Brookes Counter & Table: Restaurant Review

This is an old favourite spot from when I used to work locally. I had to return (quality control you know, oh the things we have to do for blogging!) and check that everything was as delicious as before.

How can you say no!?

Happily, Brookes seems to be going from strength to strength if the queues are anything to go by - basically the process seems to be bags a free table, line up, order your coffee/munch/brunch/lunch either from the counter selection of delectable items or from their menu.

The biggest problem I have is deciding what to eat. By the time the queue (which moves fairly quickly) shifts you to the front, I normally have my options whittled down to 3, and hope that 2 of them have been eaten by other people so I don't have to choose.

I used to lunch here weekly with a friend, I've brought hubby here and my discerning Aunt whilst on a pit-stop from her flight to New Zealand to Edinburgh - this is a mark of how tasty it is. Hubby and today's brunch date, a connoisseur of all things Sausage Roll and meaty declared their Sausage Roll the best they've ever tasted(I must remember to get hubby one from the Ginger Pig as they are immensely delicious too!).

I enjoy their Berry Shakes and Eggs Benedict (actually, I seems to have a predilection for Eggs Benedict - maybe I should have a sub-blog and call it 'Adventures eating Eggs Benedict in London', not much of a catchy jingle though). It's much lighter that several other places do, but it was utterly perfect for the wee hangover I was nursing whilst my friend and I gabbled away.

Our favourite lunchtime treat was to wander into Brook's, get a Sausage roll and a coffe and stroll onto the grass on Brook Green Park in the sunshine. Bliss.

Located in on Shepherds Bush Road in the heart of 'Brooks Green' an affluent (Estate Agent named) area tucked between Hammersmith and Shepherds Bush, Brook's is a local haunt that you wouldn't nessecarily know about if you weren't in the know. It's stuffed to the gills with foodie stuffs (fresh bread, a dairy fridge, RJ's red liquorice stuff with white chocolate!?) and their counter meals, a lot of them Vege, are truely scrumptious and change daily. It's not too expensive either.

Futher info can be found on their website. I haven't been comped & they don't know who I am, I just wanted to share the deliciousness.

Oh, hai.

 

Did I mention Kiwis (that have made it to the end of this post) that the Tesco's behind has recently started stocking Kiwi and Aussie fare in their ethnic section? Tomato Sauce, K Bars, Tim Tams, Shapes, L&P...

 

Ps.

GIVEAWAY: Foodie Festival (2 London locations): I have something to brighten your day. With the dank, dark and... bit.ly/WVPXMW

— Emma (@LondonKiwiEmma) March 23, 2013



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Toastie Pies - Kiwi Cooking

Disclaimer: These are really moreish - and health-wise, pretty well just the same as your average sandwich.

I try not to eat too much bread anymore, trying to subscribe to the theory that White Bread is the devil, tempting you with it's delicious softness whilst providing very little nutrional goodness, but I have to make an exception for these babies. And not eating it often makes it oh-so-much scrummier. The golden crust of the bread, the melty cheesy-ness of the inside combined with whatever bridge ingredient you fancy to accompany your sandwich with - ahhh, carby heaven.

Quite a few people I know have toasted Sandwich makers which they prefer - it gives you more of a sealed in 'pie' but I like them a little more melted-cheese-on-toast style. We make ours in the frying pan - you just need to be careful when flipping them over not to spill out the insides.

My 'technique' is to lift the sandwich with a cooks' slice slid under the cooked side, lift the pan up, turn it over the uncooked side of the sandwich and then flip them both. Possibly an overly complicated method, but it works for me!

Method:

1. Heat your pan as high as you can, but not smoking (oh Gas, how I adore thee)
2. Butter a slice of bread - I prefer a medium slice, hubby prefers a thick (10mm) slice, and place it butter side down on your chopping board
3. Add topping, then cheese evenly
4. Butter a second slice, then add to the sandwich butter side out (this is important)
5. Take by the diagonal corners to the pan
6. Turn when the butter on the top begins to melt slightly/the underside is golden brown and the cheese is melting. I like mine slightly over golden as you can tell by the above photo
7. Try to resist a second, I dare you

Ok, so it's best made with Cheese somewhere contained providing the golden melt factor, but if you also add another filling, a flavour 'bridge' if you will, it's a whole other level;

Kiwi Classic: Creamed Corn
The Italian Job: Tinned Spaghetti (found in the baked bean aisle)
KISS: Ham
Hawaiian Special: Ham & Pineapple or just Pineapple
Mouse Trap: Ketchup
Ye Olde English: Ham & Chutney or just Chutney
Orchard: Sliced Tomato

Peppers, cooked onion, cooked chicken, chilli... (I could almost list my entire fridge here, you get the idea)

Weird Tropical: Peanut Butter & Banana (sans Cheese). Don't laugh, it's actually delicious.

What's your favourite guilty secret snack/meal - pizza, dessert, fish & chips, curry?

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(Mostly) Wordless Fridays

This really was an astonishingly Kiwi week. When I first came to London I was determined not to do the stereotypical 'live in a Kiwi/Aussie share house in Clapham/Fulham/Shepherds Bush, get a job behind a bar and drink myself silly'. I did temporarily get a bar job but some things you just have to do when finding your feet. 

 

 

Bar that, my life is pretty Kiwi-free bar the odd goodie box and lamb chop. In the last few months doing this blog though, I've rediscovered a lot of old favourite recipes from home, come across some gorgeous places to eat and met some lovely people.

 

Speaking of Kiwi-ana, is this not the randomest decal in the middle of London?

 

 

Some lovely handmade treats (recipe soon)

 

 

Attack of the robots?

 

 

 

Does anyone have any idea what a Soursop Guanabana is when it's at home?

 

The weather certainly has been horrendous. C'mon London, it's MARCH already.

 

I'm going to leave you with a London Castle I discovered on my wanderings, enjoy.

 

What is the strangest thing you happened to Stumble upon?

 

Ps. With the Google Reader dying a quiet death, feel free to add Adventures of a London Kiwi to your bloglovin'. The link is here.

 

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Gone Girl: Book Review

Have you ever found a book you want to like, but couldn't? Every day for weeks I walked  past a display in a booksellers window, made entirely of copies of this book. I heard reviews of it, listen to friends gush about how incredible it was and generally heard a lot of good things about this popular novel.

 

It's a fascinating idea: a crime/thriller set in the modern day US, a woman's disappearance and presumed murder by her husband. The twists and turns are really interesting - let's put it this way, I wouldn't want to annoy anyone with a mind like Gillian Flynn.

Maybe it was just too long, but the characters didn't pull me in - I did finish it, and I didn't necessarily see the twist coming, but it missed a spark for me. The characters sounded a little forced in my view, but I really enjoyed the multiple view/hall of mirrors style of narration, but for such a long book the characters were flawed and not full enough. You may be thinking that it's out of my normal genre, but I loved Before I Go To Sleep review recently and grew up on a diet of crime/thriller (Dean Koontz is one of my top 5 favourite authors) as well as my favourite fantasy and history books.

I read a lot (having a commute to fill will do this to you), and I don't often pick up books that are currently popular. Maybe it's the hippy side my Mother raised me with, but I often find that books that are over-hyped tend to be disappointing. Maybe it's the expectation setting it up for a fall, but this was the same - really interesting, clever premise and idea, but it just didn't rock my world as much as I though it would.

It was however on the New York times bestseller list last year for eight weeks and (date date of posting this) has sold over two million copies (print & e-book, according to Wikipedia). Just #keepingitreal

(Ps. just found a website for suggesting books (ahem above) when you are searching for a new one to read: Book Country)

Have you read it? Do you agree/disagree?

(Please note any links to Amazon are through my Amazon Associates account, which means I make a little money (less than 5%) from any purchases made after clicking through these links and it adds nothing to the price of your book. This helps support my book addiction, so if you are interested in buying the book, please click through the top link)

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Ozone Cafe: Restaurant Recommendation



It was that good I kind of don't want people to know about this place. You see, what I think will happen is that it'll get hugely busy then I won't be able to go, or have to queue for hours. Does that make me a bad person?

 

The service was excellent; funny, helpful, laidback but there when you needed them, the smell as you enter was enticing, the coffee ridiculously good and the food top standard. First in, so I could have a good nose, I was greeted warmly (then they jokingly threatened to throw me down the stairs) and seated in their front window area to wait for the rest of my party. Served a delicious flat white by their quietly-grooving-to-the-background-music barista, it was nice to watch the rhythm that only a busy hospitality spot has. I do miss the friendliness of working in restaurants.

 

 

Seated downstairs (near the coffee roasting machine!) we all opted for the Eggs Benedict (our favourite) with either Bacon or Salmon (our choices, they have other options), served a-top bubble and squeak cakes and the richest béarnaise I've had the pleasure of trying. We were barely a few forkfuls in before we were planning our next visit - that's how good it was. The bubble & squeak cakes especially - soft fluffy potatoes encased in a golden crumb was a lovely balance to the rich oozy eggs, savoury smoky bacon and béarnaise. 

 

 

We also decided to spoil ourselves, and have a brunch dessert (bressert?) which was shared - the daily special of brioche French Toast, Strawberries, citrus couli and cream fraiche. Light, decadent with the soft top-notes of strawberry. My mouth is watering all over again.

 

 

Upstairs there is also a variety of less mischievous brunch items - croissants, kiwi & choc-chip muffins, snow-balls (another kiwi sweet treat) and loads of other items. These came served on enamel plates which we squealed over - childhood memories of camping holiday food served on enamel plates.

 

 

  

Great atmosphere, quick hot food, relaxed service (they let us sit on our downstairs table until we were ready to leave) funky surrounds and delicious creamy coffee all a stone's throw from Old Street tube station. Ahhh, heaven. 

 

The ladies with whom I brunch (all lovely Kiwi lasses) unanimously declared this our top favourite Kiwi brunch location in London so far. And there are a surprising amount of them dotted throughout the UK capital.

 

For further information, check out their website. They also wholesale their coffee - sadly I didn't have enough bag space to get any, but I really need an excuse to go back. The only problem is I want to try everything and would like to go back and maybe people-watch the hipsters from their booth seating.

I'd get there fairly early though - it's a popular place already (*sigh*). You don't even have to have the full menu, there are perch-y seats that you can order a coffee and a muffin and have a gossip on.

Just to be clear, I was in no way comped for this, they had no idea who we were and we paid for everything ourselves, we just loved it.

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Lunching, with the Queen.

On our lunchbreaks yesterday, a colleague and I decided to pop over to the hopsital where the Royal Family are treated. Mostly to have a nosey and check out the mad paparazzi that lurk outside, hoping to get that million pound image of her Majesty.

Credit - Mirror

We absoloutely lucked in, and I can't quite believe this, got there just in time to see the Queen in person! She's the head of the Commonwealth, the lady on the back of our coins and one of the most famous people in the world - and we watched as she left the hospital, and was gracefully ushered into her waiting car. As my colleague remarked "she's the ultimate Betty, and looks amazing for 87."

She was "admitted briefly as part of the assessment of symptoms of gastroenteritis” but was feeling much better, so 24 hours after being admitted went home to Buckingham Palace. A lady of steel.

It's a controversial subject the monarchy; on one hand you have the continuance of the established upper class draining public funds and in the words of a friend "doing almost nothing for their entires lives", and on the other hand the epitome of what make England special and a massive tourist draw to this island nation.

(These aren't my photos, but show the amazing view we had - you can't believe how much we are kicking ourselves to have left our phones at work.)


Credit - Sky News

It's times like these that I adore living in London. We were literally standing 6 or 7 meters away from her. She was immaculately dressed and very reserved. It's a little surreal actually. I normally miss her, such as the time we went to Buckingham Palace for tea, but managed to catch a good glimpse of her during the Jubilee celebrations.

It's been a very exciting few days!

 

Royal family - yay or nay - tourist attracting titular head or a drain on the taxpayer?

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Xenophobes guides to Kiwis: Reading Recommendation

"Vowels sounds can be a trap" Oh how my husband laughed - he always asks me what happened - "Captain Cook went to Nuu Zullund with 5 vowels, but you all seem to have lost 3 of them..." the worst words seem to be six/sex and pin/pen.

 

 

Last week, I ran through the Xenophobes guide to the English, so for all intents in being fair (got to have Fair Play) may I present the Xenophobes guides to Kiwis. It touches on our relationship with Mother England, our Anti-nuclear stance, our joy of understatement, icons, and sense of humour.

It's nice to think that Kiwi's like to tell other nations about our famour personalities; Edmun Hilary, Ernest Rutherford, Kiri te Kanawa and Karen Walker, but did you know that William Atack was the first person to use a whistle to stop a game, Godfrey Bowen used to be the worlds fastest sheep shearer and Ernest Godwin invented the spiral hairpin? Neither did I. It is very interesting though, how Kiwis have infiltrated the world and seem to be everywhere - my old boss had a 17 strong team of Kiwis in his business. How bizarre is that? We seem to have a good name for ourselves which is nice!

"There are more passports in New Zealand per million that any other country in the world" not a bad stat for a flightless bird!

 

"A common preoccupation of abroad Kiwis is to see how often their country's name comes up in the paper" - I am absolutely guilty of this, and all of my UK family are just the same. What amazes me, is how often we're mentioned considering that there is only a few of us. On a side not, it amuses me, and I was only talking about this at a blogger thing last night, is how often characters running away from home/work/crazy people run to New Zealand, seemingly the end of the Earth. Though to be fair even my hubby remarked when flying from Sydney to New Zealand, it does seem like you're flying off the ends of the Earth!

I have only one complaint about the book, which otherwise is a funny, true and informative read. The author makes the claim that heaven help any Brit who criticises New Zealand, but the "Australian visitor is given leeway to criticise." Um hello, are you sure you're a Kiwi, sir authors?? It could be re-written to say that anyone who isn't an Australian can poke fun at Nuu Zulland, and will be gently smiled at, but an Australian will just be called an Okker. Sorry, it's true.

 

Read it, if only to translate a few of your Kiwi friends/colleagues/family sayings. It will be sweet as, I promise.

 

Have any of you come across any of the above Kiwi traits?

(Please note any links to Amazon are through my Amazon Associates account, which means I make a little money (less than 5%) from any purchases made after clicking through these links and it adds nothing to the price of your book. This helps support my book addiction, so if you are interested in buying the book, please click through the top link)

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Manuka Kitchen: Restaurant Review

If you've been reading this humble blog for awhile (and if so, thank you), you'll have twigged that my friends and I are becoming serial weekend brunchers, and have been tending to check out Kiwi-esque brunch spots in the capital. The Manuka Kitchen is such a place.



Opened in the last few months at time of writing, Manuka Kitchen in Fulham is a self-start up, run by Tyler Martin (the Chef, originating from New Plymouth, New Zealand) and Joseph Antippa (Tyler's Lebanese business partner).

"DELICIOUS FOOD. GREAT WINE. FRIENDS.

WE THINK THAT JUST ABOUT COVERS IT."

 

Such a great ethos for a restaurant!

Manuka Honey, which the restaurant is named after, is a 'superfood' originating from New Zealand from a single source; the bees that pollinate Manuka trees in New Zealand's East Cape region – and is rather expensive. About 4 years ago there were a lot of exciting claims that Manuka could heal wounds, which were never quite realised. It's still delicious though, and is full of all sorts of vitamins, nutrients and goodness.

The menu isn't dominated by the honey, but includes it as an ingredient here and there, and is available additionally as a toast condiment. The menu and the cooking reflects a love of fresh straightforward ingredients combined to great effect.

Between us we enjoyed a couple of delicous Lattes and Mochas which started us off well. They were followed (with a wee delay) by the French Toast and Sweetcorn Fritters.

The French Toast was lovely, the thunder stolen by the delicious bacon and honey caramelised banana.

The Sweetcorn Fritters were fine, always a great brunch item but not quite as we expected - we thought they would be a little more like these or the Black Pudding ones at Caravan. For my palate they needed a little more flavour, body and crispness, to give it that satisfying 'ka-pow'. The accompanying Chutney was gorgeous though, they should bottle it.

 

The prices are good, especially for central(ish) London, and lend themselves to extra orders; the couple on the table next to us ordered quite a bit more, including some sexy looking sausages. Be warned though, at time of writing they are cash only as they are in the process of organising card facilities.

Decor is fairly minimalistic; small wooden tables, terracotta tiles and simple lightshades. This is mostly due to the businessmen being on a tight self-funded budget, but with good tasty food, the decor can be uplifted with time. It's a small bistro, with around 20 covers so make sure you book ahead.

I think if I was in the area, based on the quality and evening meal prices I would visit again but I'm not sure we'll be back for a special return visit for brunch. It's not far from the Kings Road and Stamford Bridge FC, so I expect I will be in the area again at some point, and will make a point to re-visit in the evening. This could be a local jewel that you don't really want other people to know about, so shhh...

Manuka Kitchen can be found about 5 minutes walk from Fulham Broadway tube station. Further details can be found here.

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The London OE, a challenging but rewarding mistress

You can go to up to Charing Cross for a greasy full English Breakfast, to Paris for Lunch, the Ritz for dinner and hiking in the Lake District. You can live in 14th Century Castle, drink your way around Europe and attempt to find Loch Ness. The flipside is that the UK, and London in particular can be a demanding place to live.

Oh, and in London Kiwis CAN fly...

It can be hard setting up a new life in a new country, and it generally starts with finding a new job that ticks all of the boxes - satisfying, challenging, not too stressful, good pay, reasonable hours and close-ish to home. Some come over thinking that London really is paved with gold, but go home after 3 months of not catching a lucky break, not trying very hard or running out of funds. Odds are in the great tradition, you will probably start of with a pub job, sorry guys, but it's part of the OE (Overseas Experience). On the plus side, it's a job generally meeting with genial English people and easy access to drinks.

Then you have to find somewhere to live. If you're lucky when you come over, you'll probably start off on someones couch - misshapen, saggy and with the odd stain you really don't want to know about. Once you catch a break and find yourself a job, the hunt is on - nice flatmates, not too much rent and close to work - the holy trifecta.

Catalan mountains, Paella and Spanish sunshine are only 2 hours away

Once you've got a job held down, flat sorted and travel booked is when London begins to look a lot rosier. You can upgrade the 8p instant noodles to Pot Noodles dressed with HP Sauce - oh the luxury. But, you will meet some fantastic people, have some indescribably good nights out and can have a proper crack at classifying the zoological creatures that inhabit London night busses and deciphering their accents.

It can be really challenging, but you learn SO much about yourself. You can be your favourite version of you in this country; fancy being an Emo-Goth with a baking obsession? Sure. Want to be an athlete with an obsession for Harajuku? Sure. The sheer eccentricity of the city ensures that there generally is someone at some point with whom you will make a connection. You will need to be brave in this big city and be pro-active, putting yourself out there or else the magic won't have a chance to happen...

The non-football-hooligan English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish are pretty mad mad about rugby.

It is a bit posher than back home, mind...

It does take work and there is one key thing to bare in mind when coming over: you will still (unless you are born well or find a verry rich partner) have to wake up to an alarm, work the daily grind and be answerable to the boss.

But if you are courageous, the benefits can be immense. Why be poor, tired and unhappy in a rural backwater when you can be poor, tired and happy in a City where your potential can be immense?

We genuinely accidently ran into one of the Wonders of the World roadtripping through the countryside. #kiwisontour

My best pieces of advice?

• Patience
• When catching the tube and the train is packed, go to the ends of the train and if there is one shortly, wait for it. You will be much happier in life.
• Check out TimeOut and other free websites for fun stuff to do whilst financially finding your feet
• Plan & book travelling in advance, your wallet will thank me
• Network, utilise social media. London is a huuuge place and meeting like-minded people can be hard
• Buy a small umbrella for your bag
• For a few what to do suggestions, check out my 'London Living' page

It will be hard, homesickness is possibly the hardest aspect, but it can also be the best time of your life.

Any tips/tricks I've missed?

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(Mostly) Wordless Fridays

Another week flown by, another week working for the man.

Guess what I found whilst on my travels:

 

 Have a lovely, safe weekend!

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Celebrating Waitangi Day

Most celebrations of New Zealand's founding as a colony were marked on the 29th of January, until the (highly controversial) Waitangi Treaty was signed between the Maori Tribesman and English Settlers, agreeing to the 'sale' of Land in exchange for a variety of goods. Now, Waitangi day, celebrated by most Kiwis as our national day, is on the 6th of February.

It's a good day for celebrating being Kiwi, remembering our proud (and not so proud) heritage and appreciating the history of our small land. It does have it's share of long-standing tensions though - read more here.

Interestingly (your Fact of the day), the official commeration of Waitangi Day was 1930 and has been a public holiday since 1947. The first event was a Royal New Zealand Navy ceremony centring on a flagpole which the Navy had paid to erect in the grounds, then the following year, a Māori speaker was added to the line-up, and subsequent additions to the ceremony have been made nearly every year.


Credit

In more general terms these days, Waitangi Day is treated as a celebration of New Zealand as a Nation, much like Australia Day. It's a bank holiday, with everyone off, generally enjoying spending time with their families.

Credit

Some Ex-pat Kiwis celebrate it in London with the Waitangi Day Ball, and as per Sunday's post a Pub Crawl. Much to my surprise, the Waitangi Day Pub Crawl has made it as far as Wikipedia. "On the closest Saturday to 6 February, Kiwis participate in a pub crawl using the London Underground's Circle Line... At 4 p.m., a large-scale haka is performed at Parliament Square as Big Ben marks the hour. Participants wear costumes and sing songs such as "God Defend New Zealand", all of which is in stark contrast to the much more subdued observance of the day in New Zealand itself."

I personally am going to celebrate Waitangi Day with a nice cup of Tea, some Lolly Slice and maybe a Bacon & Egg Pie.

Happy Waitangi Day!

As an ex-pat do you feel prouder of your Country on national holidays?

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The Modern Pantry: Restaurant Review

I think I've said it before, but Brunch is swiftly becoming my favourite meal of the day. A few friends and I have checked out another few of London's Kiwi brunch spots - Kopapa (which I've found out recently means "Meeting Place"), the Providores and Caravan (Kings Cross) all run by Kiwi chefs with a passion for good food and great atmosphere.

The Modern Pantry was no exception.



Found in fashionable Clerkenwell, the Modern Pantry is housed in two Georgian buildings, the larger of the two buildings was originally part of an adjacent steel foundry, while the other was a townhouse.

The interior of the restaurant (we were downstairs in the cafe part) is nicely full of crisp clean furniture with warm highlights. We couldn't believe how large the place was - our floor, another floor above us and a floor above that with the facilities. It was so quiet it was hard to believe how many people were there being served.

Service was really nice - friendly, funny, happy to answer any questions and make substitutions and not overbearing in anyway, they wierdly just popped over whenever we started to think about ordering something. Maybe telepathy is a hiring condition there?

Our biggest problem was deciding what to eat from the extensive menu in the sunshine away from the bitter North wind. Every plate that came out of the kitchen - usually a good indication of what's good - looked delicious. As with most of the restaurants we've tried with Kiwi links, the menus are modern, focus on the ingredients, but don't have a particular food style - they do have a few Kiwi twists though - Marmite soldiers for instance.

We settled in the end for a variety of dishes:

Turkish Menemen Baked Eggs with Nigella Yoghurt and Sourdough Bread - a in essence a Turkish ratatouille of onions, tomato, peppers and lovely spice topped with two perfectly baked eggs, a spiced flavoured yoghurt and sourdough bread perfect for dipping.

Eggs Benedict withYuzu Hollandaise (Yuzu is a small oriental citrus fruit) and Bacon or Salmon; The Yuzu Hollandaise was met with mixed reviews, but the perfectly poached eggs looked delicous atop their salmon or bacon and Muffin brunch-fellows.

A delicious looking Grilled Breakfast (Bacon, Scrambled Eggs etc.) Everything seemed to cooked really nicely as you'd expect, this certainly isn't a greasy spoon.

And the Pièce de résistance: Ricotta filled pancakes with berry compote and Cream Fraiche. As per our very freindly waiters advice, we kinda had them as Breakfast Dessert, sharing between the table. Oh Boy were these delicious.

Crisp batter filled with soft creamy Ricotta cut with the sweetly sharp berries. This was... well it's making my mouth water. You load your fork with a bit of everything and just enjoy.

 

We tried several coffees (Kiwi's definately know how to make a mean flat white - full bodied without being burned, full fat milk (gasp) at just the right temperature) and whilst we didn't order any of the delectable smoothies or delicious sounding 'reviving cocktails', we were tempted into ordering some of the hard to pronounce Teas made locally. We were also advised (laughingly) by our waiter that the Tea company recommends their Teas are served in stemmed wine glasses. Ever the adventurers we had a try, and thankfully had no incidents of smashing (though it steam a few specs).

 

Overall we really enjoyed ourselves. Unobstrusive friendly service, good food and a nice atmosphere it is a place that is very easy to linger in on a Saturday morning.

 

 

I definately recommend going to The Modern Pantry for a nice brunch near to Farringdon Tube Station (watch out at the station for marauding Kiwis but only near the 6th of Feb though). Be warned the menus are extensive, they have daily changing menus (including separate Saturday and Sunday Brunch menus) and I understand that you're advised to book as it can get very busy.

Eggs Benedict: Bacon or Salmon? Discuss. 

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