Friday 31 March 2017

EATING OUT: Sugo Pasta Kitchen | Altrincham

So, I was BEYOND excited to finally get a table here! Every time I tried it was fully booked and so I decided to be organised and book in advance. 
I've not taken a lot of pictures, mainly as this place is so petite, but you get the idea I hope. It's super cute, warm environment and the staff are amazing. I've never been anywhere where the staff are so helpful and friendly. They made such an effort with us and were so knowledgeable. I love this about Sugo!



I also love how the menu changes each month. I know it can be annoying if you want to go back for the same thing and can't, but there are a million restaurants out there where you can do that. Why not have a change... for a change ha ha!


The options for me were quite limited as I don't eat meat. Saying that, there was a veggie starter option and also a veggie pasta so it was still fine. Besides, I do still eat a little fish so there were enough dishes for me to try. We decided on the following plates...


We thought it would be a good idea to order a few dishes to share and I'm so glad we did. The flavours were incredible and I can totally understand why this is one of the best places to eat in Alty. However, as amazing as these dishes were, I don't think I could have finished a whole pasta dish to myself. This worked perfectly for us though and so maybe try something similar yourselves if you fancy. I think it's the Chinese in me, I can't help but share plates! ha ha!


Tomato and Mozzarella Salad with wild broccoli 
(please don't quote me on the names of the dishes though!)


This was the aubergine pasta 
(the veggie option)


Stuffed squid with fennel and mussels 
With some bread for dipping

Ok, so for me the food was amazing! I won't lie, it was quite rich but in an oh so bloody good way! Any complaints? If I was going to be really 'nit picky', the apple juice hubs ordered was £3.50 for a thimble full. It was organic though so I can understand why it was on the pricier side. We didn't have any alcohol (just water) and I think the bill came to around £35-40. The food was really really good though. I would definitely recommend it if you're a pasta fan - and if not, just go and order a load of starters and sides. I think I'm getting ready to plan my next trip already!

I can't explain how amazing it is to have Altrincham market and all these other little artisan restaurants on our doorstep. The fact Alty has been a ghost town for a good 10 or so years, it's amazing to see it alive again. Not just with corporate, commercial eateries either. If you don't venture to this part of town I would seriously recommend it. The market is just amazing and places like this pasta kitchen, Porta and the Con Club are just the cherry on top!

Thanks so much for reading and have a fab weekend!

Big love,


Em x
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Wednesday 29 March 2017

LIFESTYLE: The Technology Addiction


We all do it! Sitting/standing/laying down/queuing/waiting/eating etc. etc. Remember those good old days when you could do all of those things without a phone or ipad or some kind of technology in your hands? I remember those days, they almost seemed less stressful no??

What is it about our technology nowadays, we just can't seem to stay off it. It breaks my heart when I see children and adolescents out with the family and sat on a piece of tech (or even worse, the whole family sat at a table not talking, but staring at their phones instead!). I saw it the other week at the Whitworth Art Gallery. A whole family were all sat together laughing and joking and the teenage boy with them was so engrossed playing some kind of battle ship game, he missed it all. What happened to being present in the moment? What happened to listening to the person opposite you - fully. Not one eye on your phone and one eye on your friend. How about listening wholeheartedly to what that person has to say. It must make you feel better, knowing that you experienced something. That you had a 'moment' shared and you were there fully for it.

Another thing is how does it make you feel? When you're sat scrolling through Facebook or Instagram how do you really feel? Are you happy? Does it give you a lovely warm feeling inside? Maybe... for me though, I don't think it does. I was thinking about this the other day whilst I was sat meaninglessly scrolling through a feed. To me, I don't feel happy from looking at other pictures, it's almost like a way of escaping the real world, escaping the 'now'. Why do we want to escape from it? The world is such an amazing place. Especially us lucky ones in the Western World - we have it pretty good here! We are not running from war zones (and hopefully never will be!), we have beauty all around us. The sky is bright, the grass is so so green and the flowers are stunning. Even the air is clean over here - especially where I am in the UK. 

So, today I suggest you try and prize yourselves away from that piece of tech. Try and become more present in the moment. If you're sat in a waiting room, why not pick up a magazine - they don't seem to engross us as much as mobile phones. Maybe even just sit and appreciate what you can see instead. How about striking up a conversation with somebody and having a 'moment' with them. You never know it might brighten up their day, or even better, yours for that matter.

Don't let us all be sucked into staring at screens for hours on end - especially if you have been working at a screen all day. Why not come home and go for a walk. Sit outside (wrapped up if necessary) and enjoy the fresh air and the outdoors. Let's go back to that life when we didn't care what 'such and such' was doing on social media. Let's pick up a book and read it instead. Meet a friend for a coffee and keep your phone away in your bag. Let's be a little more present in the moment, you'll never believe what you've been missing...

Thanks so much for reading,

Big love,


Em x
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Sunday 26 March 2017

LITTLE GEMS: My indulgent week of egg and cheese eating! Oh dear! Plus, Sugo, Wahaca, Harvey Nichols Restaurant and Gastronomy

Hi! Welcome back!

I hope you've had a lovely week! I feel like I always say the same thing, but I've had another mad week ha ha! Here's what I got up to on my foodie adventures :)


So, I decided to experiment on Monday night. I was craving pasta and something kind of 'truffle' flavoured so I made this pasta dish. It hit the spot so so well! I made it with wild mushrooms, brown rice pasta, truffle and chilli oil plus some parsley and a little parmesan cheese. I know, parmesan is naughty and not vegetarian but I wasn't able to get the veggie option - so this had to do :)


I also picked up these potato cakes whilst I was in the super market too. What a tasty breakfast this was! I grilled the potato cakes (which were HUGE by the way!) and popped a poached egg on top. This was such a good combo! I think I will do this again sometime - If you ever go to Booths, you should pick these up, they were so tasty :)



Having M & S around the corner is so so bad. Well, no, it's so good, but really baaaad!! This however was a nice healthy snack, I adore their moroccan hummus and these veggies were reduced so it was a bargain snack. I say snack but it ended up being my lunch! I was so full by the end of 'snacking' I couldn't eat anymore!


Wednesday night I had a little more time than usual, so I managed to cook my fav spelt salad. I added some extra parmesan on top too and I have to say it was really tasty. I love changing the recipe of this. I added some home roasted beetroot as well and it was delicious! Even got hubby's approval!


Acai bowls make me so happy! Thursday morning breakfast post yoga. It really put a smile on my face! :)


Then, I snook out and went for a late brunch with the gorgeous Laura. We headed to Gastronomy in the village for a change. I've not been here in ages and I think I will start going again. The food here is consistently good and always has the old favs - Good old 'Belly Dancer' Sandwich.


Laura went for the full English and I had Eggs Benedict. Considering I don't really eat eggs much - maybe once a week, I've been smashing them in this week! No pun intended ha ha! This was sooo delicious! I forget how much I love eggs like this


Super Elixir Protein Shake on Friday before yoga. I have actually started to crave this now! Crazy right!


Then Friday, Mamma and I had a pre-Mother's Day lunch and shopping time. I treated her to lunch at Harvey Nichols and we both had the fish and chips. This is so much for me to eat at lunch (it's usually salad or soup) but the fish and chips at this place is incredible. I've not had it in so long, I thought I'd be a bit naughty! Plus best tartare sauce ever!


Oh yeah, and the fish was the size of my forearm for crying out loud!


It is getting shameful now! I'm going on a 5 day detox next week!! So, now and again I make Hong Kong style eggy bread (dear God more eggs!) for hubs. It's heavy, stodgy and one of those seriously, sickly comfort foods. Well I cranked it up a notch this week! I used chocolate chip brioche bread instead of normal white bread! It was light and fluffy but could probably kill you in one sitting! For those interested, HK eggy bread is 2 piece of white toast with peanut butter inside. Then dipped in egg, fried in butter and drizzled with golden syrup. Yes, it is actually that bad!! I had 2 bites and could feel my pancreas crying ha ha! Hub's polished it off with a big coffee no problem! I don't know how he is not the size of a house ha ha!


Then... more rich indulgence! We finally made it to Sugo! I have been desperate to check out this place and I am going to do a post here (so don't want to give too much away!) As you can imagine, there was more cheese involved ha ha!


Then, because I hadn't had enough cheese this week, we decided to go to Wahaca for dinner. I've not been here in ages and as rich as it is, the food is really good! Check out the menu here. These are the tortilla chips with their homemade guacamole.


MSC battered cod
Beach-shack-style battered MSC cod tacos with shredded slaw, chipotle mayo & pickled cucumber


Black bean & cheese
Traditional slow cooked smoky black beans with bay & avocado leaf


Sweet potato
Crispy fried chunks of sweet potato, dressed with smoky caramelised mojo de ajo


Mexico City style salmon sashimi
Sustainably-sourced raw salmon with a squeeze of fresh lime & soy, tobacco onions, chipotle salt, avocado & chipotle mayo

Crispy prawn tacos
Corn tortillas stuffed with chopped prawn, chillies, spring onion & coriander, cooked until crispy, served with guacamole, tomato salsa & chipotle mayo



Oh god! Even more eggs ha ha! Sunday morning pre-work breakfast. I made myself an omelette on toast and it was goooood!!


Then, I decided to cook my Mamma a tasty, healthy lunch for Mother's Day after work. I did a rice bowl with teriyaki aubergine and shitake mushrooms. Oh and some savoy cabbage too! I've not made this in quite a while and had a craving for a rice bowl. I made the biggest portion and we both cleared the lot :)


Happy Mother's Day to all you Mammas out there from me and my Mamma! Hope you all had an amazing day xxx


Cat photo of the week! Enjoying the sunshine today - and can I also say, how amazing has the weather been too. I know it might not last, but it's so lovely to have some sunshine back 


So the clocks changed... I woke up at 6:30am for work - which was technically 5:30! Hmmm... yeh, so this happened ha ha! Helped me make it through my morning


I wanted to finish off this post with a beautiful photo I took on Friday. Look how stunning this blossom is. I swear Spring is my fav season of the year. The blossoms are just so beautiful, hopeful even! It's like everything is brand new again and it makes me so happy.

I hope you all have enjoyed the weather (where ever you are) and had a lovely week too.

Thanks so much for reading,

Big love,



Em x
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Friday 24 March 2017

EATING OUT: Indian Tiffin Room | First Street, Manchester

Hello! Welcome Back!

I wanted to do a quick 'Eating Out' post on The Indian Tiffin Room on First Street in Manchester that we ventured out to last week. I've been super excited to check this place out for so long now and we finally made it there! It was so busy when we arrived and we had a little bit of a weird table unfortunately - you know, when you're just kind of in the way, but it was cool. We were near the kitchen and so the food gets to you quicker right?? ha ha!



I firstly want to say how cute this place is. I loved the decor, it was a bit wacky and out there. Plenty of atmosphere and lots of fun. Plus all the images on the wall were great too. Sorry if my pics are not so great, it was so busy and people just stare at me when I start taking them! It's so cringe!



Such great images and graphics! Plus check out this random light fitting too!






Let's get on to the good stuff... the food! I've put an image of the menu below, but if you can't see it clearly (it was quite dark), I've put the link to it here.



I can't believe they do a rose and lychee mocktail! It was like all my prayers had been answered ha ha! This was amazing - if you like rose and lychee that is of course! This was called a 'Nimbu Lychee' - Yum!!


We had a slightly disappointing start unfortunately :( The puri pastries were old and soft. I was so gutted as I could eat these till the cows come home. We sent them back in the end and the manager kindly gave us another portion - which were exactly the same. Flavours were good though, but non-crisp gol gappe doesn't go down well in my book!


This was the Grazing Platter Taster of bhel puri, dahi puri and sev puri (soft gol gappes again though)




Home Made Samosa 
Authentic Punjabi style served with tamarind and mint chutney 


Bhindi Fries
Wow! These were so so good! I love these anywhere and they were so crispy but not too spicy either! 


ITR Mysore Masala Dosa 
Thin rice and lentil crepe with ITR chutney and potato masala filling

I'm not massively experienced with dosas, but this tasted really good. It was much tastier than the one from Bundobust too. Super thin and light and then filled with potato inside.


Tadka Dal - can you go that wrong with dahl? Not really I don't think. Yup, this was nice too! :) 


Yummy, thin naan bread - just how I like them


Whole Crispy White Bait
Deep fried, with a light coating of flour and ITR spices

Yes this was RANDOM! I've not had white bait since I was about 11 and I wasn't really a fan of it then either. Hubs wanted to try it as he'd not had it before. If you like white bait then this is probably for you. Too fishy for my liking and the whole 'biting heads off' doesn't go down well with my dinner.

Overall we had a nice meal. The menu was so vast though we couldn't decide what to eat. I think we would definitely go back again just to try other dishes. It was Saturday night though and it was mad busy. We did go at peak time! I think we might go a little earlier or one night in the week next time so it's not as mad. For all the food we had, a large bottle of water and my 'soft tail' it came to around £40-45. Quite impressive as we had a lot to eat as well.
I do love me a bit of Indian street food. It's so tasty, has lots of flavour to it and texture as well. This place was great. It was buzzing with atmosphere, the staff were very friendly and the food was actually really good. I will be going back to try more... but I have to say Mughli still has my heart though! Them boys have got it just right!

I would love to hear what you guys thought. Have you been? What do you suggest I try next time?

Thanks so much for reading,

Big love,


Em x
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