11/30/2015

Liberty London/Hoxton Street Monster Supplies

 After a few pints at the Shakespeare's Head Pub in Soho we felt ready for some desserts.
A few feet from Regent Street we discovered Liberty.  We have seen many people with bags from this store so we popped in for a look around.  Turns out, Liberty is a department store the majority of the sweets area had fairly standard packages of treats perfect for gifts or souvenirs.




  I was interested in more of a singular cookie or some toffee pudding and turned to leave when I saw the back wall.

Hoxton Street Monster Supplies
~"Bespoke and Everyday Items for the Living, Dead, and Undead!~
"Impacted Earwax"

"Zombie Fresh Mints"

"Cubed Earwax"

"Thickest Human Snot"
"Escalating Panic"
"Granny's Gnashers"


There is apparently a storefront at 159 Hoxton Street.  I will be making my way there shortly.




11/26/2015

Maison du Chocolat (The House of Chocolate)

Maison du Chocolat is a luxury chocolate retailer originating from nearby Paris with multiple locations in the UK.




We walked in and the ladies behind the counter asked if we would like to sample anything....




Perfect.  The chocolate melts immediately in your mouth and there was just the right amount of orange flavor. Soft, smooth chocolate with no waxiness and little resistence when you bit into it regardless of the filling.  We were asked if we would like to try anything else...here is what they recommended:

Quito

Petit Rocher Noir

Salvador

Rigoletto Lait

Grain Dentelle

We tried them all :D They also had a multitude of displays set up around the store which were very difficult not to touch...





Of course, we didn't just sample half of the counter offerings.  We took the other half togo :)





11/25/2015

Spun Candy Confectionary Making Masterclass

The day started off pretty rough.  
I'm new to London and do not yet have a sim card for my phone. Whenever I am traveling somewhere I locate a coffee shop with wifi and write down the directions.  The night before I was to take my Spun Candy Confectionary Making Masterclass I wrote down what I thought was simple and easy directions. I arrived at the Enbankment stop on the tube and in typical London rain began walking down Strand.






Slowly I approached an area that did not look as though it held very many commercial businesses. With only a few minutes to decide whether to turn around or keep going, I instead hailed a cab and explained my situation to the driver.  He plugs Spun Candy into his gps and we are stuck in traffic for about 15 minutes longer than I expected. I arrived at the Covent Garden location 10 minutes late and apologize to the woman behind the counter and let her know I am here for the masterclass. She explains that I have unfortunately gone to the wrong location.


The look on my face prompted her to ask if she could call the correct location to let them know I was on my way.  It took me well over and hour and a half to find the Wentworth Street shop.


When I finally arrived a gentleman walked me over to a back room with which to deposit my belongings. He offered me a glass of wine which I enthusiastically accepted.


I was then greeted by my instructor who then offered me another glass and eventually just brought the whole bottle over when I told him about my day.  His day was similar in that he was late for work that day because someone had attempted to jump in front of the moving train.  That news immediately put my problems into perspective.  I was the only person in this class and he and I started talking about the difficulty of learning the trains, the political systems of our home countries and our love of halloween :)  I was immediately in a better mood.  We were to make a flavored fudge (I chose peanut butter) and honeycomb which is a brittle, biscotti like candy that is very crumbly and delicious.

Peanutbutter fudge

Delicious


Honeycomb

Me and my true love

It took nearly and hour and a half to finish both candies. We broke up the honeycomb and cut the fudge into inch long pieces.  We then packaged them in cellophane bags and tied them each with a Spun red ribbon.  My instructor advised these would make great gifts for friends back home.






My mom loves candy crush so I also picked up a jar of candy inspired by the game.




...And I got a free sucker! As well as a piece of experimental chicken flavored candy.  I felt like i was in Willy Wonka's chocolate factory.




A great day.

11/24/2015

Laduree Burlington Arcade

After a long day of shopping in Oxford Circus Wayne and I found ourselves attempting to cut through the Burlington Arcade
to stumble upon:


When you think fancy french macarons, you think Laduree.  

All gold everything :0














Laduree Menu

 We went hard.  Macarons (Salted caramel, coffee, and vanilla pecan flavored), a fruit tea, coffee, and a raspberry and rose religieuse.  We were fortunate enough to to order as another couple was getting up from the outdoor seating area just outside the window.

Myself and an angel

Our spread


Raspberry & Rose Religieuse

Fruit tea

Primping post-nosh