WOTVM's food adventures in London - Part 3

This is the final, and briefest, instalment of our food adventures in London.  Normal service will be resumed soon with some reviews of the finest Norwich has to offer plus some tasty recipes, our bathroom should be in place by the end of the week and we're hoping to be able to then get back to blogging more regularly.

So, day three in London began a little later; as our train was due to leave at 4.30pm we decided on an eating strategy of a hearty brunch followed by an early afternoon snack to tide us over until we got back to the fine city.  When we stay in London, we often stay in Angel as there are loads of excellent food and drink places nearby, one of which is the Islington branch of The Breakfast Club.  However, every time we've stayed our efforts to eat at The Breakfast Club have been thwarted by it being absolutely rammed, with queues out the door and round the corner.  Thankfully, there are several branches across London (plus one in Brighton) and one of them just happened to be a stone's throw from our hotel.

The Spitalfields branch is larger than the more bijou Angel café and this meant that we were able to get a table straight away.  It was busy, but arriving at around 11.30 - after the main breakfast crowd but before lunch has got going - meant that we wouldn't have to wait for our food.  The menu is a combination of traditional British and American/Mexican inspired dishes.  Think anything from a full English to pancake stacks to breakfast burritos and much more in between.  There's a good mix of original dishes and old favourites, something to please everyone.

On the day we visited the hotplate had broken and so the menu choices were more limited, however that wasn't a problem for us as the dishes that took our fancy were still available anyway.  WOTVM went for the breakfast burrito - loaded with chorizo, scrambled egg, peppers and cheese with guacamole, sour cream and salsa on the side - whilst Mr Vegan Man opted for avocado and poached egg on toast, with the added zip of lemon juice, chillies, basil and some crunchy pumpkin seeds to boot.  To drink we ordered a freshly squeezed orange juice and a Slow Boy, which was a concoction of orange, carrot, apple and ginger.

The drinks arrived quickly and were followed shortly afterwards by the food, which looked great.  WOTVM's burrito was really good; the scrambled eggs were light and fluffy, the chorizo was punchy with flavour but not overpowering, the guacamole and salsa went really well too.  Mr Vegan Man does make the best breakfast burrito in the world so The Breakfast Club had stiff competition, but this came pretty close in terms of flavour. Her only criticism was that there was a bit too much sour cream, a touch less and it would have been spot on.

Mr Vegan Man's avocado and poached egg on toast was top notch.  The toast was good and crunchy, the poached egg had a lovely runny yolk, the avocado was creamy and complimented perfectly by a bit of chilli kick and the fresh pop of lemon and basil.  The seeds added some nice texture too.  All in all a very good brunch and at prices that are reasonable too.  Service was friendly and we'd definitely come back again.

With a few hours to kill we decided to go for a stroll along the South Bank, starting off at London Bridge.  We walked up to the Tate Modern to see if there was anything we fancied seeing but after a quick browse around the free galleries the only thing we were interested in - an exhibition by Georgia O'Keefe - was prohibitively expensive, so we instead decided to head back along the river to Borough Market.

We love Borough Market, it has such a great variety of food stalls, with most of the world represented somewhere or other.  We've had great street food from there previously, including take away flutes of prosecco and pink fizz, but on this early afternoon we had a hankering for some gelato and so we ended up in Gelateria 3Bis.  The place looked authentic, with the gelato kept covered (we learnt in Italy that all authentic gelaterias keep the gelato covered, the more 'touristy' places pile it high and make it look flashy) and with a small but interesting selection of flavours.  Mr Vegan Man went for dark chocolate and coconut - going for the effect of a Bounty - whilst WOTVM chose peanut and banana flavours.  Unbeknownst to WOTVM, the banana variety was actually a sorbet rather than a gelato, however the banana flavour was really strong.  WOTVM was a little disappointed as she loves gelato and isn't a huge sorbet fan but she could appreciate the quality and ate it all.

The peanut flavour was excellent, really good nutty flavour and a nice smooth gelato.  Mr Vegan Man's gelato was similarly really well made, beautifully creamy and with a good, rich flavour.  We both plumped for the free chocolate sauce in the bottom of our cups, which is a really nice touch and something that we also experienced in a gelateria we visited in Rome.  The sauce tastes like melted Nutella, which really can't be a bad thing.  We'd happily visit again, but WOTVM would make sure she ordered two scoops of gelato next time.

On our way back to the bus stop, we decided to stop for a quick drink at the Wheatsheaf right by the market.  It was a cracking little pub, with a brilliant outdoor area where we sat and enjoyed a pint.  Prices were a bit steep, but it is right by the market and it does serve really good local craft beer.

We made our way back to the hotel to collect our bags - via a quick vintage dress purchase on the corner of Brick Lane - and then we were on our way back to Norwich.  We had a great stay and ate lots of tasty food and we'll be looking forward to our next trip to the capital.

Brunch at Frank's Bar

When we got back from our wonderful holiday to Croatia, WOTVM had the bright idea of going out for brunch the following morning to try and combat our holiday blues.  We strolled into the city on a gloomy Friday morning and after passing a packed Number 33, which had been on our list of possibilities, we narrowed our choice down to Frank's Bar or Pandora's Kitchen.  As we'd been to Pandora's Kitchen recently, we decided to give Frank's a go.

Frank's Bar (picture courtesy of their website) has a special place in our hearts as it was where we went on our first date.  It was a quiet Wednesday night and we managed to wile away four of five hours in the blink of an eye, although we did also knock back quite a few gin and tonics and rum and gingers.  We like to go back to Frank's pretty regularly although usually only for drinks; Frank's has built up a tasty-looking menu and really developed its food options over the years but aside from some bread and hummus, we've not previously sampled their foody wares.

The breakfast/brunch menu has some interesting options and after ordering drinks - coffee, orange juice and herbal tea - and spending several minutes agonising over our choices we realised that we'd both narrowed it down to the same two dishes.  We decided that sharing was the way forward and so ordered avocado, cherry tomatoes and poached eggs on sourdough toast and sabih, a traditional Israeli dish of aubergine, boiled egg and a tahini dressing served on a toasted pitta with a mango pickle.

Our brunch arrived quickly and looked amazing, with a nice little dressed salad garnish on the side of both dishes.  After taking a quick snap, we set about ruining the aesthetics of our dishes by carving them in two and swapping them about.  We tucked in hungrily - it was around 11.30 and we hadn't eaten since the night before - and we were very happy with our choices.

The sabih was very flavoursome, it had a background sweetness from the mango pickle which complimented the rich sesame flavour of the tahini and the deep, smoky taste of aubergine.  The pitta bread was slightly crispy on the outside and was an excellent vehicle for the Middle Eastern flavours on top of it.  The boiled egg worked well with the other elements of the dish and added some hearty chunks of protein.

The avocado on toast was very nice indeed.  The avocado itself was perfectly ripe and the poached egg was cooked to perfection, with the yolk oozing out over the rest of the dish.  The sourdough toast had a good tangy crust and absorbed the juices from the tomatoes, avocado and egg nicely.  Our only small complaint is that we could have done with a few more tomatoes, the ones we had were sweet and juicy but we only had one or two each and could have done with a couple more.  The dressed salad with both of the dishes was a nice accompaniment.

Our bill, including drinks, was just over £20 which we felt was reasonable.  The portion sizes were just right (other than the missing toms) and we felt nicely full but not stuffed at the end of our brunch. 

We'll definitely give the food offerings at Frank's another go when we inevitably make another visit.  The service here is always friendly and today was no exception; we love the table service that comes as standard at Frank's, such a simple but great concept for a bar/café.  It's a great little place and quite rightly a Norwich institution, if you've never been before you should definitely go.  The décor is shabby shic and suitably hip and cool, it's the kind of place you can just as easily come for a coffee as a beer, a slice of cake as some tasty mezze plates.  You can visit their website here and you can also follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

Any questions or comments please comment below or send us an email.

On tour in Croatia - Part 1

Mr Vegan Man and WOTVM are on our holiday in beautiful Croatia. We've been staying  in a small town called Podstrana, about 10k south of central Split. So far, we've eaten out twice and have cooked in our apartment three times and we thought we'd offer you a quick round up of our home-cooking adventures to date. No recipes this time as the dishes were somewhat thrown together but hopefully they will give you an idea of what you can put together in a strange kitchen with limited equipment and ingredients. We will bring you a review of our dining out experiences in Part 2 later this week.

On night one we opted for a quiet night in and a quick and easy dinner; we'd been up since 3.15am in order to get to Stansted for our 7.30am flights so by early evening we were starting to droop. WOTVM had the excellent idea of grabbing some pre-made pizza dough from Lidl, where we stocked up on supplies on our way to the apartment from the airport.

The dough is the sort that is now readily available in most supermarkets and is similar to readymade pastry in that it is pre-rolled on a sheet of greaseproof paper and you just have to unroll it to get started. We simply smeared some passata over the base, added our toppings - mushrooms, fresh peppers, jarred roasted peppers, green olives and capers - then on one half of the pizza WOTVM tore up some mozzarella and added some small slices of gouda, whilst Mr Vegan Man made a small well and cracked an egg into it for a take on a Fiorentina style pizza.

It turned out really well and was exactly what we needed at the end of a long day. We were lucky to have a nice new kitchen with an oven that was good and hot, just what you want when cooking pizza. The base was crispy and although it lacked a bit of the flavour of a freshly-made base, it was still decent. The toppings were fresh with a nice bit of saltiness and a slight bitterness from the olives and capers against the sweetness of the peppers. Th egg was well cooked and helped to hold together the cheeseless half of the pizza for Mr Vegan Man whilst WOTVM enjoyed the creaminess of the mozzarella alongside the rich gouda. We topped the pizza off with a generous helping of fresh rocket which added a nice peppery zing.

On Saturday, Mr Vegan Man cooked up a tasty dish using some of the lovely fresh asparagus tips that we'd found in the supermarket. Asparagus is bang in season at the moment so it's a great time of year to cook with it. On top of some toasted bread - the fresh breads over here are lovely by the way - we went for the classic pairing of of asparagus and egg.

The eggs were poached and retained an unctuous runny yolk whilst the asparagus spears were simply blanched for a few minutes. We made a lemon and caper butter to drizzle over the top and once again topped it off with some fresh rocket and, in WOTVM's case, some local prosciutto. The balance of flavours was really good, the sharp and salty caper butter cut through the richness of the egg and both worked really well with the gorgeous, fresh asparagus. The toasted bread absorbed the lovely juices and the rocket once more added some freshness and peppery bite to the dish.

Our final home-cooked dish meal of the holiday was a take on pasta primavera. We still had plenty of lovely fresh asparagus, mushrooms and peppers to use up as well as our jarred peppers, olives and capers as well as half a carton of passata. This is a really good way to use up any leftover bits and bobs you might have.

We simply cut up the fresh and jarred ingredients into small chunks or thin slices, fried off the peppers and mushrooms in a little butter before adding the asparagus tips. We then added the passata and a little water, the remaining vegetables and left to simmer on a medium to high heat for around 10 minutes whilst the pasta cooked. We made enough to last us for two meals and it was very fresh and tasty, and WOTVM used up some more of her mozzarella to add a bit of extra flavour and dairy richness to hers.

We feel we've managed to eat pretty well away from the comforts of our own kitchen. When you're away you don't necessarily want to spend much time cooking and you don't want to buy lots of different ingredients that you might not use up. These three dishes are a good way to make three very different meals using the same range of ingredients. This is useful for when you are cooking at home too, especially when cooking for two as it can be hard to make sure that you use up fresh ingredients before they go out of date. Having a few off the cuff recipe ideas up your sleeve to create unique meals using a smallish range of ingredients can help to ensure that you always feel you are eating well and not getting bored of having the same old things.

If you'd like to know more about the dishes we've cooked then please contact us via e-mail or leave a comment at the bottom of the article.

Huevos divorciados con frijoles

Today, we bring you our recipe for huevos divorciados con frijoles.  Frijoles are refried beans and are a common accompaniment for a dish such as this; huevos divorciados are the cousin of huevos rancheros - a popular Mexican breakfast or brunch dish consisting of a tortilla topped with fried eggs and salsa, often with other additions too.  Huevos divorciados translates as 'divorced eggs' and it differs from its better-known cousin by having a different colour salsa for each of the two fried eggs.  We have gone for a traditional tomato salsa that would usually be served with huevos rancheros along with an avocado salsa.  In Mexico, we understand that red and green salsas are served with huevos divorciados but the green salsa is usually runny and made with green tomatoes, so this is very much our own take on a Mexican classic.

The recipe makes a hearty, substantial brunch dish and you could have it for lunch or dinner quite happily as it will certainly fill you up.  The balance of flavours works really well, the frijoles are smoky and ever so slightly sweet whilst the tomato salsa gives a sharp freshness and some chilli heat, whilst the avocado offers a richness and an extra whack of chilli to boot.  It's a great alternative to more traditional cooked breakfasts and is really fresh and zingy.  It's easy to make too, so long as you don't mind doing a bit of chopping in the morning.

Ingredients (serves 2 generously):

4 large eggs
2 soft tortillas
Approx. 1 tbsp. vegetable oil for frying the eggs

Red salsa:

6 small tomatoes
1 red chilli
Half a red onion
20g fresh coriander
Juice of 1.5 limes
0.5 tbsp. olive oil

Green salsa:

Large avocado
One green chilli
1 clove of garlic
10g flat leaf parsley
10g fresh mint
Juice of 1.5 limes
0.5 tbsp. olive oil

Frijoles:

400g tin red kidney beans
1 clove of garlic
0.5 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. ground cumin
0.5 tbsp. tomato ketchup
0.5 tbsp. barbeque sauce
0.5 tsp. ground cinnamon

Preparation and cooking time: 30 minutes

 

Begin by making your two salsas.  Finely chop the coriander and place in a bowl, then do the same with the mint and parsley (use only the leaves of the mint as the stalks are woody) placing them in a separate bowl.  Chop up your red onion and red chilli and add this to the bowl containing the coriander, then crush your clove of garlic and chop your green chilli and add these to the bowl containing the mint and parsley.  The reason for chopping these ingredients first is that they make less of a mess than the tomatoes and avocados and this will save you having to wipe down your chopping board whilst doing your prep.

The next step is to skin and de-seed the tomatoes.  To skin the tomatoes, cut a small cross just deep enough to pierce the skin into the top of your tomatoes and place them in a pan of boiling water for one minute.  Immediately place them in a bowl of cold water so that they don't continue to cook - you want to remove the skin only, not cook the flesh.  The skin should then peel off very easily and you will then need to cut the tomatoes open and remove the seeds.  Don't worry if you have a few rogue seeds left, it won't matter too much.

Finely chop the tomato and add to the bowl with the coriander, onion and red chilli.  Next, cut your avocado in half lengthways and then remove the stone.  Peel off the avocado skin and cut the avocado into small chunks and add this to the bowl containing the mint, parsley, garlic and green chilli.  Squeeze one and a half limes into each of the bowls and add half a tablespoon of olive oil to each then stir to ensure that the ingredients are well mixed.  Add a pinch of salt to season then set aside your two salsas for serving later.

Next, heat half a tablespoon of olive oil in a saucepan over a medium heat.  Crush your other clove of garlic and drain but don't rinse your kidney beans.  For most recipes that use canned pulses we usually rinse them after draining but for this dish you want some of the beany flavour that is in the juices in the can so just drain the excess liquid.  At this point, also preheat your oven to 160°C in order to warm your tortillas before serving.

Add the garlic to the pan and soften for a minute or two then add the cumin, cinnamon and smoked paprika and cook for a further minute or two whilst stirring so that the spices cook through but don't catch.  Add the kidney beans and any remaining juices in the can then add the barbeque sauce and tomato ketchup.  Stir and then reduce the heat slightly and leave the beans to simmer, stirring occasionally, for 8-10 minutes.  Use your spoon to break up some of the beans when stirring as this gives a nice flavour and consistency to your frijoles.

Heat some vegetable oil in a large frying pan over a medium to high heat.  Once the oil is at temperature, place two tortillas in the oven.  Then, crack the eggs into the frying pan and fry until they are just set, basting the top of the egg to help to heat through the yolk and ensure that the white is cooked through on top.  This should only take a couple of minutes.

Remove the tortillas from the oven and place one on each plate.  Add your frijoles to the middle of the tortilla and then add an egg to the left and right of your frijoles and dress the eggs with the two salsas, with the red salsa on one egg and the green salsa on the other.  It is then ready to serve and enjoy.



This is one of our favourite brunch dishes.  It is packed full of flavour and sets you up nicely for the rest of the day.  Please give it a try and let us know how you get on.  You can leave a comment below or email us.

The Workshop

For a midweek treat we decided to head to the Workshop on Earlham Road - right in the heart of the Golden Triangle (sometimes known as the Notting Hill of Norwich for those who aren't local).  The Workshop has long been a favourite destination of ours.  If ever a place embodied the Norfolk motto of 'do different', then it's the Workshop.  The décor on the ground floor is quirky, mixing some of the feel of an art deco Parisian café with vintage British charm, including tatty-looking board games and slightly battered sofas.  It is loved by Triangle residents young and old, and there is always a mixed crowd of friends, couples and families.

One of the quirks of the Workshop is that you cannot book a table; they don't do reservations, you turn up and you chance your arm.  We arrived before 7pm and the upstairs was already full to the brim, the downstairs however was completely empty and so we found ourselves a table.  The slight downside of the cellar-cum-dining room is that it is a bit on the chilly side and smells a touch damp.  However, to compensate for its atmospheric deficiencies, the downstairs of the Workshop ramps things up a notch with risqué design features, including various phallic and labial motifs, all tastefully done of course.

We returned to the bar and ordered our drinks - they serve some excellent U.S. craft beers including Anchor Steam on tap, so Mr Vegan Man plumped for this whilst Wife of the Vegan Man went for a Kraken spiced rum and Coke, a particular favourite of hers.  Another unique feature of the Workshop is their impressively staunch refusal to have more than one copy of their food menu.  The tapas menu is printed on a sheet of A4 paper and sits on the bar; the most popular tactic is for customers to take a snap on their smartphone so they can peruse the options at their leisure when they return to their tables and this is what we did.  The Workshop specialises in mezze/tapas with a heavy bias towards vegetarian dishes, many of which are vegan, and a smattering of meaty and fishy options.  They also do pizza - just the one variety with an option to add meat if desired - that is adored by many, though personally we prefer the mezze.

The small plates on offer have a distinctly Mediterranean and Middle Eastern vibe, although typically for the Workshop many of the dishes veer away from the traditional and have their own distinctive twist.  For mezze/tapas plates, the portions here are very respectable and we find that five dishes to share is plenty.  WOTVM was in the mood for something meaty and liked the sound of the mini kofte, Mr Vegan Man went for a dish of chargrilled broccoli with cashews and chilli as his choice.  Compromise was reached on the remaining dishes - baked eggs and halloumi, hummus with a chilli paste topping (they also do a green topping, which is herby), and tahini baba ganoush.  Some other favourites from previous visits include fava beans with dill, halloumi with spinach and pine nuts, and roasted aubergine.  A warm baba ganoush with chargrilled vegetables was sorely tempting, as was a delightful-sounding cauliflower dish.  Basically, if we could have ordered one of everything then we probably would have.

The hummus arrived first, only a few minutes before the remaining dishes, but such is the deliciousness of their chickpea dip that we had cleared the plate by the time the rest of our food arrived.  The chilli paste was sharp and smoky and not overpoweringly hot.  The texture of the hummus was superb and the slightly crisp flatbread it came with was a good accompaniment.  WOTVM once famously described the Workshop hummus as 'to die for', much to the amusement of one of her good friends who instantly declared this to be the most middle class thing she'd ever heard.  So good is their hummus that WOTVM didn't mind taking a light ribbing, which has only lasted for about two years (and counting).

The broccoli arrived next, followed in quick succession by the remaining dishes.  The food was a treat for both the eyes and the taste buds. WOTVM loved her kofte, which were crispy yet succulent and beautifully presented, dotted on a bed of yoghurt dressing.  Lamb is not something WOTVM gets to have often but she loves a well-made kofte and these were top drawer.

The baked eggs with halloumi was also tasty, although it was very heavy on the halloumi with a relatively thin covering of egg and perhaps a better balance would have been achieved with a higher egg to cheese ratio.  This was not a huge issue, though, as we both like halloumi very much and the spicy, sweet, smoky sauce on top of the dish was a real treat and complimented the richness of the egg and cheese really well. 

The baba ganoush was smoky and rich and came with a traditional Turkish bread with a crunchy sesame-topped crust and fluffy middle.  The bread is divine (WOTVM is desperate to find a shop that sells it in Norwich) and was the perfect vehicle for the aubergine dip.  We disagreed about the texture of the baba ganoush - Mr Vegan Man thought it could have been a little smoother and that the feel his the mouth was just a teeny little bit like frog spawn.  WOTVM, however, liked the consistency and in any case neither of us were put us off, as we polished off the lot. 

The broccoli was nice but was our least favourite dish and we'd plump for one of our other favourites instead of it next time we visit.  The broccoli itself was lovely and fresh but a little too crunchy - a light blanch or steam for just a minute or two prior to chargrilling would have aided the texture.  The red chilli lacked a little bit of kick too, which would have elevated the dish.  The roasted cashews worked well, as did the tahini dressing, but overall we feel there are better options on the menu.

We stayed post-dinner for a second drink and were joined by two of WOTV's good friends.  The Workshop is such a relaxed place that it's hard not to have a good time, whatever you go there for.  It's great just for a few drinks with friends, although we love to eat here too.  They also offer a range of delightful cakes and tarts and a selection of amazing hot drinks - some of their hot chocolates (the pistachio one in particular!) are worth travelling many, many miles for.

The bill for the food and four drinks came in at £48 and we felt we'd had a good feed for the money, as well as having a lovely evening overall.  Somewhat fittingly, the Workshop seems to have rejected offering much of an online presence - aside from a rather neglected Facebook page - but no matter as you can't book in advance anyway and their menu is open to change.

The Workshop is a truly unique venue, not just for Norwich but for anywhere.  Five years ago people would have described it as the sort of place you might expect to find in London, and depending on who said it (and in what tone) that could have been meant as a compliment or an insult.  However, it's not the sort of place you find in London; it's the sort of place you find in Norwich - in fact we'd go so far as to say it's the sort of place you could only find in Norwich.  It is quintessentially of the Fine City and, what's more, it is one of the places that makes Norwich such a great place to live in.  If you've been, you will know exactly what we mean.  If you've not been yet, what are you waiting for?

We'd love to hear what you think about the Workshop so please leave a comment below, or alternatively ping us an email.

Brunch by Morning Glory at Gonzo's Tea Room

Sunday is a great day for brunch; it's a lazy day by its nature, with fewer places open and those that are doing business opening later than they usually do.  Thankfully, Norwich has a number of places serving hearty portions of breakfast fare from late morning into early afternoon and so this week we, along with some friends, decided to go to Gonzo's Tea Room.  Brunch at Gonzo's is provided by pop-up restaurant, Morning Glory.  Pop-ups have become increasingly popular in Norwich in recent years, with Voodoo Daddy's Pizza being a particular success story that also started at Gonzo's before moving to the Plasterer's Arms.  Much like Voodoo Daddy's, the Morning Glory pop-up kitchen will also be moving on from Gonzo's imminently - in fact, Sunday was their last day of service there - but fear not, they will soon be popping up again, this time at 79 Unthank Road.

Gonzo's itself has been a welcome addition to the city centre.  For many years in prior incarnations, the bones of Gonzo's housed grimy but cool late bars/clubs with sticky floors and questionable interior design (anyone remember the day beds in Havana's?  How was that ever a good idea?).  Gonzo's transformed the space into something really quite different.  In addition to hosting Morning Glory (until now), they also serve food in the evening, offering a playful and tasty-sounding selection of gourmet burgers.  They even do takeaway via Just Eat.  The décor at Gonzo's is firmly retro-chic, with a hotchpotch of furniture including grand leather Queen Anne chairs and a Pacman arcade machine table.  There are vintage toys, games and the odd pop art flourish to boot.  It is hip but unpretentious and offers something a bit quirky, which we like.

On to breakfast, and the options offered by Morning Glory represent a nice alternative to British and European classics.  There is no traditional all-day breakfast on offer here, nor are there other staples such as Eggs Benedict or Eggs Florentine.  The flavour of the day is Mexican, with a nod to the USA in some of the options too (particularly their thick, American-style pancakes with fruit or bacon and maple syrup).  The menu offers a number of veggie options, including huevos rancheros, breakfast burrito, breakfast wrap and smashed avocado and egg on toast (with chilli to keep the Mexican theme going).  They do a range of milkshakes, some of which also have a distinctly Latino kick.  Mr Vegan Man ordered a Chocolate Mexicano - a shake made with almond milk, chocolate, banana, oats, cinnamon and cayenne pepper.  It was very tasty and not overly sweet, with a nice peppery kick at the finish.

When it came time to order food, we plumped for huevos rancheros and huevos Mexicanos.  The two dishes were very similar, both are constructed with a tortilla base and topped with two fried eggs, refried beans, avocado, salsa and fried potatoes.  The only difference between the two is that the Mexicanos comes with the addition of two chorizo-style sausages.  The other members of our party plumped for the breakfast wrap - stuffed with rice, avocado, salsa and refried beans - with an additional fried egg, a breakfast burrito which is stuffed with scrambled egg, salsa, avocado, cheese and refried beans, and finally the pancakes with everything.  All the bacon, all the fruits, all the syrup.  Although technically this was off menu, they were more than happy to oblige and all of their dishes have the option of adding breakfast items for a bargain 50p (sausages are more at £1).

The food arrived and the portion sizes were strikingly impressive.  The tortillas on the rancheros and Mexicanos were piled high with toppings - there was at least half an avocado on each and piles of beans, salsa and fried potatoes sat beneath two perfectly fried eggs.  The tortilla itself was large enough that not one bit of the plate could be seen beneath it.  Our friend who ordered the pancakes with everything was faced with a mountain of doughy, fruity, bacon-y goodness and the burrito was the size of a small car (see below).  Morning Glory do not scrimp on their portions.  However, brunch should be a big meal - normally anyone eating it has already skipped breakfast and probably doesn't plan on chowing down lunch either - so you want a good-sized meal.

The first thing that struck us both was the flavour of the refried beans.  They were simply beautiful, with a smoky spiciness that was incredibly moreish.  The avocado was ripe but not yet turning to mush and the salsa provided a nice bit of acidity.  The overall spice level of the dish was good, but it was not particularly fiery with chilli heat, the spices were more aromatic.  They offer a range of hot sauces for anyone who likes it hot and Mr Vegan Man added some habanero sauce for a bit of extra pep.  The crispy potatoes were a welcome addition too - Mr Vegan Man had somehow missed these on the menu so they felt like an extra treat.  They were also coated in a light, smoky spice that complimented the rest of the dish really well.  Wife of the Vegan Man is not a massive chorizo fan, but she really enjoyed the sausages and found the flavour to be just right - not too strong as to overpower everything else on the plate.

Mr Vegan Man is a quick eater and cleared his plate first, the speed of his eating helping to trick his stomach into not realising how full it was getting.  Wife of the Vegan Man had a brief wobble about halfway through her brunch and wondered if she would have any chance of finishing.  After giving herself a quick pep talk and taking a few deep breaths, she ploughed on and in the end only left some of the tortilla and a small amount of avocado, salsa and egg white.  It was a good effort given that she had everything on the huevos rancheros plus two hearty sausages.  Our friend who ordered the pancakes demolished them in impressive style and was hugely impressed with his food.  Our other friends left a little and, whilst disappointed at being unable to finish, felt full and satisfied.  Everyone who had the refried beans as part of their breakfast agreed that they were the star of the show.

We left with stomachs bulging and faces smiling.  Morning Glory offer really good value for money - we had the two most expensive brunch dishes plus two drinks each and it came to £25.  Not bad at all considering the quality of the food on offer and also taking into account that it filled us up until the evening.

It will be interesting to see what (if anything) replaces Morning Glory at Gonzo's, however based on our experience we are sure that Morning Glory will go on to do really well when they move premises.  We will be seeking them out, even though Unthank Road is a bit more of a trek for us.  If you are lucky enough to live in the Golden Triangle, make a beeline to 79 Unthank Road on or after the 6th of June when Morning Glory will be landing there.

Breakfast at Pandora's Kitchen

We'd heard good things about Pandora's Kitchen breakfasts, not least due to high praise from Norwich reviewing legend the Fry Up Inspector.  We have no intention of treading on the great man's toes so we're steering clear of fry ups (well, of reviewing them at least), however we couldn't resist a trip to Pandora's ourselves to check out what they have to offer.

Firstly, Pandora's itself is a lovely little spot.  Right at the top of London Street in a fine old Norwich building, it combines old world charm with a modern touch.  The décor is quirky and knowingly quaint, with just the right notes of kitsch and twee about it.  A very nice setting for breakfast, lunch or a quick coffee and a pastry.  By the way, the pastries look AMAZING, we didn't get round to trying any this time but those croissants will be ours some day.  Some day..........

Downstairs is the main café/bakery area where you can grab drinks and sexy-looking baked goods to go, then upstairs there are two generous dining rooms.  There's a good range of seating for large and small groups alike so it's an ideal spot for friends to congregate as well as for food-loving couples like us.  The atmosphere is relaxed and unhurried, which is exactly what you want for a leisurely breakfast.

The menu choices are excellent, a bit different from the usual variations on a full English.  They have a number of poached egg and muffin combos, including classics like Eggs Benedict as well as their own intriguing-sounding Eggs London Street.  They also serve smashed avocado on sourdough toast with a range of different toppings.  How can you go wrong with options like that?  And that is without even mentioning their gargantuan Fry Up Inspector breakfast.  To cap it all off, if you can't find something that is exactly what you want then you can simply add a breakfast item to any of the menu options for a mere 75p.

We chose Eggs Florentine for Mr (not really) Vegan Man and smashed avocado on sour dough toast with crispy bacon and poached egg with some black pudding added for good measure for the Wife of the Vegan Man - she simply cannot resist black pudding when it's on offer.

The Eggs Florentine (pictured above) were delicious.  The eggs were poached to perfection, the yolk just the right sort of runny and the whites fluffy and light.  The hollandaise was creamy but with a generous enough squeeze of lemon to cut through the richness and we're sure there was a hint of mace or nutmeg around which added an unexpected twist.  The muffins were crispy and managed to stand up well considering the wilted spinach and roasted tomatoes inevitably added a fair amount of moisture to the plate.  The iron-rich greens and succulent tomatoes were a top combination and the addition of a handful of peppery rocket was a nice touch too.

The smashed avocado had a wonderful texture, creamy but with just enough chunkiness to get your teeth into.  The smoky, crispy bacon goes so well with the unctuous green avocado and the oozing poached egg brings it all together.  The sourdough was crunchy with a good, thick crust and subtle tang.  The black pudding was just a gratuitous extra, adding some spice and peppery notes to boost the flavoursome dish further still.

If you want a fry up then this is a great place to get one but there is more on offer too.  Breakfast is having a real renaissance as a dish and it is great to see such variety on show here, with wonderful fresh ingredients cooked well and allowed to shine.  Nothing felt oily, greasy or heavy and yet we both left feeling surprisingly full.

No ratings here, but it won't be long until we return to Pandora's Kitchen to tackle some of their other breakfast offerings.  Get yourselves down there as soon as you get the chance.

Shakshouka (baked eggs), Norwich style

This is a dish that was inspired by our holiday to Tunisia last year.  We were in Sousse only a week before the tragic terrorist attack and our hotel was just a few kilometres away from where it took place.  It was hard to believe that such a beautiful and peaceful place could be the scene of such awful violence.

We both love North African and Middle Eastern food with its rich spice and vibrant flavours and the food we experienced during our stay in Sousse was sensational.  Shakshouka is a traditional dish of baked eggs in a spiced tomato and pepper sauce.  It was often available at breakfast, lunch and dinner at our hotel and was a great vegetarian option, though it was equally appreciated by the meat-eaters at the resort.  The dish varies from place to place and this is our own take on it.  Like many of the things we cook, we've taken the key traditional elements that make it a great dish and added a few little twists here and there.

We hope you enjoy making the dish as much as we love eating it!  It's an excellent midweek meal as it takes very little time to prepare and cook, but it also looks fancy enough to impress dinner guests and works brilliantly as an alternative weekend breakfast.  Let us know how you get on.

Ingredients (serves 2 for a hearty dinner):

Half a medium onion
1 sweet pointed red pepper (a regular pepper of any colour is fine as a substitute)
2 cloves of garlic
1 can of cannellini beans (400g - chick peas or butter beans work as an alternative)
1 can of chopped tomatoes (400g)
2.5 tsp. smoked paprika
1.5 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. chilli flakes/crushed chillies (chilli powder or a fresh red chilli also works)
3 tsp. capers (optional)
4 medium eggs
Olive oil (approximately 1 tbsp.)
Fresh parsley and chives to garnish (fresh coriander can be used instead)

Preparation time: 5 minutes.

Cooking time: under 25 minutes.

Preparation:

Pre-heat your oven to 200°c (fan assisted, go 220°c if your oven isn't fan assisted).

Chop the red pepper into chunks roughly 2cm by 3cm, you want reasonable sized pieces to give some texture but the size and shape need not be uniform.  Finely dice the onion or as a cheat use frozen chopped onion instead.  Crush and finely chop the two cloves of garlic, sprinkle with salt and use the back of your knife to help break the garlic down into a paste. 

Drain the cannellini beans and rinse with cold water.

Cooking:

In a medium saucepan or large frying pan, heat a good drizzle of olive oil over a medium heat and allow it to come up to temperature.  Add the peppers to the pan and let them sit for a minute or two, it doesn't hurt the flavour of the dish for them to take a bit of colour.  Add the onions and allow the onions and peppers to soften in the pan, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes.

When the onions and peppers are soft, add the garlic and allow this to soften (this should only take a minute or so).  Adding the garlic earlier runs the risk of it burning and this can give an acrid taste so don't be tempted to throw it in at the same time as the onions or peppers.  Add all of the spices and stir well.  Leave the spices, onions, peppers and garlic to cook together for a further minute or two, stirring occasionally so that the spices don't catch and burn.

Add the tin of chopped tomatoes and stir thoroughly so that the spices and vegetables mix through the tomatoes.  At this point we often add just a pinch of sugar to counteract the acidity of the tomatoes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  When the mixture has come up to the boil, allow it to simmer for a couple of minutes and then add the cannellini beans and capers (if you aren't a fan of capers you can leave them out, but we feel they add a nice bite to the dish that works well with the eggs). 

Transfer the contents of the saucepan to a tagine or if you don't own a tagine (not everyone loves North African cooking as much as we do - we have two!) then a regular casserole dish will work fine too.  With the back of a wooden spoon, create four small wells in the mixture.  You don't want to leave the bottom of the dish exposed as the eggs could catch, but you want a small dip for your eggs to sit in.  Crack your eggs into the wells you have created, don't worry if they spill over the side of the wells slightly as this won't affect the cooking.  Drizzle over a little more olive oil and season the eggs with a little salt and black pepper.

Put the dish in the oven and leave for 10-15 minutes.  Cooking time can vary slightly depending on the oven and the size of the eggs but usually 15 minutes will give you a yolk that is just set firm, 10-12 minutes will give you a softer yolk.  Whilst the dish is cooking, chop a good handful of fresh herbs ready to garnish.

Remove from the oven, sprinkle over the herbs and serve.

Shakshouka is great with some nice fresh bread (we had ours with sourdough) to mop up all of the juices but can also be served with couscous, bulgur wheat or rice.  You can also crumble some feta over the top to finish, if that's your bag.  We will be bringing you our go to bulgur wheat recipe in the near future with some tips for cooking it just right.