Four places where you should eat if you visit Birmingham

Digbeth Dining Club
This was a suggestion from Iain on Instagram and I'm so glad we managed to fit it in. If you've ever been to one of the Street Feast locations in London then this is very similar. Digbeth remindS me a bit of Shoreditch. It's pretty gritty and full of street art but lots of hipster bars and restaurants. Boasting numerous bars and street food stalls, Digbeth Dining Club is a great place to hang out for a few hours eating some good food and enjoying some ice cold beer. My friend Jay went for some steamed buns which I can confirm were absolutely delicious. I had some sriracha smothered fried chicken strips which were delightfully mouth-tingling and very addictive. We decided to share a trio of deep fried cookie dough desserts which were just as sickly and delicious as they sound! Keep in mind there is a £2 cash charge to get in but the stall do accept card.

Wayland's Yard
This was a cracking suggestion from Emma via Twitter. Gotta love social media! Located just footsteps from the Bull Ring it's a great shout if you're staying nearby. Emma recommended the eggy crumpets which I definitely had to try as soon as I knew they existed. I loved the cool vibe of the cafe and service was so friendly. I highly recommend grabbing a cronut for the road as they were delicious!

Original Patty Men
This was a suggestion by Roisin who told me I would love it and she was 100% right! Located not too far from the Bull Ring in Digbeth under some railway arches, this burger joint offers five different types of burgers alongside some specials. I opted for the spicy Korean inspired patty with lashings of gochujang sauce. Perfect! Jay and I shared chicken chunks which were more or less giant thighs and a portion of O.D.B fries. A delicious concoction of triple cooked skin on fries topped with an addictive nice mix, house slaw, coriander, lime, sriracha mayo, crispy fried onions and chopped spring onion. They were one of the best fries I have ever had. Such a dreamy combination.

Indian Brewery Co
I read about this place on Time out and it piqued my interest because it reminded me a bit of Dishoom in London. Whilst not as good as Dishoon it was a pretty solid shout. We opted for around four dishes to share between us so we could try a bit of everything. Stand out dishes for me included the paneer roti roll and crispy chicken Bombay bites. Sadly they were in the process of moving their brewery so we couldn't try some of their special beers.

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Postcards from Birmingham

Earlier this year my best friend Jay and I decided we needed a weekend away together bonding. Actually it was probably me that needed it the most as I have a tendency to become a bit needy at times... A weekend full of too many cocktails, endless eating and the chance to put the world to rights. The August bank holiday was the perfect situation. We wasn't bothered on where we went, we just wanted somewhere within two hours drive from home. I got on the case with the Travelodge website and stumbled across a hotel in Birmingham which was offering a two night stay for under £25 each. Sorted!

I had never been to Birmingham before but as a keen, obsessive Peaky Blinder's fan it was going to crop up on my radar eventually. We just so happened to be in the city the weekend the first episode of the fifth series aired. What a twist of fate!

We got up early and left Essex fuelled with a Macdonald's breakfast with the mission to finally tick off a trip to Cadbury's World at the grand age of 30. We were the only two adults visiting who didn't have an army of kids with them so it was a bit chaotic. But it was really good and worth a visit, not least because they kept handing out free bars of chocolate as you made your way round.

After we'd arrived in Birmingham we checked in and heading straight out for some burgers which pretty much set the precedent for the rest of the weekend. We didn't stop eating. Who knew Birmingham had such a great food scene? We headed to the main strip of Broad Street which reminded us far too much of our nights out in Magaluf. We wasn't drunk enough for that so we headed back to the canal which was much more civilised and found a cracking pub offering tune after tune on the dance floor.

I'm not sure I'll head back to Birmingham any time soon. It seemed pretty empty and whilst some parts were buzzing, others were completely dead which was a weird experience considering it's a city. But it's a great place to visit for a weekend if you're a keen foodie, Digbeth especially was pretty cool and reminded me as a scuffier version of Shoreditch. Kinda how Shoreditch used to be before the bankers started zoning in on it...

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Restaurant review: Gunpowder, Tower Bridge, London

I am so out of the loop with restaurants in London at the moment. I seem to have really cut down on going into town at the weekends to try out all the new places. But I'm keen to rectify this and start eating out a bit more! A good few weeks ago I finally did try someone new with Hannah and Sarah before we saw the incredible Midsummer Night's Dream at the Bridge Theatre.

Labelling themselves as a home-style Indian kitchen, the branch overlooking Tower Bridge is Gunpowder's second location after Spitalfields in east London. We decided to opt for the weekend brunch menu and what a great shout on our part. Brunch is my favourite meals and Indian food is my favourite cuisine so I had high hopes for it. Those high hopes were thankfully met. I'm a sucker for any type of baked eggs dish so went for the South Indian style eggs served with sourdough toast and salli. They were delightedly spicy, enough to put hairs on your chest and give you a runny nose! The portion was a great size and went down a treat.  We also opted for a portion of okra fries which were extremely addictive and bhuna aubergine and roast cheese salad which was the star of the show. So much more delicious that I ever expected. The aubergine was A*. I stole a couple of slices of Hannah's chutney cheese sandwich which was so nostalgic, updated with a spicy kick. Made with what tasted like Hovis' basic white bread from my childhood years and endless cheese oozing out, it was amazing and I could have eaten another portion immediately after.

I'm looking forward to going back and trying the evening menu. It isn't a cheap place to eat and prices will add up if you start getting eyes bigger than you belly with the ordering of small plates. But the food was delicious that I have a feeling it will be 100% worth it. Set out over two floors with some swoon-worthy interiors, it's a great option if you find yourself in the area.

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Why I've become a mid-week vegetarian - and how I'm finding it

I made the decision back in January to try and be a vegetarian at home Monday to Friday. Part of the reason was because I was becoming more conscious on what we are doing to the world but the biggest part if I'm honest was to try and save some money on our shopping bill. Connor and I love to travel and do things but we don't have an endless pot of money to do that. So I'm always looking at ways to keep our bills down so we have more money to have a social life. I chose to sacrifice food.

We've always shopped in Aldi ever since we moved out so our food bill is never really too high. But since we've been going veggie our food bill has gotten even lower. I do buy a Abel & Cole British veg box every fortnight which works out about £6.50 a week. Our weekly shop at Aldi usually comes in around £30 so we spend £36.50 on a non-meat weekly shop. That includes dinners and lunches because I always cook for four in the evening so we can have leftovers. Not too shabby!

I do like eating meat but I think I was just buying it out of habit. I grew up in a meat eating household  and eating meat was just the done thing.  At the weekend we sometimes treat ourselves to a nice piece of meat from the butchers but now we even go without it at the weekend too. I find eating a mostly vegetarian diet at home really pushes me in the kitchen. I'm on a mission to help my boyfriend forget about meat! I'm much more adventurous in my cooking as it's so easy to just serve meat with some veg every evening. My favourite cuisines are probably Indian and Persian which are quite vegetarian heavy anyway. We eat a hell of a lot of curries now!

I'm becoming more and more aware of what we're all doing to the environment and trying to make little changes to help cut down on my carbon footprint. I invested in some bamboo make ups remover pads, bamboo cotton wool buds, washable freezer bags and a bamboo toothbrush. Eating more vegetables and staying away from meat is yet another way I'm trying to do my bit. If all of us make even the littlest of changes then it all makes a difference.

A few weeks ago I ended up eating meat every single day for a week because we had a BBQ at our house and had some leftover meat. By the end of the seven days I felt awful, I was so sluggish, gelt a bit gross and my skin really flared up. It really shocked me how much of an impact it had on me. I couldn't wait to get back to eating a vegetarian diet again. At the moment I do tend to go for meat dishes when I go out for dinner but over the next few months I'm going to try and ween myself off that and only opt for vegetarian dishes. I'm finding if I do it slowly then it's a lot easier for me to make the change. I'm not sure I'll become a full time veggie any time soon but I'm definitely looking to keep up being 80% veggie forever!

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#52 recipes: 17-21

Otolenghi's harissa and confit garlic potatoes from Simple
I mentioned the roasted cauliflower dish I made for my blogger girls in the previous #52recipes instalment and the next three dishes are part of the same spread. Oh my gosh these are one of my favourite things in the whole book. I'm obsessed with Harissa at the moment. It seems to make everything taste so much better, giving it a fantastic spicy, garlicky kick. The potatoes could have been crispier which was my fault for being too impatient but were absolutely fine as they were!

Ottolenghi's two bean and two lime salad from Simple
I served this with roast chicken and the zesty lime really went well with the citrusy chicken. I made a boo boo and used freeze dried kaffir lime leaves which Ottolenghi said not to do. It was still tasty but I think it would be even more delicious with fresh. Ottolenghi just does side dishes so well and they're always my favourite recipes from his books. I seem to have misplaced so many of my pictures as couldn't find this one!

Ottolenghi's crushed courgettes from Simple
I love a courgette and especially loved them like this. It tasted very summery, so fresh and light. I think it was the mixture of mint, dill and thyme. The portion wasn't very big though for four people so I would double it to make sure everyone can enjoy it! Picture taken from Michelle's blog.

Rachel Allen's date and banana loaf from Home Baking
I'm always in the market for a new banana loaf recipe and the stars aligned when I had some brown bananas in my fruit bowl and half a packet of dates leftover in the larder. The dates help to give the cake a subtle caramelised flavour. A great upgrade on a banana cake recipe.

Diana Henry's greens on toast with chilli, feta, sunflower seeds and a poached egg from Simple
At the weekend I like to make more of an effort for breakfast rather than my normal every day cereal. We had some feta and kale left over in the fridge so this was the perfect brunch to use them up. While it was a little effort, it was well worth it. I loved the saltiness of the feta paired with the kale. Who knew kale on toast would be so delicious!

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10 things I wish I'd known before visiting south-east Asia for the first time

Taking a trip to Malaysia was my first time I had ever been to south-east Asia. It was a massive culture shock to be somewhere so different from home. I like to think of myself as pretty well traveled despite only having been to Europe and North America but it completely took me by surprise. It was unlike anywhere I had been before. Here are ten things I wish I'd known before travelling to the region for the first time.

1. Be prepared for squat toilets
For some reason I only though squat toilets existed in China which is ridiculous. This is not the case. Now there is absolutely nothing wrong with squat toilets but it is just something I'm not quite used to. They take a hell of a lot of time to get used to when you've only ever used a western loo. All there restaurants always had a western loo but keep in mind some service stations and temples only have squat loos...

2. The toilets don't always have toilet paper
It seems to be very heavy on the old toilet situation doesn't it? But one thing I really noticed about going to the loo in Malaysia is that toilet paper is in short supply. Luckily I had already been warned about this from Michelle so always had some in my bag. I would have come unstuck a fair few times if it wasn't for her! All toilets have toilet sprayer which again was something I had never come across before. But you can use them instead of using toilet paper if you forget it.

3. Health and safety is not the same as home
We had a rather hairy time involving some fireworks and fire crackers which scared the life out of me! You could tell someone hadn't watched the firework safety video at school as a kid... Heath and safety doesn't really exist the over there and it definitely takes a while to go used to. You just have to learn to turn a blind eye!

4. Be prepared for people to ask you for pictures
I'd never been to a country where I was the minority before and one thing that really stood out for me was people asking me for my picture! One family asked me to pose with their children. Another man secretly filmed me when I was buying some food. People really did stare, especially where our friends lived as it wasn't a very touristy place so we stood out like a sore thumb. It wasn't uncomfortable and no one was rude but it took a while to get used to.

5. Drivers don't always stop at red lights
Driving in Malaysia was certainly an experience, luckily our friend was there to navigate. Everyone drives on the same side of the road as we do in the UK but that's where the similarities end! We were ok driving in Langkawi as it was pretty quiet. But on the mainland it was chaotic. No one seems to indicate, no one seems to stop at a red light and the traffic can be horrendous. The no stopping at a red light was particularly scary!

6.  Leave your shoes at the door before you enter guesthouses
I'm used to taking my shoes off at home at the door but it's never been expected of me to take them off at a guesthouse before I enter reception. It's a sign of respect in Malaysia so many will ask you to leave your shoes inside. This is why when you walk past any guesthouse you will see piles of shoes outside. If I had realised this I would have packed a pair of slippers.

7.  The sheer amount of whitening beauty products
I ran out of moisturiser while we were out there and popped to the pharmacy to pick up some more. It took me a good 15 m minutes to find something that didn't have 'whitening' or 'bleach' in the description. I couldn't quite believe the sheer amount of whitening products on sale from body lotion to deodorant. It's quite a sad sight if I'm honest and really makes you think.

8. No one wears helmets on mopeds 
No one at all wears a crash helmet on a moped, not even a six month old baby. Literally everyone drives around helmet free and it gives me a heart attack. See what I mean by heath and safety is not the same as home? Just because no one else seems to wear a helmet doesn't mean you should skip it if you decided to hire a moped.

9.  Sometimes eating western food affects you more than the local food
I love to stick to local food whenever I visit a new country but sometimes you just have a craving for food that reminds you of home. I'm talking burgers, pizza and chips. Sometimes needs must! I have no problem eating street food wherever I am despite people often warning against it. I think it's the best way to get a feel for a country. I was shocked that the times I felt a bit out of sorts - and really poorly at one point - was when I opted for the western food. So keep in mind eating western food won't necessary be better for your stomach!

10. The humidity is unlike anything I would have ever experienced before

My friend said before we went that in Malaysia you are always wet. Be it from the rain or from sweat because of the humidity. I thought he was exaggerating. But he wasn't! I wish I had been much better prepared to deal with it. Maybe taking a misting spray or lighter clothes from natural fabrics. It can get pretty intense!

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What I've been cooking #9: Dining in by Alison Roman

I first found out about Alison Roman through my fellow cookbook addict Hannah. Alison has been called the 'American Nigella' and has food columns for Bon Appetite and NY Times online. She's well known for her viral recipes which go berserk on Instagram. The famous stew and cookies are just two of them. Her first cookbook Dining In is very much geared towards home cooks who want something simple yet delicious to rustle up in the kitchen. Over the last few months I've found the book a joy to use and its fast become one of my favourites. Some of the veggie sides have taken a hell of a lot longer than expected and we have had to have them separately to the main course. I think the timing may be a little off. I find this sometimes when a cook is translated from its American origins into a book for a British audience. But 90% of everything I have cooked has been utterly delicious. The viral cookies I mentioned above were absolutely delicious and by far the best cookie recipe I have ever made. Dining in will be a book I'll continue to use in high rotation in the future and I can't wait for her second book Nothing Fancy to be released.

Cocoa banana bread
I think banana bread is a cake I make the most. I always have blackened bananas in the house dying out to be recreating into a delicious moreish cake. I usually add chocolate chips for my sweet tooth but this was the first time that I added coco powder. In return you get such a deep, rich, dense cake that really hits the spot. The sprinkled sugar on top is a game changer and something I'm always going to do to every banana bread recipe in the future.

Salted butter and chocolate chunk shortbread
Ah the viral cookies! Cookies are something I struggle with, I always tend to overcook them. These are frozen for two hours which makes them easy to cut into rounds. They're rolled in sugar to give them a tasty crunch. A sprinkle of sea salt on the top before cookie is what really makes them special. They are more like a shortbread rather than a cookie. I don't think I'll ever use any other chocolate chunk cookie recipe again!

Honey yogurt pound cake with raspberries
I only had a quarter of the raspberries needed to make then but needed to use them up so YOLO! It would have been so much better with the right amount of raspberries but it was pretty delicious regardless. I love cakes with yogurt, they always taste so light. The honest added a lovely sweet addition.

Vinegar roasted beetroot with spring onion and yogurt
This recipe was a bit a disaster. I'm not sure if I didn't cut the beetroot into small enough chunks but it look nearly three hours to cook! I was doing the recipe for dinner guests and ended having to do emergency peas because the chicken was already done. We had the beetroot the next day cold. It was really good but the effort it took it make it wasn't really worth it.

Crispy smashed potatoes with fried onion and parsley
I LOVED these. They could have done with being cooked for a bit longer to crisp up more but I was getting impatient with dinner. There's just something about fried onions with potatoes that sings to me. Such a great combination. I would definitely make these again.

Blistered green beans with creamy tahini and fresh hot sauce
No picture of these because I've cheated a bit and not actually cooked these. My boyfriend cooked them instead but I did taste test them! I don't think I've ever eaten as much yogurt as I have when I'm cooking recipes from this book. Alison loves yogurt! Yogurt and tahini is such an addictive combination and I could eat it every day. The nuttiness of the tahini and freshness of then Greek yogurt is perfection. I think this veggie dish was a bit of a faff so one to save for the weekend I think.

Baked eggs with crushed chickpeas, chorizo and breadcrumbs
There's a running joke about chickpeas on our house. My boyfriend isn't much of a fan but I still always try to feed them to him, to try and change his mind. I've been looking for the perfect recipe to convert him and this is it! He absolutely loved it and said he preferred to the traditional shakshuka we normally have. The chorizo was the star of this dish and went perfectly with the slightly crispy chickpeas. I can't wait to make this again!

Steamed artichokes with salted garlic butter
This was a complete and utter disaster. I don't know if it was me or the recipe but it all went terribly wrong. I got some artichokes in my Abel & Cole box and was pretty excited as I'd never cooked them before. Well it was completely ruined and we ended up throwing them away! They just never steamed. I keep adding more and more water but yet nothing was happening. I think they were on then hob for around 2.5 hours. Won't be attempting to steam artichokes again any time soon!

Spicy, garlicky white beans
I cooked these to go along some left over BBQ meat we had in the fridge following an afternoon hosting. I wanted something I could easily put together in my hangover state and didn't have to leave the house for ingredients. This ticked every box! For something so simple it was great. It hardly took any time at all and is a great option for a non-carby side to meat.

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Postcards from Dublin

Last month we spent a few days in Dublin for Connor's 30th birthday and we both fell in love with the Irish capital. There isn't a lot to see in Dublin but the best thing about the city in my opinion is simply wandering around, dipping in and out pubs stopping for a quick drink to soak up the atmosphere.

The city is extremely touristy, we joked that you heard more American accents on the streets then you did Irish. It's really busy and you'll spend your days dodging people especially in the Temple Bar area. It took a while for us to get used tooas all the other places we've visited in Ireland haven't really had to many tourists. The city felt very European which was a surprise and at times it didn't feel like we'd only flown over the Irish Sea.

One thing I'd 100% recommend should you find yourself in the city is book a tour at Kilmainham Gaol as it was the best thing we did. We may be biased and have a huge interest in Irish history because of my boyfriend's heritage but it was so fascinating. I thought I already knew a fair bit about the partition of Ireland and the Easter Risings but the guide was incredibly knowledgable and offered snippets of history I had no idea of. You have to book a fair few weeks in advance because it sells out very quickly. It's only around 8 Euro.

As cliche as it may be it's also worth booking a tour around the Guinness Storehouse. The self-guided tour is a lot of fun and it's fairly interactive too. You get top enjoy a free pint of the black stuff in a bar offering 360 degree views of the entire city. Keep in mind its a fairly long way to walk from Temple Bar but it's quite a nice walk to enjoy. Definitely go for at least one drink in Temple Bar, I don't think it's worth spending your whole night in there but it's definitely worth a quick tipple to say that you've done it!

We had such a fab time in Dublin that we're thinking about when we can pop back for a second round!

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