3/5 – Overall rating
Occasion:	·         Quick eats ·         Snacking moments
Address:	40 Duke Street, London W1A1A
Opening times	Follows Selfridges store opening times.
Eat in/Takeaway:	Eat-in and take-away. Limited space at Selfridges though.
Recommended dishes & drinks	All flavours but watermelon frozen yoghurt is very fruity. Watch out for the seasonal flavours e.g. Gingerbread and Chocolate & Hazelnut frozen yoghurt flavours.
Vegetarian dishes	Suitable for Vegetarians.
Loyalty card	Yes.
Website	http://www.pinkberry.com/
Notes	A really good tasting frozen yoghurt export from the US. A very warm welcome for it to stay.

 

After 5 + City Pig’s analysis

  London seems to be full of frozen yoghurt chains – in fact flooded with them. Although, it is winter and it is freezing outside, we Londoners still love them. This latest craze since last year has made us all try this healthier alternative to the fatty ice cream we all feel so guilty about.

I was shopping and had come across in Selfridges a brand called Pinkberry, located in their Food hall.

An excellent commercial decision made by Selfridges to have its customers shop and then indulge in frozen ice cream.

This frozen ice cream in my opinion tastes nicer than some other competitors. Pinkberry frozen yoghurt is smoother and is less acidic in flavour.

I also love the wide range of frozen yoghurt flavours ranging from chocolate to the fruity ones like mango. There will be certainly at least one or two flavours to please the picky ones. I personally do not like too many toppings but you can choose whatever you want to create your very own.

The design of Pinkberry is very attractive and the take home tubs are a clever idea. I have to admit I was not a major frozen yoghurt fan but after tasting Pinkberry I've changed my opinion on frozen yoghurts.

There are some debates in how healthy it really is, as the sugar content is rather high. However, It makes a nice alternative to ice cream and makes one feel that they are not over indulging.

Although, I have not made a review on Frae. I absolutely love this place as well. The flavours and combinations are very different from its competitors and is another place worth trying.  

 

Cafe Bateel

After 5 + City Pig’s summary

Snapshot
Cuisine/Speciality:	Café - Serving dried dates; cakes and coffee. (Bateel is from Dubai.)
Price:	£2.60 for a cup of latte. £3.95 mille feuille.
Healthy:	·         Healthy scale: 1/5 as cakes are high in calories. ·         Dates are nutritious but high in sugar.
Tasty:	·         4/5 – Food (Cakes are very high quality and fresh.) ·         3/5 – Service ·         3/5 - Value ·         3.5/5 – Overall rating
Occasion:	·         Snacking moments ·         Coffee breaks
Address:	Bateel Boutique and Café 76, New Bond Street, Mayfair
Opening times	Mon- Fri: 8:30am – 8pm Sat-Sun : 10am- 6:30pm
Eat in/Takeaway:	Eat-in and take-away.
Recommended dishes & drinks	Cakes/dates/coffee
Vegetarian dishes	Suitable for Vegetarians.
Loyalty card	No
Website	http://www.bateel.com/
Notes	A pleasant break from shopping and a much more relaxing coffee break than Starbucks and the major chained coffee shops. Good quality coffee and a delicious selection of cakes. A fine brand from Dubai.

 

After 5 + City Pig’s analysis

After experiencing, Bateel in Dubai, I was pleased to find that we have a boutique café version of Bateel as well.

Bateel is known for its fine dates, but also the quality in its food produce. In Dubai, Café Bateel serves hot and cold meals.

The London café branch only serves hot drinks, dates and cakes. However, the cakes are wonderful and are not priced too expensive at all. I would recommend people who around the area to stop by for a cup of coffee and cake. This is a much nicer place to come for a place to recharge your energy after a long shopping trip. It may be high in quality but the price is very reasonable.

It really makes a unique change from the chained coffee stores which will be always busy with tourists.

The Mille Feuille is absolutely amazing. It is light in texture and the puff layer with the cream is sensational.  Sometimes, it can be a bit heavy but not this one.

I will be coming here again to try other cakes. The coffee latte was perfect, not too strong or weak. City Pig’s pal had a hot chocolate which you had to make yourself. Hot chocolate chips are in a cup and hot milk is given to you to pour and to mix them together. A unique experience and quite fun.

The hot chocolate may not be the best I have had but it was a better taste than some chained coffee shops. Manon café, just next door does superb hot chocolates using Leonidas chocolates to make it.

Café Bateel must have a lot of Saudia Arabian fans as this place is always quite full and so get there early to grab a spot.