August 19, 2014

All aboard The Hogwarts Express!

I'll be honest- I've never been Potty about Potter. 

I mean he was ok... the spells and the magic definitely prompted for an "ooo" and an "ahh", but to say that Harry was a home run for me would've been a gross exaggeration. 

Until now. 


Having gotten hopelessly lost on route, we rocked up to The Wizarding world of Harry Potter and checked in..


Surprisingly a much easier process than London Heathrow.

We entered the magical & secret world of Harry Potter...


I didn't say it was a well-kept secret.


Dressed in our Sunday best we meandered our way through the realm...

Picking up fashion tips from the one and only Professor McGonagall who was quite literally losing her head at all this fashion talk...

All fashion and no wizadry she sent the naughty kids to the cupboard under the stairs to think about what they had done...


But we hopped on our wheely and off we escaped.


Parched at the unfortunate series of events we stopped for a brief beverage...


Ok we stopped for a few...



After guzzling a few too many Butter Beers, we took the wrong left and ended up somewhere unknown...


Harry wasn't home- unfortunately. 

Realizing that we clearly weren't cut out for a wheely, we opted for a more traditional method of transport...


A much easier way of getting around- we took a right at Dumbledore's office...



A left at Mr Mullpepper's Apothecary...



And landed at our destination...



Isn't she a doll!

All magic'd and marvelle'd out we went in search of a magical wand to transport us home...




"Wingardium Leviosa" 

Ok so we didn't quite levitate home- we drove.. but engines and carburetors? Well if that's not magic I don't know what is!


August 10, 2014

Everything But The Kitchen Sink- Coya Restaurant, London

I've happened to stumble across a new found love for Peruvian food. There's something about the strange mix of Japanese and Mexican food that gets me excited- who knew that this little South American country, located somewhere between Bolivia and Ecuador, was full of delicious dishes of all sorts! 

After months of having the much treasured by Londoners, Coya, on my 'must visit and eat everything' list, I finally managed to tick it off- and my oh my was it worth the wait. 



Having, for once, decided to plan my time efficiently I arrived at Coya 30 minutes before our reservation and was greeted by the smiley Maître d'who was more than happy to usher me down the bellowing staircase to take a seat in the most prized position in the house- The Bar. 



Twiddling my thumbs got a tad boring- so I decided to preempt my fine friends orders with 3 [large- ahem] glasses of wine which may or may not have all decreased significantly in level by the time they arrived [sorry ladies!] 

"Your table is ready ladies..." 

Thank the lord for that. Now make no qualms about it, Coya is not industrially sized. We sauntered our way through the wine walled walk-way into the main restaurant area... 


And immediately felt at home. The interior has serious flirtations of Aztec throughout with pops of colour that make this place, to put it simply, quite a fun place to dine! 

Having studied the menu intensely prior to arriving, we sang of our dishes like lyrics to an old time classic...

First up, Esparragos Peruanos


Asparagus in a deliciously amarillo chilli sauce... 


Followed by Sea Bass Ceviche 


Rounded off with the most delicate Scallops, which quite frankly made my heart sing. 


And that was just to start... 

Yellow Fin Tuna Ceviche- which I wasn't as big a fan of but went down phenomenally with the rest of the group. There's something about the texture of Tuna Ceviche that weirds me out...


The most delicious Sweet Corn Salad...



A divinely crisp portion of succulent pork belly...


Go on take a closer look... Can't you just hear the crunch?


Crrrrrrunchy goodness!

At this point, we took a few minutes to come up for air after what was 2 hours of constant eating. They always say to hydrate yourself in between physical activities right?


Which is exactly what we did!

And back in we went... 

Mushroom Skewers draped in a stickily sweet yet crisp sauce


Crisp Baby Chicken that lasted all of 3 minutes- just enough time for me to swoop in and take a picture for you all.. 

Prior to me getting my hand batted away by a friends surveillancing fork. 

A round of Patatas Bravas just for good measure... 


And a hit for my vegetarians...



But then came the closing act. The final fanfare, The Pièce de résistance- Her name was Langostino Tigre. 



I'd heard tonnes about her- she was talk of the town. But there are, honestly, little to no words that can explain just how delicious she was...

Perfection. 

Hours of catching up, gossiping conversation and eating the entirety of the restaurant later we got down to desserts- where I usually conduct my best business. 

"What would you recommend Sir?" 

I managed to breathe out in between hysterical wales of laughter. 

"I'll bring you something..." Our ever so mysterious waiter, Pedro, announced as he briskly departed back to the kitchen area... 

A train of Salted Caramel happiness accented with a torte sorbet...



Alongside a beautifully light, oozing fondant...




Good call Pedro. 

Having eaten everything but the kitchen sink on the Coya menu, I'd definitely say this place is worth a visit! Whether your going with old friends, on a romantic date or just fancy a dabble in a different cuisine from the usual haunts- this is the place to be! 






August 04, 2014

Claridge's Afternoon Tea

I'm a traveller. 

I love exploring new pastures, tasting eclectic cuisines- hop, skipping across the pond is quite frankly my favourite hobby [and the best form of cardio I'll have you know.]

However, I'm a British girl at heart. I love meandering around the city, complaining about the weather- whether hot or cold, hanging punting in the pub... well you get the drift- and what more British an activity than afternoon tea at that too at a truly iconic British institution-  Claridge's. 

Suffering from this sweltering heat [see what I mean about complaining no matter what the weather] we decided to do the pilgrimage up New Bond St to seek refuge at the holy ground that is Claridge's. 


And what better way to cool down than a restorative glass of the good stuff...


One [three] glasses of restoration later, we made our way through the marble clad foyer


And so began the Afternoon Tea feast...


First up: a selection of delectable sandwiches; it was a tie between the Severn & Wye smoked salmon, brown shrimp butter, & rock samphire on rye bread and surprisingly the Cucumber, crème fraîche 
& rocket on white bread



Accompanied by Raisin & Plain Scones- at which point my British heart was chanting it's finest rendition of "God Save the Queen"


After quite literally sandwich loading- it was time to shift the focus...






Oh sweet heaven. 

Quite literally brimming with happiness, and sugar, we waddled back on to New Bond Street to commence an intense shopping marathon in the height of British Summer. 

What's your favorite British tradition to partake in during the summer?