If you are a food lover then you have to experience the delicacies Brat has to offer. Based in London’s Shoreditch, the vibe of the restaurant was so relaxed and there’s always something extra special when the chefs cook the meals in an open kitchen. It shows professionalism and excellence as well as allowing diners to admire the chefs expertise.
We started with a variety of different small plates, each and every one was excellent, and couldn’t tell you our favourite dish as they were all so tasty.
The small plate portions were just right and consisted of Maldon Oyster with Cucumber & Seaweed, Grilled Bread, Grilled Padron Peppers, Spider Crab Toast, Scarlet Prawns, Green Salad followed by the Beef Rib and Smoked Potatoes. We were so stuffed and actually asked for a doggy bag! The food was too good to just throw away and would have regretted that in the morning. We shared dessert which was the Caramel Cream and was delicious.
Instead of us typing away, we’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. Enjoy.
If you’re in the UK and fancy an unforgettable night out filled with circus acts, burlesque artists and fire breathers then Proud Cabaret is the place for you. You can choose different shows to see from Cabaret Underworld, Drag Brunch, or Cabaret All Stars. We chose Cabaret All Stars and loved it so much, we went twice! Cabaret All Stars has a celebrity host to lead the stellar cast of performers. From boyband Blue’s Duncan James, Love Island’s Amber Davies, and actresses Denise Van Outen, Claire Sweeney and many more.
Cabaret All Stars is a Vegas-style show introduced to London’s West End, so be prepared for an unforgettable night out. Proud Cabaret have glamorous venues around the UK including Embankment, Brighton and Proud City, which is located in the city of London.
You can enjoy a delicious three-course meal whilst watching the show sipping on Prosecco, wine, or a cocktail of your choice. The seated burlesque entertainment usually starts from 7pm until 10.30pm. You won’t be seated for long, by the end of the night you will be up on your feet dancing along to great tunes sung by the celebrity host to close the night on a high.
Invest in yourself: Always make time for you, it may sound a bit cliche but not taking care of yourself won’t give you the ability to be your best self in everyday life. This is easier said then done, as the days can disappear before our eyes so quickly… I mean we are at the end of January already! Try and find ways to show yourself some love and keep your stress levels down, whether it’s getting your hair done, buying that new outfit or a piece of jewelry you’ve had your eye on. Retail therapy can be a good remedy to feel good. Lastly investing in your wellness, for example vitamins is a good way to get through those long winter days. We have a lot of vitamins and minerals in our foods, but if you are suffering with those January blues and needing that extra boost, invest in the vitamins you need to help give you energy.
Make time for sleep: Getting enough sleep is one of the most important health benefits ever! It reduces stress and improves your mood, leaving you refreshed and alert for the day ahead. Without enough sleep the brain cannot function properly. A healthy sleep also helps the body remain healthy. It’s not easy for us all to drift off to sleepy land straight away and to get in the recommended six to nine hours a night, but if you try getting into bed at a decent hour most nights, and making it a point to shut out all the distractions such as phones, you may see a difference. Enjoying a hot bath with your favorite bath salts is a great way to help sooth the muscles, unwind and clear the mind. We love spraying lavender mist on our pillows before sleep which helps get us to sleep quicker. If that’s not for you, you can never go wrong with a good book before bed.
(Photo credit: Susan Wilkinson)
Choosing healthier food options: We’re not fans of diets and tend to eat what we want and also enjoy, all in moderation of course! If you are watching what you eat then the best way to monitor this is by evaluating the time of day you have your meals. We find that when we make time for breakfast, lunch and dinner we snack less during the day. A substantial breakfast is not on the cards for us every day due to busy mornings. When on the go grab that banana or fruit pot so you don’t miss out. Try eating at fixed meal times daily, this will help control your hunger. Just have fun with your meals, we are foodies and like a variety of different cuisines. Experiment more in the kitchen and bring fresh tastes to your dining room table.
(Photo credit: Claudia Soares)
Exercise: Being able to fit the time in to even get to the gym a few times a week is a miracle. So when life gets hectic, being physically active throughout the day helps. You don’t need to hit the gym every day to burn calories, deciding to take the stairs over the lift, taking a half an hour brisk walk at lunchtime. And even try a ten minute quick Yoga and Pilates session first thing in the morning or just before bed at the end of the day. Sticking with this routine will keep your fitness levels on track.
Mind and soul: We all have our own way to de-stress, clearing the mind is also important for overall health. Learning to switch off from your day fully is a mindset, to achieve this, you can meditate, pursue a hobby, listen to music and watch a great tv series. Why not treat yourself to the cinema or theatre. Put yourself first, when you try to do that you will feel happier and be able to tackle whatever life throws at you.
If you fancy a chilled evening dining out, and to experience exquisite dishes filled with great herbs and spices. Then Mint Leaf Lounge is the place for you. The cosy restaurant provides a great atmosphere with soft lighting and relaxed music.
Based in the City of London, the restaurant offers a variety of different menus to suit everyone, from a romantic meal for two, to a group dinner, and even business lunches.
Diners have the choice from a selection of set menus as well as an à la carte menu to choose from. And as always great cocktails, wines and spirits are on offer. We chose to sip on chardonnay wine for the evening which went down nicely with our meal.
To kick start the evening we chose the Chilli Calamari which was perfectly crisp fried and tossed with roast cumin and green chilli. Alongside a plate of Tiger Prawns with black onion seeds and spiced yoghurt. Both dishes were so tasty, we wanted more!
It took a little longer than usual to choose what we wanted to eat, as everything on the menu looked too good. So we decided on a dish each, and to share the love lol.
We enjoyed the Murgh Tikka Makhani which is a free range chicken, chargrilled in fresh tomato and fenugreek sauce. With Lamb Rogan Josh that included a braised leg of lamb with brown onion, tomato and Kashmiri chilli and Saffron Pulao Rice. Both dishes tasted really well together.
Mint Leaf Lounge is located near to the Bank of England in the heart of the City. If you are based in London the restaurant is easy to travel to, and a great choice to enjoy chic and sophisticated dining.
The Coronavirus Pandemic has had an impact on all of our lives one way or another. Making our anxiety and stress levels reach that all time high. Some of us, feeling worried as we are not sure what tomorrow’s news may bring, bored by staring at the same walls day in and day out. You may live alone and feel lonely, which can then turn into frustration as all you want to do is see and hug your loved ones. For most of us, these feelings will pass and we have for you a few easy little steps you can do in the comfort of your home and to help point you in the right direction.
Meditation: Finding time for you is always beneficial and meditation is a way where you can do this. Meditation can be practiced at any time of the day, we’re not saying to spend hours meditating but, ten minutes a day will keep those cobwebs at bay. A good time to practice is first thing in the morning or just before bedtime. Even If you need a few minutes to yourself during the day, doing a short meditation on your lunch break will give you that time out you need. There are great meditation apps for mindfulness such as Calm and Headspace. YouTube is a great way to find short meditation videos too.
(Photo credit: Lesly Juarez)
Stay connected with friends and family: We have all been using Zoom more than ever this past year. Whether that being holding evening quizzes, meetings, celebrating birthdays and baby showers. We all need to feel connected, so keep in touch with friends and family and try reconnecting with old friends. Doing this more times than not should make you feel a little better as you can catch up and have a good laugh, which is so needed.
Physical health: Our physical fitness has a major impact on how we feel, so looking after our bodies the best way we can is important. It’s so easy to fall into unhealthy patterns in lockdown but you have to just have the mindset to keep your physical fitness going. Try to exercise regularly, this can be as easy as an online ten-minute Yoga and Pilates class, a high intensity half hour cardio session, hitting the pavement for a jog, a daily walk or bike ride helps with fitness and also clears your mind. Eating healthily and preparing a well-balanced, nutritious meal always makes you feel great. As well as drinking lots of water.
(Photo credit: Greg Rosenke)
Make time for yourself: This can include anything, think of things that you really enjoy and that relaxes you. Listening and dancing around to your favourite music always helps, as well as releasing those feel good endorphins. Doing this for as long as you want whilst dancing around like no one is watching is the best thing ever! Reading books can make your mind wonder to a different place. A great book is a good feel factor and whilst doing this why not run a hot bath and enjoy your book whilst soaking your body at the same time. Pamper yourself. This can be facials, giving yourself a manicure and pedicure, masks and hair masks. Looking after you is the way forward. Lastly try out that new recipe you have seen. Cooking a great meal or even baking for yourself and for those you live with is a good way to get those culinary skills on point as well as having a full stomach too!
(Photo credit: Sam Loyd)
Organising your space: They say an organised space is an organised mind, the more clutter you can see around you, the more easily you’ll find yourself distracted. Start by getting rid of the things you don’t need. There is a variety of different online ecommerce websites where you can sell clothes, electrical goods and many more. You may fancy a little revamp, why not give a room in your home a whole new makeover. Doing this will make you feel as though you have got something done, whilst feeling great about yourself at the same time.
It’s quite difficult during these times to do the things we are so used to doing. As England is now in lockdown for a month, a couple of weekends ago we decided to have an early evening meal at London’s Duck & Waffle. It was a night spent eating in the clouds… literally. The restaurant is set on the 40th floor of the Heron Tower which stands at 755 feet, making it the tallest building in the City of London. Before the pandemic Duck & Waffle were one of the only few restaurants open for 24 hours, serving great food round the clock.
Your experience begins as soon as you arrive. Have your phones at the ready, as you enter one of the two panoramic glass elevators you will be whisked from the ground and taken up, it’s like you are watching London go-by from the ground all the way up high. We booked our table in advance and was lucky enough to get a window seat and watch the sunset whilst sipping on a chilled glass of wine.
Duck & Waffle have a varied menu from lamb chops, sea bass, steak or roasted corn fed chicken. The menu is also split between tapas-style small plates and larger dishes for sharing. We went for their signature dish the Duck & Waffle which consisted of crispy leg confit, fried duck egg and mustard maple syrup, everything tasted so delicious and the combination of the duck, waffle, egg and maple syrup complimented each other really well.
Curfew in England was at 10pm at that time so unfortunately we couldn’t be out till the early hours, but we made the night as good as we could. After dining we walked downstairs to the 39th floor and enjoyed a cocktail or two at SushiSamba which was so vibrant and full of energy. There was a DJ playing in one section of the venue whilst we were taking in the atmosphere, scenery and enjoying the vibes, socially distanced of course.
SushiSamba London features the highest outdoor dining terraces in Europe, offering 360 degree views of the City which was the perfect way to end the night.
If you are looking for something a bit different to do in London, we would definitely recommend a wine tasting experience. We had an entertaining and tipsy Saturday afternoon spent wine tasting at London’s Wine Cottage. The day was held at The Oval cricket ground which has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since it was opened in 1845.
We kicked our day off with tequila.. yes tequila! If you really want to let your hair down definitely go for it. You have the option to choose if you would like to have a session tequila tasting before the actual wine tasting and we chose to do just that lol.
Now, for the wines. We enjoyed luxury Wine, Champagne & Port, paired with Cheese and Truffles. Each wine complimented the cheeses so well and not forgetting the port and truffles. We drank Port from a chocolate cup which went down very well. The wines and port were finely selected by our wine connoisseurs. The wines are exclusively selected and imported directly from some of the best châteaux and award winning vineyards from around the world.
Our wine tasting experience was not only fun and entertaining. The day was also educational and informative. You will not only be leaving the venue tipsy, but with your new found wine knowledge you will become a wine connoisseur in your own right.
What better way to spend a cold winter’s day than a cosy afternoon tea. We did just that at The Melody Restaurant in London’s Hammersmith. The historic venue takes its name from the 1971 comedy, romance film ‘Melody’ which is where the movie was filmed.
The Melody is a cute boutique restaurant, we really enjoyed the afternoon tea experience spent in their exquisite dining room, which had soft music playing. The chandeliers were dimly lit making a calm atmosphere.
To kick start our afternoon we were presented with a glass of champagne that was freely flowing throughout our dining experience. Then for the tea! Shelley chose the Jasmine Blossom tea and Michelle had the English Breakfast tea.
The staff were so friendly and accommodating. We were presented with an array of Melody’s finest sandwiches, homemade scones & pastries, clotted cream and preserves that tasted rich and delicious. We were absolutely stuffed! Lol. The food was so filling, which is always a good thing.
Like ourselves, if you enjoy an Afternoon Tea experience we recommend The Melody Restaurant. Kensington Palace is just a short walk away from the location and it’s only a ten minute walk from Barons Court and West Kensington tube stations.
We celebrated Shelley’s birthday in style at London’s Hakkasan restaurant in Mayfair. We were seated in a dimly lit room, with a soft glow coming from a candle situated on the table.
We have been fans of this restaurant since we first visited Hakkasan in Las Vegas (review coming soon!) so we couldn’t turn down going in our hometown of London.
If you’re a fan of fine dining and have an appetite for Dim Sum then look no further.
So we began our dining experience with a Dim Sum dish, creating a banquet of different tastes and flavours in our mouth. We devoured a classic steamed dumpling variety which consisted of swordfish, king crab and caviar. This was accompanied by soy sauce, chilli sauce and rice vinegar. Of course, our meal wouldn’t be complete without a cocktail or three. We couldn’t get enough of The Hakka!
For our second course, we enjoyed two meat dishes that certainly had our taste buds wanting more. Firstly, was prawns dipped in nut sauce with jasmine rice and aubergines. Second, was the mouth tingling stir-fry black pepper rib-eye with Merlot. Delicious!
We are such fans of Dim Sum that we couldn’t resist another round of the exquisite delicacy. It’s just so good!
They brought us Hakkasan’s signature desert for our final dish which blew our minds literally…
A rice crispy ice cream ball with warm chocolate sauce slathered all over. A deliciously gooey treat that makes you crave for more.
With it being minus degree weather outside there is no better way than to spend a Friday evening relaxed in front of a log fire, eating great food and sipping on Sangria. We did exactly that and chose to do so at Duck And Rice which is a London pub located in the heart of Soho. As you enter into the dim lit pub you’re drawn to the vibrant atmosphere. We fell in love with the spiral staircase which leads you upstairs to the dining room which serves Chinese dishes. To our delight we had the best seats in the house! We were sat in front of a toasty log fire which made our dining experience nice and cosy.
We ordered small dishes to share starting with the sesame prawn toast, salt and pepper squid, crispy duck roll and roast duck with steamed jasmine rice & cucumber.
Sesame Prawn Toast
Salt and Pepper Squid
Crispy Duck Roll
Roast Duck and Jasmine Rice
The food was mouthwatering and we could not wait to devour everything on our table. We are getting hungry now just looking at the pictures!
The sesame prawn on toast served with sweet chilli sauce was soft in texture and had just the right amount of crunch. The salt and pepper squid was full of different flavours as it was cooked in garlic, chilli peppers and onions so it had the right amount of spicy zing to it but was not overpowering.
The pastry of the crispy duck roll was crunchy and the duck was moist but very tasty and was served with a sweet plum sauce. The roast duck was succulent and melts in your mouth. The duck was cooked to perfection and the meat was very tender. Absolutely delicious!
Green Tea Matcha Ice Cream
Green Tea Matcha ice cream is now our favourite ice cream of all time!
We are so surprised that it is not so readily available but you have to try this desert. It tastes so creamy and is a sweet treat to end your meal.
All of the dishes that we ate we can not fault as everything tasted amazingly good. The great thing about this dining experience is you don’t have to go crazy and buy loads of dishes. Also there is a lot of variety so there is something for everyone to enjoy. Check out the website (here).
It is definitely worth checking out Duck and Rice for yourself. It is in a great location with neighbouring Leicester Square (if you are checking out some theatre shows) and other nearby restaurants such as Dishoom and The Ivy, you are in a prime location.
Shelley&Michelle 