OOTD: A University Friend's Wedding in Bristol.

Dress: Warehouse

Bracelet: bought on holiday in Amsterdam

Necklace: Swarovski

Earrings: Accessorize

As you can see, I went for a pink theme, as I believe it to be the warmest colour!

Bonus picture: oblig vain selfie:

Restaurant review: TGI FRIDAY'S (Covent Garden)

I've been to several TGI Friday's across the UK (Reading, when my family and I were checking out universities, Bath when I was there doing my undergraduate degree and Leicester Square just for an impromptu delicious meal one evening), and it's a chain which I have never been disappointed with.

Last Tuesday, me and three others were dithering over where to get dinner (Belgo was being suggested as an option, but I wasn't enamoured with it when I'd visited Belgo three years ago) in Covent Garden when I clocked a TGIF, confident that that represented a much better option.

And of course, I wasn't wrong. We were served by a bubbly waitress, who asked us if we were celebrating anything. Although it wasn't the cause of our get-together, I had just passed a critical PhD landmark, and one of the people I was with mentioned this. I didn't expect that to lead to anything, but she very kindly gave me this gorgeous and delicious slice of cake for my troubles!

The Roman Baths.

Selfie with bae.

 

 Hat: Chelsea football club

Hoodie: University of Bath

Earrings: China

Glasses: Red or Dead

PUB REVIEW: Bierpalast (Temple)

Watching football and drinking beer pretty much go hand-in-hand where I’m from. However, having attended Bath University (a sports uni that was big on its drinking games) and being an economist, when it comes to beer, I usually opt for the one that will get me the drunkest for the least money, as opposed to that which tastes the best. Pre-Chelsea game, I can be found hovering around Fulham Broadway tube station with a can of Stella in my hand, dodging the security guards who will give me a talking to if they find me. Such is the extensiveness of my drinking beer that I’ve actually grown to like the terrible brews like Stella and Foster’s. However, when I have a classier brand, like Peroni, I can taste a discernible difference, so obviously my tastebuds haven’t completely gone in the beer department. For that reason, I thought I’d check out a German beer house.

The first beer I went for was a wheat beer with undertones of vanilla and banana, and it was wonderful. I was brave and went for a whole stein (more than two pints worth), so it was lucky that I picked one I liked so much. The next brew was a darker wheat, which I enjoyed less (I consider Corona and Peroni superior), but it was sure as hell nicer than Carling. For food, I had meatloaf and gravy, which was fine, but the pub was a little miserly on the gravy for my liking (I’d been to a British pub just days before and my meal then had been lathered in gravy, just how I like it). Because I didn't mix my alcohols, my hangover the next day wasn't too strong, yet by the time I left the pub, I was in extremely high spirits, so the alcohol had done its short-term job.

The experience of Bierpalast, on the whole, was hugely enjoyable. The waiters were more than happy to stop and impart their expertise, and the guy who told me about the beers clearly had a fondness for the vanilla-tinted one, so I feel he recommended well. The majority of the pub is situated in the basement, and it wasn’t anywhere near as over-crowded as a nearby pub that I’d walked past on my way there from Temple station. One of the most off-putting elements of most pubs on a Friday at 7pm is just how choc-a-bloc full of people it is. It can be very claustrophobic, and damn near impossible to find a seat for two people. But for some reason this place was populated without being over-crowded, and neither did it blast some obnoxious popular music so loud you couldn’t hear yourself think. Come to think of it, the fact that it stayed true to its German roots (most of the waiters/waitresses had thick German accents) rather than pandering to British tastes, probably dissuaded the more nationalist clientele, but for the likes of me with no nationalistic agenda who just want a good beer, I was super-grateful. For people who enjoy a good brew, I would give this place a huge thumbs up.

Grade: A

If you'd like me to review your pub, drop me an email at lemon_and_lime7@hotmail.com

Chipotle (Covent Garden)

In Bath, I visited Mission Burrito once, and thought I might as well try my hand at the task of finishing a whole burrito (it's about 2.5 the size of the one pictured above) in one sitting. As I didn't know I was going to MB that day, I'd had McDonald's for lunch, so, suffice to say, I was not successful. But the little trip did set off my love of burritos, and after having cheekily had bits of Theo's burrito from the same chain when we were in Wimbledon on Sunday, on Wednesday, when I spotted Chipotle again in Covent Garden, I didn't hesitate to grab one all for myself.

The burritos here are the best I've had. I don't know what it is, but the quality and consistency of the carnitas is far superior that of in Bath (because lbr London > Bath, just truthin'), and the sauces, spices and vegetables that they layer on top of the pork are also created with more care and spark. Plus, a burrito in the Bath store costs about seven quid. The carnitas pork one I had on Wednesday was just £6.95, so it was cheaper than a single in Bath, score! I also helped myself to the pretentious-looking drink because I liked the sexy shape of the bottle. I wolfed down my burrito with no consideration for table manners because it was just so goddamn delicious, meaning for under a tenner, I was fully fed, and left the place with a big grin


Grade: A

Restaurant review: Hong Kong Bistro (Bath)

I'd heard lots of positive things from my peers about Hong King Bistro, but didn't visit until after my exams in late May. And the experience was so brilliant that I took my mother back!

The plate that was recommended to me was the Pad Thai (pictured above), which was a mixture of everything I love about oriental food, which was dosed out in generous portions. The Pad Thai is Hong Kong Bistro's most famous dish, and for good reason; it's a combination of all the flavours I love. I love dim sum as much as the next person, but at times when you want a plate just to yourself, no sharing, I'd definitely recommend Hong Kong Bistro, which definitely doesn't skimp on size.

The prices are reasonable, other than starters:

Both plates pictured above were about £4-5 each, which, given that they could be eaten in about two bites, doesn't exactly represent the most worthwhile value for money. However, the satay chicken was wonderful to taste; I loved the sauce!

On my second visit to Hong Kong Bistro, I had a mixed-seafood type dish, which tasted great, so much so that I even wolfed down all the mushrooms - an ingredient I'm not usually that fond of. I love prawn dishes and they were used in abundance, which definitely helped. The thick noodles complemented the fish and vegetable a treat as well.

With plenty of space and discrete staff who don't pester you, Hong Kong Bistro is definitely one of the finer restaurants in Bath. If the starters were a bit cheaper, it'd be pretty much near perfect.

Grade: B+/A-

An awful attempt to give myself a French manicure.

I've graduated!~~~ I got a 2:1 in Economics, which means all those endless nights of studying Taylor Rules, logit and probit regressions, memorising elasticity equations, solving mathematical problems pertaining to moral hazard and auction theory, pretending to give a damn about the stock market, reading the FT, deriving Hotelling formulae and memorising facts about tax evasion have amounted to something.

To celebrate, I went on a bit of a splurge, buying a tonne of girly crap I didn't really need. One of these things was a Bourjois Paris French manicure kit, because I'll be entering the working world next month and I want give the semblance of a ~classy lady~ in worldplace, even if I'm anything but. The kit was £9.99 for three things:

It's classily packaged stuff, and extremely functional. I can imagine that if applied correctly and accurately, it will give the look that you can get in the salon. However, I'm a completely nail polish n00b and so my attempts were rather amateurish, to say the least:

This is somewhat of an embarrassment: uneven application, chipped at parts, smudged... I definitely need to train.

I'm a big fan of this product though, and will continue to use it until that elusive day when I actually get it right!

Restaurant review: Las Iguanas (Bath)

Channelling the vibe of Latin-American food, Las Iguanas is a very popular eatery in Bath where you can often find all age ranges - students, adults, pensioners - frequenting, whether it be to celebrate a birthday or just a pre-night out meal. The prices are fairly reasonable -- although they could stand to do more student offers, and, taking advantage of their 2-for-1 cocktails, we hit Las Iguanas after our last exam.

The food was, overall, well-cooked; Theo's lamb and potato ensemble was fantastic but I felt the bread on my sandwich could have been better baked. Our choice of cocktail pitcher was this wonderful mango concoction:

And it was wonderful. It tasted so suspiciously unalcoholic that one had to wonder if there was any vodka actually in there, though I did feel somewhat tipsy after drinking it, so, there probably was. The mango blended with the rest of the ingredients fantastically.

The service was also great, and unlike other snooty restaurants in Bath which think they're too good for you, we never felt under pressure to leave early or anything. Overall, I recommend this place, but would do so more empathically if the prices were a bit lower.

Grade: B+

Bea's Vintage Tea Rooms.

For my housemate's birthday, we had tea at Bea's Vintage Team Rooms, in Bath. In Bath, there are a lot of places where you can go for tea, but we chose this one as the prices were reasonable for the amount of food on offer. And it was a lovely experience!~~

It was one of these platters to share between two people, and they filled us up a treat! The sandwiches came in three flavours: salmon, cucumber and cream cheese, and egg and cress. They were all wonderfully made so that even a seemingly plain flavour like cucumber ended up being really tasty. The clotted cream was very rich and there were a range of cakes.  Me and Theo shared the chocolate and lemon ones, I preferred the chocolate but the meringue on top of the lemon cake rendered it quite tasty too.

Overall, a wonderfully cute place to go, full of pretty teacups, friendly staff and delicious food. Recommended!

Grade: A

Restaurant review: Yak Yeti Yak (Bath)

Lying underground near the famous Second Bridge nightclub in Bath is Yak Yeti Yak, a charming Nepalese restaurant offering some very authentic and delicious dishes.


As far as quantities go, the main meals had a decent amount, whilst perhaps less than the more generous portions you’d find on offer in a typical Chinese or Indian restaurant, the quality on offer was much higher, with some wonderful herbs and spices that I’d never experienced before, but complemented the main meal wonderfully. I had the chilli chicken has my main meat dish, and whilst it was indeed quite spicy, it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as chicken I’ve tasted in other Asian restaurants, when the chefs go too far with making it spicy, thus completely detracting from the overall flavour. The chilli quotient of the meal here was perfect. The rice was quite uninspired, particularly given the somewhat steep price tag.

However, the main disappointment in terms of quantity were the starters. The cheeseballs were just under five pounds, and there were only five of them, and so small that you could have easily consumed it in one bite (first picture for photographic evidence). The presentation was marvellous – I’ve been in only a few restaurants who take such good care with the aesthetics of their meals –






But the meagre quantity of food meant that for me, Yak Yeti Yak will never be one of my favourites. The main meal left me comfortably nourished, but not as stuffed as I could be from a restaurant, particularly as I paid just under £20. I understand that the point of starters is to pique your appetite, not to fill you up, but after sampled the tantalisingly good starters, and only having had a few bites, I was, if anything, just more famished.

Overall, the ambience (incense, mood lighting, and the seven of us were allowed to sit on cushions on the floor, which hugely contributed to the fun experience we had) and high quality of the food rendered this a good place to visit. The starters were far too expensive for what they were, and, whilst delicious, that meant that overall, I left an otherwise stand-up venue feeling a little short-changed.

 Grade: B

I kept my promise, don't keep your distance.

Christmases are kind of a big deal for me. The gift-giving, the Christmas spirit, the being with friends and family-- it's all good stuff. But idk, I'm so apathetic to Christmas this year. Possibly because 2010's been somewhat of a blah yeah for me, but also, I guess it's just another mark of another year, with nothing achieved. And no amount of Christmas spirit can make me shake off that feeling.

I'm a City girl, at heart, but Bath is gorgeous.

Polaroid taken by my best friend Anna, on her Polaroid camera: