Eat Like Ushi

Despite living in Mile End/Bow for over 6 months and passing through Victoria Park countless times, I've only ever had one chai at The Pavilion. It's probably because it tends to be the warmer months when the tables are all outside and full but the queue to order precludes patience.

No better time than a 10C sunny winter weekday which also happened to coincide with BBC 2 filming for a feature on the chef (they told me).

The menu is brunch/lunch with a nod to Sri Lanka and it's fun to read Sri Lanka The Cookbook from mid-2017 sitting on the shelves whilst waiting. After dinner at Hoppers a couple of nights earlier, it's a good daytime follow-up.

- Wild mushrooms with poached egg on sourdough toast £8.5 - an excellent dish of mixed mushrooms beautifully cooked with 2 soft poached eggs, quality sourdough and the lime brought all the flavours to life. Truly fantastic;
- Sri Lankan breakfast (turmeric egg curry, string hoppers, dhal, coconut sambal) £10 - a beautifully presented dish with a few setbacks. The potatoes in the curry were cold in the middle. The dhal and green vegetables were really salty. But it's ok.

The coconut chai is now cow-milk chai £3 and is very strongly spiced with loads of cardamom and some ginger. It's really excellent and different to the chais I've had around town (and so far in my travels).

I'll definitely try to get back before moving away.

I haven't explored much of Bethnal Green - to be honest I don't see it as particularly any better than a cross between Whitechapel and Mile End and not nearly as pleasant as Hackney/Broadway. A friend invited me for breakfast to a little place tucked behind the Bethnal Green tube and it was the first cafe in the area I have tried.

It's not a vego/vegan place, but it does have a good selection of food to cater toward those tastes.

The chipotle jackfruit tacos (homemade chipotle barbeque jackfruit, kale, jalapeños, avocado, crispy onion, salsa, spicy mayo) was an excellent dish full of vibrant colours, flavours and textures.

They do an excellent smoothie also and I will happily eat there again.

Gelato and waffles in in Athens

For a morning breakfast with a view in Oia...

After the long hot hike down in Oia (and before the longer hotter hike up) and a refreshing swim in some of the clearest waters on Earth, there was the dilemma of choosing a restaurant for lunch. They all look similar to be honest and cook the same food.

I'm not why we chose Dimitris but probably it just looked good, as did the grilling seafood over charcoal.

The octopus we didn't try but definitely should have. The photo is my food envy at the end of the meal. It's on the list for next time...

We went out to look for somewhere with octopus and ended up in an ouzerie. I remember trying ouzo during year 11 cadet camp from one of the Greek guys there and thinking why does anyone drink this stuff? Years later and with a higher tolerance for aniseed, I still wonder the same, although I can tolerate it similar to sambuca.

The highlight of the meal was the grilled calamari stuffed with cheese and herbs. Lovely and oozy (or "ouzy").

- Green salad "Athinaikon" with manouri cheese (rocket, cherry tomatoes, French salad, sundried tomato, red pepper, walnuts) €7.5;
- Fresh stuffed squid on the grill (yellow salted cheese, feta, tomato, pepper, capers) €15;
- Seafood in the frying pan (shrimp, crawfish, mussels, mushrooms, feta, kefalotiri cheese) €12.5.

The more backstreety parts of Athens brought out a new feel to the city. Far from the ruins of buildings, these cobble-stoned streets with al fresco cafes and manicured greenery are really lovely to stroll along.

I was looking for To Kafeneio and I will always remember it for my first experience with kefalograviera, the incredible salty hard Greek sheep cheese that blew my mind in flavour and is now my preferred (when available) for saganaki. I think it was the Bekris Mezes (food for drunks) and the chef decided to throw a bit of cheese on top. Lucky he did!

Seafood mix platter (marinated Gavros, mackerel fillet, smoked mackerel, octopus).

After arriving in Greece all I wanted was grilled meat or a giro specifically. Unfortunately it was felt that shouldn't be the first meal of the trip and so we sat at a random place that served kebabs. They were tasty and flavoursome and my first encounter with real Greek pitas.

After first revelling in the juicy flavoursome lamb souvlaki of Stalactites in Melbourne, I've always enjoyed a good one although generally later in the evening and occasionally the early hours of the morning.

Once I reached Athens, the first course was to visit somewhere for food. Bairaktaris happened to be in the main plaza, the meat drew us in, and fortunately my reservations about eating somewhere in the main square were quickly allayed. As much as I wanted, I wasn't able to eat there for the first meal, but the daytime before taking the overnight ferry to Santorini there would be no stopping me. And I wished I'd gone there earlier.

The pork giro was remarkable. The flavour I still dream of now rich with the grilled Maillard riddled throughout. I even wanted to use the 2 hour break at the airport before leaving to sneak out for a final taste but common sense told me missing the flight to Istanbul wouldn't be worth it (obviously). The pitas were thick and had soaked some dripping from the meat and the fresh salad and tzatziki balanced everything perfectly.

I'll come back for you.

Matt Barrett's guide to Chania recommended Tamam as the most successful tavern in the past 20 years and Well of the Turk as a quieter but famous and unmissable place to eat.

Naturally we went a tiny bit more off the beaten path to Turk, but unfortunately lack of availability meant heading back to Tamam instead. Oh well, it was hardly a compromise.

- Giaourtlou (boneless lamb in tomato sauce with raisins & fresh mint);
- Tender goat fillet with “staka” butter & baked potatoes;
- Halvas semolina pudding with raki (complimentary);
- Cretan cheese pie with honey.