The Wolseley (London, UNITED KINGDOM) ★★★☆☆

Our trip down memory lane continues with a visit to The Wolseley this afternoon. In 2008, while Jelloman and I were spending our honeymoon in London, we had the pleasure of having a meal here and it's really ample time for us to re-visit this place with our little nugget in attendance.

Every major city in the world seems to have its own grand café, a place to see and to be seen during brunch and afternoon tea hours. In London, this could very well be The Wolseley, a timeless restaurant in the heart of Piccadilly which has been serving its brunch and all-day menu since 2003 in an impeccable setting, a heritage building that used to be the showroom of Wolseley Motors dating back to 1921.

Taking photos here was a bit challenging due to the poor lighting (and reflection) but it was important for me to shoot a few of these for my record cuz I love this place so much.

There's still a couple of hours before our scheduled dinner so I thought we could squeeze in something sweet.

The Wolseley's Hot Chocolate (£6.25) - There's a version of this that comes with rum but I like it with whipped cream the French way (a la Angelina or Ladurée).

This turned out to be pretty disappointing. I was hoping it would be as rich as the ones at Angelina or Ladurée but no such luck.

Carrot Cake (£6.25) - There are two cakes that should not be missed here at The Wolseley - The Wolseley Battenberg (a moist pink-and-yellow checkerboard patterned sponge cake) and carrot cake. Having tried the Battenberg at Harrod's and a number of other places before, we decided to turn our attention to their carrot cake.



This is seriously good. Very moist and pillowy, with some lovely bite coming from the nuts in the middle (pistachio?).

I hope we didn't stuff ourselves too much cuz tonight, I have lined up Frenchie, a modern French brasserie by chef Greg Marchand for our last supper in London (on this trip). I have tried to get into his tiny little Parisian restaurant in 2nd arrondissement on a number of occasions but without success. So, I am really excited about visiting their London outpost in Covent Garden. Let's hope they don't disappoint me tonight!




Food Rating: 5.5/10
Price: ££££
Address: 160 Piccadilly, St. James's, London, United Kingdom
Closest Tube Station: Green Park
Tel: +44 20 7499-6996
Website: www.thewolseley.com
Opening Hours: 7:00am - 11:00pm (Mon - Fri), 8:00am - 11:00pm (Sat - Sun)

Maître Choux Soho (London, UNITED KINGDOM) ★★★☆☆

Ever since L'Eclair de genie decided to withdraw from the Asian market, I have been on the lookout for new sources for some elegant and beautifully decorated éclairs. And my search continues tonight at a different continent after I got my little nugget his beloved ramen.



Maître Choux is all about choux pastry - éclairs, profiteroles and baked sugar-crusted buns they call chouquettes. It is the brainchild of French pâtissier Joakim Prat who yields from Biarritz in south-west France, a town we would be visiting on this trip.



The éclairs (mostly nutty and fruity flavors) here are almost as colorful and beautiful as the ones from L'Eclair de genie.



They even have some savory ones themed with heirloom tomatoes (and feta cheese), spring vegetables (with carrot and Earl Grey purée) and tuna~! 



Last but not least, their chouquettes.

I got myself three different flavors. These will serve as tonight's dessert after I enjoy my lobster roll.



From left to right: Pistachio, blackberry cheesecake and chestnut (marron).



Christmas Cheeky Chestnut Eclair (£5.80) - Classic Mont Blanc dessert with a festive makeover. Chestnut and choux pastry are match made in heaven and this combination strikes again. I thought this was very nice but perhaps some additional texture on top of the caramelized chestnut and meringue would make it even more interesting.



Persian Pistachio Eclair (£5.20) - It came with filling of Persian pistachio mousseline cream, known for its intense and delightful nutty flavor.



It was nicely complemented by the sprinkle of ground and candied pistachio for some additional texture.



Blackberry Cheesecake Eclair (£5.20) - My favorite out of the three. The creamy cheesecake base matched the filling of infused blackberry purée perfectly. It's almost like having a cheesecake in a slightly different shape.






Food Rating: 6/10
Price: £££
Address: 60 Dean Street, London, United Kingdom
Closest Tube Station: Leicester Square
Tel: +44 20 7734-3132
Website: www.maitrechoux.com
Opening Hours: 10:00am - 12:00am (Mon - Sat), 10:00am - 8:00pm (Sun)

Cakes & Bubbles (London, UNITED KINGDOM) ★★★★☆

After settling mom and little nugget back at the hotel, Jelloman and I headed back out to Regent Street again to enjoy a night promised to be filled with fun and good food.



Our first stop was Cakes & Bubbles at Hotel Cafe Royal, a luxurious hotel patisserie by Albert Adrià, the former head pastry chef of now-defunct El Bulli and current head chef of Tickets, a Michelin starred restaurant in Barcelona.



This is more than just a pastry shop. It's a unique dessert and champagne experience where diners are invited to enjoy a parade of spectacular desserts created by the Spanish chef of El Bulli fame, along with an exclusive selection of champagnes and sparkling wines.



The elegantly designed cafe is directly facing Regent Street, one of the busiest junction in London.



Chef Adrià's signature creations are all summarized on a single-page dessert menu highlighted by arguably his most popular "The Cheesecake".



From 11am to 3pm, there are also savory items including salmon tartlet, burrata and avocado toast, Tickets' Tomato Tartare and Club Sandwich served.



Mango lollipop sorbet with crispy strawberry (£5.00) - Beautifully decorated flower-shaped lollipop made with mango sorbet, topped with lime cream and crispy strawberry jelly.



Very lovely presentation but I thought the mango flavor got too much overshadowed by the acidity from the lime cream.



The Cheese Cake (£12.00) - Next up was The Cheesecake, the house specialty around here. I got a scare from our server when he started giving his own description on their signature cheesecake. According to him, diners either love it or hate it; there's no middle ground cuz it's so different and unique.



This was very very light in texture. The deep and rich cheese flavors were complemented nicely by the sweetness and nutty notes of the skin made with white chocolate and hazelnut.



Not as cheesy as I expected, which was right up my alley. I guess you can count me into the group of diners who love this cheesecake~



This was taken in the morning when we walked past Cakes & Bubbles on our way to Soho. The window display already had our minds all set up for this incredible cheesecake.







Food Rating: 6.5/10
Price: £££
Address: 70 Regent Street, Soho, London, United Kingdom
Closest Tube Station: Piccadilly Circus
Tel: +44 20 7406-3310
Website: www.cakesandbubbles.co.uk
Opening Hours: 11:00am - 10:00pm (Wed - Sat), 11:00am - 8:00pm (Sun - Tue)

Moulin Chocolat (Madrid, SPAIN) ★★★★☆

It's very difficult to find authentic French pastries in Madrid, let alone exquisite and delicious ones. So, once I heard about Moulin Chocolat, I decided to put it on my agenda.



Ricardo Vélez, owner-patissier of Moulin Chocolat is a well respected figure in the capital of Spain, famous for his chocolates, baked goods and cakes.



I thought we could never find this kind of selection in Madrid and the quality, it's almost like we're in Paris!



Chocolate eclair, mille feuille, framboise tart.....



They are definitely not hiding their passion for chocolate truffles. Look at all these different flavors!



Choux caramel - Just a picture perfect choux pasty with a smooth and shiny surface.



This is really too pretty to eat.....



The choux pastry was perfectly filled with vanilla cream and crunchy caramel. It's very addictive.



La nueva tarta Ladrón de Manzanas - A new creation by Chef Ricardo Vélez inspired by this popular drink in Spain called Ladrón de Manzanas (Apple Bandit Cider). The brand is actually owned by Heineken.

The Apple Bandit Cider uses a combination of sweet and tart apples (7 different kinds of apples I heard) to achieve a naturally refreshing flavor that closely resembles Granny Smith apple.



On top of the apple tart was a slice of apple soaked in Apple Bandit Cider so there's a strong Granny Smith apple flavor there. Combining that with silky custard cream and crispy tart, and we got ourselves a serious tasty apple tart with a local twist. Very nice work.



I wish I could sample more pastries from Moulin Chocolat before leaving Madrid but that's unlikely going to happen. I will probably just jot it down as part of my "to-do" list for the next trip.




Food Rating: 7.3/10
Price: €€€
Address: Calle de Alcalá, 77, 28009 Madrid, Spain
Closest Metro Station: Retiro
Tel: +34 914-318145
Website: www.moulinchocolat.com

Viena Capellanes (Madrid, SPAIN) ★★★☆☆

I didn't recall running into so many pastry shops when I was in Barcelona last time around so I thought the Spaniards don't exactly have sweet tooth like we Asians do. But boy, was I wrong.



I lost track on how many pastry shops I stopped by since early this morning but trust me, there were a lot of them. This one called Viena Capellanes, we decided to give it a bit more time.



Look at all these colorful pastries. Cheesecake, three-chocolate cake, chocolate brownie...



I love the fact that they have a coffee bar right in front of the counter too, just like they always do in Italy for a quick sip of coffee.



But of course, I was looking for more than just a cup of coffee. Based on what I've had so far this morning (nothing, nil, null, zilch.....), I think I can easily take down a couple of these.



We finally sat down and I got the chance to read through their pastry menu. It turned out that Francisco Somoza, Executive pastry chef of Viena Capellanes has won quite a number of awards including Best Master craftsman pastry of Spain (2007), Best Master craftsman pastry of Madrid (1997, 2007) and Winner of Spanish Chocolate Master (2011). Looked like we made the right call coming in here.



Passion y mango (€3.50) - Possibly a new creation since it's not printed on the menu?



Silky mango mousse with a hint of passion fruit on top of a crunchy short biscuit. Not too bad.



Spanish palmeiras (€1.65) - There're different ways we call these, elephant ears, butterfly crackers (蝴蝶酥) but it tasted pretty much the same (in any country). This one came with white chocolate icing so a tad sweet even for the sweet toothed.



What I like most about this branch of Viena Capellanes is their tea salon in the basement level. While this doesn't bode well for the servers (to carry food and drinks around), it's an amazing place to spend a quiet morning with a cup of coffee in one hand and a slice of sweetness in another.



There are more than a dozen branches of Viena Capellanes around Madrid so if you're lucky enough, you will run into one accidentally without looking at the map.







Food Rating: 5.5/10
Price: €€€
Address: Calle de Bordadores, 9, 28013 Madrid, Spain
Closest Metro Station: Ópera
Tel: +34 915-595397
Website: www.vienacapellanes.com