CONNECT WITH ME
FOLLOW ME
-
-
-
I ♥ INSTAGRAM
MY RECENT PINS
-
SPONSORS
Category Archives: My life
A night out at Hakkasan London
Hakkasan restaurant in London has been on my ‘to-visit’ list ever since I moved to London, so when one of my best friends recently asked me what I thought might be a fun venue for her girls night birthday celebration dinner, I (selfishly) suggested Hakkasan! Bookings can sometimes be a little hard to get but luckily I was able to score us a table for 8 on a Saturday night. OK our booking was for 6.30pm which is a little early but we just thought, as glass half-full kinda girls, that this would allow us more time to enjoy the cocktails at the bar afterwards!
Hakkasan Hanway Place was founded in London in 2001 and quickly became famous for its high-end modern Chinese cuisine. Since then Hakkasan has received Michelin stars and has opened further restaurants in London, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Beverly Hills and Mumbai!
Our booking was for Hakkasan Mayfair and upon entering I was instantly impressed by its sexy, dark interior and realised this is definitely one of these places in London where the cool people hang out to ‘see and be seen’ and that night that included us!
The a la carte menu is extensive and filled with many delicious dishes. Note that eating out at Hakkasan is not cheap, but if you are not up for splurging then the great thing is that they also have a Taste of Hakkasan menu. Reasonably priced at £35 the 3 course menu offers you a selection of small eats, mains and desserts to choose from to give you a taste of Hakkasan’s signature dishes without a huge price tag. As a group this sounded like a winner to us so we ordered some bubbly got our night started!
For the small eats you can you can choose between steamed, fried or vegetarian dim sum. I love a good steamed dumpling so that was an easy pick! The basket came with three delicious dim sum; scallop shumai, morel mushroom crystal dumpling, and Chinese chive dumpling. Yumm….
For my main I had the steamed chilean seabass in osmanthus flower wine with a chilli garlic sauce. The fish was perfectly steamed and was soft like butter and the sauce was spicy but creamy at the same time. Each main course comes with the main flavour dish + a bowl of white rice + a veggie dish (we got garlic & ginger bok choi).
Choosing the dessert was a little trickier because the chocolate orange pot sounded amazing but a selection of macaroons is hard to resist! In the end the chocolate pot won out, and boy am I glad that it did. It was INCREDIBLE!
Normally the mix of chocolate and orange isn’t my favourite but everything about this dessert was divine. A bitter chocolate mouse comes with spiced oranges, orange sorbet and a salted chocolate and cardamon sauce. The best bit; the mouse contains pop rocks!?! Remember that candy that creates a fizzy reaction when it dissolves in your mouth? Yup that was in the mousse which made it so fun and different to eat.
One of my friends got the selection of macaroons which she said were delicious but unfortunately didn’t live up to her expectations (..meaning Ladurée still rules in this department). What was nice though was that the macaroons were served on a bed of edible cacao nibbles…which we all happily tucked into!
Then after a successful and delicious dinner it was time for….you guessed it, COCKTAILS!
The bar upstairs at Hakkasan in Mayfair is buzzing with engery, dark, fun, a little sexy and the cocktail list is to-die-for! We ordered a selection of their signature lychee martinis and some espresso martinis to party the night away…
CHEERS!! Me and the beautiful birthday girl.
I was wearing my favourite L.K.Bennett dress.
One, Two…LYCHEE ;)
We had a brilliant night out and I definitely want to go to Hakkasan again soon! Maybe next time I will check out the Hanway Place location. Even though Hakkasan may not be the cheapest night out in London, I feel it’s worth the price-tag! The food is amazing, it is fun, a little sexy and because of the mood lighting I think it would make for a great date venue. Now all I need is a date to take me there ;)
Hakkasan Mayfair, 17 Bruton Street, London W1J 6QB
Phone: +44 (0)20 207 907 1888
www.hakkasan.com
Amsterdam Queen’s Day Fun!
Last week I was in the Netherlands for the annual Dutch national holiday that is Queen’s Day! This means lots of orange, lots of people, lots of boats and lots of fun! Here some photos from our orange adventures in Amsterdam on 30th April.
Me and my friends started the day rather early at 10.30am to get on a boat that I’d organised to cruise around the canals! The only rules were to wear orange and be up for a good time so we were all ready to get this party started. Prosecco started flowing and before we knew it we were partying to music and having a blast!
After partying on the water for about 4 hours we got off to experience the celebrations on the packed streets of Amsterdam. The sun was out so were all pretty happy (ok the bottles of prosecco we had consumed probably helped with that too haha)!
We even got a little silly and with a few other people decided to climb this bus stop!
Hey, it seemed like a good idea at the time but we definitely had a lot of fun :)
Sometimes I think it is OK to be a little silly and break the rules to have fun – as long as you don’t harm things or people in the process that is! Happy Hump Day everyone :)
A perfect Sunday..
On Sunday I had a wonderful day in East London with my two fellow blogger girlfriends; Hayley & Rory. We met up for brunch and explored the Columbia Road flower market! The sun was shining + good food + great company + flowers and pretty things = makes for a pretty perfect day :) Here some instragram pics of the day…
When I arrived for brunch the girls already had a glass of mimosa waiting for me – now I couldn’t think of a better way to start my Sunday really! // Hayley & Rory loving the sunshine whilst enjoying our breakfast out on the pavement at Franze & Evans in Shoreditch // My breakfast; I had the Trecolore but without hollandaise sauce. I know most people love that stuff, but I just don’t like it! // In East London everything is just that little bit ‘cooler’ – so perfect opportunity to rock my studded black Topshop flats.
Hayley and Rory are girls after my own heart, because after we’d finished our breakfast they were both just as keen as me for dessert! Inside at Franze & Evans they have a scrumdiddlyumptious looking deli counter stacked with a mouth watering display of cakes and treats. // It was very hard deciding what to have for dessert but the Banana Loaf with Salted Caramel just screamed “EAT ME” – so I did… // Our dessert selection; berry cheesecake, banana bread and one ginormous Anzac biscuit! // Hayley decided that the rule should be; cookies should always be at LEAST as big as your head. Yep, perfect!
All full from brunch and high on sugar and coffee we walked to the Columbia Road flower market. This well known London flower market is open every Sunday from Sundays from 8am ’til 3pm(ish). The street is transformed into oasis of foliage and flowers. Everything from bedding plants to 10 foot banana trees are up for grabs. The air is intense with the scent of flowers and the chant of the barrow boys “Everthin’ a fiver”? // We loved browsing around the market buying flowers and little plants for our homes. A little tip?They start closing up around 3pm so if you want to pick up a bargain stay until the end; as the prices will get lower and lower!
Happy girls with their flower and plant pot purchases! // Beside all the beautiful flowers, Columbia Road also has some lovely little independent shops. Small art galleries sit next to cup cake shops, vintage clothes stores, English and Italian delis, garden and antique shops. // I really loved the dark still life floral print and am still considering getting it!
After the markets had closed and we had all our purchases, we decided it was time for a refreshment stop. Ezra Street is a little side street of Columbia Road where people will sit around on the pavement listing to street musicians and sip beers, ciders or Prosecco! With ciders in hand we joined in and soaked up the last bits of sunshine for the day. // With the talented photographer Rory on hand I just couldn’t resist squeezing in a little photo shoot which caused a few giggles – more pictures to follow! // Feeling very Dutch when heading home on my bike with my orange tulips tied onto the back.
What a perfect day :)
