Casa Roja

We are back at the airport this morning with his and hers sombreros and maracas, and la Isla bonita playing from our small speaker. 

Steak and Sparklers

After those beach sprints and topping up the tan all day, it was time for another dinner.

A lot of restaurants along the sea front in any holiday resort have people outside begging you to come in with a 'ThisIsWhatWeHaveTonightAndIWillTalkAsFastAsICanIn10Seconds' monologue, and some of them are really nice places to eat too.

A few years ago, Mum and Dad found this local spanish restaurant one evening when wandering towards the old port. There wasn't a a huge open front with tables showing, just a door with a name above it. 

They took the plunge and went in to see what it had to offer.

The Rum Kitchen

I am going to let you in on a little secret of mine, whilst also hanging my head in shame.
Ready?
I am a little fussy with food.

Okay, little is probably the wrong word to use, and let's just say fussy. I'm not one of those people who won't try new foods, but at the same time a plate of salad is something I will not go near. Although ever since I have been in London, I have been purposely trying new foods as much as I can as there are so many places to go!

I love food (a little too much sometimes) although with my training I have to be careful about what I eat, but I can have the occasional cheat days, like eating this bad boy...

Back To Brighton

It's time for a road trip out of London.

Cue a sunglasses selfie on the M23 and off we go!

Chicken Or Steak

Ever since I got back from Skiing in Switzerland, I have been constantly training for the upcoming track season.

Constant training brings constant eating with it, and the urge to eat everything that is around me! Plus, it is easy to fall into the mindset of 'I can eat anything because I burn so much' when you head out to dinner, when really your erasing the good work you did earlier on!

I am always wishing that every food is good for you.

Though this menu at Tramshed looks pretty good, doesn't it?

Pizza East

It's wet January, payday seems so far away, and everyone in London seems to be taking part in Dry January after inhaling too much alcohol in the lead-up to Christmas and on New Year's Eve.

Myself included.

I spent a little bit more than I should have on presents and Christmas drinking this year, so much so that like everyone else, I am hoping payday would be tomorrow, not a couple of weeks away.

To wash away the grey and gloomy January (seriously, when will the rain stop?), me and Frankie thought a post-Christmas catch up hiding from the rain would be a good way to cheer ourselves up!

Anyone for pizza?

Imli Street Soho

So after a night of being an Italian in London at The House of Peroni, it was time for a bit of a change.

This time by adding a bit of spice in our lives in the heart of Soho.

Sham has been telling me for ages about Imli Street on Wardour St., and how amazing their Indian food is. At one point it was open and then it was closed down (You could sense the sadness in his voice when he told me that!). 
Then it re-opened, Sham was over the moon, and now we were about to have a curry catch up.

We got there early, grabbed a spot and ordered some cocktails to kick off our evening.
I went for the 'Rustic Ruby' which was a mix of grappa, violette, apple juice, wild berries and Prosecco...

Which went down perfect whilst we launched into an overdue catch up.
Sham went for the Bombay to Soho cocktail, which was full of Bombay gin, pomegranate, lime, and ginger ale. 

We ordered a few tapas-style dishes to pick at whilst we chatted and drank our way through the night, before we ordered our mains.

Now, I am a tikka masala addict. So with Sham telling me how amazing this place was for their food, I thought I should try it to see how it compared!

It was pretty decent! Not too spicy, not too bland, and the chicken was so tender it fell apart when I went near it with my knife!
All in all, pretty impressive!

It came with the standard rice, which was light and airy, and almost not enough for the masala. 
The crispy onion bhaji's made up for that though!

Sham went for the Naanwich.
Yes, a sandwich made with Naan bread, with dipping sauce on the side, and looked absolutely amazing!
It was a simple idea, and I don't know why I have never thought of it before. Inside, it was filled with scrambled paneer, peppers and rocket, and then toasted slightly to give the naan some warmth and crisp on the edges.
I am going to try to make these at home sometime. You can put whatever you want inside, though I think I might stick to Indian influences.

Apparently it was tasty! It was gone quicker than you can say 'samosa.'

The restaurant usually doesn't have any queues, which is refreshing for London! We got in there early and by the time we were finishing the last drop of our drinks before we moved on, the place was full of hungry visitors!

So my advice would be to get there early to avoid waiting, stock up on the cocktails and nibble your way through the evening - they serve food till 11pm!

London is so hard to find a decent Indian, but Imli Street was great! It tasted great, the food was authentic, and the service was good too! 

The menu can be found here, and their location is right here for you.

Enjoy! 

Joe's Southern Kitchen

Joe's Southern Kitchen and Bar opened in Covent Garden back in the summer, and has been tweeting mouth watering pictures of their food ever since!

Everytime I saw a picture of their food, I had to ignore it. Deep southern fried food is a no-go for me during the summer, as I am competing on the track and trying to stay in shape. 

This isn't the summer anymore, though. Whilst I am still training hard, I couldn't resist finally going for some southern fried chicken.

After-all, chicken is protein, so I am technically eating good!

Dad had been up in London for meetings all day, so we met up for some post-work drinks and made our way over to Covent Garden to grab dinner. 
Be prepared to wait a little bit for a table, as it is pretty busy most evenings. You can grab a spot at the bar, and try out some of the cocktails.

 

Coat from Topman, shirt from River Island.

A Long Island Iced Tea and a pot of peanuts later, our table was ready.
By this point, I am starving. The smell of the food was crazy good, and there was only so many peanuts you could eat to kill the hunger!

Seated, ready to eat, and another round of drinks later, our starters came out. 

I went for the Joe's chicken wings, full American style.

With an extra helping of BBQ sauce.

(Which, by the way, is absolutely amazing. I need a bottle of this in my kitchen cupboard!)

If you want finger licking good food then this hits the spot!

Whilst dad went for the corn and monterey jack rice balls.

All in all, a pretty good start.
There could have been a couple more rice balls, but it was almost as if good ol' Joe was saying 'Here is a teaser of whats to come.'

Boy, was he right. Out came the mains.

Goodbye training diet for one night, and hello Southern Fried Chicken, buttermilk marinated and then deep fried in their pressure fryer!

4 pieces of Joe's finest chicken, deep fried to perfection.
Chicken. Chicken. Chicken, Chicken.

Here's a closer look..

Looks tasty doesn't it!
No knives and forks were used in the eating of this chicken! It is all about the hands!

Four pieces were enough to fill you up after the starter, and throwing on some more BBQ sauce made it taste even better. Plus, because it was in a pressure fryer, it wasn't as greasy as some of those chicken shops on the high street!
Believe me, it was simply amazing. Crispy, juicy chicken, with a side of spicy potatoes.

Which set my mouth on fire! (Though I am a mango and lime Nandos kind of guy!)

Dad went for Joe's Dry Aged Burger...

Cheese, caramalised onions, bacon, pickle and a burger, all surrounded by a sea of skin-on fries.
Which disappeared before I could take anymore photos of it, but in the west country words of dad.. 'That were pretty good wern't it, rare just 'ow I like it.'
You can take the man out of the countryside, but not the countryside out of the man!

I couldn't stomach desert, I was too full from the starter and mains, so we grabbed the bill and made our way back out into the London night.

Joe's, it was awesome. I will be back and I will have desert!

If you want to go try out their food, then you can book a table here, have a quick look at the menu here, and find them on Twitter here.

If you don't book, don't worry. They hold back a number of tables every night for walk-ins! #Winning

Five Guys

If you need somewhere quick to go for a bit to eat tonight, then this could be the place for you!

I have been absolutely dying to get down to Five Guys in Covent Garden. There has been so much hype surrounding their arrival from America to set up shop in London, so the moment I touched down from Dubai it was at the top of my go-to list.

So, I grabbed Frankie from work, and we made our way to Seven Dials with empty stomachs.
Time for a burger, Five Guys style!

We placed our orders, and waited eagerly as we watched our burgers moved closer to our pick up point.

We both went for the Bacon Double Cheeseburger and Small Fries. 

I have read quite a few reviews about Five Guys, but the best (and also mentioned on their screens) is by my friend Rose who runs The Londoner...

'Heaven in a brown paper bag.'

Ready to see whats inside?

Hello bad boy.
In the words of every hungry person out there... Get in my belly!

Here's a quick tip though... Order a small fries! There are so many of them!

The burgers tasted uh-mazing! They are up there with the big gun burger-joints of London, but with an American twist. 

The best thing about Five Guys, apart from the burgers, are the drinks. There are over 150 to chose from!
Yes, you read that right. 1-5-0.
There is this huge machine which you walk up to, chose your type of drink from Fanta, to Sprite, to Coca Cola, and then chose the flavour.

I introduced myself to Strawberry Sprite, whilst Frankie went for Peach Fanta, both of which were spot on in taste, and perfect to wash down our dinner!
Falling into a burger coma, we swigged the last of our drinks and made our way back out into the London night. 
Those empty stomachs were full of American goodness! You have to go pay them a visit, and they can be found here in Covent Garden, and they have a store opening in Islington in November!

Or if you don't have time for a sit down, you can order ahead for take away here! 

Goodbye Dubai

Like every city you visit, there is never enough time to see everything you want to, so the final day in Dubai was going to be a busy one, trying to fit in everything we can.
Fortunately for me and Hannah, we didn't have to be at the airport until midnight, so had heaps of time to cram in some last minute sunbathing and touristy things.

Kicking off, of course, with breakfast at the world famous Dubai Golf Course.

The breakfast was amazing, all cooked fresh and you could eat as much as you wanted (perfect!) whilst over-looking some early morning golfers teeing off. 
With full stomachs, we had a few hours spare to top up the tan, so headed over to Barasti Beach Club to grab a bed.
The trick to this is to make sure you get there at about 11am, just as it opens. As the beds are free, it gets busy really quick.

 

When I arrived in Dubai, I expected to be wowed by the size of the buildings. Instead, I was a little bit like 'Meh, they don't look that tall.'
Then I started counting the floors. 
When I got to 10, which is the level I work on, and took a look upwards, I finally had that wow moment.
They literally go upwards and upwards.

The temperature kept rising on the final day, until it was 43 degrees. 
It was simply a case of; Grab a strawberry daiquiri, sunbathe and drink said daiquiri, run into the sea to cool down.
Although the sea was like a bath, it was so warm!

You can't go to the beach on holiday, and not write the city and date in the sand can you!

A late-afternoon dash back to the apartment to shower, pack, and let our swimwear dry, was followed by a trip to the Dubai Mall for dinner.
This is the worlds biggest mall, with probably the biggest aquarium I have ever seen!

T-Shirt is from Taxonomy, Shorts from Topman (similar here). 

For our final meal, we went to More, which overlooks the lake.
I am genuinely going to miss the food in Dubai. Everywhere we ate was so good, and this was no exception again.

Salmon on a bed of mash potato for Stacey

I opted to get back into the British spirit by going to the biggest fish and chips possible.

Whilst Hannah went for the Duck noodles, which were insanely good!

Even more rounder than we were after breakfast, we headed outside to grab a spot in preparation for what we came to the Mall for.
The Dubai Fountains.

This is the largest choreographed dancing fountains in the world, and they play every 30 minutes in the evening, right next to the Burj Khalifa.

 

 

It was so good! The water went so high that the spray was like a miniture shower - which was much needed in the evening humidity and heat!
We watched the show a couple more times, whilst having some drinks in between, before heading off round the mall to explore more and grab some last minute gifts, before we headed back to grab our cases.

Our trip to Dubai was coming to an end, and the final thing to do was to have some drinks on the balcony, overlooking this fantastic city.

Then, before we knew it, we said our goodbyes to Stacey, promised we would be back next year, and headed off to Dubai International to catch our flight back to London.
I was flying with Royal Brunai, who were a great airline to fly with. They flew overnight, which was fine with me as those drinks on the balcony sent me straight to sleep after we had taken off.

Goodbye Dubai, you were awesome!