Discovering Tapas Revolution

I have always been a fan of tapas dishes. The main reason being because I can often be very indecisive when it comes to making food choices and am guaranteed to get food envy if I have picked the wrong thing. Tapas on the other hand is just perfect because you don’t have to choose one thing. It’s traditionally a mix and match of different mini dishes/appetizers served both hot and cold. 

I used to have a very tempting Tapas Bar and Grill on my doorstep called Tendido Cuatro.

http://www.cambiodetercio.co.uk/cambio-de-tercio/tendido-cuatro-restaurant.html

There was no denying it served delicious tapas and also fantastic paella dishes but it came at a price. Until I discovered Tapas Revolution I thought this was the general trend with tapas restaurants around London.

A few weeks back I went to the Real Food Festival at Southbank. On arrival the heavens opened so we took shelter in the cookery theatre which was about to begin the next show. It could not have been better timing for the next 30 minutes we watched Omar Allibhoy, founder of Tapas Revolution, demonstrate the ease of tapas cooking. 

We also has an opportunity to taste the food and that was it - we were sold. Not only were we 100% going to attempt to recreate the dishes but we were definitely going to pay Tapas Revolution a visit. 

Here is a little picture of our Tortilla de Pataatas. It’s a Spanish Tortilla made with potatoe and onion. It’s dead easy and Omar even suggested using ready salted crisps to speed up the cooking time - it works brilliantly. 

Last Saturday was one of those days when we didn’t really have any plans until cinema and Tapas Revolution was suggested, resulting in the perfect Saturday evening. Tapas Revolution is located near the food court at Westfield London. Before seeing Omar in action I would usually eat just outside the main shopping centre at somewhere like Jamie’s Italian or Cappuccino (a cute little cafe). But this time it was straight to the tapas! 

It’s not your normal restaurant set up but more of a relaxed bar eating experience. The great thing is it’s actually affordable. They have set menus which keeps costs down and also makes choosing a lot easier. 

I would definitely recommend a trip to Tapas Revolution (http://www.tapasrevolution.com). Combined with a bit of shopping, and a trip to the cinema, you’ve got the perfect Saturday afternoon.

HSBC "The Legendary Journey"

I just saw the following ad and definitely thought it was worth sharing. The ad includes members of the Lions squad dressed up as 19^th Century sailors en route to Australia.

The campaign was created to promote HSBC’s sponsorship of the tour and to celebrate the 125 years since the British & Irish Lions first set sail to Australia. 

The Light Show

I'll be the first one to admit I am not much of a fine art lover. I struggle to really engage with it and lack interest. On the other hand modern art and photography I love. I have become a huge fan of the Veolia Environment Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at the Natural History Museum and always make an effort to go.

Last week my friend suggested we visited the Light Show at the Hayward Gallery. She is an interior designer and already knew a fair bit about the show and the installations. I on the other hand didn’t! Having seen this video online I could tell it was worth a trip.

It was fascinating to see how light could create such stunning pieces but furthermore the vast number of different illusions and shapes. Here are a couple pictures I managed to take whilst walking around the exhibition. 

M&C Saatchi “The best client we ever had”

I was really taken with the simplicity of this advert.

It definitely goes beyond normal advertising because it’s primarily a tribute to Margaret Thatcher. Unlike traditional advertising this wouldn’t have been client paid for.

M&C Saatchi are clearly making a statement and saying ‘look what we did for her – we could do this for you’. I think it’s an extremely clever piece, which is effectively selling an icon. 

Kit Kat “Take a Break”

As you can see it doesn’t have the CGI or motion graphics that we see in a lot of today’s stuff but I really quite enjoyed the old school style and simplicity of this Kit Kat commercial. I may have also found it mildly entertaining.

Bastille Concert

I have been following the band Bastille for a while now and was lucky enough to go to their gig a couple weeks back. For those of you who don’t have their current album it’s 100% worth a purchase.

I was introduced to Bastille last year, at which stage I could only really listen to them on YouTube. They have a series of songs called “Other People’s Heartache” which include some of the best covers I have heard. 

Here is a little video from the concert of Bastille performing “The Rhythm of the Night”. 

Burgers!!!

London restaurants have recently seen a bit of a trend in offering specific food rather than the normal variety to suit all customers. This trend started with BURGERS and some of the most popular places are:

Patty and Bun - http://www.pattyandbun.co.uk/

Honest Burgers - http://www.honestburgers.co.uk/

Dirty Burger - http://www.eatdirtyburger.com/

And then Meat Liquor - http://www.meatliquor.com/ 

The Meat Liquor Menu!!

Meat Liquor is without doubt the one everyone seems to talk about the most.  As a result I recently went with a group of girlfriends and it really was an experience. I must admit it’s not our usual choice of venue for a girlie catch up but it was certainly good fun.

The one thing that surprised me was the extremely strict queuing system (reservations are a big NO), you are stamped in the queue and can only begin queuing once your full party has arrived. This proves slightly annoying when one of the girls is running late…not naming anyone!

When we finally got inside the thumping rock music and dark, graffitied interiors all added to the Meat Liquor vibe and I loved it.  I am not sure if I would necessarily name this “London’s Best Burger” but it’s definitely up there!

Here’s a little picture of our order and yes we did finish it all!

The Iron Lady

Yesterday the news of Margaret Thatcher’s death was shared with the world and it will undoubtedly be a day remembered by many. Margaret Thatcher was Conservative prime minister from 1979 to 1990 and throughout that period she was an iconic political figure and world leader.

I particularly enjoyed this quote from the BBC website "Any woman who understands the problems of running a home will be nearer to understanding the problems of running a country." (1979, the year she became prime minister)

Youngest Oscar Nomination.

At the age of 9 Quvenzhané Wallis is the youngest ever best actress nominee in history for her role in Beasts of the Southern Wild. As a result of this nomination I instantly feel this is a film to watch. The trailer below gives you a glimpse of extraordinary talent.

One Direction "Kiss Me" Video

So it's safe to save One Direction are doing phenomenally well.  They are certainly a guilty pleasure for a fair few girls and yes boys too. I could lie and say they don't phase me but lets be honest they are taking the world by storm and are just great.

I can't say I really watch that many music videos but after the release of One direction's latest video #KissYouOnVEVO went straight to the top worldwide trending topic on Twitter. This in itself is pretty impressive but furthermore the video has only been on YouTube for 7 days and already has more than 24 million views. 

For those of you who want a cheeky watch here's the video (the skiing outfits have got to be a personal fav):

Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone. Apologies but I have really abandoned my blog lately. There are so many things I should have blogged about but I just failed to find the time. 

I hope you all had wonderful Christmas's and enjoyed copious amounts of food and drink. One of my highlights had to be going to Christmas Carols at the Royal Albert Hall. There is no denying it is a truly spectacular venue and it was the perfect way to get into the festive spirit. 

Here is one of the videos I took on the night:

It's safe to say 2012 was a pretty amazing year to be British. We had the fantastic Jubilee celebrations followed by the remarkable London 2012 Olympic Games. My family and I were fortunate enough to secure tickets for several events, culminating in the final evening of track and field when we witnessed a truly remarkable 5,000m race when 80,000 people carried Mo Farah to victory in a 12 lap Mexican wave.  Seeing a new world record in the 4x100m Final was an added bonus.  It was an unforgettable family and sporting occasion.  

For those of you who want reminding here is a video montage I found of the games. 

It's going to be hard to follow but fingers crossed we can make 2013 a good one.