The best part about staying in a Premier Inn?

That would be the breakfast buffet!

Monday's breakfast

Wednesday's breakfast

I didn't bother taking a photo on Tuesday, seeing as I tend to get the same items every day (as you may have surmised from the two photos, which basically play like a food version of Spot the Difference).

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Something I sampled this week that I wasn't so keen, on the other hand, was strawberry beer:

I needed a beverage to consume whilst I watched Chelsea vs Middlesbrough, and this drink was so vile that I really took my time with it. So at least there was that; that it lasted me the entire match and saved me having to pay for another pint! #SilvaLinings

Review: Starbucks Gingerbread Latte

Continuing with sampling the products Starbucks have ‘specially confected’ (read: haphazardly adapted from existing drinks in order to cynically swindle more money out of gullible customers such as myself) for Christmas, I next sampled the Starbucks gingerbread latte.

On the positive side, it was much better than the fudge hot chocolate (although that was hardly difficult). The gingerbread-infused latte definitely tasted pleasant, and once you got used to the slightly unusual flecks of gingerbread inside your latte, that, too, gave the drink some character, elevating it above the bog-standard hit of caffeine. A calorie content of 330cals render this drink more waistline-friendly than other, more gluttonous drinks.

The negatives were that one of the ingredients they really plugged – the ground nutmeg – seemed to be suspiciously missing from my beverage, as well as the fact that I found the temperature of my latte a little on the cool side. And, for the money that you’re spending, it is still horrifically overpriced.

Still, if you’re going to waste money on the mega-corporation that is Starbucks with any festive drink, make it this, rather than the fudge hot chocolate (which I still have nightmares about).

Grade: B-

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All my product reviews are listed here.

Restaurant review: DA SCALZO (Belgravia)

I went to da Scalzo yesterday with colleagues for dinner before the opera and was more than satisfied with the quality of the food, both main and dessert, and the wine, which was a charmingly fruity 2012 red number that went down a treat.

Being an authentic Italian diner, da Scalzo has a few signature pasta and salad dishes, but is primarily a pizza place, where it boasts the usual you’d expect from Pizza Express, but all prepared with that bit more oomph than Pizza Express’ paint-by-numbers style that has resulted in them desperately offering so many 2-for the price of-1 deals just to get bums on seats. The vast majority of pizzas were around a tenner each, which is very reasonable, given that this is the same price you’d expect to pay in Pizza Express, and for a lower quality. 

I had the Siciliana, which had tuna, anchovies, vegetables and cheese on, and it suited my palate perfectly, especially the handsome saltiness. Perhaps the only mild foible about the food was that when we asked for food, only tomatoes and onions were laid on our plate. Whilst I like both of those, it would have been nice to have been fed some greens too. However, it would be churlish to whine too much, particularly given the high quality of the service - anything I asked for, the waiter had it to be within seconds.

For dessert, I had a tiramisu, which I find a concoction that’s very hit-and-miss. When it’s good, it’s orgasmic. When it’s bad, however, you might as well just get the Sainsbury’s one, so dull is the mesh of flavours. Fortunately, this sat in the former camp. Creamy, rich, filling and completely delicious, I wolfed mine down in four bites.

Just a couple hundred metres away from Victoria coach station, this isn’t a particularly hard place to find. Downstairs, there is a bar, so if you arrive before friends, you can settle in with a nice Peroni. Across the walls are painted sayings by the likes of Fellini, Euripides and Sophie Loren about the virtues of food, and how it enriches life. 

Dine here, and it’s hard to disagree with them.

Grade: A-

For more of my restaurant reviews, click here. If you would like me to review your restaurant, drop me an email at lemon_and_lime7@hotmail.com