HI! Guys welcome back to London it is Saturday morning the morning after the night before
so I am headed to get a Full English breakfast the prison looking fortress behind me is MI5
British military inelegance section 5 if your thinking that's how it looks in the movies
your thinking of James Bond behind that building is the river Thames on the other side of the
river is MI6 in a rather grand looking Art-Deco inspired office building complex it looks
amazing up lit at night but yeah the reason I'am starting there that building is pretty
easy to find where we are heading is not necessarily one of London's hidden gems but it is at the
other end of this street and it is in a sort of maze of back streets in between the rive
Thames and MI5 there and Victoria Station I am heading to a cafe called the Regency
cafe it is a greasy spoon what we call a greasy spoon style cafe I'am not sure why they are
called greasy spoons I guess because everything is greasy including the spoons I looked it
up a minute ago on my phone and I googled it and the first thing that came up was Wikipedia
and I clicked on the link and the first thing that came up was a picture of this cafe apparently
it is a term we borrowed from Americans but yeah I guess we call them greasy spoons they
sell British food you get a full English as opposed to your French style cafe that sells
patisserie or your American coffee shop I'am going to get a full English defining what
a full English is all Brits disagree people have done various polls and stuff they all
come out with different results they are also called the fry up I would say the key ingredients
are sausage, bacon and eggs people even argue about the way each one of those is cooked
as the name would suggest fry up I think when a lot of people are cooking them at home they
they will use one frying pan throw all the ingredients in whatever their personal preference
is cafes like this your greasy spoons which they are the length and breadth of the country
they will generally have a series of set menus hope you can hear me it is super windy what
can I do they generally have a series of set menus sometimes they are named often they
will just simply be numbered but then also you can create your own it is a bit like asking
an Italian what is a pizza they will all argue about the perfect pizza or American what is
a burger again you can argue endlessly not only about the ingredients but also how each
one of them is prepared and cooked I would say in these yeah in these style cafes the
core is sausage, bacon and eggs they normally come with a side of bread or often toast sometimes
bread and butter sometimes fried and a hot drink we call it builder tea it is like the
traditional hot drink I mean I normally drink coffee but if I'am having one of these I'll
drink builders tea I don't know what we call it builders tea but it is basically tea with
too much milk far too much milk it looks like Taiwanese bubble tea if you know what that
is but yeah super weak brewed tea with too much milk yeah beyond the core of sausage,
bacon and eggs I think if you go to a lot of hotels they never do a decent well I'am
generalising here a few do a decent breakfast but it always sort of tastes like its been
poached rather than fried it is too clean it is not greasy enough so yeah beyond the
sausage,bacon and eggs you have often got sides the list is pretty endless but black
pudding, white pudding, beans, tomatoes, sometimes chips, french fries, hash browns yeah the
list goes on there are also regional variations so Ireland Wales Scotland they have their
own they are all great I love I love breakfast in Scotland and Ireland and Wales slight variations
if you go to hotels they are generally a lot of them will have like two the English breakfast
then the full English breakfast it basically just different size the basic one will be
like one sausage, bacon and eggs maybe toast and tea but that is often in hotels that's
optional and then the full English which will have a couple of additional sides but right
we are here at the end of page street lets go and get some breakfast Regency cafe the
Regency cafe is here on the corner of regency street and page street in Westminster its
on back streets half way nearly half way between Victoria station and the river Thames it has
been established since 1946 so it is a bit of an institution a firm favourite with locals
Londoners and now it is firmly on the tourist map for visitors to come and get a taste of
a full English breakfast a proper full English breakfast as you can see from the sign you
have to queue up and place your order it is cash only the queue always looks a bit daunting
because it is often out the door but it right now it is probably about ten or fifteen minutes
long which is about how long it takes for people to eat a breakfast so by the time you
get to the front of the queue the people collecting their breakfast now will most likely be leaving
and the thing is with greasy spoon cafes like this they have no customer facilities there
are no customer toilets no WiFi no plug sockets that sort of thing like coffee shops have
they are not after you lingering and ordering more you eat your breakfast and you go and
because they turn over the covers like that it is super great value for money the set
breakfast deal there five pound fifty you get egg, bacon, sausage a choice of beans
or tomatoes bread or toast tea of coffee extras on the board there hash browns bubble and
squeak black pudding full breakfast menu there they open in the afternoons for lunch and
dinner service as well but it is a favourite for breakfast here got on the tables all the
traditional British condiments you could want salt, pepper, malt vinegar, tomato ketchup
and HP or daddy sauce as some people call it I've got myself an orange juice to start
with which comes in an old school milk bottle the kind the milk man used to deliver it has
been used for numerous films movies and loads of adverts and photo shoots pretty good they
use the ordering system here that you think Starbucks invented when you get to the front
of the queue they take your order they take your name or give you a number when parts
of your breakfast are ready they call you out first up was my toast now I've ordered
a side of Marmite this is not part of a traditional full English breakfast but I thought I would
do it today really for visitors to London who are not British if your coming to London
your visiting London and you have never tried Marmite or Vegemite which they have in Australia
and New Zealand well we have them here as well they sell them in supermarkets it tastes
very very similar but yeah if you've never tried Marmite this is the place to give it
a go because they do these little pots which you can put on your toast that comes with
breakfast little heart shaped pots now the key to Marmite you've got to butter the bread
first it doesn't work so well without butter and the other thing use it very sparingly
it is a very strong taste people either love this or hate this I like it if but if you
put that whole pot on one piece of bread it is too much it is overpowering it is no fun
so yeah very thinly spread on toast that pot will do two pieces of bread so yeah if you
come in especially if you are in a group Marmite up one piece of bread and all give it a go
it is the best way to try Marmite without you having to buy a whole pot so yeah this
is the kind of thin layer your looking for should be translucent not opaque brown the
more butter you apply the Marmite you can get away with or if your making cheese and
Marmite sandwiches you can probably get away with a bit more more but if it is your first
time go easy like this breakfast is served right what I have got here is the set breakfast
deal the five pound fifty set breakfast deal but with a number of additions so the set
breakfast deal you get two bacon, sausage, eggs the toast and the tea the additions that
I have added are black pudding, hash browns, the orange juice and the Marmite to put on
the toast brings the grand total up to nine pounds fifty which for London is good value
for the five pound fifty deal it is amazing value any one up north is going to be in the
comments section saying wow I get that for three quid in my local and while I'am eating
it they valet my car, shine mt shoes and when I'am finished eating the owners wife gives
me a Thai massage with optional extras but to put it in context I checked the prices
of a local hotel The Savoy on the Strand in room dining a full English or traditional
breakfast today is thirty five pounds now if your staying at the Savoy congratulations
it is a fabulous hotel and breakfast is incredible for the duration of your stay most days you
should have the healthy option but one day come here and experience the full English
breakfast I've gone for both tomato sauce and ketchup to save further arguments in the
comments section I'am going to blend the two together but yeah that is another fierce debate
about what sauce to put on your full English Daddy sauce or tomato ketchup that's pretty
good Black pudding is good sometimes it can be a bit weak it is pretty good in here hash
brown lets try the beans they are pretty good cheap beans taste they never have they taste
sweet rather than salty it is all about the Heinz Builders style tea not as weak as I
thought it would be it is good Marmite is an acquired taste you either love it or hate
it spread it thinly or you'll hate it either way right I'am going to tuck in to this and
speak to you guys in a moment I've got an audience from the queue that's building as well
The walls of Regency cafe have pictures hanging
of movie stars, sports stars but also some of the press clippings where they've been
mentioned or been given awards and some of the adverts from magazines like vogue and
adverts for companies like Volkswagen which they have featured in so yeah they are very
good at what they do which is English breakfast so if your in London and you want an English
breakfast this is the place to come that was amazing lets go and free up the table and
seats for the never ending queue of eager customers OK that was breakfast at The Regency
cafe The full English I've walked out it is raining it is super windy so I hope you can
hear me you will have to put up with a little bit of wind and maybe some spots of water
on the one the screen I'am going to head back to the station and I'am not walking home it
puts you in a food comer the only people that eat that every day are British builders and
they don't do any work until the afternoons they basically sit in there put themselves
in a food comer go to screw-fix, go to the job tell the tell them they have to go to
screw fix because the parts they need are pretty rare they disappear come back after
lunch do a bit of work from two until three and then it is home time I'll pay for that
if I ever hire a British builder where as the Eastern Europeans they have energy drinks
for breakfast fake ones like Red bull and Monster knock offs sometimes it cracks them
out so bad you see them full strength polish larger like Tyskie trying to take the edge
off now I'am in trouble wherever I get my builders from yeah if your if your going there
if you know what you like order what you like if your if your not from London England your
here for your first time and you've never had a full English I would recommend I would
recommend the combo I went for it will give you the full English breakfast experience
you can get the basic one it is five fifty and included a drink its a bargain for where
we are I went all in it cost me nine pounds fifty with all the extras I got but yeah the
basics I'am going this way the basic is great value for money but they rely on turnover
so unlike you know like coffee shops there is no customer facilities there is no customer
toilets no WiFi plug sockets you know they don't want you to linger like coffee shops
they sell you your food you eat it and you go and that so the queue looks quite off putting
but people only stay as long as it takes to eat their breakfast so pretty much by the
time you the queue is basically pretty much about as long as it takes someone to eat breakfast
so about ten minutes maybe your waiting yeah they turn over they turn over the covers pretty
rapidly normally I probably wouldn't actually order what I got there I just thought I would
show you the full English I would probably be more inclined to go for bread and butter
because you get something to mop up the bean juice and the egg yolk but yeah I think toast
is probably the traditional the traditional look topping it with Marmite is not the is
not a regular is not a normal thing but I thought I would show you Marmite because that
is a great if your not from the UK even if your from Australia where you have Vegemite
it is like the British equivalent of Vegemite so yeah it is definitely worth a try again
go sparingly they give you two so you will probably be inclined to stick one on each
slice don't do that I've got the spare one to enjoy at home you can too you paid for
it take away so yeah go easy on the Marmite if you try the Marmite and yeah no doubt comments
below will be full of people telling you what their ideal Full English is or from where
ever you are in the UK because every one has a different opinion a different personal preference
there is no real set menu for it so yeah either free style or try what I just had that will
give you a pretty good idea so anyway I hope you enjoyed this trip to Regency cafe a little
insight into what makes a full English breakfast and I'am going to head home and have a lie
down after all that fat and all those calories so until next time Toodles! OK lets talk about
today's weather I get asked about the weather all the time various questions about what
will it be like in a week two weeks a month what should I wear it is an impossible question
to answer it is September right now it should be transitioning well we should be well into
Autumn if you look out the window today it would look cold completely grey and overcast
it is raining intermittently it is warm it is T-shirt and shorts weather you see people
getting off the trains in a coat and very quickly taking it off yeah the weather is
completely unpredictable and it is impossible to plan for what do you wear when it is T-shirt
and shorts weather but raining who knows that is why the British have a European wide reputation
for dressing like eccentric well at best eccentric nutters worst ways just badly we have some
of the best British fashion designers British fashion designers are the best but even they
can't come up with a collection for this