Day Out: Roath Park

When the sun decides to shine upon the city of Cardiff, there's no better thing to do than take a little trip down to Roath Park. The park is originally a Victorian creation and was donated to the city by the Marquis of Bute in 1887. It contains many attractions such as the lake, the lighthouse, the Botanic Gardens, the Conservatory, and it's recently expanded Terra Nova Cafe which serves hot and cold meals all year round. 

The picturesque scenery by the lake is particularly stunning in the spring sunshine, and is the perfect place for a gentle stroll and a spot of lunch. The park is full of wildlife and is a brilliant place to bring young children as there's so much to see and do. You can go boating on the lake, play games on the grass, visit the playground, use the tennis/basketball courts, visit the gardens and much more! 

Myself and my housemate, Rae, bought a meal deal from Tesco (we would have eaten at Terra Nova but our student budgets didn't quite allow it unfortunately) and ate lunch on a bench by the lake whilst soaking up the rays. It was a perfectly delightful way to spend a sunny afternoon!

En route home, we stopped off at Joe's Ice Cream Parlour on Wellfield Road for a well deserved treat after our afternoon walk. Joe's Ice Cream originates in Swansea and reminds me so much of my Nanny as we always go for a Joe's at their Mumbles parlour when I visit her. I adore their vanilla ice cream as it's luxuriously creamy and yet not too sweet (vanilla ice cream with strawberry sauce and rainbow sprinkles is always my go-to flavour!). They have a range of flavours available, I've sampled a few in my time and they're all delicious, but I'll always be a vanilla girl at heart!

Do you enjoy visiting Roath Park?

Have you tried Joe's Ice Cream before?

Lunch Date: Coffee Barker

Coffee Barker is a New York coffee house/Parisian bistro inspired cafe found in Cardiff's Castle Arcade and is truly one of the city's little gems! The place itself is warm and inviting (as are the wonderfully helpful staff) and it's fabulous range of hot drinks, lunchtime nibbles, cakes and snacks are definitely a reason to get cosy in their comfy armchairs. The building is glass-fronted (perfect for those of you who love to people watch) and there is optional outdoor seating which is lovely as the arcade is covered so you're not open to the elements. 

Barker's offers homemade soup of the day (which changes in flavour regularly), panini's and jacket potatoes as their hot lunchtime menu, as well as a range of freshly made sandwiches which can be found in the chiller to the side of the counter. I've had their homemade tomato and basil soup before and loved it as it was packed full of flavour and was served, rather interestingly, in a metal saucepan with a loaf of crusty bread at its side - a perfect winter warmer! 

This time around, I decided to opt for a jacket potato filled with tuna mayo. It was served in a metal dish, not unlike the ones we used to take camping with us, which gave the dish a rather rustic feel. The tuna was seasoned nicely with salt and pepper adding a little bit of heat. The only slightly negative comment I could make is that I would have much preferred a side salad to a pot of coleslaw, but other than that no complaints whatsoever.

Overall I love Barker's and will definitely be revisiting for a light lunch or a coffee and a homemade cake. It's the perfect meeting place for a catch up with friends and is so cosy you won't want to leave! I one hundred percent recommend a visit here if you're ever looking for a nice little place to have a rest during a busy day in Wales' capitol city.

Have you been to Barker's before?

What were your experience?

Cheap and Cheerful Lunchtime: Revolution

On Mondays, myself and my course mates have the day off University, and seeing as the sun was shining and everyone was in a fabulous mood, me and Aaron decided to head off for a nice lunch together. On deciding where to go we came up with two criteria that we wanted the place to adhere to: cheap and tasty. And boy did Revolution deliver! 

On Mondays they have a Mega Monday 50% Off menu. When I first saw the sign I thought 'yeah, that's all well and good, but I bet there's hardly any choice on the menu' - I was so wrong! The 50% off menu included a huge variety of delicious dishes from fish and chips to stone baked pizza. It basically includes their entire menu, which caused much anxiety for us as we attempted to choose between the variety of delicious-sounding dishes on the menu. In order to buy ourselves some more time to choose our main we ordered a bowl of nachos to share.

The nachos were topped with cheese, jalapeños, sour cream, guacamole and salsa (they aren't included in the 50% off deal, but we couldn't resist!). The nachos were nice, but not as nice as I have had in other restaurants. In all honesty they were quite dry as there was a distinct lack of dip and the cheese:chip ratio wasn't what I'd usually like. If anything I'd have just liked more salsa as I love a soggy tortilla chip! Having said that, we didn't complain and polished off the lot between us within probably about 50 seconds.

After much deliberation, I finally settled on the chicken, chorizo and pesto pappardelle and it was lush! The thick ribbon pasta was tossed in rosemary, chorizo and sun blushed tomatoes, covered in a creamy pesto sauce, and topped with sugar snap peas. From the first bite the flavours were intense and delicious. I loved the creamy pesto and the sugar snap peas gave an added texture which worked incredibly well with the soft pasta. I also liked the fact that the staff served the added parmesan cheese in a container with a spoon and didn't put it on my food themselves, this meaning I could add as much or as little cheese as I'd like (perfecto!). The only complaint that I have is that it was slightly over seasoned - the extra salt in the dish made me quite thirsty but it was totally worth it for the scrumptious flavour!

Aaron decided to try out the blackened chicken burger and quickly announced that it was beautiful. The burger consisted of two pan-fried chicken breasts, coated in a blend of herbs and spices, with salad, mayonnaise, and served with a portion of chips and coleslaw on the side. The chicken itself was succulent and flavoursome, and spiced very well. There was a seeming abundance of chicken and it took him a while to chomp through it all (which is unusual for him as he's pretty much the king of burgers). I have to mention though, that he absolutely fell in love with the chips! He usually dislikes pre-salted chips, but he adored these as they were seasoned to perfection! The chips were perfectly crispy and came with the skin of the potato still on, which added texture. 

In total we ordered 2 mains, a portion of nachos to share and 2 soft drinks and it came to £21.84 - a wonderfully delicious student friendly lunch! I would definitely recommend you visit Revs for food (not just for an intoxicated night of fun and frolics) as it's fabulous quality and such a great price. You can check out the menu here if you'd like to have a little look before trying for yourself.

Have you been to Revolution for lunch before?

What did you think of the food?

Weekend Treat: Bill's Restaurant

To kick start the rugby weekend, me and my bestie Cari, decided to head off for lunch at Bill's Restaurant on Mill Lane in Cardiff City Centre. The food was absolutely delicious and such good value for money! 

Bill's is a chain restaurant which kick-started when Bill's fruit and veg stall was damaged by flooding in 2000. He reopened his stall as a sit-in restaurant that served fresh food from local produce and it swiftly became incredibly popular. And so the chain was born… 

I have to say, however, if Cari wouldn't have told me it was a chain restaurant I never would have guessed. It doesn't have the mass-produced feel of a TGI Fridays or Pizza Express. The atmosphere is cosy, welcoming and almost home-like, and its decor reflects this with its mish-mash of comfy arm chairs, wacky wall decorations and witty blackboards. 

The food is simplistic yet bursting with mouth-watering flavours - the perfect combination in my eyes. I was also surprised (and elated) to discover that Bill's offer large ranging breakfast, afternoon tea, children's and lunch and dinner menus - I would happily spend an entire day there sampling all the different menu options! 

After much deliberation and debate, I finally settled on having the 'Bill's Hamburger' with added cheese (priced at £9.95 with the monterey jack cheese being an additional £1.20). The burger was served in a sesame seed bun with red onion, tomato, lettuce, horseradish mayonnaise and skinny fries and it was blummin' marvellous! The burger itself was succulent and the horseradish mayonnaise added a lovely additional flavour which I've never sampled before. The chips were cooked to perfection (not too crispy, just how I love them!) and were in a perfect portion size. I would definitely recommend! 

Cari ended up having the slow cooked BBQ pork ribs (which I drooled over when they came out of the kitchen!) that were served with classic creamy coleslaw and sweet potato fries. Priced at £13.95, it may seem a bit steep at first, but when you see the portion size it is totally good value for money. I didn't sample the pork myself but from the rate that it was devoured I'd have said it was pretty delicious! The sweet potato fries were gorgeously sweet and so well seasoned that I was tempted to order a portion for myself (greedy I know, but they were just so good!)

Overall we had a lovely meal together and the helpful and approachable staff made us feel completely comfortable and relaxed within the restaurant. A really nice place for a bit of lunch and a catch up with friends and family. Oh, and I have to mention that our meal was made so much better with a sighting of George North who was eating at the Bill's too! Starting off the rugby weekend with a full belly and spotting a hunk of an international rugby player, what more could a girl want?

Have you tried out a Bill's Restaurant before?

What were your experiences?

My 20th Birthday: Dining at the Bosphorus Restaurant

I celebrated my 20th birthday on Tuesday surrounded by those that I love - what better way to see out your teenage years than with those special people who made your teens unforgettable? 

As I'm at University in Cardiff my parents decided to visit on the Saturday to go out for a birthday meal and get me a birthday present (a blog post about the lovely Bobbi Brown make-up products that they bought me will be posted within the week!) As a family we've holidayed in Turkey around 5 times, and absolutely love the cuisine, so naturally, when I heard fantastic things about the Bosphorus Restaurant in Cardiff Bay I couldn't wait to take them there to try it out! 

The location of the restaurant is stunning. It stands apart from the rest of the restaurants down at the bay as it is situated upon a jetty which pokes out into the water of the bay itself (as you can see from the image above). The glass walls provide stunning views across the bay and it was particularly gorgeous in the spring sunshine that we were lucky enough to have on the day! The restaurant itself is nice and spacious with a warm atmosphere - it was the perfect place for a little chin-wag with my parents over lunch. For food, we all opted for the 'healthy meal lunch' as it provided a selection of small dishes that would allow us to try out a range of their delicacies. The set meal is priced at £11.50 per person and I found it to be good value for money as it includes your starter and your main course! 

 

When the food arrived it came on one large plate. In Turkey dishes like this would have been served in multiple small bowls allowing everyone on the table to dip in and out of the foods they wished to sample - this didn't detract from the flavour of the food however. Each of us had humous, taramasalata, mixed nut salad, stuffed vine leaves, saksuka (a traditional middle-eastern tomato and aubergine dish), tzatziki (a yogurt based dish with mint and cucumber), a cheese and herb filled filo pastry, a lamb kebab, a chicken kebab and a Turkish meatball. The flavours of the food were really lovely - nothing in comparison to the food out in Turkey, but as good as you will find in this country. My faves on the plate had to be the cheese and herb filled filo pastry and the Turkish meatballs, they were stunning and had a perfect balance of flavour! One thing I love about Turkish cuisine is their ability to get portion sizes absolutely right. I ate the lot, was suitably full but not overly so - perfect for a pre-shopping meal! Of course we washed our lunch down with a couple of Efes beers (a Turkish-brand beer that my Dad absolutely loves) and a bottle of pink champagne to toast to my birthday.

On the day of my actual birthday I celebrated with my friends at my favourite night of the week (Sync at Revs!) A few free bottles of free champagne and some intoxicated dancing with my besties, what more could a girl want? Of course, being totally spoilt by my housemates with a gorgeous new dress was the cherry on top of the cake!

Have you tried the Bosphorus Restaurant? 

What's your favourite Cardiff night out of the week?

I look forward to reading your comments :) 

The Hunger Games Trilogy: The Books

I have to admit, I was never really that interested in reading the Hunger Games until I watched the first two films. I enjoyed the films as they're exciting and engaging, however, I couldn't help but thinking all the way through 'I bet the books of these are far better than the films'. And I was so right!

The books offer a level of detail that the films could never even dream of achieving. Collins' descriptive writing is fantastic and allows you to delve into the world of Katniss Everdeen as if you were walking alongside her. The book is written in first person, and so, gives an interesting first person account of Katniss' story and allows you to access her thoughts and feelings in a way that a third person narrative wouldn't allow. The narrative itself is fast-paced, exciting, and as each chapter ends with some form of enigma, it creates a thirst to read on. 

Collins' imagined post-apocalyptic nation of Panem is an enthralling concept. At the centre of the nation is the monumentally wealthy Capitol. The Districts serve the Capitol's every need: each District is in charge of the production of something for the Capitol (i.e coal, food, textiles), and it is from the Districts that the tributes are reaped for the annual hunger games. The majority of the Districts live in dire poverty and their anger towards the Capitol fuels their struggle towards rebellion. Katniss, unknowingly, ignites the rebellion through her defiant act against the Capitol within her first hunger games. The second and third books then follow Katniss' story as she becomes the face of the rebellion, the Mockingjay, and documents the efforts of the rebellion as they attempt to rise against the Capitol's power. 

The first two books are truly captivating reads, however, the second is definitely my favourite. I found the narrative of the second book fast paced, imaginative and completely enthralling. We're introduced to an array of vibrant new characters who become central to the rest of the trilogy. The book is full of twists and turns ends on a tantalising cliffhanger - so much so that I had to download the third instalment immediately to continue reading!

The only criticism that I have of the trilogy (but I have to admit, it is a biggie!) is the ending of the third and final book. The ending is so anti-climatic and underwhelming that it genuinely ruined my day. It is in no way a representation of the tantalising and intricate storyline that is woven throughout the previous books, and indeed, throughout the first two thirds of the final book. It almost gave me the impression that Collins had given up towards the end and just decided to go for the most obvious and mundane plot line possible. I honestly saw it coming a mile off. The final couple of chapters were painfully slow with very little content within their pages; the total opposite of the rest of the trilogy.  Totally disappointing to say the least.

I would be lying to say that I didn't enjoy the books because of the disappointing final ending. The rest of the story is fantastic and I would definitely recommend the book to those who love a bit of action/adventure/romance/fantasy. It's a thrilling read, even with its let-down ending. Overall I'd rate it a 4 out of 5 and the deduction of that star is purely down to the poorly thought out final chapter - other than that it's truly engrossing!

Have you read any of the Hunger Games books?

Did you enjoy them?

Were you as disappointed in the ending of the final book as I was?

Homemade Cadbury Creme Egg Brownies

The sun is shining, the morning air is crisp and clear, it's fair to say that spring has officially sprung! One thing that gets me very excited about spring (except for my birthday in March) is the ability to eat as many creme eggs as physically possible and being able to use Easter as an excuse. Everyone loves a good creme egg!

As it was my housemate (and fellow blogger Aaron)'s birthday last week, I decided to make him some creme egg brownies in substitute for a birthday cake. They were simple to make and were deliciously gooey - just as a good brownie should be!

Ingredients:

100g butter

175g caster sugar

75g light brown sugar

125g chocolate (plain or milk)

1 tbsp golden syrup

2 eggs

100g plain flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 tbsp cocoa powder

6 Cadbury creme eggs

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to gas mark 4 / 180 degrees

2. Put your creme eggs into the freezer (this will make them easier to cut in half when the time comes!)

3. Grease a baking tray with butter

4. Pop the caster sugar, brown sugar, chocolate, butter and golden syrup into a saucepan and melt gently on a low heat

5. Once smooth and lump free remove from heat

6. Break the eggs into a bowl and whisk until light and frothy

7. Add the eggs, vanilla essence, baking powder, flower and cocoa powder to the chocolate mix you made in your saucepan

8. Mix thoroughly until the mixture is smooth

9. Place the mixture into your greased baking tray

10. Grab a chopping board and a sharp knife. Take your creme eggs out of the freezer

11. Peel the creme eggs, take your sharp knife and gently cut along the creme egg at its seam. Don't worry too much if your eggs aren't perfect - I had many a struggle with this but once they're in the brownie mixture they look and taste just fine!

12. Place your halves facing upwards into the brownie mixture. Try and spread them evenly as they will guide your hand when cutting the brownies into portions

13. Place into the centre of the oven and bake for 25 - 30 minutes

14. Remove from the oven once baked - don't worry if they're still a little squidgy, brownie's aren't cakes and aren't supposed to bake hard (it also adds to the gooeyness!)

15. Leave to cool for 20 - 30 minutes then cut into slices

The brownies I made for Aaron's birthday disappeared in roughly 20 minutes - I hope you manage to make yours last longer, although somehow I doubt it because they're totally moorish and isanely delicious!

Have you baked creme egg brownies or tasted one before?

Let me know how your baking attempts go!