Train views, Burgers and Shakes

A few weekends ago Rob and I both took a couple of days off work so we ended up having a long weekend off together. The aim for the weekend was to tackle our disgraceful front garden. On Friday the weather was lovely and we spent a food few hours tending to the garden. We retired very early on Friday night, I fell asleep at 7.30pm! Gardening is tiring. We had the same plan for Saturday. I went off to the gym in the morning and then met Carys for a coffee afterwards. I called Rob on the way back and he suggested we go to London for the day I didn't need much persuading. Gardening is not my favourite thing to do, it was cold and also started raining. The idea of burgers and milkshakes was A LOT more appealing. 

As our trip to London was pretty spontaneous and we didn't really have any plans. However, most of our trips to London contain burgers for lunch. I had heard good things about Rox Burgers in Lewisham, South London, so thats where we headed. It was pretty far away but that meant we could have a little tour of London on the DLR!

I really love going on the DLR. There are so many sights that the times just flies by. The DLR to Lewisham took us through the financial district and we also saw lots of the landmarks including the Shard, the Pickle Gherkin and the o2. Of course we had to take a DLR selfie.

We arrived in Lewisham in no time. The burger joint was only a five minute walk from the station. However, the town centre is not the nicest of places so we didn't hang around. Rox burger is an independent burger joint. As with most trendy burger places the menu isn't particularly varied but they do burgers well - so what else do you need! 

Rob had the blue burger (lots of cheese, but not that much blue cheese) and I had the cheeseburger with extra pickles. The extra pickles were a good choice! We also shared a side of fries. The house fries had parmesan cheese and oregano on them. They were skin on fries and were actually pretty amazing - totally surpassed my expectations. The burgers were good. However, they weren't anything on my ultimate favourite - Patty and Bun. On the way home I wrote a list of all the burger places I have visited (there has been a few) and nothing comes close. I have definitely enjoyed trying all the burger places but I am looking forward to going back to Patty and Bun. 

After our dinner we fancied something sweet. After a little googling we decided on Tinsel Town, purely for their milkshakes! Rob has a chocolate malt shake and I went for a chocolate peanut butter milkshake. They were so yummy.

After our milkshakes we got the train home. With fully bellies and our sweet tooth satisfied we headed home for a night relaxing on the sofa. 

Searcys and The Oxo Tower

I wish every weekend was as indulgent as last week. Champagne, dinner with a view and fabulous service - just amazing. The cause for the celebration was Papa Corn's 50th Birthday! 

First we headed to Searcys champage bar at St Pancras station. It was a freezing cold day but we sat in a little booth which had underseat heating. The booth even had a 'press for champagne' button. We took our time as Dad treated us to a bottle of dry white champers and then a bottle of rose champers. I think I preferred the rose. But they may be because the champers had gone to my head by then. As you can see below many photos were taken in the champagne bar... Well its not often we get to hang out in such a fancy place. 

After the champagne we met James and then headed to the Oxo Tower for dinner. The view was stunning over the river. The service was incredible. The waiters were  so efficient and attentive without being overbearing. 

Most importantly the food was incredible. I had the crab to start, followed by the sea bass with octopus and chorizo. None of the puddings particularly interested me but Rob, Ana and Dad enjoyed theirs. 

After we walked off our dinner, walking down the southbank and stopping off at a pub for another drink. A truly wonderful night.  

Draughts

Last weekend I think we were suffering slightly with the post Christmas blues. After a few days of being cooped up inside, we were ready for another adventure. After browsing online I discovered 'Draughts' - a cafe/bar in Haggerston, Hackney that stocks over 300 games. The concept was simple - pay £5 per person, grab a table, open a tab and order a drink, pick a game and play! You can stay for as long as you like and play as many games as possible. The huge board game nerds we are, it seemed perfect!

However, there was one slight problem - the trains. Due to overrunning engineering works (which happen every.single.bank.holiday) trains were, well basically fucked. It took us three hours to arrive in London from leaving home. However, we had fun messing around together and time went quickly.

After our horrendous journey, first stop was FOOD! As usual, we had burgers and fries in the mind. We started googling burger joints in East London as we made our way on the Overground. We realised that there was a 'The Diner' close to Shoreditch High Street.

We were planning on heading there to get bagels at some point anyway, so it was perfect. We arrived around 3pm and it was pretty busy. However, the service was friendly throughout. I had a hot dog with bacon, sour cream and loads of cheese.  I chose mac and cheese for my side. Rob chose a toasted sub with ham and bacon, cheese and gravy. He had cheesey fries. All the food was so good. We washed it down with thick milkshakes - chocolate for me and oreo for Rob. An amazing meal. 

After we stocked up on bagels and then jumped back on the tube for a couple of stops of Haggerston. Draughts is short walk from the Overground Station. We arrive and bagged the last available table. The place was so busy! Unfortunately there were a few annoying groups of students, but the atmosphere was good. 

We ordered our local lager and Rob went off and chose the first game - Battleships. I haven't played battleships for years! It was a good game. The face below is a very happy Belle after a win. 

I chose the next game  - Elk Fest. It was a simple, two player game that involved flicking little stones so that the Elk can cross from the starting island to the opponents island. There aren't too many rules to the game, its fast paced and we both thoroughly enjoyed it. I chose the game based on the staffs recommendation. The staff were really friendly. 

For Rob's next choice he chose the classic Guess Who. Another simple game but lots of fun.  

When I was putting Guess Who back I saw someone else putting Game of Life away. I had heard lots of people talking about the game but had never played it. I bagged it straight away. Thats the great thing about Draughts - you get to play games you have never played before. We both really liked the game, despite not exactly sticking to the rules. 

We left after a couple of pints - begrundingly. I would have loved to stay for hours more but we had a little doggie to get home to. Luckily we didnt face too many delays on the way home. I can't wait to return to Draughts. A great date day. 

Cheddar Adventure - Burgers in Bristol and Hilltop Walk

Despite Rob's very convincing Brizzle accent, neither of us had visited Bristol before. As it was less than an hour away, we thought we would include a trip to Bristol in our holiday plans. We arrived mid-morning after a breakfast of coffee and pastries.

First on the agenda was to have a look around the Christmas Market. Although it was very festive, it just couldnt compare to the Bath Christmas Market. We did stop for a chocolate covered marshmellow though, which was very tasty. That also didn't stop us from popping into Ben's cookies when we came across the main shopping centre. Ben's Cookies are THE best, ever! 

We spent most of our time in Bristol shopping in the centre. The centre had everything that we could have asked for, including Harvey Nicks and my new favourite shop - Oliver Bonas. We got a fair few of our Christmas presents sorted.

They were plenty of restaurant chains in the shopping centre. Rob was desperate to try Five Guys. Although I hadn't had the best burger previously at Five Guys in Bluewater, I agreed. I must say that the Bristol Five Guys was loads better. I love the fact you can completely customise your burger with toppings. We also shared a bag of chips, which were very good. Rob was delighted by the drinks machine. He made a concoction of peach sprite, lemon sprite and lemon lucozade.  

The best thing about Bristol was definitely the food. Its a shame to say that the shopping area was a bit run down and there just wasn't much to do once we had been to the big shops. After a lot of eating we were ready to head home and walk off the food. 

The first set of pictures are from a hilltop walk we took Nell on the day before. We walked up the steepest hill we had ever walked in our lives, but we were finally greeted by beautiful views across Somerset.

For our walk after Bristol we headed back to Cheddar Nature reserve. We started our walk a little later than previous walks but we still got to see some beautiful sights. One of the best moments of the holiday was on this walk. Nell saw something in the distance so ran off after it. She soon realised it was another dog so started running back towards us. The other dog was a greyhound puppy that was 13 months old! All of a sudden they started playing together. Although, Nell had already walked for a good 40 minutes, she chased the other greyhound for ages. It was wonderful to see them sprinting up all the big hills. Nelli was exhausted afterwards but it was such a heartwarming moment.

Gangnam

Last week we had a rare week when we spent every evening together. It was lovely to spend our evenings cuddling up on the sofa, reading together and eating home cooked food. When I am normally working evenings I end up grabbing a ready meal or takeaways. The food is normally rubbish quality and pretty expensive. We really enjoyed cooking and talking over dinner this week. 

That being said, when it came to Friday evening we were ready for a treat. I first saw Gangnam as it was rated the number one restaurant in Stevenage on Tripadvisor. I never normally look at Tripadvisor but I signed up to it last week to vent my anger at the poor service we received when we went out for a Sunday Roast. Gangnam sells itself as the only Korean restaurant in Hertfordshire. We had a look online and the menu looked incredible and actually very healthy. The reviews spoke very highly of Gangnam and we were curious to give it a try.

We arrived about 7pm on Friday. The restaurant was busy with a large party but there were a few tables free. You can bring your own alcohol but we weren't in the mood for drinks so we decided to try a bubble tea. I had strawberry with mango boba and Rob had honeydew melon with strawberry boba. Both were very yummy. Bubble tea is hard to describe. Its kinda like a sweet, think milkshake with jelly bubbles. Strange but good.

It didnt take long for our starters to be served. We opted for the Kun Man Du (veggie dumplings) and Dack Kang Jung (fried chicken balls). Each starter was £4.50 which was fantastic value for ten dumplings and ten pieces of chicken. Although simple, the veggie dumplings were the best thing I tried. They were so fresh, not greasy at all and so well flavoured. The chicken was also fantastic and had a lovely kick to it. 

All the food was freshly cooked. It wasn't long until our main courses came. Rob had the Bulgoki + Bap (stir fried duck served with rice and kim chi). I had one of the most famous Korean dishes, Bi Bim Bap served with chicken. Both dishes were fantastic. The menu isn't particularly large but we have seen other dishes on the menu that we also want to try when we return. 

It must also be mentioned that the service was fantastic. The last two occasions we have eaten out at independent restaurants the service has been awful. Visiting Gangnam restored our faith in independent restaurants. Mrs Gangnam (most likely not the owners real name) chatted to us about the food and asked us where we had found the restaurant. She told us that she hadn't paid for any marketing and wanted the restaurant to be promoted through word of mouth. She said that the first year for the restaurant was difficult but they were doing much better now. Mrs Gangnam was so friendly and genuine. At the end of the meal she even bought out mikado sticks, a lovely gesture. 

We honestly cannot recommend Gangnam enough. We will be returning very soon.

Ice skating and burgers

Days off over the weekend when you should be at work are extra sweet! Last week I booked Saturday off work so that I could go to Nanny and Grandad's birthday party. I asked Rob to arrange something fun for Saturday day time for me to look forward to in the week and he did very well. 

We woke up pretty early, put on our comfy clothes and headed to the train station. After a few train mishaps we were on our way to Ally Pally. 

We have been ice skating at Ally Pally a few times before many years ago. I love the photo below that was taken on our first trip to Ally Pally when we were 16 years old. I think this was taken after we had been dating for a couple of months. 

Once we arrived we changed straight into our ice skates and didn't waste time hitting the ice. 

We managed to snap a few action shots but it was pretty tricky as the ice rink was so busy. 

After skating for an hour or so we decided it was time to refuel in the cafe. Rob had a slush puppy and a diam bar and I had a danish. It gave us a nice sugar rush and we were soon ready to do some more ice skating. However, we decided to have a game of ice hockey! We are both very competitive and that certainly showed during the game. Rob won but I must say it was a good game.

We did pretty well at ice skating. We spent a lot of time trying not to smack into children that were prancing about all over the ice. 

After skating for a few hours we had built up an appetite. We have been on a mission to find a burger as good as our favourite Patty and Bun. I have already tried GBK, Byron burger, Five Guys and Meat Liquor. I have Shake Shack and Honest Burgers on my to try list. I had a burger recommendation from a work colleague in the form of Dirty Burger. So off we headed to Vauxhall.

First of all the burger joint was signposted straight from the tube station. That was hugely appreciated by our rumbling tummies. We practically ran to Dirty Burger and had a look at the menu. The menu wasn't very expansive but what else do you want from a burger joint other than a hamburger, cheeseburger or bacon burger? I opted for cheese and Rob chose bacon. We also shared an order of onion rings. Everything we ate was incredible! The onion rings were some of the best I have ever eaten. The burger was amazing. The meat was really tender and cooked perfectly medium rare. It didn't quite match up to Patty and Bun but it comes in a close second or third. I am salivating just looking at these pictures.  

We headed home with tired legs and full bellies.