Despite growing up as a tomboy, I spent much of my time as a Girl Scout when I schooled in Nigeria. I made it through as a Daisy, graduated into a Brownie and stopped shortly after becoming a Junior. One of the many fond memories I have as a Girl Scout is the s’mores we’d roast up in the occasional campfires. Whoever came up with the combination of graham crackers, toasty marshmallows & a slab of dark chocolate was all kinds of genius! You know who else is genius? The former head chef of Zuma & Nobu Ross Shonhan…
After the success of Bone Daddies Ramen Bar, Ross started another innovative restaurant in London called Flesh & Buns. Name aside, this restaurant is as edgy as it gets: it’s hidden in a Covent Garden basement, menus are on clipboards, water is served in stainless steel cups and loud rock music blasts throughout the restaurant. The choice of music especially stands out given the cuisine served: Taiwanese with hints of Japanese & Korean. Fortunately tapas-sized portions meant we could try a selection of dishes:
- Beef Tataki
- Edamame
- Chips & Dips: rice crackers with avocado shiso, tomato jalapeño
- Crispy Rice with Yellow Tail Tartare
- Spicy Tuna Roll
- Prawn Tempura
- Salmon Avocado Roll
- Softshell Crab Roll
- Prawn Tempura Roll
- Green Beans in Sesame Dressing
- Broccoli in Yuzu Kosho Mayo
- Warm Mushroom Salad
- Asparagus in Sweet Miso
Don’t give me that look- it was a Sunday night, there were 6 of us and we were hangry! The dishes above only revved up our appetites for the restaurant’s specialty: steamed sweet & fluffy buns filled with your choice of ‘flesh’. All the meat options are served with steamed buns, lettuce, cucumbers, sauce & pickle for diners to assemble. While vegetarians can still enjoy a few dishes, options are limited. Carnivores, on the other hand, can have a field day…I know I did. “Flesh” options vary from beef to pork belly, chicken, sole, salmon, duck, lamb, and pork chops. We opted for the Salmon Teriyaki & Sirloin Steak. The lighting was too dim for the photos to do justice but everything tasted ah-mazing! The only dish that didn’t live up was the Spicy Beef Hot Stone Rice, which ended up being overly salty.
Before you think that my Girl Scout intro is ill-fitting, let me tell you about dessert: S’mores. Forget about graham crackers & Hershey dark chocolate. The s’mores at Flesh & Buns call for marshmallows, which you toast on your own on a Japanese tabletop brazier. These are then sandwiched between a caramely biscuit, with a slice of white chocolate laced with matcha green tea…enough said!
It’s safe to say that the holiday is officially o-v-e-r. As much as I loved this meal along with every other during my stay in London & Cannes, I am so ready for a few home-cooked meals. It sure feels good to be back in Mumbai :D.
What’s your favorite childhood dessert?
What’s your favourite kind of meat?
That sounds like such a fun restaurant! I have to keep it in mind when I am in London next time! Maybe we can go together?? 🙂
My favorite childhood dessert was a white breadroll with Swiss Milk Chocolate bar stuck in it. I know, strange – but good!!
As for meat, I am a chicken lover, but I also love ostrich or a good beef steak.
OMG that dessert sounds sooo good- carbs + chocolate is always a win 😀
Khush Did you get the doughnuts? I’m not a desert person at all, but the doughnuts with the chocolate soya bean custard was to-die-for. Yep, even better than the s’mores!
YES! I went with Mini who insisted we get the donuts! I am not a donut fan at all but these were insane! And you’re not a dessert person?? Blasphemy!!
I love love love Japanese, Taiwanese, Korean and Chinese food.. they are my favorite Asian cuisines. And Szechuan and Shanghainese. Hehe.
I take it you like Asian food 😉
I was a girl scout for so many years, and I remember loving it! We did camping trips also, and even horseback riding trips which is how I first learned to ride. All this food looks amazing, I am having some serious sushi envy!
That’s awesome you know how to horse ride- would definitely love to learn some day!
LOL. What a small selection of dishes for a ‘sample’… 😉 Love it buddy! I love how interactive that restaurant was- and such a combination of cuisines!
Favourite childhood dessert- getting a big bowl of ice cream and making it into a soup…..I was a strange kid.
Favourite meat- that’s like picking a favourite child! I love a slow cooked beef or dark white meat. Or seafood.
Haha yes you were a very strange kid- although I had a friend who did exactly the same so you’re not alone 😉
Good Golly – those smores! “Caramely biscuit” woa – I need to try smores with a caramel biscuit myself! Love the sound of this restaurant with its rock music and eclectic menu on clipboards! What a gem of a place!
My fav dessert growing up was “Wattalapam” which is a spiced Sri Lankan pudding with tons of jaggery – my mom was an expert “Wattalapam” maker and to this day, that pudding conjures up sweet memories!
Am not a big meat eater – but if I had to chose it would have to be scallops – o wait – but does that even fall under the “meat” umbrella?
I’ve never heard of Wattalapam but it sure is fun to say ;)! Given how meaty their texture is, scallops count in my books!
Everything sounds delicious- especially the teriyaki salmon and those s’mores! Ugh, I love s’mores. I went to a restaurant a couple months ago and had their s’mores dessert but it didn’t really live up to my expectations. Nice presentation, but it didn’t do it for me. I would’ve loved to toast the marshmallows myself like you did here!
Favorite childhood dessert…hm that’s a tough one! I was a sugar fiend 🙂 some that stand out include homemade chocolate pudding and homemade chocolate chip cookies!
Nothing beats cookies freshly baked out of the oven 😀
That is like my dream meal! I am a total dim sum fan (which I like to explain as Asian tapas 😉 ) and the only thing that I was missing are actual steamed buns. How cool that they thought of creating a cross-cuisine-dessert. Usually that is the only thing I don’t like in Asian restaurants: the lack of good desserts.
Agreed! It’s normally mango pudding or fried bananas which just don’t live up!!
any place that lets you toast your own marshmallows is ok in my book! so yum
True story!
White chocolate AND green tea. NEED. I am a sucker for a lemon tart. Or anything lemon flavoured for that matter.
Yum- I love lemon & poppyseed muffins, courtesy of Starbucks!
You’re not getting any looks from me — I know how it is 😉 And is it horribly wrong of me to admit that I’m not a -huge- fan of s’mores? I’d much rather just eat a perfectly toasted marshmallow on it’s own, and then grahams and chocolate on the side 😆
Wrong? No! Weird? YES 😉
My best friend and I always order tons of food and share! It makes the meal so much more enjoyable, and personally, I love comparing notes!
And I don’t know, K! I could do a biscuit instead of a graham cracker but white chocolate instead of regular (or dark as I prefer it)?! I’m sure if you loved it, it was good!
My favorite dessert growing up (and to this day) is a big, soft, old-fashioned chocolate chip cookie – nothing beats it!
I much prefer ordering family style too especially when the number of dishes on the menu all sound better than the next! As much as I loved this dessert, I think I prefer dark chocolate with my s’mores- it helps balance out the overly sweet marshmallow!
WOW those s’mores sound SO cool. What an awesome experience.
It really was 😀
Umm, this restaurant pretty much screams me. Sushi for appetizers followed by dim-sum like offerings, and a fancy smores for dessert? Count.me.in.
Chicken is probably my most-utilized meat source, but my favourite depends on my mood and how it’s prepared. Lately, I’ve been leaning towards pork pretty often!
In terms of versatility, chicken has my vote too :D!
what a fun restaurant – i have a huge appetite myself so no judging, more food the better 🙂 that smores sounds heavenly..my fav meat is not as fun as everyone elses – skinless, boneless chicken breast is what I prefer followed by salmon.
Not boring at all- at least chicken breast is almost always reliable 🙂
I’m yet to find a good restaurant in Covent Garden, so I’m definitely checking this out! Does it get busy?
It gets super busy so make sure you book before going! Let me know how you like it 😀
“slice of white chocolate laced with matcha green tea”….wowza! That sounds like an awesome take on the regular ol’ Hershey’s chocolate 😀
Innovative to say the least!
Sounds like a blast!! I love Asian food and buns! And rock music. Making me hungry!
It was a good time 😀
oohh yumm this restaurant sounds awesome!! what a cool dining experience. smores were without a doubt my favorite childhood dessert (i was never a girl scout, but i considered it just for the smores- and the cookies!) green tea white chocolate sounds like a delicious twist on a classic!
Haha dessert is a good enough reason to become a girl scout 😉
That sounds like an awesome restaurant experience and the idea of sharing so you could try as many different tapas as possible? Great!
Can you believe I’ve never had S’mores before? They’re not known over here but the matcha variation still sounds incredible and how unique you got to prepare it at the table.
Such a tricky question about the favourite childhood dessert but one of them was definitely my mum’s homemade cinnamon parfait. Bliss!
OMG you neeeed to try a s’more asap- they are one of the easiest desserts to make at home so please try and do so this weekend!!
Believe me: I would but we can neither get proper graham crackers nor are vegan marshmallows readily available over here. End of rant – but not end of my plan to try them one day :).
The meal looks fabulous… awww.. you’re vaca is over, that sucks, but I’m sure you’ll be back soon since you have flexibility. Favorite childhood dessert – growing up in Nigeria the first 9 years I didn’t really eat much dessert except ice-cream.
It’s a good thing that the only dessert you ate is also the BEST dessert around 😉
This restaurant looks delicious!
I don’t eat meat but my favorite dessert would have to be Trader Joe’s dark chocolate bar. I can’t end my day without it.
I feel just the same about Lindt Dark Chocolate 🙂
Welcome home. I bet it feels good to be back, although saying good bye to those s’mores couldn’t have been easy. You’ll have to try and recreate those back in Mumbai.
My favorite childhood dessert was ice cream, usually covered in fresh fruit.
Although I’m sure the younger me wouldn’t have been down with fresh fruit as a topping, nothing beats a bowl of vanilla ice cream with peaches/strawberries- YUM!
White chocolate laced with matcha?!! Omg, ahhhhhmazing! I was a girl scout too and made it to being a brownie, but never got a chance to experience s’mores in all it’s glory until I was in my early twenties! The spread sounds amazing…warm mushroom salad? Yes please! And I’ll take a bun with some duck too! Yum!
Oh man now I’m craving s’mores and it’s only 10 am – eeks!