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Pophams Bakery, the breakfast spot in Islington

Pophams Bakery, the breakfast spot in Islington

  Today I would like to tell you about this lovely little bakery in Islington, London. My friend has been raving about Pophams Bakery’s rosemary and sea salt croissants for weeks, so I decided to give them a try!   The Rosemary sea salt croissant […]

Toconoco, your Japanese experience in London

Toconoco, your Japanese experience in London

Toconoco, my Japanese headquarter I am quite picky when it comes to Japanese cuisine, as I have always ranked it as one of my top three comfort foods. This was heightened by my years living in Japan. I tend to look for authentic, traditional and […]

Avocado on toast and sweet potato chips at Season Market

Avocado on toast and sweet potato chips at Season Market

For our friend Julien’s birthday, we took him to enjoy a hip birthday brunch in the upper Marais. So, Season it was! Cathy Closier founded that place in 2015 and there are (already) a couple of branches in Paris. We strategically picked Season Market. Although […]

Say ‘Hi’ to Creativity

Say ‘Hi’ to Creativity

Hi all! Apologies for being quiet recently. Some of you have been doing a great job at kindly (giving me a kick and) letting me know that I haven’t been posting as often as I used to. Sometimes inspiration comes at weird and “inconvenient” moments. […]

An Italian Feast

An Italian Feast

This post is a little different from my usual ones, because this time I am writing to promote a good cause — childhood literacy — that my friend Orsola is supporting here! She is raising money for a charity called Room To Read, which provides […]

Franze and Evans, the coffee/cake and work deal

Franze and Evans, the coffee/cake and work deal

Right at the exit 4 of Old street, Franze & Evans is located in the Bower, a cluster of restaurants and offices in the heart of the City. The coffeeshop is inside the Warehouse, which is an office space. They serve healthy breakfast, delicious lunch […]

Embassy East, where it’s never “just a meal”

Embassy East, where it’s never “just a meal”

Since I moved back to London, this was my first “real” weekend in the city and I was very eager to discover somewhere new and, preferably, with someone new. So, where? That was easily answered. Since I had Embassy East on the top on my […]

Peonies, flower shopping and healthy eating

Peonies, flower shopping and healthy eating

Peonies is not only a little flower shop but also a cute cafe serving healthy food. Located on Faubourg Saint Denis in the 10th arrondissement of Paris, its lovely pink tables and green titles create a vegetal surrounding and give a fresh touch to the […]

SAaM, Korean style Chinese Bao buns

SAaM, Korean style Chinese Bao buns

Finally, I got to taste SAaM’s famous bao buns! First, what are bao buns? They are steamed bread rolls, originally from China, that you fill in with meat, fish or veggies. Surrounded with floral wallpapers and school tables, SAaM does bao buns with Korean style of […]

Meet the Chef of Draw Me a Pastry!

Meet the Chef of Draw Me a Pastry!

My friend Yung, from Hong Kong, recently and (finally) launched her activity as a freelance pastry chef in Paris. She built her own brand, Draw Me a Pastry. This is such an exciting moment, as she has been talking about making the jump since the […]

Fondation Café, just like in Australia

Fondation Café, just like in Australia

Barista: What can I get you? Me: What do you serve in those cute green cups? Barista: Flat white. Me: Then flat white, please. I usually go for a latte but, just for those cups, I got a flat white! Aren’t they cute?? Fondation Cafe […]

Café Pinson, deliciously vegan, organic and healthy

Café Pinson, deliciously vegan, organic and healthy

Café Pinson’s goal is to serve not only healthy and organic, but also photogenic and mouth-watering food. And they rocked it! Its greenish interior makes the environment very cosy and fresh. I particularly enjoy the seats by the great windows. I found them perfect whenever I […]


This Month's Pick

Toconoco, your Japanese experience in London

Toconoco, your Japanese experience in London

Toconoco, my Japanese headquarter

I am quite picky when it comes to Japanese cuisine, as I have always ranked it as one of my top three comfort foods. This was heightened by my years living in Japan. I tend to look for authentic, traditional and homely food, and that’s exactly what I found at a cute Japanese cafe in Haggerston called Toconoco.

Akio opened Toconoco three years ago. His aspiration was to build a pleasant, homelike and kid-friendly place. With this in mind he created a bright but shady place with a peaceful yet still lively atmosphere, set in a design that was both traditional and modern – all this along with delicious (and affordable) homemade Japanese food!

 

It’s lunch time!

Their lunch menu changes every day and is instantly uploaded on Instagram (@toconoco). The main dish is usually served with miso soup, rice and a side dish. My type of healthy combo! Today, I had their yummy Miso Mayo Chicken lunch set.

The steamed meat was really soft and moist, topped with miso mayonnaise, a dash of chicken oil and spring onion. My favourite thing to do is to put some of the chicken thighs on my Japanese white rice and let it soak into it, which helps release its tasty flavour. Paired with a fresh cucumber seaweed salad, the set couldn’t be better.

 

I also ordered their scrumptious Matcha Cheese Cake, which I had been eyeing up since I stepped into the café. Although I am a big matcha fan, I decided to accompany it with a creamy Houjicha Latte – basically roasted Japanese green tea (which explains its brown-ish colour). As a result I was able to fully enjoy both tastes (double win?).

 

While the quality and taste of the food obviously matters, I have a thing not only for well-lit wooden places, but also places full of passion. You can tell that everything has been carefully set up – Akio even picked up wooden branches to decorate his café. A little bit like someone’s home, you can really feel it when thought and effort have been put in to make it cosy.

Please note that the place is located by the Regent’s Canal and is a little bit hidden. Don’t be afraid, follow the signs and push the gates!

 

What about comfort food?

You know when sometimes you just crave for homemade food. Well, it’s not easy to find a place outside your own home that makes you feel like… home. You can sometimes experience it when you live abroad or even when you travel.

As for me, comfort food can be easily summarised by either Japanese or Vietnamese/South East Asian food. They have this superpower of making me forget all the small annoying things in life or making a bad day go well. Although a positive mind is key, good food definitely helps!

 

 

It makes sense that comfort food is usually the food we grew up eating. I should probably add French food to my list of comforting cuisines, but I’d say that when it comes to French cooking, my expectations are much higher. I rarely get it outside of France, just to avoid disappointment, although I do miss it.

How about you? What is your comfort food and where can you find it?

 

Toconoco
A, 28 Hertford Rd,
London N1 5QT
UK

Wed – Mon: 9.00am – 5.30pm 

 

Written by Lucia Chauvet