London loving: the perfect weekend

Last weekend Byron and I shared a perfect weekend in London...and of course it had to start with some A&W!! Poor By is stuck in Milton Keynes all week long whilst I 'live it up in London' and he is left to just hear of all the yummy places I've visited and see the pictures on this blog which isn't so fun for him!! so this weekend it was his turn to join in on some of the action!

I knew for my rib loving husband there was no better option for dinner than a night at Bodean's.  His tray arrived piled high with slaw, fries and a half rack of ribs - yes that's right, that is a half!! how anyone could eat a whole is beyond me!

I had to go for pulled pork, I was intending to try something different from the menu but you just can't beat it and I certainly wasn't going to risk missing out on my pulled pork fix!

Root beer makes me insanely happy!

I snapped this little shot as we were leaving, it really is a tasty and happening place to be on a Friday night!

We decided to be tourists for the night and it was quite a warm evening (until we got down next to the Thames and the breeze made it rather chilly!) so we decided to take a stroll down by the river.  We loved seeing everything lit up (check out Big Ben in the background!)

I love the lights of the London Eye from this angle!

By was messing around with a long exposure, I like the effect it creates on all the lit up buildings in the background!

Here I am, pondering how awesome London living is whilst on the bridge!

and you've gotta do the London Eye pose.

How awesome is this picture!!! The South Bank was buzzing with tourists and excitement the night we were there, we even saw a wedding! and it made me so happy to be there and to be a part of it...I love London!

So as you know...last weekend was our british Summer, we're probably not going to get another sunny weekend like it! so we definitely wanted to make the most of it! We cycled up to Hampstead Heath...if you ever want to get fit fast I recommend this bike ride, the beastly hills just kept on coming!

but when you get to see views like this it's all worth it! remember I told you I'm obsessed with the Gherkin? I got a little over excited when I realised I could spot it in the distance here!

and we brought a little picnic along complete with yummy treats from Gail's deli and homemade cheesecake brownies!

Our little polka dot picnic rug from Dunelm Mill has come in quite handy this summer!

Yes I'm wearing jeans, it was cloudy when we woke up!! but inappropriate clothing aside we had an amazing afternoon basking in the sunshine!

Next up, we headed to Brick Lane for a bit of East End action. I have been wanting to check out Kooky Bakes forever, they have an amazing array of delicious looking goodies!

From bounty and tropicana whoopie pies to peanut butter cupcakes...these guys know how to pack some calories!

I had a peanut butter whoopie and By had the chocolate and coconut one, they were sooo yummy !

We also browsed around Spitalfields and By was loving snapping all the quirky people we saw along the way!

The food markets on Brick Lane are completely incredible! From Ethiopian to Brazilian to Thai to Mexican to Caribbean to Malaysian to Chinese...they really have it all!  It was more than tough to make a decision!

but By went for the old classic Pad Thai, and I got a duck wrap with hoi sin sauce which was amazing!!

I love how fun everything seems in the sunshine! Ice cream vans on every corner...

shirtless riders taking advantage of the barclays bikes!

and oh yes we found our street!! which was fun...

and I leave you with more squeals of excitement...as we turned the corner from Braithwaite Street and got this amazing view of the Gherkin! I love how full circle we had come since seeing it as a spot in the distance from Hampstead Heath to being right on it's doorstep!

London...how will I ever bring myself to leave you!

Tex Mex Tuesday: A little taste of California in the middle of Notting Hill!

Right now, my two sisters and brother in law are roadtrippin' it up in Californi-a.  I am beyond jealous and it's something we're not going to dwell on! Swiftly moving on...so the night before they all left we had a night out in London town (but secretly I pretended I had joined them on the Cali trip!)

Mel, who currently lives in Yorkshire, is an avid follow of my blog and has been watching and drooling over our past few months of Mexican madness.  So when she arrived in London she wanted to be taken to the best Mexican we had eaten at so far.  Mara and I both decided it just had to be Santo on Portobello Road...if for no other reason to try some of their amazing chile nachos again!! and this time I got a better shot of them on my camera too!

I opted for Enchiladas, as this is usually my fave Mexican dish, but I have to say I was left craving some burrito loving once the girls dishes arrived...

and that's saying something because I've made it clear before I am not a burrito fan but the burrito's at Santo are hands down amazing!

Mel was definitely impressed and being the veggie she is, she was pleased at their choice of veggie dishes too!

Afterwards we ended the evening with something sweet at Lucky 7.  We toasted to a great Cali trip with our milkshakes (again I was pretending I was in on it too!) Oh how I wish I was milkshaking it up with them right now! Last I heard they had rented bikes along Santa Monica boardwalk, eaten at an amazing Mexican restaurant and found a cupcakery with a frostinator machine where you could make your own cupcakes!!!if that doesn't scream perfect holiday I don't know what does!

I had a mint Oreo shake, while Mel grabbed a double thick chocolate malt and Mara had her old favourite of banana. 

It was a great night out, and whilst I'm missing them all loads I'm even more excited for their return because of all my favourite American goodies they have promised to bring me! Roll on A&W, mint Oreo's and maybe just maybe a few cupcakes!!

An evening spent on a boating lake..on the roof of Selfridge's courtesy of Bompas & Parr & Truvia!

A few weekends ago, thanks to the wonderful I heart cupcakes, I won tickets to go to this fantastic event! It had been a week of temperamental weather in London, no changes there! and so it was with crossed fingers that I hoped for a sunshining day and I wasn't left disappointed!

It was pretty cool to be up on the roof of Selfridge's, which is one of my very favourite shops in London! and apparently they haven't opened it up to the public since the end of the second world war so I certainly felt priveleged! The event was to prompote Truvia - a natural sweetener and so upon arrival we were given two crystals each that acted as our drink tokens for the night.  I was very happy with my apple and mint mocktail...made naturally sweet by Truvia of course.

One part of the event that wasn't quite so natural was that bright green water! It was really quite a sight to see! It certainly made an impact, and after watching people boating around for a while (some getting much wetter than others!) we decided to have a go too.

We selected our paddles and we were off.

The Truvia waterfall was where most people met their downfall, quite literally.  We had observed from afar and decided fast, steady and synchronised paddling would ensure we didn't come to a standstill right under the waterfall and so we managed to stay quite dry! The umbrellas helped too!

Once past the waterfall, we were met by a lovely chap in a rather ridiculous outfit who gave us a brief background on the Stevia plant - which is where Truvia comes from.  If you're thinking 'I don't know what a Stevia plant is', then check out the wall of greenery behind him...flown in fresh from the Amazonian rainforest! I'm not making this stuff up, I promise!

 

He had a bowl of fresh strawberries on hand and let us dip one in a bowl of Truvia so we could taste it's deliciousness, I was impressed! I didn't think it would be particularly appetising but I couldn't tell for a second that it wasn't real sugar and what's better than making something yummier without getting less healthy right?!

We made another pit stop on the way back to this lady in the middle of the lake who offered us some more beverages - this time some non alcoholic wine!

and we stocked up on some Stevia leaves for the journey, naturally sweet and delicious!

Check out how green that water is! Also did you know I have a minor obsession with the Gherkin? I didn't until Byron pointed it out to me this past weekend...I can't help but get excited when we see that building from wherever we are around London!

and I was doubly excited to be able to see that lovely London skyline as I paddled away on a bright green lake whilst the bustling crowds of Oxford Street down below were none the wiser about what we were up to so high in the sky!

The event oozed fun and hilarity, down to the over enthusiastic staff who were very comical every time they opened their mouths 'are you ready to go on an adventure deep into the rainforest'! in their best Richard Attenborough voices through to the little medicine style bottles we got our bevvies in!

The attention to detail was great with this little triad of crystals that greeted you on the way in and the way out...and we even got to take home a goody bag...

with a trail mix inside of peanuts, popcorn and Stevia leaves!! (what else!) and our very own Stevia plant so now we can all grow our own natural sweetener!! My Stevia is now in the more capable green fingered hands of my husband (it has the best chance of survival that way) so keep your eyes peeled on my cupcake blog in the future when I may just start making naturally sweet and delicious cupcakes through the delights of Truvia!! cupcakes with no real sugar? now that's something we can all get excited about!

Tex Mex Tuesday:La Perla, Tottenham Court Rd

I fear that we're running out of Mexicans!! or at least they're getting a bit thin on the ground now we've tried so many! I've been trying as much as I can not to retry ones I've already been too so Cafe Pacifico in Covent Garden was off the list because I ate there once with Mara after attending Iron Cupcake.  However, when I looked at their website I was pleased to see they had a few other bar restaurants around London so I thought we'd give La Perla on Charlotte Street a try.

Our meal started with free nachos! so of course we were loving that!

Mara saw they had Chimichangas on the menu so she was loving that!! Unfortunately when hers arrived the outside of the tortilla wasn't even crispy - which it should be if it has been properly deep fried, so it came off as a rather sad soggy enchilada rather than what it should have been!

I was super excited about their 'Street Taco's' option.  6 mini soft taco's filled with different meats: duck, pork, chicken, steak, prawn and beef.  Unfortunately, I was also left feeling a little disappointed as they were doused in onions and herbs that were a bit overbearing taste wise and they didn't quite meet up to my expectations!

We didn't bother to order dessert, their offerings were rather meager.  All in all it wasn't our favourite Mexican, I'm not sure I would ever go back in favour of all the other amazing ones we have tried recently! and I've gotta say we had much better food at Cafe Pacifico...strange considering they're owned by the same people! but it's always fun to check out somewhere new! and I guess they get points for the free nachos!!

Tex Mex Tuesday: Free Taco's at Wahaca, Westfield and some Waffle House action!

Last week we took our Tex Mex Tuesday back to where it all started for us in London - Wahaca.  The first time I ever ate at Wahaca in Covent Garden, long before this challenge ever began, I was blown away! I had the best enchiladas ever, I loved the feel of the place and I was sold...to me, Wahaca was THE place for Mexican in London.  

That was last June...how much has changed in a year! 

We had already decided on Wahaca as our chosen Mexican for the week, and then I saw via twitter that they were running an offer where you could win free steak taco's if you watched Thomasina's program that evening and filled in the missing ingredient for her tomato salsa.  Lucky for us, we already own her book so I just looked up the recipe and filled in the slip and handed it to our waiter when we ate at 6pm, an hour and a half before the tv program where you were meant to find out the answer actually aired! but fortunately he didn't seem to have read the competition details properly and he accepted the offer! 

So it was steak taco's for me...and you'd think they should have tasted even better, being free and all, but I was left feeling disappointed! Steak isn't a taco filling I would usually order so perhaps it was down to personal preference but I just felt these taco's were lacking.  Plus I still can't really get excited about soft taco's...for me it's all about the hard shell! 

Mara had a burrito which was infinitely better than my steak taco but still nothing on the one we had last week at Santo, and it was a little on the spicy side.

We had this rather strange cactus based side dish that came with tortillas.  We were expecting it to be more like tortilla chips but they were flat tortillas so that was a little bit odd.

We were hoping the Churros were going to pull it around for us, but unfortunately they left us with a bad taste in our mouth.  They were too gooey in the middle, again it seemed like a case of undercooked churros and so all in all it wasn't a great night at Wahaca.

It left me wondering why their restaurants are always so busy when I now know of a whole host of waaaay tastier Mexicans that London has to offer! but I guess it comes down to what's in and what's trendy.  Just like how hummingbird bakery always has a queue of people and I've never eaten a cupcake I like from there whereas there are other cupcake bakeries with far more delish offerings that never get a look in! 

Fortunately for me, two of my friends (Jo and Nat) took me to one of my very favourite places to eat when I went home last weekend.  The Waffle House is an absolute gem of a place and I have been there too many times to recall.  It was one of my families fave places to eat, my mom was always taking me and my sisters there and it became a firm favourite with my school friends too.  We even used to skip out on school to go there because it was just that tasty! They've been going for over 25 years so as long as I've been alive and with queues to get in any day of the week you know they're doing something right!

Like these...their milkshakes are some of the best you will ever have! Super thick, super creamy and super delicious! The flavours they offer are the basics: chocolate, banana or vanilla - but let me tell you it is the only place where I would be happy ordering a Vanilla shake because they are delish! but luckily for me on the day we went they had a daily special of a fresh strawberry milkshake so I picked that and it was amazing!! 

On to the waffles! You can get both sweet and savoury waffles, and on the day we went they were offering a daily special of an eton mess waffle! but sadly for us we were too full for sweet offerings! I had the daily special of their meatball waffle which was simply delicious! 

Jo went for the cheese and mushrooms and Nat got the ratatouille.  There is nothing better than catching up with your girls for a gossip, a shake and a waffle! It was a great day!