Ginger & White Hampstead

Hopped on the bus 268 for a 20-min journey of my cafe crawl, I have found my perfect cafe here at Ginger & White in Hampstead.

Upon stepping into this cosy cafe, I was immediately greeted by the friendliest barista, it must be the Hampstead gem!
The way the barista engages with the customers is just so cute and charming. 
Thumb up for that.

No sign of the city hassle and bustle, only the lovely local vibe oozing from the chit-chat between staff and customers.
Regular customers constantly popping in for their on-the-go caffeine boost and post-workout bites, MacBook users sipping their cappuccino, and two French families paying a visit (giving me the opportunity to revising my terribly-rusty French), Ginger & White seems as well one of hubs for Apple users. Even the wifi password, 100cupcakes, gives me a reason to pay another visit.
Sat for another hour with a pot of green tea because I would like to stay longer to enjoy the atmosphere and it is just so perfect to work on your laptop.

I had my cappuccino with soya milk as usually and ordered scrambled eggs on 2 slices of sourdough bread topped with roasted tomatoes.
The locally-sourced egg was literally the best I have ever had, perfectly cooked, not greasy at all. 
I am coming back for their home-made salad for sure!

Theme song: All I Want Is You by Barry Louis Polisar


Ginger & White Hampstead
4a-5a Perrins Court, HAMPSTEAD NW3 1QS
http://www.gingerandwhite.com/

The Riding House Café

Located at the Great Portland Street, the Riding House Cafe is probably one of the most hidden yet hippest spots in London to do brunch.

A mixture of brass and wood, the decor is absolutely trendy and stunning.

Some of the Poppy Delevingne girls were spotted sipping their cappuccino.

Do pay a visit to the toilet downstairs to admire the interior design.

As I am always on the hunt for the perfect avocado toast, I had to have one of those at the Riding House.

It was the simplest one I have ever had so far.

One slice of brown toast cut in half, spread with smashed avo, and sprinkled with black pepper on top, accompanied by some sort of vinegar source and a quarter of lime on the side.

Mine wasn't that boring as I managed to add roasted tomato to red the green a little bit. 

Soya Cappuccino was lovely but not impressive.  

I am not sure if I will give it another go in the near future, it could simply be a tick on my cafe crawl list. 

But I do suggest you dress up a little bit, even if its just a causal weekday brunch catch-up with friends. 

The Riding House Café

43-51 Great Titchfield St, London W1W 7PQ

http://www.ridinghousecafe.co.uk/

Albion

The official day 2 of my cafe crawl embarked today.
I am stepping out of my comfort zone and exploring new areas.
Been lingering around Marylebone neighbourhood, Covent Garden, and South Kensington for too long.

Well technically, it is not a cafe crawl because most of the spots that I'd pay a visit must have healthy food and lovely decor. 
The availability of soya milk is a must too.

Anyway, this is my second time in Shoreditch.
Having heard people raging about this place many times, I decided to hop on the overground for 40-min commute and gave Shoreditch another go (I am just not a fan of Brick Lane.)
The first stop has to be the famous Albion and early weekday morning means no queue!
Got asked anything to drink upon sitting, hadn't got comfy at my seat yet, a cup of soya cappuccino was already served. 
Coffee was nothing special to be honest, but the freshly-made toast and the grilled sweet potato with spinach were not bad.
I have to say the decor is lovely, a mixture of American, British, and a bit of Parisian maybe?
Red seatings, white walls and ceilings, wooden chairs and floor.
Let me put it this way, imaging the song, Why Do You Let Me Stay Here by Him & Her as a decor theme and you would get what I mean.
I can totally picture Zooey Deschanel brunching here.
Yep, that's it.
Overall, it'd be a lovely spot for brunch meet-up.



Albion
2-4 Boundary St, London E2 7DD
http://www.albioncaff.co.uk/

The Good Life Eatery

The Good Life Eatery has won a massive love of mine ever since my first visit back in months ago.
I don't really remember how I discovered this place.
Probably from a random blog or maybe Millie Mackintosh?!
(P.S I did run into Millie once!)

Though I had to travel a bit to get there, it will always be my destination for a healthy food boost slash treat.
Located in the Sloane Avenue, where you can find some of  the fanciest maisons, it has hidden itself quite well next to Starbucks.

Trust me, you would want to try every thing on the menu, from breakfast to all day brunch.
My all time fav has to be Goodlife salad, with kale, sweet potato, lentils, and walnuts, filling yet healthy.
If you still have a bit space in your stomach, do try the sweet potato dip as well, the perfectly-seasoned spice would defo make you crave for more.

Trust me, you would want to try every thing on the menu. 

Apart from the mouth-watering foodies there, everyone there literally looks like any of the fashion bloggers.
I have learnt so much about the Chelsea chic from them.
Those wishlist bags can always be spotted at Good Life.

The Good Life Eatery
http://www.goodlifeeatery.com
59 Sloane Avenue SW3 3DH London

I think I have pass the GoodLife addiction onto my friend.

Le Pain Quotidien

I have a confession to make.

FYI I don't kid on a regular basis and I am very picky when it comes to food.

I don't mind having Le Pain Quotidien everyday.

I know it is chained and omnipresent in London, blah blah blah,

but what's wrong with treating yourself with yummy freshly-made, well-decorated organic food.

You may be so surprised that there so many vegan options on the menu as well if you care.

My fav has to be the Marylebone one.

No bias, but it is literally the yummiest.

Most of the branches are located near those tourist spots, which means that it can be really busy and noisy.

Marylebone high street has everything but the hustle and bustle of the city.

My affection for avocado on the toast has gone viral since my first avocado taste there.

It was love at first bite.

Well-smashed avocado spread on their signature bread with the perfect amount of seeds and seasoning on the top.

Splendid. 

I hope this seasonal special will go on forever.

FYI 2, Marylebone serves larger proportion of the avocado toast than the one in Covent Garden and South Kensington.

Now I am on the hunt for more avo toasts

My perfect day would start with a cup of organic cappuccino with soya milk and avocado toast. 

I always have the illusion of being in Paris there, but they are Belgian, arent they?

One of Those Days

Today has been one of those days that I don't feel like myself.

The level of my anxiety already reached the peak since yesterday partly because uni starts tomorrow, partly because I still miss Alex an awful lot. So I decided to take a day off, what I mean by taking a day off is being a homie with no makeup on. Therefore, I popped into M&S for a last-min grocery shopping, coming home with a tote bag of instant coffee, skimmed milk, avo, spinach, broccoli, smoked salmon, and chicken.

Cooking isn't my thing, this I am not ashamed to admit. Little did I know that I suck at making coffee as well. 

I have a craving for coffee or any food from one of  my fav chill-out spots even today is supposed to be a lazy stay-at-home day.

It is the specialty coffee, friendly people, and the decor that keep me going back for caffeine boost.

Attendant 
For the quirky location, soya cappuccino, Royal chicken sandwich and homemade salad

Nordic Bakery (Dorset Street)
Soya latte, Gravlax salmon rye sandwich, and the cinnamon bun is to die for

The Good Life Eatery: probably the most trendy destination for healthy food gourmets

Souli: an array of exquisite sandwiches on display, along with freshly-made salads.

Ozone and The Riding House Cafe are fancy spots for causal breakie and bruch slash Chiltern Firehouse alternative if you know what I mean.

Impromptu Trip

Having submitted 4 papers and taken 4 courses at UAL, this summer is a real hectic, but achieving one for me.

Been caged in this urban jungle for this long can be suffocating, though city break in the city has been arranged on a weekly basis. Been to several up-market cafés for causal brekkies. Sounds pretty spendy, but a table for one is unforgivable.

Holding a passport allowing traveling in EU zone freely without using it is defo not forgivable.

After revising my wanderlust list, Amsterdam seems like the perfect place for a city girl to relax and rewind. 

Amazed again by how handy it is to live in a West Hampstead, where it is the transportation hub to underground, overground and train station. 

Less than 3 hours, you get to devote the authentic Dutch pancake, an hour direct train to Gatwick Airport, 1 1/4hr flight to Amsterdam, I feel so very privileged.

4 days 3 nights, a carry-on tote, Birkenstock sandals, Google map, and soy latte, I am good to go.

Upon landing the Netherlands, I was immediately greeted by the exotic language. Dutch sounds like Irish German to me. It took me 3 days to learn thank you in Dutch, dunky-ver?

But it doesn't matter as Dutch people are all fluently in English, which is also a reason why Amsterdam topped the list of my summer break destination.

When in Dutch, instead of munching on Dutch caramel waffles, you gotta look chic and bike aimlessly around the canals. That's why they do. Causal outfit and a blazer is the standard attire for a bike ride.

Windmill, cheese factory, and other tourisy things were not on the agenda, I was looking for surprises in a strange land. 

Dutch aesthetic has been showcased through concept stores, vintage shops, cafés, and the Dutch (of course!) Dim light, muted colours, and industrial bricks are the norm for the effortlessly interior design. Dutch boys and girls do know how to pay attention to details in their simple outfit. In the city of bikes, utility seems more essential with just one statement piece to make a theme. I have seen lady carrying 

a Birkin on a bike, and her outfit can not be more layback.

People watching then soon became my fav thing to do in Amsterdam. 

Caffè il Momento is a perfect spot for caffeine and the peeping mission.

Great coffee, served with a bite of Dutch waffle, and friendly baristas made me pay 2 consecutive visits.

Oh their plain croissant was so so good. 

Antidote: I do notice that Dutch latte is usually served in a gigantic glass, even a small one.

The size of the latte in De Koffie Salon, where much adored by Andy Torres, gave me a fright, it was the size of venti Starbucks.

If to visit Amsterdam on an impulse again, Caffè il Momento is the culprit to blame.

The architecture alongside the canals were built to be Instagrammed.

Gentleman Canal is said to be the wealthy residential waterfront.

It is so adorable that houses love to lean forward for more space to house more pieces of furniture. 

To be honest, I had hard time finding proper food at first. What I mean by proper food is simple sandwiches and salads with natural ingredients, but it is pizza-kinda-of place everywhere I went. Thank god I was lucky to spot 3 eateries for healthy food and juice.

I am glad that I chose Amsterdam over Lisbon and Paris.

But I missed London on the second day.

London is the place that I can call and feel home away from home.

Amsterdam Shortlist

Caffè il Momento

http://www.caffeilmomento.nl/

De Koffie Salon

http://dekoffiesalon.nl/

Juice & Salad Café

http://juiceandsalad.nl/

Dr. Blend

http://www.drblend.nl/en/

Soup en Zo

http://soupenzo.nl/