Night Tales

Remember Street Feast back in the summer?
An East London warehouse full of food trucks and stalls, serving hungry foodies whilst the evening sunshine lasted well into the night.
Then winter arrived, and suddenly standing outside all evening didn't seem so appealing.

Just because the sun has faded and the nights are colder, doesn't mean that us foodies have to hibernate away. Street food is still at large (with added winter coats), with a range of pop-ups appearing around London.

Say Hello to one of them... Night Tales.

The latest food fest to appear this winter over in Dalston under a huge canopy.
Its three gold coins at the entrance, which lets you into a world of food and drink that will ensure you need to be rolled out at the end of the night!
From oriental to american, Italian pizza fritta's to west country cider, you are in for a treat!

Stomachs rumbling, we headed straight to grab some food.
First stop, BAO for some starters.

Pork belly is one of my fav foods, and you know how much I love fried chicken from my visit to Joe's the other week.
So, understandably, I ordered both.
Just look at all that pulled pork. 

And whoever came up with Soya Milk fried chicken is a genius.
Sorry Colonel Sanders, you have got nothing on these guys!

As for the Pork Belly Bun, they were miniature pieces of heaven.
If you are a bit unsure, then I urge you to try these! Honestly, they were that good!

There are queues for most food stalls, but trust me, it is worth the wait for each one of them!

Over at Pizza Pilgrims, they were serving up Pizza Frittas filled with sausage and mozzarella, or mushroom and ricotta.
J went for one and I went for the other, but the mushroom and ricotta pipped the other as the best tasting!

You have to excuse the lack of focus on the camera - I was too excited to eat these!

I have heard so much about Pizza Pilgrims, and became a fan just from these little frittas. I can't wait to go try out their restaurant menu!

There is also an upstairs area where you can hide aware form the busy crowds and grab a few drinks before you take on the next batch of food.

Ready for another round of food, we headed back over to BAO for more chicken and pork belly bun's.

Before rounding off at Smokey Tails.
Chicken wings smothered in buffalo sauce, and smokey Mac'N'Cheese on the side.
Again, I had to have both!
We grabbed a spot, sat down and tucked in.

Smokey Mac'N'Cheese is so good! The added 'smokey' BBQ flavour adds that extra pow! that has been missing all these years!
As for the delicious wings, lets just say that it got a little messy with all that sauce!

With the night vibes in full swing, we carried on with the mulled cider and chatted away to other foodie lovers who were trying to eat and drink sensibly too.

We failed at both, not that we were too disappointed!
With the night coming to a close, we staggered and pulled each other away from the food stalls, and off into the Dalston night.

Night Tales is on every Thursday, Friday and Saturday up until Christmas. You can find them here, and be sure to arrive with an empty stomach.
I mean, not-eaten-all-day kind of empty stomach!

See you there!

The Dubai Brunch

Okay, so if you read the title and thought 'Brunch, what's so special about that?' then bear with me on this. Brunch in Dubai is not like any other brunch, and will leave you feeling much more rounded and dizzy than a mid morning brunch in the UK.

To start, it is on a Friday afternoon.
Every hotel in Dubai has their own Brunch going on...
It is an all you can drink, and all you can eat feast.
Finally, it goes on from 12pm to 5pm. Which is just enough time to blur your vision!

Grabbing yet another taxi (you honestly cannot walk anywhere), we drove to down-town Dubai for our Brunch Experience. 
We arrived at Double Decker, which is part of the Rotana Hotel, paid our 250AED (£50) and headed on inside to get started.

The food, as expected, was amazing. From a traditional roast dinner, to curries, steaks and pastas, there was choice for everyone.
You seriously have to experience a Brunch if you are ever in Dubai. It is worth the money and it is a great way to get chatting to the locals and tourists.

After an afternoon of eating and drinking, mixing with other groups, and experiencing a Dubai Brunch, we headed back to the apartment just in time to catch the sunset from Stacey's rooftop.

Cue more photo opportunities for the Dubai 2013 album!

Plus, there is nothing better than taking an evening dip in the pool (sober, of course!).

One thing you notice is how much Dubai is constantly changing. New buildings are always popping up, trying to outdo the next door neighbour in height and style, and workmen stand there in the sweltering heat, trying to get as much work done as possible. 

Even at night, when we headed out for drinks at Barista, the workmen were still going, making this city even greater than it already is!

I don't think I am ready to go home just yet...

The Black Belt

Hundreds of spectators cheering on their sons, daughters, loved ones and friends. The thud of someone hitting the floor. The sight of St Johns Ambulance staff running to the next injury. The high kicks and quick punches. The clapping and woops for the champions.

Welcome to the South West Tae Kwon Do Championships, and on Saturday I found myself revisiting it once again.

Tae Kwon Do is a bit like Karate, but based more on self-defence and comes from Korea. I can't remember when I started it, but by the time I was 14 I had my black belt, and a few years later I was competing in championships. However, with going to university and already achieving my goal of becomming black belt, I gave up the sport. At the time my sister was training to get her black belt, and all these years later I still find myself at the competitions cheering her on.

When you compete, you can take part in either patterns (a series of set moves, marked on technique) or sparring (ful contact fighting!), or both! In the past I took part in both, and today my sister was doing the same. She had huge success a couple of years ago, with sparring trophies from the Great British Championships, English and South West again. With a couple of years away from competition, it was time to get back into it.

The patterns are based on the technical elements, and to a general spectator it can seem a tad bland. However, the trophies are just as prestigious, so you can imagine the cheer we gave when my sister came first for her pattern.

The sparring is where the excitement really kicks in. You have anyone from small 4 year old girls and boys, to full adults taking part. Each person has to wear protective gloves and helmet etc, and each age group is split into weight categories to make it fair. Then two people take to the area, and literally go for each other over a set period of time, aiming for the point areas of the body whilst defending theirs.

I am going to moan for one moment, because this really angered me yesterday. At some other competitions, there are soft mats on the areas to help if anyone falls. Yesterday, the ground was a standard badminton court floor that is pretty solid. One fight involved two teenagers, and one of them punched the opponent in the face when he was in mid air. He went horizontal and fell to the floor, hitting his head with such a thump that everyone heard. He stood up, swayed around and then fell to the floor with concussion. The protective helmet helped, but surely a protective mat on the floor would have help prevent him collapsing.

My sister managed a third in her sparring competition, which is a great results after so long away from competition. The only problem I had was the slight urge to grab my old kit and join back in with the competition! Then again, there is always next year!

If you want to know more about Tae Kwon Do, then check out their website here.

Snowy Sunday

I shouldn't really be out in the snow when I have just got over a case of Man Flu, but screw it! There is so much snow up on an area called Devils Dyke, in Sussex, that I couldn't not go.
Devils Dyke is a great area to go if you have a dog, or enjoy a bit of walking with amazing views. If you don't fancy the walking, then visit the pub, with the same name, and take in the views from there.
Whilst I love snow, I hate being cold, so once I had wrapped up enough layers and socks to make me feel like I am on a beach, I headed off to see the views and throw some snowballs. Oh, and watch some of the para-gliders throw themselves off the hillside too.

Blue Jumper from Topman, and coat from Barbour :)