Month: February 2019

Hank Vegan Burger, Paris – Feb 2019

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For our third evening meal in Paris we decided on Hank vegan burger. They have a few locations around Paris including a pizza restaurant. Luckily we had a branch a ten minute walk from where we were staying.

Hank now offer the Beyond Burger patty for a surcharge which my Husband went for. I’ve tried the Beyond Burger before so I went for their standard patty.

I thought these colas from Oxfam looked really cool. Who knew Oxfam made fair trade cola?

I went for the burger which came with tomato and basil sauce and black olives. All burgers come with vegan cheese onion and pickles.

This was a really tasty burger although the burger patty was quite soft.

My Husband had the barbeque sauce and marinated peppers burger which he enjoyed.

He also took one home that had mustard sauce and alfalfa sprouts. He thought the mustard didn’t pack enough of a punch but other than that he enjoyed it.

I also took a carrot cake home which had amazing texture but was quite light in colour and I think it could have had a bit more spice.

Have you been to Hank’s? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

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Hank Vegan Burger, Paris – Feb 2019

Wild and The Moon, Paris – Feb 2019

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We had spent the day walking around Paris and wanted a place to stop for a coffee and a cake. I had a look on Happy Cow and Wild and The Moon wasn’t too far from our meandering route. Wild and The Moon is a small chain of cafes offering healthy options including smoothies, Buddha bowls etc. We went to the St Honore branch.

I chose a banana bread slice which was primarily made up of coconut and nuts so was quite dense and filling, it had a lovely banana-y flavour and went down a treat.

My Husband wanted the chocolate tart but unfortunately the tart that day was lemon so he went for the nutty chocolate pudding.

Our drinks took a while to come out, so the pudding was finished and I’d almost finished my cake when they arrived which was a bit annoying. My Husband went for an iced coffee which could have been a bit sweeter for his tastes and I had a rose latte which I really enjoyed.

On Happy Cow there was one mediocre review and one of their complaints was the amount of plastic in the cafe so it was interesting to see that their tubs are made from a compostable material.

Have you visited any of Wild and The Moon’s branches? What did you have? Did you like it? Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

Wild and The Moon, Paris – Feb 2019

brEAThe, Paris – Feb 2019

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We booked a table at brEAThe for our second night (and my birthday) in Paris. We had a table booked for 7 but we didn’t have time to go back to the apartment from our day out before-hand so headed straight there and were welcomed to our table when the restaurant opened at 18.30.

They had a lovely list of cocktails and it was difficult to decide. I ultimately went for the cherry Negroni which was a strong as they described!

My Husband chose the mushroom and seitan ravioli to start which was very nice when I tried a bite.

For my main I had the cep linguine. The sauce was tasty with a strong mushroom flavour although I was disappointed that my “artichokes” consisted of one half of an artichoke.

My Husband chose the burger and he was sadly disappointed. The garlic mayo lacked a garlic punch and he said he couldn’t taste a difference between the bun and the filling despite the gooey cheese and the onion ring. He said the burger we regularly have at Leon is much better and a third of the price at £5.45 against this plate at €16.50.

I was happy with my dessert of Millefeuille which came with a blackcurrant Chantilly cream and chestnut cream.

Have you tried brEAThe? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

brEAThe, Paris – Feb 2019

VG Patisserie, Paris – Feb 2019

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Just a short post to show you the delights we enjoyed at VG Patisserie on my Birthday.

VG Patisserie is a small café/patisserie where you can eat in or takeaway. Luckily there was one small table left on our visit.

I chose the bloody cherry and a hot chocolate while my Husband had the 100% chocolate.

Look at the glaze on that!

Both were delicious, I would definitely have headed back if we were here a few more days or it was closer to where we were staying.

A must if you a visiting Paris as a vegan! Have you been? What did you have? Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

VG Patisserie, Paris – Feb 2019

Gentle Gourmet, Paris – Feb 2019

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I decided to book a meal at Gentle Gourmet for our first night of our weekend in Paris on the recommendation of my insta friend nutri_wife.

Gentle Gourmet do a set dinner menu on Friday evenings and brunch at the weekend. The theme for this week’s menu was North-East Thailand.

Our amuse-bouche was a bamboo green curry. The sauce was quite thin and soup like. The broth was really flavourful but the bamboo didn’t really add much. I think this would have been better with a mix of vegetables.

The second course was a spicy papaya salad. Again I thought the papaya was lacking flavour, although it was very hot with chilli which I struggle with. My Husband also was not a fan of this dish and left half of his.

Our main was a grilled rice galette topped with grilled vegetables and breaded tempeh wedges. I loved the smokey taste of the grilled vegetables and the crispy tempeh was very filling but thought this dish could have done with a sauce.

I really enjoyed our dessert which contained a rice finger, like a baked breaded rice pudding with sesame seed oil ice cream and mango. Unfortunately my Husband wasn’t so keen but this just meant I got to eat the rest of his!

Overall I found this dinner a little disappointing which is a shame at €45 each, there was something a little off with each dish and nothing both of us absolutely loved. Maybe it was just this theme and other weeks we may have enjoyed the food more.

Have you visited Gentle Gourmet? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

Gentle Gourmet, Paris – Feb 2019

A Vegan Lunch @ Pizza Express

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Pizza Express is a long-term fave of my monthly food partner Jo and since their vegan options have widened I also am a fan.

I have been having dough balls there with garlic oil for as long as I’ve been vegan (almost 7 years), they now have a vegan version which comes with a harissa pesto dip. The dip was nice but I still asked for some garlic oil on the side!

I tried a new dish for my main, the leggera peperonata pasta. It had a spicy pepper sauce but I did feel it was missing something, I know they were trying to keep it under 600 calories to be a “leggera” (light) option but I’m sure there could have added a bit more veg.

For dessert both Jo and I went for the carrot cake and a hot drink. The carrot cake was a decent size and Jo said she couldn’t tell it was vegan despite no dairy cream cheese in the frosting.

Have you been to Pizza Express recently? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

A Vegan Lunch @ Pizza Express

Vegan Delice @ Westfield Stratford

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I have loved Vegan Delice and its owner Chanel since I first tasted her delights at Hackney Downs market. Now Chanel and her team have a month long pop-up in the Great Eastern Market at Westfield Stratford City (the John Lewis end).

As Stratford is on the way home from work I had to go and pick up some treats on their first day trading there.

I picked up a brookie for my Husband as he loves anything chocolatey and this didn’t disappoint.

I bought a couple of Viennese whirls for my friend Maxine as she has bought some in the past to then have them munched by her son before she could get a look in! Maxine is away at the moment so I’ve put them in the freezer, hopefully they’ll be ok! (If not I’m sure she can get down there herself in the next month).

Chanel gifted me a red velvet Viennese whirl type thing which was really tasty and I had to take a break half way through, it was so big!

Lastly we picked up some baklava. I have always love baklava but as it traditionally contains honey I’m always pleased when I see a vegan version. Chanel’s take is perfectly sticky and syrupy and I’ll more than likely be popping back for some more before their month at Westfield is up!

So if you’re in the area (or even if you’re not!) head over to Westfield Stratford to get your fix of vegan treats!

Plumes x

Vegan Delice @ Westfield Stratford

Suli Box February 2019

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I wrote about my previous and first Suli box here. But if you haven’t read that Suli stands for SUstainable LIving and is a subscription box bringing you lots of eco products that you may not be aware of.

My box arrived in an extra royal mail bag as it was leaking and smelling strongly of patchouli. Unfortunately my first product of bath salts from Handmade Haven had leaked out and there were none remaining in the packet.

I contacted Suli box about this on Saturday night expecting a reply on Monday but they replied within half an hour offering to send out some more on Monday or including it in my next box. I opted for my next box as I didn’t want to increase the amount of packaging used.

The next product in my box was this kitchen cleanser from Mangle and Wringer. I have been using more natural cleaning products so I was interested in this. It’s rosemary and eucalyptus scented and smells amazing. I used it on my brand new hob which was only installed this week so not majorly greasy but it did do a good job.

Lastly this month we have these bamboo socks from Thought. All my socks seem to be developing holes at the moment so these are very welcome and the design is super cute!

Have you tried any new eco products recently? What are your faves? Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

Suli Box February 2019

A Vegan Asian Lunch and Dinner

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Yesterday I’d planned to go for a Thai meal at lunchtime with my friend Shirley. We work on the same street so headed to the nearby Ekachai in Liverpool Street Arcade.

I love this restaurant and have been multiple times. Shirley loves Thailand and Thai food, it’s where she met her Husband while she was on holiday and they decided to head back there for their wedding last year.

Ekachai has great vegan options and have a few dishes containing tempeh which I haven’t seen on any other Thai menus.

To start I went for salt and pepper tofu which was lovely with the sweet chilli sauce. (Shirley helped herself to my raw chilli slices!)

For my main I chose my favourite, the Nyonya curry. This contains tempeh, green beans, tomatoes and new potatoes in a lovely sauce.

In the evening I was going to The Humane League London volunteers monthly work party at Imperial College so I decided to have dinner at Tombo a Japanese cafe and specialist in Sake and Matcha. (Tombo means dragonfly in Japanese). I’d seen this cafe on previous visits to the area so was interested to see whether they had vegan options. When I looked up the menu online I was pleased to see they had clearly marked vegan options so I decided to have the miso aubergine and tofu donburi. This dish was nicely flavoured although I feel like the tofu could have been crispier.

I look forward to trying their other options. I was pleased to see they had a vegan dessert option so I got the matcha cheesecake with an oat matcha latte to takeaway.

The cheesecake didn’t have a strong matcha flavour it was more lemony, but still delightful. The flowers didn’t add anything to the cake apart from looking pretty so I brushed them aside after trying a couple.

The matcha latte was divine. It’s so nice when you get a proper one compared to the chain coffee shop versions.

Do you enjoy Asian food as a vegan? What are your favourite dishes? Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

A Vegan Asian Lunch and Dinner

Mini Sainsbury’s Haul

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You know how it goes… You go in for one thing (in my case peppers) and you come out with loads. But with all these new products how can we resist?!

The basic garlic baguettes are a sneaky accidentally vegan product and at 75p for two baguettes it’s a win!

My Husband asked for a “treat” so the magnums were a must. We tried the Rhythm 108 bars the other day and they are delish! As both these treats come in packs of 3 I knew my Hubs would have two and I’d be left with one each so I got some flapjacks for myself as he doesn’t like them. (Got to be tactical here!)

There was a samples stand for the Larabars and the four flavours I tried were so great it was difficult to narrow it down to which box to buy. The banana won out but I’ll be heading back for the others soon.

I haven’t had the Linda McCartney shredded duck in the while and as it was on offer for £1.50 it had to go in the basket.

Hemp hearts are a must as I’ve started making my own hemp milk at home. I usually use whole hemp seeds but I’m sure the hearts will be fine.

Lastly we have the Lazy Vegan frozen ready meal. I saw these in Sainsbury’s a few weeks ago but I surprisingly haven’t seen anything about this brand online. They do a few meals with pea protein as the base so it’ll be interesting to see how this tastes.

What’s been in your shopping basket recently? Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

Mini Sainsbury’s Haul