From Dim Sum to Bouiboui - The Effects of Too Much Caberet and Liquor

So I had meant to find myself in Chinatown, sipping a glass of water while chowing down on the delights of Dim Sum in my favourite restaurant. However, due to a night spent revelling in Dalston watching peacock feathered burlesque dancers, clowns falling in love with blow up dolls and a man dressed as a pig, dressed as woman, I found myself unable to get on the Tube and travel long distances.

Instead I ended up in Wood Green attempting to buy socks, when the 'morning after hunger' siezed my stomach and I had to find food - stat! And this resulted in me having the great pleasure of frequenting the delightful little bouiboui by the name of 'Cafe Villa De Fiori'.

Bleary eyed we wandered, on the hunt, through the market of the Wood Green Mall, and being the only eatery open we stumbled over the Cafe Villa De Fiori's threshold. Stale drink controlling our brains meant that the ordering centered around grease, grease and more grease - luckily they only seemed to have grease on the menu.

I myself ordered the 'Spicy Bean Burger' with a side order of chips, orange juice and coffee. My flatmate Lucy went for the 'Vegetarian Breakfast', which involved mushrooms, hash browns, beans, toast and much more.

Now before I begin to divulge my thoughts on the cuisine - let me explain our surroundings a bit better. I am not sure how many of you grew up in similar towns to myself and Lucy, but in our hometowns there was always a little market that sold everything from cheap toiletries to fabrics - from DVDs to pet supplies. You would go to this indoor market on a Saturday with your mum a couple of times a month, and when there you would eat in one of the little cafes that were dotted here and there.

I had not thought these little strange markets existed in such a big city as London, but there we were, hungover and reliving out past. It seemed as though London melted away and we were children again. It was quite a heady feeling, and nostalgia tinged our visit, causing our opinions to sidle more to the positive side than negative - that and the silly cheap prices (3.20 for a large breakfast and coffee!).


Now to the food - I was pleasantly surprised. The spicy beanburger was spicy without being too hot, and the bread (usually hard and crusty in these establishments) was soft and the right size for the burger. My chips were smothered in grease, but were crispy on the outside and nice and mushy within. For the Vegetarian breakfast the hash browns were an exceptional example of this British breakfast staple, and the mushrooms were very tasty and not cooked in meat fat, which was a bonus. The toast, however, was cold and a little soggy and they only offered white bread, there was no brown bread option, which I think would have been a nice feature to have. Lucy felt the beans were microwaved to perfection.

All in all, this meal was perfect for what we wanted and served us in the same way a fine cavier would serve you, while you are in a Michelin star restaurant, with a beautiful date across from you, and a string quartet playing in the corner.