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.
Shelley&Michelle 