A wet bank holiday weekend and a lot of Italian food

As required by English weather law (not formally acknowledged in any statute or case law) a bank holiday weekend must include at least one day of rain. Unfortunately, the August bank holiday abided by this law.

Post work and gym on Friday, I met my brother Rudy in London, taking him out to dinner to Bella Italia on the Strand. When it comes to Italian food, I am not a fan of chains; I genuinely think there are too many good Italian restaurants in the city to resort to them but since by brother is a fan of the place, we went there. The food was mediocre -the garlic pizza bread we shared was slightly too greasy and the pasta I had wasn't something I couldn't make myself- after too much food we met Richard and headed to the arcade on Southbank for a game of bowling. As I didn't come last, I was quite pleased with the outcome.

Saturday morning proved to be quite lazy. Having let Rudy sleep until 10am, I decided to be the horrid sister and wake the boy up. After breakfast, we all went to play some tennis at Wimbledon Park which was really quite nice, especially as there were moments of sunshine. Having showered and changed, we went to Rubino's for an Italian lunch. I decided on a huge lunch by ordering a calzone which tasted ok but wasn't anything out of the ordinary - this may just be my limited-calzone-eating experience talking, though. After a quick trip to Wimbledon, Rudy went home and me and Richard headed back to the flat for a little while after which I started prepping dinner and for a night out with Rosie and Chloe. Both are two of my favourite people to go out with so it was lovely to spend a night out together (at the Slug in Fulham) which was fun.

No I don't usually eat my pizza with sugar; it's just to show
how big the calzone actually was

Unfortunately, I ended up paying for the fun night out, come Sunday morning. I ended up wasting most of Sunday, spending it on the sofa which was a little disappointing. Towards the evening, me and Richard headed up to Wimbledon Village for some coffee at Paul which was so lovely and relaxing, as we sat there and people (and dog) watched.

Waking up on Monday, I was ready to be productive and make the most of the additional work-free day but that optimism and energy soon faded as soon as I saw the endless amounts of rain outside. Nevertheless, being unable to stay in for another day, me and Richard decided to take on the rain and head out to Clapham Junction. Since the best medicine for a miserable, rainy day is banana bread, our first stop was Birdhouse. It seemed that the torrential rain kept most people at home which meant we got a free table straight away. Result! Having had our lovely, comforting slice, we faced the outside yet again and walked around some shops before deciding that lunch was overdue. Having walked up and down Northcote Road, we decided on Café Tamra, managing to grab the last available table. The café was really warm and cosy, with lovely cushions and what seemed to be a Lebanese inspired menu. Richard had some bruschetta with oven roasted tomatoes and melted cheese (so good) whilst I had the Superfood Salad, which amongst many other things, had grilled halloumi, falafels and roasted veg. The salad tasted incredible and although not the cheapest thing on the menu, was definitely worth it and very filling. Our lovely lunch over and done with, we decided to grab some comfy seats and coffee at Starbucks, before grabbing some food for dinner and heading home. It was a great day (in spite of the weather) and the evening was spent, just as it should have been; watching telly under the duvet!

 
Muah

 
Roo xx

Revisiting Exeter

After a hectic and much-too-long week, I took a trip down memory lane back to Exeter. It is the city that I spent three years of my life in, growing up and becoming much of the Roo that I am today (in fact it is where I was given the name). Haven't had visited Exeter since my graduation back in 2012, when Bex and her fiancé, Pie invited me and Richard to join them for the weekend, I just couldn’t say no.

With train tickets to Exeter on the rise, me and Richard were economical and decided to get the coach up to Devon, early on Saturday morning. Very early. We were still a little bleary eyed when we both left the flat and upon reaching Victoria, I had my wake up call from a Starbucks 3 shot latte. That just about set me up for the long journey into the South West. Armoured with snacks, Richard and magazines for company, the journey wasn’t too bad until we hit traffic, a which point my fidgety, restless persona came out in full and I was ready to walk to Exeter. Reaching the city an hour later than we should have, we met Bex in town, the first thing on our to-do list being lunch. We picked a table outside Exeter Cathedral and had soups and salads for lunch, before going up to Pennsylvania Court (uni accommodation, post uni), dropping our bags off and walking up to campus.

It being the summer holidays, campus was almost completely deserted. Bex, Richard and I walked around most of campus, going up the hills, down them and back up again, pointing out to Richard the buildings where most of our three years were spent (Amory Building) and our escape places (the café in Devonshire House). It was nice to walk around and reminisce; having spent 3 very significant years of my life in Exeter, I had more (mostly fond) memories of my time there, than I realised.

After a bit of a rest back at the room, we all got ready and out for dinner and drinks. When at university, mine and Bex’s go-to place for going out was Timepiece. Although we had no plans to go out dancing, we decided to have our first drink there. We were the first ones there, as the place had opened and had a nice, relaxing drink before heading out for dinner. As soon as we decided to come to Exeter, it was decided that Saturday’s dinner would be had at the Old Firehouse. The Old Firehouse is a 19th Century listed building, with small staircases, leading to several different floors, with a great, lively atmosphere and less than comfortable wooden-bench seating. Having bought our drinks at the bar, we made several trips up and down flights of stairs, in an attempt to find a table. The mini-trek was definitely worth it, however as not many places can offer incredible, 14-inch pizzas for less than £10! We shared 2 pizzas between the four of us (with Cajun chicken and pepperoni) which we were even better than I remembered and in spite of being beyond stuffed, were unable to leave a slice uneaten.

With our bellies full, we decided that there is always room for a cocktail or two, for which we went to the Monkey Suit which had its reggae night. We enjoyed some lovely cocktails (my first one was the Jam Jar which, not all that surprisingly came in a jar but tasted like strawberry iced tea - yum!) and music, people-watching as they danced in what they seemed to think was reggae-appropriate manner. Bex and Pie left after a drink, whilst myself and Richard decided to stay for another and enjoy the nice, relaxing atmosphere. When I was no longer able to keep my eyes fully open, we decided to head back to our room and call it a night.

Having had almost but not quite enough sleep on Sunday, we had a truly student-appropriate breakfast (or two) at Whetherspoons. We chose to go to the Imperial which was the first place that I went to as a student with my new flatmates, on my first day in Exeter. Whilst the food is typical and not-at-all-exciting, the Imperial does have an Orangery (apparently that's a thing. Translation: huge conservatory) which is always nice to sit in. After too much food for breakfast, we headed to the Quay for a mooch around the independent shops and having walked some of the breakfast off, we had more food; Cream Tea at Jolly Rogers, who may just have the best scones and jam in the county (disclaimer: this hasn't been extensively tested). After our cream teas, Bex and Pie started their drive back to Worcester, whilst me and Richard walked back up into town. We mooched around some shops and grabbed dinner at Wagamama, before boarding the coach for our journey back to London. 

It was a wonderful weekend, spent with wonderful people, in a city that will always have a special place in my heart. 

Good night lovies!

Muah

Roo xx

War Horse

Thursday marked the birth of the most important woman in my life; my mother. Unfortunately, I don't get to spoil my mum as much as she deserves, so I do try to make a special effort on Mother's Day and her birthday. Rather than buying a piece of clothing or a piece of memorabilia, I try to spend time with her, doing something she doesn't usually have time for. This year, I decided to take her to the theatre to see War Horse.

Having a seen a few (but not nearly enough) plays, my experience has been limited to musicals, drama's and Shakespeare. I was therefore, slightly unsure how much I (and mum) would enjoy a production which involved puppetry (in spite of the endless positive reviews). Nevertheless, I figured it would be an experience and a first both for my mum and myself. It was also the only time I went to see a theatre production, where I have neither read the related literature, nor seen the relevant film beforehand.

Having rushed out of the office, a couple of minutes before the clock struck 5:30, I met mum at London Bridge, from where we went to Dim T. I've mentioned the Japanese restaurant before in a post, and having been impressed with it the first time, decided to introduce my mum to it and made sure I booked a table on the second floor which provided us with the lovely and quite damp view of Tower Bridge. I have to say, the staff were so friendly and polite. It is not something I noticed on my first visit, but when there with mum, the staff were really attentive, very helpful and friendly. The food was pretty great too. For starters, we shared some fish cakes which although quite standard, were made to stand out by the accompanying dipping sauce; it was a clear sauce which had the perfect combination of spice and sweetness. We both almost drowned our fish cakes in it! As for mains, we both had Thai Green Chicken Curry with coconut rice. It's not something I order often but this curry proved to be quite delicious (in addition to the chicken, there was aubergine and other veg which weren't overcooked and managed to stay crunchy yet warm and comforting too) although perhaps could have had a bit more of a kick in terms of spicy-ness. After our lovely dinner, we rushed off to the New London Theatre - n.b. whilst Dim T is a great place for dinner, with wonderful views, it may be a little too far from the theatre for a relaxed journey up to there!

Unfortunately we were 10 minutes late getting to the theatre but whilst we were led to our seats, we were given an explanation of what we missed which turned out not to be all that important. I don't want to give too much away about the play for those who haven't seen it but will say that the production was absolutely incredible! As I am sure most are aware, the horses are controlled by some men but after a minute or two of watching the horses, their life-like movement and far too realistic noises, you forget that the men are there at all and only pay attention to the horses themselves. The story was incredibly moving with a bits of comedy in the stark World War One setting. Aside from the impressive puppetry, what stood out for me was the balanced perspective of the war; the middle of the play was split, offering both German and English experiences of the war. Having read endless amounts of WW1 literature, this is seldom achieved and I felt it made the play even more poignant and moving. Both me and my mum absolutely loved the production and I may go as far as to say, it may be the best play I have yet seen!

Happy birthday Mum!

Muah,

Roo xx

A rare relaxing weekend

Having had a fairly hectic, sleep deprived week - which included lots of catch ups, birthday drinks and panic Hen Party planning - a relaxing weekend was much needed, especially considering I won't be having any more of those for the next 8 weeks...

Having had a quick session at the gym and a bite to eat at Itsu, I started the weekend with Alex's birthday drinks at Katzenjammers by London Bridge, which promised authentic Bavarian Beer. The place isn't overly large, but what it lacks in size, it more than makes up for in noise levels! We managed to grab a table, and squashed on to the benches more people than should have been possible. I had a cider for the night, thereby missing out on the Bavarian beer - I'm sure if you're a beer fan, it would have been quite a treat! The place also served food which I skipped on, having had dinner but it looked soooo good. They had typical German sausages with all the potato and pickled cabbage you could wish for! Although it was nice to see Alex and celebrate her birthday with her, I have to the say the place was so loud; I couldn't hear the person sitting next to me. Nevertheless, that is the beauty of having Alex as a friend; I end up visiting places, I would never ordinarily do...

On Saturday, having had a lovely lie in and lazy morning, me and Richard shared a pizza for lunch at Franco Manca, choosing the Meat Feast which was very good indeed! Lunch finished, we headed to Westfield, both in search of shoes for Edita and Donatas' upcoming wedding. Whilst the wedding shoe search failed, it was nice to walk around the shops, which I haven't done in ages. We did take slightly longer than expected and had to suddenly bring our window shopping to a halt, rush home, grab a bottle of Rose from the fridge and head back out to West Kensington for dinner at Indian Express (as suggested by the name, they serves Indian food). The place is basically a takeaway with 5 or so tables in the reception which allows you to have a sit down meal. Whilst completely unpretentious, with minimal décor, the food was incredible! Me and Richard shared some onion bhajis and samosas for starters and for mains, Richard had vegetable biryani whilst I had Thai Green Tikka Curry with pilau rice - it was something I had never seen on an Indian menu before and as it came highly recommended, I decided to give it a go. The dish proved to have a sweetness to it but didn't have the thick creaminess to a typical Tikka which proved to be a great, delicious combination. It was a lovely meal which we enjoyed with a bottle of wine (that we brought ourselves since the place doesn't sell alcohol) with the nicest, most friendly staff I have met in a long time! They even gave us a pistachio (and something else) flavoured ice cream, as it was our first visit there which was very tasty too. We walked off our dinner by mooching back to West Brompton station, fully intending to visit Indian Express again.

Waking up to the sound of rain pelting down and the wind oozing, was never going to make for a very productive Sunday. Having spent far too much of the morning doing absolutely nothing, we had brunch at home (Richard made omelette) and eventually headed to Wimbledon to run some errands, getting caught in some torrential rain, leaving us both soaked, in spite of using an umbrella. Having bought some ingredients for dinner, we headed back to Southfields for a drink at Starbucks. I spent the afternoon reading a magazine, whilst Richard was doing something or other on his phone. It was so nice to just sit and read and not do anything at all! Having not done it in such a long time, I forgot how much I had missed it! The rest of the day was spent watching either ATP tennis or a Michael McIntyre DVD and eventually making a chicken stir-fry for dinner. The ideal Sunday, in my books.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Muah

Roo xx

Summer BBQ

It has been a busy week this week but thankfully the weekend will start once again in a couple of hours. Yay!

Whilst not doing anything overly touristy or exciting last weekend, it proved to be a truly great couple of days to end a busy and hectic week which was filled with work, gym and runs home to show the flat around to prospective new flatmates.

With some flat viewings taking place over the weekend too, my days away from work were slightly dictated by that but I was determined to have at a relaxing, quiet Friday, at the very least so after a quick session at the gym, I headed to Clapham Junction to meet Richard, following which we headed to Battersea for an evening picnic in the park (given my new found love of Battersea Park). We had the best picnic treats including cheese, a fresh baguette, some Italian meats and even some fruit slices, along with some wine. We managed to pick a quiet spot in the park and enjoyed the fresh, just-warm-enough air, not doing much people watching since it felt like we were the only ones in the park. Once the park got dark and the foxes came out (one having temporarily stolen my shoe, before dropping it to the ground) we headed back to Clapham Junction and not wanting to go home just yet, went to The Plough up the road. The Plough strikes the perfect balance between a pub and bar - the entire place has a rustic feel with comfy sofas but is slightly too nice and proper to be a pub, especially with the rather loud music played by the DJ later in the evening. We grabbed some ciders and just chatted and people watched, before heading back to the flat. It was the perfect evening to start the weekend.

After numerous viewings on Saturday morning, me and Richard made our way to Beckton (that's right, Beckton, East London - not my sort of place at all) to go to the Lithuanian supermarket, Lituanica. Since my mum mentioned it to Richard a couple of weeks ago, he's been insisting on going there to see what it's like (apparently it's his introduction to Lithuania before our trip there in September). There's nothing exciting to say about Lituanica; I managed to buy a couple of foods that I've missed, bought a Tiramisu cake and met mum (and Edita) who took us back to hers, where we spent a lovely late afternoon and evening, eating far too much, having delicious BBQ chicken (Lithuanian style' i.e. marinated for days and with rice) and the perfect amount of alcohol. We spent the whole time in the garden chatting and eating and talking far too much about me as a child.

Sunday brought yet more viewings and the day was mostly spent at the flat, not doing much at all. It was absolute bliss. My perfectly lazy Sunday morning was complete by Richard making pancakes for breakfast (South African style) which were yummy! We even managed to go and play some tennis at Wimbledon Park which was great, considering I haven't done that in a while. After an exceptionally long flat viewing in the evening, there was only time for dinner and an episode of Suits to end the weekend.

Only one thing left to say now and that is, Happy Friday guys!

Muah,

Roo xx

Recipe: Chicken Katsu curry

As some (actually, most) of my posts may suggest, I am a bit of a foodie. It is one of the very few things that make me a true Lithuanian and is thanks to my parents' appreciation of good food from all around the world. Aside from shop-bought curries and pizzas, I don't really buy much ready-made food, except in dire circumstances and try to - as much as possible - to eat healthily (this can of course be a bit of a hit and miss, especially when it comes to the weekend).

I mentioned that I made a Chicken Katsu Curry a couple of weeks ago. The recipe is  predominantly from Cook Yourself Thin which I amended slightly, taking inspiration from my brand new Hemsley & Hemsley cookbook. So here is my slightly altered recipe for a Chicken Katsu Curry, Roo-style. Hope you guys like it...

(Unfortunately, I was too hungry and tired to take any pictures, so I had to rely on some food-inspired photos online)

Ingredients (serves 2)
For the "breaded" chicken pieces 

• 2 pieces of chicken breast 
• 90g ground almonds
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 egg, beaten lightly 
• Salt and pepper to taste

For the curry sauce

• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil 
• 1/2 onion, peeled and chopped
• 3 whole cloves of garlic, peeled
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped 
• 1 tablespoon flour (I like to use wholemeal but plain is fine too) 
• 1/2 tablespoon curry powder
• 300ml chicken stock
• 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/4 teaspoon garam masala

Now for the cooking part...

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200C.
2. Mix the ground almonds, cumin, oregano and thyme on a plate; add seasoning if required. Dip the chicken breast in egg and then coat fully in the seasoned almonds. Place the chicken on a tray and into the oven (for about 45mins, depending on the size of the chicken).
3. To make the sauce, heat the oil in a small plan. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 2mins. Then, add the chopped carrot and cook under a low heat for 10mins, with the lid on, stirring occasionally. You need to sweat the vegetables until softened and starting to caramelise (the vegetables may stick to the pan but even if a little burnt, it's fine; just add a couple of drops of water to the pan). 
4. Stir in the flour and curry powder, cooking the mixture for a minute. Slowly pour in the chicken stock, bit by bit until combined. Stir well to get rid of any lumps and then add the honey and soy sauce, bringing the mixture to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 20mins. 
5. Add the garam masala and season to taste. 
6. Pour the mixture through a sieve to create a thick sauce. You're supposed rid of the vegetables that remain in the sieve but I used it as a salsa for the chicken, using it as a side and it was really declicious. 
7. Once the chicken is cooked (this should take about 45mins, depending on the size of it), place the chicken on a plate and pour the sauce over. I served the chicken with brown rice and a salad of rocket, cherry tomatoes, orange and peppers.

Bon appetit!

Although there are quite a few steps to the recipe, it is actually very simple to make and is a really tasty and healthy meal. 

 

Muah,

Roo xx