Rated: Patty & Bun - London

Sorry for being missing in action for a little bit. I've just come back a couple of days ago from a holiday trip to London to visit family. 

I decided to do a quick little review of the well-known gourmet burger joint in central London, Patty & Bun. I have a really good feeling that if anyone who's lived, been or just knows London pretty well, that they've heard or tried this place out. 

On my first night in London, my cousin Dalia told me that she would take me to her favorite burger place and off we went... (with my review hat on!).

Situated in St. Christopher's place, pretty much a little area intersecting Oxford street that's packed with restaurants, we arrived to a line outside the restaurant with about 8 people already queued up (First impression, how long do we need to wait in the freezing cold?! ... however, if everyone else is doing it, may well be worth it?). 

So we hurried in line and the wait started. Minutes into our arrival, more and more people came and stood behind us to wait in line. The great part is that they had posted their menu on the wall outside where customers waited. Everyone in line, and I mean everyone, was only talking about what burger they wanted, which one was their favorite, what they tried last time, etc, etc, etc. The whole wait was a great big conversation about the burgers in this place. I was definitely excited and joined in on it.

Their menu is small (but to the point) and also caters to different varieties, from classic beef burgers, to chicken to lamb and even vegetarian. We pretty much had our minds made up during that 30 minute wait.

Once we got in, I noticed why there was a line to begin with because the actual space seats up to 30 pax but that's what made the experience even cosier. It was small, vibrant, energetic with mixed music from oldies to current singles and the vibes were definitely right. 

Photo credit to Patty & Bun Website

A group of three, we opted for 2 "ARI GOLD" cheeseburgers, 1 "Lambshank Redemption" burger with 2 sides of fries with rosemary salt and 1 "Winger Winger Chicken Dinner" chicken wings to start.

Dinner order at P&B

We started off with the chicken wings which were smoked confit wings with BBQ sauce and green onions.

"Winger Winger Chicken Dinner" Chicken wings

I am not the biggest fan of chicken wings, but these wings were the juiciest, tastiest and sauciest wings I've ever tried. The topping of green onions just added that extra freshness and crunch which made it all the more worthwhile. Finger lickin' good.

On to the burger, usually I go for a classic cheesburger whenever I try a new burger place out because if a place can't get a classic cheese burger right, then why are they a burger place?

So I got the "ARI GOLD" cheeseburger which consisted of a beef patty, cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickled onions, ketchup, homemade smokey mayo and a brioche bun.

"ARI GOLD" Cheeseburger

Definitely a high quality beef burger. The meat was so tender and juicy (cooked medium and I'm usually a medium well but that's how it's done at P&B so I went for it!) The sauce was smokey yet tangy and the vegetables were fresh and crisp. Only downside was it was little bit of a mess to eat but I'd rather have a yummy burger with a mess than holding back on the yummy, you know what I mean?

Total price breakdown below (for 3):
1 x "Winger Winger Chicken Dinner" chicken wings = £5.50
2 x "ARI GOLD" Cheeseburger = £7.50 x 2 = £15
1 x "Lambshank Redemption" burger = £8
2 x Chips with rosemary salt = £5.50 x 2 = £11
Total (£) = 39.5 

In my opinion, food,  music and service was excellent. I know where I'm going first next time I'm in London. I'd definitely recommend this place for young adults and young couples and less for a family as it's quite packed, loud and cosy.

I've rated Patty & Bun - London a 5 out of 5!

Have you guys tried Patty & Bun in London? What would you rate it?

Rated: Mom's Food Restaurant

Photo credit to Mom's Food Facebook Page

I've heard about Mom's Food Restaurant and drove by every time I left from JBR but haven't had the chance to try it until a couple of days ago. It's situated right next to Park Island Residence on the street behind JBR - The Walk.

We made a reservation for 6 outside as the weather is getting nice and cool in Dubai. Once we arrived, our table was ready and staff was very accommodating (I don't know if it's just my mom but whenever we go out, regardless if we have a reservation or restaurant is full, the mission or hunt I should say, for the best table begins: which view should we look at, what's the best noise level, will the staff see us from this table and the list goes on... Maybe this is where I get my critiquing/reviewing skills - hmm).

Ok. Back to the review!

The first thing I do usually is evaluate the overall concept of the restaurant and if it's really aiming for what it's communicating in terms of cuisine, ambiance, music, decor etc. Mom's Food message is home-style cooking with Mediterranean cuisine. However, the restaurant did look like pretty much any Lebanese restaurant - Nancy Ajram playing in the background, the sheeshas and the menu includes 90% Lebanese food with the occasional Seafood Paella, Greek Moussaka and Quattro Staggioni "Saj". That was a little bit confusing.

On to the food, we grabbed an array of Mezzas (or Arabic starters for anyone outside Dubai). We chose tabbouleh, fattoush, baba ghanouj, Mom's kubba, hindbeh and Mom's hommos. The starters were served with fresh baked bread which was nice and hot and assorted pickles & olives. I have this thing wherever I go that if hommos is served, I have to try it. I have to always try the hommos. I don't know why but I have to compare it and see if it's good. Once I saw that they served a "Mom's hommos", I thought I should definitely give it a try. 

The starters came pretty fast which left a good impression of the promptness of service for the rest of the meal. The baba ghanouj, kubba, hindbeh and Mom's hommos were very good. The hommos was topped with fried almonds and cumin (Although it did say parsley as well in the menu but I guess they were out of parsley?) The only thing I would add to it is one more drizzle of olive oil as it needed a little more smoothness to garnish but nonetheless, still munched it down. Also, make sure to order extra pomegranate syrup to top off your baba ghanouj - takes it to a whole different yum level.  Since I am quite a fan of tabbouleh, I've had a couple of them in my day and I have to say that their's is not the best and did lack some seasoning. Fattoush was also a little dry.

Mom's Hommos 

Tabbouleh and assorted pickles & olives

Left-right: Baba Ghanouj, Fattoush, Hindbeh

Mom's Kubba

When ordering the main courses, I was eyeing the Sea Food Moghrabeah which was explained to me as fresh shellfish and hamour with wheat dough mini balls - sounded interesting. However, after I was ready to order it, the waiter noted that they top it off with cheese. Then I got turned off. The idea of cheese melted on seafood doesn't sound quite right to me. Anyways, our waiter also pointed out that dishes served in pots are good for two so we decided to order one Chicken Bil Hommos Fatteh and one Chicken Barley Bake as these two come in pots as well as two Sheesh Tawook. I'm quite glad we were informed on the portion sizes as the mezzas were already leaving us almost full.

The main dishes came out pretty quickly like the starters which was positive. Our Chicken Fatteh was quite disappointing as it was drenched in oil and was too heavy to eat after 3 bites. Also, the chicken was very dry and rubbery. If you're planning to try the Fatteh, I suggest trying it with the meat. I can also recommend that this dish could be for 3-4 people especially after having starters prior to it. For the Chicken and Barley Bake, it was quite tasty and had a sweet kick to it as there was a strong cinnamon flavor to it. If you don't enjoy sweet with savory food and need sauce in your meal, then this isn't for you. The sheesh tawook were very good and fresh. The chicken was quite tender so it was a little frustrating why the chicken in the Fatteh was very hard. I would recommend for future to go for the Lebanese grills as I think that's more of their specialty.

Chicken Bil Hommos Fatteh

Chicken & Barley Bake

Grilled Shish Tawook

 After being very much stuffed, we decided to end the night with a fruit platter instead of desserts and a pot of Moroccan tea. I have to say that a lot of the time when I see fruits at restaurants, even high-end buffets, their fruit are always colorless and not ripe. This platter however was so vibrant and sweet - the mangoes literally melted in your mouth. Wash it down with a cup (or three) of Moroccan tea in the breezy weather and you're good to go.

Fruit Platter

Morrocan Tea Pot

Total price breakdown below (for 6):

1 x Tabbouleh = 20

1 x Baba Ghanouj = 20

1 x Mom's Hommos = 24

1 x Fattoush = 20

1 x Hindbeh = 20

1 x Mom's Kubba = 28

2 x Sheesh Tawook = 46 x 2 = 92

1 x Chicken Fatteh = 25

1 x Chicken and Barley Bake = 50

1 x Fruit Platter = 30

1 x Moroccan tea = 22

1 x Large Still Water = 10

Total (AED) = 361

All in all, the outdoor seating was nice, majority of food was good at decent prices and they have great service. I'd probably go back there again and try out some other dishes!

I've rated Mom's Food a 3.5 out of 5!

Have any of you tried Mom's Food? What would you rate it?