Food: Fika, 414 Roman Road, E3

Trundling home on the 8 bus last night, an oasis appeared in the midst of shuttered shops and takeaway on Roman Road. Perching sprightly on the corner of Roman and Lyal Roads, Fika, a Swedish cafe and stalwart on Brick Lane, has now opened a new branch.

Being a Swedish cafe, the decor is unabashedly and predictably all light wood and industrial fittings, but the adorable motifs on plates featured by UK designer Donna Wilson match perfectly with the Scandinavian aesthetic.

Cinnamon buns on Donna Wilson plates

I cannot explain how happy the sight of fresh cinnamon buns makes me, especially when they are available for purchase on the way to work. Fika's cinnamon bun is a bundle of light brioche folds with the perfect amount of spicing and sugar.

Stuart the barista hard at work

 It is almost de rigueur nowadays to have an Antipodean barista and hooray(!) Stuart is our man.

Granola and yoghurt bar

As the Swedes are hearty, outdoorsy types, Fika provides a DIY granola bar, complete with jaunty flags perched in jars like hiking markers.

Want to Fika at home?

Fika: 414 Roman Road, E3. Open for breakfast and lunch. See also their Facebook page for more information on their crayfish festival coming up soon!

Music: Sofar Sounds

I first came across the founder of Sofar Sounds, Rafe Offer, when he spoke at a recent Lost Lectures event. Rafe's inspiring talk about setting up his own live music community led me to a recent gig held at the Foxcroft and Ginger cafe in Whitechapel.

Rafe was sick of going to gigs where the music served only as a feeble backdrop to the crowds of people jostling their way to get to the bar, talking loudly to their friends, and using mobile phones. His idea was simple: bring together artists, musicians and music lovers. Find a host who will provide a space (venues so far have included private homes, warehouses, restaurants, galleries), and let the music speak for itself.

Rafe's initial brainwave has now spread to over 100 cities and towns across the world. 

Solar Sounds in Whitechapel, Foxcroft & Ginger

It was strangely liberating to put away the iPhone that is normally welded to my hand and just sit back and enjoy the music.  

The exact location of the gig is kept under wraps until shortly before the date. Drinks are BYO.  The line-up is a surprise, but when we went, it turned out to be a very happy one.  We were treated to an eclectic set list comprising of the Bloom Twins, Charlotte Carpenter, Osca, and spoken word poet, Suli Breaks (who also happened to be the resident artist at Foxcroft & Ginger). It might sound cheesy but there was genuinely, a really happy vibe in the room that night. 

Bermondsey Street - wanderings

Oh what a luxury! Afternoon off work, nothing accomplished aside from meandering down the lengthy of Bermondsey Street. 

We began with lunch at Casse-Croûte, a relatively recent addition to the restaurant scene.  It is unashamedly, a faithful reenactment of classic French bistro. Clearly this is something that Londoners don't seem to tire of, as the small dining area was buzzing by 1pm and we were pleased to see our reservation hastily scrawled in market on the paper tablecloth. The menu changes daily and is duly posted on Casse Croute's Twitter account so whilst counting down the hours this morning I had already settled on trying their pigs trotter starter - wrapped in tight rolls of deep-fried filo pastry, served with a tartare sauce to cut through the richness of the porky-gelatinous meat contained inside. It was an extremely well-constructed dish although strangely reminiscent of a Chinese spring roll.

For mains we had a shoulder of lamb served classically with vegetables and red win jus, served with a dish of creamy polenta (and by creamy I mean the seriously heart attack inducing type), as well as a fillet of sole, simply served served with a fresh tomato and herb sauce on rice. Meal for two including wine, £60.

Whilst the tarte citron at Casse Croute looked delicious, on my way to the venue I had come across Watch House Coffee at the southern end of Bermondsey Street. The former derelict watch house that stood in the corner of the cemetery has been transformed into a stylish coffee house. I noticed some beautiful details - the black and copper colour watchtower window which represents the brand's motif is incorporated in the interiors, such as the delicate copper vases, bowls and coffee sleeves.  High ceilings expose original brickwork and wooden beams. Most importantly, it also served a pretty decent coffee and a sticky, chewy, salted-caramel brownie.  We chatted to the barista, a chirpy, whistling young man who also introduced us to some cool new music from London artist, Shakka.

Lunch, coffee and cake done, we dragged our feet back towards the White Cube gallery. Who knew galleries could be so much fun in London when they're near empty on a Tuesday afternoon? Christian Marclay's exhibition is a study in sound and other than describing what I saw perhaps those preferring a more detailed dissertation of his work can redirect themselves to an article in the London Review of Books (here). 

Marclay explores the subject of sound in a range of media including pop-art paintings/prints, sound and video installations and performance.  On our visit we watched woman stood in the middle of the performance space, measuredly pouring water into various wine bottles, the sounds of which were being live recorded by sound engineers onto vinyl. Marclay has installed a vinyl record press and a screen printing machine and these are put in full use on weekends where guest musicians led by the London Sinfonietta are invited to perform and record works that are then immediately pressed, printed and sold in the gallery shop.

Food: Long White Cloud, Hoxton

The Long White Cloud sports a cosy shop-front on Hackney Road, in close vicinity to many other trendy cafes in the area. Happily though, it has some fine homemade touches, so when I visited on a cold Saturday morning it felt like being greeted by family.  Wooden tables line the length of the narrow interior, the white walls adorned with prints from a local artist (who herself appeared to be present with her family whilst I was there).  On my visit, I was served by a lovely lady who carried her newborn baby at her bosom. I saw batches of banana cake being freshly prepared, making me wish I had timed my visit a little later to coincide with the smell of freshly baked goods coming out of the oven.

I had a delicious slice of taleggio and mushroom pie, served with some freshly-prepared salads. Their counter stock pastries, Tim Tams and homemade gluten free treats.

Long White Cloud, 151 Hackney Road, E2 8JL