#veganlondon pt. II: King’s Cross

I’m also not that fussy when it comes to food while travelling and am (as you know) well versed in the art of preparing ahead . Little did I know, staying near where we did meant a whole host of viable vegan dining options were only a stone’s throw away at both the newly revamped King’s Cross station and St. Pancras International Train Station.

Observe: Le Pain Quotidien , St. Pancras.

 

My mom and I headed there for breakfast early one morning, and I have to say it did not disappoint. The above was fresh orange juice, followed by agave sweetened organic granola with sliced bananas, fresh berries and uber creamy soy milk. I was beyond excitable when I noticed the “vegan options available” under the selection of muffins on the menu – but my good sense kicked in and decided I’d need something a bit more substantial to tide me over till the next meal time.

After breakfast, I told my mom I had a few errands to run and proceeded to track down the infamous Vx , London’s first all vegan boutique and home of the Secret Society of Vegans .

Had it not been for the fact that I had a mother and friend waiting for me to return, I could’ve spent all morning at Vx ogling books, t-shirts, specialty products and vegan cupcakes. I ended up purchasing a couple of said cupcakes (thank you Ms. Cupcake bakery) for my lunch date later that day, along with a  few new to me goodies including Luna bars.

I have to say, I was not impressed. Although the stats seem great at a glance (9 grams of protein + a slew of vitamins and minerals), I actually found it to be very sugary and greasy tasting. Between the several instances of organic syrups, glycerine and palm oil, the  ingredient list reads like a fortified candy bar. Not that there’s anything wrong with any of those things – I just don’t agree with the way these bars are marketed as a health food product for active women.

Moving on. A quick survey of my Veg Out iPhone app told me that we were staying a short walk away from Itadaki Zen , an award winning, all vegan and macrobiotic Japanese restaurant. However my initial plans to head there for dinner one night fell through when I ended up falling asleep for 4 hours as a result of exhaustion. When I woke up around dinner time to an empty hotel room (my mom and her friend had escaped to do some shopping), I decided dinner would have to be slightly less glamorous than I had originally planned.

I headed to Subway and grabbed a plain salad (after confirming that the veggie pattie was not vegan friendly) with some italian dressing. Then it was on to a corner shop where I snagged a can of white beans to supplement it with – may not sound like much but it was actually quite tasty and extremely satisfying!

 

For dessert I had a huge donut peach and some chocolate soy milk.

Alpro chocolate milk is definitely my weakness.

The night before our train to Nottingham  (which was conveniently leaving from St. Pancras), my mom and I hit up Itadaki Zen only to find it was closed on account of it being a Sunday. My disappointment was definitely palpable but a nearby Indian restaurant and some exceptional Chana Masala made soon  made up for it.

 The next morning we joined my dad for an early lunch at the station. LPQ won my vote yet again.

The pictures aren’t too clear, but I went for an avocado and lemon hummus tartine with white beans on wholewheat bread along with freshly pressed apple, pear and carrot juice. The tartine was spectacular – my very much non-vegan dad, who ordered the same thing wholeheartedly agreed.

 That’s all for now, tune in for the next and final installment of my #veganlondon (and Nottingham) antics and a sinfully delicious Ramadan recipe.

 Have a great week all!