Canela, 23rd June

Canela is a Portuguese based restaurant/café. They have a place in Seven Dials and another little one on Oxford Street, and they used to have one near Carnaby Street but that is now Pitt Cue Co. I had been planning on having some feijoada, a traditional Portuguese stew with sausage and black beans but when I got there it was a little more expensive than I was expecting. I didn’t want to pay over £11 for what I was thinking would be a snack, not a sit-down main meal. However, they have a counter full of sweet things (pasteis de nata, chocolate fondants etc) and savouries (lots of quiches, salads) that were of the right size and price range. I chose a chicken coxinha because I didn’t know what it was and it sounded suitably Portuguese, and a Pao de queijo (cheese bread). The man who took my order asked if I wanted them warmed, and I assented. I paid my £4.80 and took my delights with me.

Pointy 'scotch egg'

Its true contents are revealed!

The coxinha was a bit like a Scotch egg. Except that instead of an egg in the middle, it was chicken. And instead of it being encased in sausage, it was encased in potato. And instead of being round it was pointy. But otherwise very similar. So, actually, a coxinha is a filled potato croquette. It was quite nice - the chicken was very nicely seasoned, but it was a little dry. Some sort of hot sauce or dip would have made it really good. 

Mmm cheesy

And then I moved on to my cheese bread. I can imagine me developing a habit for these. They were light, but at the same time reassuringly dense, and chewy. Very cheesy and decadently buttery. I’ll be coming back for more.