I Giardini di Sorrento

Morning everyone!

I love going out and finding new restaurants in Cardiff and although not all of them are 'new' to Cardiff they are new to me. I've heard of I Giardini di Sorrento on City Road and my family chose to go there for a birthday meal recently.

Thirty Nine Desserts Cardiff

Happy Sunday everyone!

We've got some great pictures to share today, who doesn't absolutely love dessert??

Crumbs Kitchen Cardiff

Hi all!

As usual we've been eating our way around the capital and one of our favourite lunches comes from Crumbs. We've been there quite a few times now, we know exactly what we're getting and would keep going back again and again!

Life Update - 2018 so far!

Hello everyone! It's been quite a long time since my last blog post, I'm normally pretty on the ball with scheduling posts, tweets and having my images edited and ready to go bit the last few weeks have been so busy I haven't even had time to think straight!

My last post was 3 weeks ago, so I thought I'd share some of the things I've been up to recently and share some snaps. I love seeing pictures of things that other people have been up to so I hope you like seeing mine too!

Top 10 Tourist Things to do in London

Hey All

In November my other half and I took a week off work and decided to be tourists in London so I thought I'd share our trip and top picks to explore.

1. Watch Harry Potter and the Curse Child and Visit House of MinaLima

Life Update

Happy Sunday morning!

I hope you've had a fabulous weekend, I've had a family oriented weekend with birthdays, mother/daughter time and catching up with friends. The last few weeks I've been travelling all over the place for work and trying to keep up with everything, so I've got a post to show you what I've been up to!

The Potted Pig

Have you heard of The Potted Pig in Cardiff??

It has long been a restaurant on our lists as we had heard the food was amazing. M had been here for a family meal before turning veggie and the meat was amazing, but L hadn't managed to make it there yet. After hearing they were going to start opening on Monday evenings as well as the rest of the week we knew it was time we went together and luckily for us they invited us to try out their menu.

Cameo Club Cardiff

I'm sure you all know by now how much we love food, we are always trying out new restaurants, bars and street food events and never get bored of it! 

There are so many great places to try in Cardiff so there's always something new to test out, and recently me and my family went to Cameo on Wellfield road in Cardiff for a celebration and it was a great chance to try out their menu.

What to Eat in Split, Croatia

Morning! 

I recently shared my photos with you from my trip to Split, I have more photos to share from islands and other places in Croatia but had to share my food photos and recommendations too!

Zero Degrees Beer Tasting and Food

Hi all!

Recently we were both invited to Zero Degrees in Cardiff for an evening of beer tasting and food, we've both been before on random occasions for the odd drink but not for a meal and drinks so this was a great opportunity and we were really looking forward to it.

Cardiff Food Round Up

Hi all!

So the last few weeks I've finally got over the car accident and I can finally eat properly again, HOORAY! Life has been rather boring having to eat soft food for months on end due to damaging the muscles in my face/jaw and although I've thrown myself into finding some great vegan and vegetarian options I have missed the variety.

In celebration I have rearranged outings seeing friends, colleagues, family etc etc that I haven't been able to make it to for celebration and catching up. I should maybe be embarrassed that I've eaten out so much in the last few weeks but I'M TOO HAPPY TO CARE!

The Brass Beetle

We were super lucky recently and were invited to the opening of the Brass Beetle, this is a new restaurant on Whitchurch Road in Cardiff and I think it fills a gap in the market.

The Brass Beetle 

Porro Wellfield Road - Cardiff

Good morning all!

Isn't the weather glorious??? We've been so lucky this week with some real sunshine, I hope it's going to stick around.

On Tuesday we were invited to try out the new menu at Porro on Wellfield Road in Cardiff. We've previously been to their other branch in Llandaff for a different blogger event but never been to this restaurant, so we couldn't wait.

Falafel Kitchen - Cardiff

Hey all!

We've mentioned a few times recently that we've both gone vegetarian - for different reasons but we both enjoy food and cooking so much that we've fully embraced it and have been trying new recipes as well as new eateries.

The next on our list was Falafel Kitchen, found on Crwys Road in Cardiff.

Milgi's Cardiff - Review

Hey All

About 6 weeks ago I made the decision to try and lead a vegetarian lifestyle, I went completely cruelty free in all make up, beauty and home products I buy last year and decided it was time to try a vegetarian lifestyle too, it has been a discussion and debate for a while with C as we cook almost every meal from scratch and would mean a change to his diet or double the cooking for whoever was cooking that night. So when he went on his last work trip I decided to take the plunge so I could do it while he was away and then work his meals with meat into mine.

Christmas Day 2016

Hey all!

I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas - I planned on getting some posts up in time for the Christmas period but it didn't happen because of so much food prep being required for the big day! You'll see what I mean below....

I spend Christmas with my family and pretty much move home for the Christmas break, even though I don't live at home any more I still end up decorating the house too, particularly the trees!

I love doing it but now I have my own and often do the ones in work it can mean decorating up to seven! I do love decorating the fireplace though, the lights and candles seem to make it!

Christmas Eve was spent in the kitchen, I honestly spent over 8 hours in there making various things. We pre cooked the turkey in the oven and the ham in the slow cooker. The ham was then put into the oven with a honey and mustard glaze on top to crisp up - it was amazing!

We also made the pretty popular Nutella Christmas tree, this was fun and really easy for such an effective treat.

All you need to do is roll out the pastry, cut it into a tree shape - I found it easiest to put them together and cut the shape first so they were both matching.
Then you need to spread a thick layer of Nutella onto one piece and top with the other. I also filled the off cuts too, I mean those extra bits almost taste better than the main tree right?

Then you just need to cut slices of equal size into the sides and twist upwards to give a better effect. It smells amazing when it's cooking away in the oven and we just dusted some icing sugar on top for some festive snow.

This tree is dangerous as you can so easily just keep pulling off a branch here and there!

After this we made some gingerbread men and I iced them very haphazardly - I attempted to do some bow ties and dresses but they look like they've had quite a few glasses of wine instead...oops!

For the main desserts we made the James Martin cheesecake (recipe can be found on Asda's website) which was a really easy no bake recipe, and covered with macaroons from the frozen section. We also decided that seeing as it was Christmas we'd also smother it in edible glitter and sparkly sugar, it was so easy and a big hit!

Lastly we made a chocolate torte, this was the BBC Good Food recipe. It was about 9pm by the time we started this so we were pretty tired but once the mixture was done it only took 40 minutes in the oven to cook and we had earned a big cup of tea and a sit down by then.

Christmas Day is my favourite, for the food and also for seeing my dog loving playing with the wrapping paper! He goes mad for it, loves helping people unwrap their presents and then rolling around with the paper afterwards.

My brother bought him a little Santa costume (which he absolutely hated!) but he was too big so it didn't stay on, still cute though!

We went to my aunty's for Christmas Day this year, the table was beautifully decorated with a gingerbread man theme. Isn't it amazing?

I piled my plate high with as much veg as possible (yes I did add gravy after taking this picture for anyone wondering where it is!)

We finished off the day with the obvious games and selfies with props - if you have played His and Hers we played it and even though us females outnumbered the guys we lost miserably!

What did you do Christmas Day? Do you have any traditions that you have to complete every year?

L xxx

Pitch Cardiff and Wriggle Discount Code

Hey All

A few weeks ago when C and I fancied an impromptu date night he introduced me to wriggle which is an app that shows you deals for local restaurants. I believe at the moment it works in Bristol, Cardiff and Brighton.

We found one for Pitch so decided to go for it. I've been to Pitch before for cocktails and tapas but the menu has since changed so I was excited to try it out.

Pitch is based on Mill Lane and is a small little independent restaurant that has an impressive selection of menus (the roasts sound amazing!!!) 

Wriggle works by you purchasing a deal then use the code. We had a deal that was £7.50 for a pizza and drink. As you can see on the menu above the pizzas vary from £6.50 up £9.50 and drinks were draft beers, small wine and soft drinks.

Here is my tasty pizza. As it's a welsh restaurant they had a lamb and mint pizza on the menu and as a red meat lover I had to try it. This one is on the menu for £8.50 which even without the deal we did is reasonable. It was packed full of an impressive amount of lamb and the lamb was so tender.

If you're in Cardiff I can't recommend Pitch enough and if you're in Bristol London of Cardiff it's worth downloading the wriggle app. If you use this code NYHNFL it gets you money off your first voucher!

Love M

xxx

Joe's Chicken Pie

Good morning everyone!

I've been trying to be a bit more adventurous with food recently - by this I mean trying out some more recipes, not suddenly eating locusts etc....

So I have seen many posts about Joe's Chicken Pie from Joe Wick's Lean in 15 recipe book and I couldn't wait any longer to try it out myself.

It really didn't disappoint!

It was pretty simple to make too, leeks, mushrooms and chicken cooked up in a pan before adding a small amount of double cream, cornflour and some chicken stock and simmering for a while.

Lastly the spinach is added and allowed to wilt into the mixture before adding into a big baking dish and adding the filo pastry sheets to the top. I've never made anything with pastry before and scrunching up the sheets was a new experience for me!

Then you simply drizzle a bit of olive oil on top and put it in the oven for 20 minutes.

The first time I ate the pie I had some parsnips and peas to use up so had those, but the ingredients make four portions so I have also had some roast veg (carrots, courgettes and peppers) and also one of the frozen bags of veg that you microwave (peas, carrots and green beans).

I really enjoyed it and I still have one portion left which I am saving for a rainy day when I feel like I need a filling meal that isn't too stodgy. I added this into My Fitness Pal and each portion was around 400 calories before adding veg, so it's easily a 500 calorie meal.

Have you tried Joe's Chicken Pie? Have you tried any other recipes from the Lean in 15 books?

There are so many I want to try but not enough time!!

L xxx

Burger and Lobster - Not Just Burger and Lobster??

Hey All

A few weeks ago we were invited to try out Burger and Lobsters new extended menu. We are both massive fans and have been a few times. You can read about our first visit here. After listening to feed back Burger and Lobster Cardiff have expanded they're menu to include a Lamb Burger, Children's Burger, Brisket Roll and different versions of their Lobster Roll as well as still doing the original options. They've also added a great new selection of sides and we couldn't wait to get stuck in. We were treated to try out the new meals!

They've also added more drinks. We didn't taste the proper cocktails cocktails but L did order and undercurrent as she was driving. The bar staff really do know how to make a great cocktail!





First up we shared a blooming onion. If we're honest we ordered it out of curiosty but we're glad we did as it was so tasty! It's an onion deep fried served with an amazing garlic dip!





We also took L's brother with us and he tried the brisket roll. I'm a huge brisket fan but couldn't resist the lobster so he let us try some. The meat is soft and full of flavour like you'd expect from brisket and a great addition to the menu.



For mains I ordered the California Lobster Roll. L and I shared our mains just because it's what we do. This was amazing, I love the lobster rolls as they come on the most amazing brioche roll. This also has avocado in. It's so light and fresh tasting!






L went for the Lamb burger. This comes with amazing relish and like they're original burgers can be cooked how you like it. We went for medium rare and it was great. I love how the burgers are jam packed with flavour and salad and sauce that compliment it.



For sides we opted for chucky cheesy chips, definitely add cheese if you try these as it's definitely worth it!



The lobster mac and cheese which was perfect. I love mac and cheese and the lobster adds a great flavour to it.



Lastly we had sweet potato fries as who can really resist them. These were great, crispy and not soggy as sweet potato fries can sometimes be.



As if pigging out on all that food wasn't enough we sampled the new desserts too. Below is the bakewell tart. Something I would never pick but L's brother tried it and it was delicious. The fresh raspberries and mint add great flavour to it.

I was the pig that ordered the Eton mess even though it's meant as a sharing dessert. I'm a huge Eton mess fan and this didn't disappoint, chewy meringue, ice cream, berry sauce and fresh mint and raspberries. It was amazing and I'd definitely order it again.



L went for brownie that was also amazing, chocolatey and slightly gooey!!

Me and my huge dessert!!

We loved trying out the new food and it's great to see the company listening to what customers want. The new additions are certainly tasty but definitely make the decisions of what to order harder as so far we love it all. The only thing I'd suggest would be the addition of a vegetarian option as I'd love to take my parents here!

Love L and M

xxx