Tokyo Diner @Leicester Square, London

Tokyo Diner is a three-floor Japanese restaurant on the corner of Newport Place and Lisle Street in the Chinatown area of the West End of London. They provide authentic Japanese food at attractive prices in the heart of London since 1992!

The hubby and I sat at the downstairs which is a little cramped since the upper floor is fulled.

Previously, they opened 365 days a year from 12 till 12. However, recently I saw in their website stated that due to staff shortages as a result of Government immigration restrictions, they are closed on every Mondays.

Their prices are quite cheap and recommended for those who are looking for budget Japanese meal after having too much Western food..

Selection of Donburi rice

They have bento box of set meals too

Japanese Green Tea and Thames Water is FREE in here!

The hubby looks tired and hungry oledi lo..

FREE green tea with some light snacks

I ordered Salmon Don (GBP10.60)

The hubby had Katsu Curry (GBP10.60)

Two person pocket damages at Tokyo Diner - GBP21.20

Overall: Food is so-so but it's budget value meal so what do you expect rite? Fill in tummy only lo. And since it's a Japanese style restaurant, remember to take your change back - they DO NOT accept tips!

How to get here:
Tokyo Diner
Leicester Square, London
WC2H 7JJ
Tel: 02072878777
Email: service@tokyodiner.com

Website: http://www.tokyodiner.com/

Check out here for more of my UK trip sharing.

Shopping Haul @London

Long overdue post on the hubby and my shopping haul in UK..

1) Magnets 

Left : Stonehenge magnet
Top-Right : London magnets (Budget: 6 for GBP10)
Bottom-Right : Bath Abbey magnet

Thinking of getting some fridge magnets as souvenirs like the ones in top-right? You should get those in Bayswater.

How to get to Bayswater:
->By tube: Take the District/Circle (Green/Yellow) line to Bayswater station. Once you get out of the station, turn left or right...there are plenty of souvenirs shops everywhere here.

In here, you get a whole street of shops which sells plenty of London souvenirs like magnets, keychains, T-shirt etc. And dun worry about the shops closing at 9pm! You can do late night shopping here. For Malaysians, do take note that some shops here have special discounts for Malaysians!

2)Umbrella

Another option for souvenir - London umbrella!
  
3) Chocolates

Left : Marks & Spencer Extra Fine Milk Chocolate Bar
Top-Right : Harrods Chocolate Bars
Middle-Right : Kit-Kat Chunky Bars - Peanut Butter Chocolate flavor
Bottom-Right : More of Marks & Spencer Chocolate Bars

You can find the Marks & Spencer chocos in their grocery area. As for the Harrods chocos, I got it from the Harrods department store.

How to get to Harrods:
Address: 87-135 Brompton Rd, London SW1X 7XL, United Kingdom
Phone:+44 20 7730 1234
By tube: Take the Piccadilly line to Knightsbridge station
Opening Hours: 

• Monday to Saturday 10:00 am – 8:00 pm, 
• Sunday 11:30 am – 6.00 pm

4) Butter or Chocolate Biscuits

Top-Left : Marks & Spencer Choco biscuits (front of the box)
Bottom-Right : Marks & Spencer Choco biscuits (back of the box)
Top-Right & Bottom: Marks & Spencer butter biscuits  

You can find the Marks & Spencer biscuits in their grocery area.

5) Handmade soap bars

If you luv handmade soap bars, you can get these soap bars from the Bath souvenir shops. Lovely smell! And they have different variety like Rose Geranium, Rosemary and Lavender and Sea Salt with Essential Oils for Men.
  
6) Tote and handbags

Longchamp bag

Lots of choices of Harrods Totes and Purse

You can get cheaper Longchamp and Harrods Totes from London. Checkout these bags from Selfridges and Harrods departmental store.


7) Plushies
Fans of Paddington bear? Hello Kitty or Harrods Bear? Cute to keep these as collections.

8)  Cheap shopping haul at Primark!
Primark is Malaysia's version of Mydin. A good place to shop for incredibly dirt cheap clothes from as low as GBP1, shoes, inner wear etc. If you run out of room for your luggage, you can even grab one here at a very cheap price of GBP20 here too!

The flats I bought at Primark for only GBP3! So comfy and it's my favorite daily shoes now. Regret that I did not buy more come back la..even cheaper than getting from Taobao some more after conversion.

How to get to Primark:
Primark Oxford Street East
Address: 14 – 28 Oxford Street & 3 Tottenham Court Road
London, W1D 1AU
By tube: Take the Central Line to Marble Arch. When you are out of the station, cross the road and turn left. Walk straight and you will see Primark on your right.


Check here for more of my UK trip sharing.

Hands Georgian Tearooms @Bath

When you are in Bath, do take a chance to enjoy classic high teas at the Hands Georgian Tearooms!

Hands is a family run traditional tea room set on a historic, georgian town house. It's located adjacent to the Abbey and Roman Baths.

They offer a daily menu of excellent home cooked food. Breakfast is served until 11.30am. Lunch, high teas and clotted creams are available all day. 

Owners, Nina and Laurence Swan, have transformed the business into a Georgian tearoom complete with mock-Georgian paintings created by local artist Zed from the Image Centre.

Owners: Laurence and Nina Swan in Hands Georgian Tearooms

More photos on the interior:
#1)

#2)

 #3)

 #4)

#5)

#6)

 #7)

Visitors will also get to enjoy musical accompaniment from pianist Mark Shergold who plays every afternoon Wednesday to Sunday, from midday, and staff are now also dressed in period costume.

What they served?

This unique and very much traditional tearooms offer a range of over twenty carefully selected teas - All at £1.90 per pot per person, expertly sourced for their discerning customers. There is a good range of coffees and other beverages available to suit other non-tea lovers too. 

They offer breakfasts ranging from the Full English to the wonderful Eggs Benedict and much more. The lunch fare offers a Full Menu of hot and cold meals such as pies, bangers and mash, the English Ploughman's as well as Baguettes, Sandwiches, Jacket potatoes and salad.

Really luv enjoying my two tiered classic high tea (£13.50) consists of: 

• Your choice of sandwich of the menu, 
• Homemade cakes
• Biscuits
• Freshly baked scone
• Clotted cream & strawberry preserve
• A pot of tea.

Wish to enjoy this high tea again...so miss the scones and macaroons too!

Pot of house tea - old England is an excellent blend of the finest premium teas, which combine together to deliver a top quality cup of tea with superb flavour.

The boyfie had the Beef burger and chips (£7.50) which tasted good too.

How to get here?

Hands Georgian Tearooms, 
1 Abbey Street, 
Bath, BA1 1NN, 
Tel: 01225 463928
Website: http://www.handstearoom.co.uk/

That's all! Check out here for more of my UK trip sharing.

Collection #19: London Hello Kitty!

Hello! Greetings from London Changing Guard Hello Kitty! :-)

Almost forgot to continue sharing about my Hello Kitty Collection *smack head*

Wanna see more of my Hello Kitty Collections? Checkout here.

Ramen @Bone Daddies, London

Craving for ramen while in London? You can check out Bone Daddies at Peter Street Soho!

It's a ramen noodles bar served in a space with big windows.

The crowded environment in the shop, so please be prepared to queue during peak hour.

What shall I order? Hmm..I want spicy spicy! So nice to eat spicy food in cold weather! Slurp!

Boyfie's Soy Ramen

And my spicy miso ramen!

Overall the taste is not bad, and portion is huge too. Worth to try if you are in London and crave for Japanese noodles!

Total expenses for 2 pax = £29.95

• Soy Ramen :  £10
• Spicy Miso Ramen : £11
• 2 Green Tea :  £5
• Service Charge 12.5% : £3.25   

Pocket damage expenses for 2 pax

How to get here:
Bone Daddies
30-31 Peter Street
London W1F 0AR
Tel: 020 7287 8581
Nearest Station: Leicester Square
Estimated Budget: £13/pax
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BoneDaddiesLDN
Website: http://www.bonedaddies.com/peter-st-soho/

That's all! Check out here for more of my UK trip sharing.

Recommended Full English Breakfasts in London

When you are in London, one of the must try food is their Full English Breakfasts! Below are some of the places boyfie and myself went for typical English breakfasts in London:

1) Cafe Rossi - Value for Money English Breakfast

Address:
57 Borough High Street,
Southwark, London
SE1 1NE
Telephone: 020 7407 3718
Nearest station: London Bridge
Budget: £7/pax

If you want a value for money English Breakfast, you have to go Cafe Rossi. For just ~£5, you can have huge and filling breakfast. This place have very limited number of seating, roughly can fit about 20+ people maybe? So be prepared that when in peak hour, the service might not be so good since the staff might shoo you out faster when you have finish your food.

See behind boyfie, that's how many number of tables they can fit in the shop!

This is boyfie's Full English Breakfast : 2 eggs, 2 bacons, sausage, chips, beans, mushrooms and toast bread.

My Set 2 Breakfast (which is new item): 1 egg, sausage, Hashbrown, Tomato, Black Pudding and Toast Bread

The breakfast does not come with coffee, so you will just need to add extra ~£2 for coffee.

Nice hot cappuccino

2) Muriel's Kitchen - Lovely decorated place to enjoy your weekend English breakfast!

Address:
36 – 38 Old Compton Street
London, W1D 4TT
Tel: +44 20 7434 0111
Opening Hours:

• Mon to Sat: 8am – 12 Midnight 
• Sun: 9am – 11pm 

Nearest station: Leicester Square/Piccadilly Lines
Budget: £13/pax
Website: http://www.murielskitchen.co.uk/menus/leicester-square/breakfast


Unlike Cafe Rossi, Muriel's Kitchen is spacious as it has indoor and outdoor seating. And it's lovely decorated, which provides you the great place to enjoy your English breakfast on a typical lazy weekend!

We enjoy our lazy Sunday morning here - enjoying our breakfast outdoor while watching passerby which we seldom do it in Malaysia due to hot, humid weather!

Muriel's Kitchen Menu

More of their menu to see what they serve:

Oats, Eggs and Pastries

Muriel's Specials

Drinks at Muriel's Kitchen

So what we have ordered:

The boyfie's Traditional English Breakfast £9.99 : 2 eggs, 2 bacon, tomatoes, 2 sausages, 2 slices of toast, portobello mushroom & baked beans

My not English breakfast of the day - Blueberry pancakes with maple syrup £6.75

Boyfie's Cafe Latte (£2.80) and my Cappuccino £2.60 per cup

Total expenses for 2 pax = £22.14

• Regular Cafe Latte (£2.80)
• Regular Cappuccino (£2.60)
• English Breakfast (£9.99)
• Blue Pancakes (£6.75)   

3) E Pellincci - Cosy, friendly and family atmosphere cafe to enjoy your English breakfast!

Address: 

332 Bethnal Green Road, London E2 OAG, United Kingdom

Tel:0207 739 4873

Opening Hours: Monday - Saturday (7am - 4pm)

Nearest Station: Bethnal Green Tube Station (8 mins walk)
Budget: £8/pax

A lot of regular customers, warm and friendly workers including the boss!

The friendly boss

And the friendly lady boss

And this is their menu:

Detail of what's in the menu:

The boyfie told me that the people here are very friendly to chit chat with him while he's having his breakfast alone that time. 

They even help boyfie to take a photo of himself..hehe

And even the lady boss is super nice that she gave him a slice of freshly baked cake! How sweet of her!

Boyfie's English breakfast at the Pellicci's

That's all! Check out here for more of my UK trip sharing.