London foodie adventures

It already feels like a lifetime ago (two days back in the office will do that to you) but we headed down to London at the end of last week to catch up with friends and family and, of course, to do some eating.

We spend much of the year reading articles about all the wonderful places opening up in London and suffering serious food envy as a result. So when we're there we try and fit plenty in which is neither good for wallets nor waistlines but balm for the soul.

First stop on Friday morning was Borough Market which we both adore. Already, before 10am, the air was rich with smells and we must have looked like the Bisto kids as we wandered round led by our twitching little noses. But I was on a mission on this occasion and that was to try a Bread Ahead doughnut. The Standard included them in their round up of the best doughnuts in town with, I suspect, excellent reason. We both sampled the creme caramel flavour with salted honeycomb and it was so yummy that a) I had no compunction getting my face covered in sugar and custard while out in public and b) I didn't take a photo because I was too busy making inappropriate noises. Accompanied by a coffee from Monmouth (totally worth the queue) and a shaft of August sunshine, this was a very pleasing way to start the day.

D has been wanting to visit Bone Daddies, a hipster ramen joint in Soho, for ages and this time we finally made it. I am never particularly convinced by the idea of ramen - I like noodles and I like soup but not necessarily together. But I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would. I went for kimchi ramen which came topped with fat prawns in a spicy-sour broth that was lurid with chilli.

Fortunately, they provide plastic bibs because this stuff went EVERYWHERE. We also shared a portion of Korean fried chicken wings - which in retrospect may have been a mistake given that we rolled rather than walked out of there. They were very tasty though - again, a real sour note in with the heat which is a flavour profile that I find very appealing.

Our final stop of the day (after plenty of walking around to work off those noodles) was actually a revisit - Burger and Lobster. This is one group who have tried to branch out further afield than London but with limited success which is a shame because we really like it. The menu is simple - lobster, burger, lobster and burger or lobster roll all with fries and salad and an amazingly addictive garlicky buttery creamy sauce that I would quite happily sup through a straw.

I am not a lobster roll expert, so maybe their version wouldn't hold up in the heartlands of New England, but I love it. The roll is sweet, buttery brioche, the lobster meat is blushing and juicy and then you have the sauce for dipping - sheer heaven. If they ever decide to try a branch in Leeds (assuming their experience in Manchester hasn't put them off) I promise to do my very best to keep them in business.