Hidden out in the middle of
Rachel's has a warm, welcoming atmosphere. The café is split between a front portion, which has a counter showing off the cakes and buns on sale, and a back portion, which offers extra seating whilst feeling suitably snug to offer a more private setting. Once we had perused the front and made a note of the best looking cakes, we found our spot. There is a counter service, so I approached the friendly staff (who were eager to help) and gave our order.
To start we decided to try the steamed dumpling rolls, picking one each of the chicken and pork varieties. I was already a fan of these but my partner had never tried them. And they didn't disappoint. They are a sizeable proposition, but have a lightness and an almost sweet taste that makes them so nourishing. The chicken ones are flavoursome, but the dumpling rolls, for my tastes, work best with pork. They are worth a trip to Rachel's just for these. For our mains we both chose satay chicken baguettes, and they proved a nice complement, even if they didn't quite match the flavour impact of the rolls.
It would only be right to try some more of the Asian home baking, and so we decided on puddings. Mooncakes are a traditional Chinese dessert that are eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival for good luck. Made with duck eggs in-house, we picked one of these with coconut custard, partially for its fabulous green colour. As well as this, we went with a Hong Kong-style egg custard tart. The tart was sizeable, with a crisp, flaky pastry case and a great taste. But the mooncake was a revelation, a soft treat that tasted marvellous.
Rachel's is a great hidden gem in