Hey there, I am at Erie Street Gastropub in their
event room, which is available for rental if
you contact Erie Street Gastropub. And they were
nice enough to allow me to use it to film some
podcasts here today. And I am with Marleine Alaga.
Yes, Alaga. And she is the new owner of Lotus
and lattes, which is a cafe at the back of Erie
Street Gastropub. How you doing today? I'm doing
great. And you? Oh, I'm doing fabulous. I hope
you guys have this on video, whether you're watching
YouTube or Spotify, because the spread that Marlena
made is amazing. Thank you. And if not, just
check us out on Instagram, because we will have
pictures of it. What made you decide to start
Lotus and lattes? Was this a dream you've had?
Or have you owned a cafe before? No, not at all.
It's been a dream of mine since I was a kid.
And everywhere I travel and I see little cafes,
I'm like, I want one. I don't want anything big.
I just want the cutest little cafe. And it just
came across the opportunity came I was here visiting
a gastropub. I usually come here for my martinis.
So and then just open a conversation with Graham
and Iris and then from one thing to another,
the cafe, the, you know, opportunity is here.
I might as well just jump on board and give it
a try. So here we are. And it's cute. You have
some wonderful touches. Even there's bamboo around
the fridge. I love those, the detail, the little
tiny details. Yeah, it came out perfect. I'm
very proud of it. It's so cute. It's me. And
this is the plan, is to put whatever I want,
like whatever me represented, I just want it
in that cafe. Whether in my baking, whether in
my drinks, anything I'm making, it's just going
to be me putting my passion in. So I'm very excited
about this new adventure. Now you've been baking
for quite a while. Yeah, since I was 12. Yeah,
I started at 12 and then it's been, you know.
started with the catering I think eight years
ago and it's been truly doing well. I was working
with Oxley Beach Golf Course in Harrow and I
do all the events there and then from there you
know micro weddings, engagements. birthdays and
you know, and here we are. And she has made me
what is this heavenly match that I'm going to
taste right here because it just looks way too
good. This is the ube coconut matcha. Now what
is ube? Ube it's a purple potato. And it's actually
the extract of the purple potato. Okay, I had
to taste that twice because you see purple and
you're expecting lavender. Yes. oh my goodness
that is really good you can taste the coconut
that is a very very nice smooth drink it is a
treat that gives you an energy i mean you could
do it with any milk a choice of milk you want
and you can skip the you know syrup and the added
sugar just do like with just a coconut just a
matcha and here we are but just a this is a combination
of the milk some coconut the matcha and on top
of it I do the cold foam with the coconut essence
and I top it up with a little bit coconut shreds
and rose petals I like the rose petals. That's
a nice touch. Now you have quite a few different
matches and you use really good quality much
as well. Yes, I do use the ceremonial matcha
Japanese ceremonial matcha and all my drinks
and I have a quite a selection. I can make pistachio.
Mary Berry now is for the holiday season. I have
posted it yesterday on Instagram. Yeah, a lot
of and I can make your own if you have a flavor
in mind that you want to try. I can do a gingerbread.
I can do like, you know, something different.
I know I tried the last time I was here, the
lavender. Oh, I don't even think I made it home.
And I'm the type that I usually don't, I won't
drink a whole drink. But these treats here are
amazing. I've had these energy bars and So good.
We don't have the matcha ones here because those
have sold out. Yes. Yeah, pistachio matcha with
the dried raspberry. It was a hit this week.
So I think it's going to be on the menu regularly.
Oh, you better have extras in stock because that
was so good. And then we have the baklava and
my favorite cheesecake. and what flavors do you
have there? I have the lotus cheesecake and I
have a peanut butter cheesecake and gingerbread
cheesecake today. And you make those all from
scratch. Yes, I do. I'm a big fan of cheesecake
and I've been making cheesecake for the last
10 years, actually. And yeah, I do a lot of flavors.
She's my new best friend. Everybody knows me
knows that I love a cheesecake. Now you also
have other other beverages as well as the matches
you have the cappuccinos, the espressos, everything.
And what are your hours? Now currently for the
winter just because it's dark. cold. Monday we're
closed. Sunday we open nine to four, and then
the rest of the week is eight to six. That's
perfect. Yes. And anything hot, cold, come on
in here. She has it available for you. The treats
which are heavenly. Thank you so much. I appreciate
you being on here for a little short episode
to introduce the newest cafe to Windsor Essex
County. Thank you so much for having me. And
it was a pleasure, you know, serving this and
hope that audience like the baklava and the treats
today. Make sure to follow Lotus and Lattes on
Instagram. And again, my name is Tracy Martins.
Thank you for joining me for another episode
of YQG in Bloom. You guys all have a wonderful
day. you