Bubble Tea

Being the curious george that I am, I had to go and investigate this place after I spied it out of a window at the gym.

What looks like a large portaloo in the middle of Cabot Circus is in fact a shipping container, home to CUPP cafe. Apparently the company upgraded to this big blue box about a month ago after they outgrew their old Citroen van!

Inside, the cafe comprises of a tiny kitchen and an equally tiny waiting area full of wooden boxes.

The menu baffled me because I had absolutely no idea what on earth 'bubble tea' was, so I got the nice man in the kitchen to explain:

Bubble tea originates from Taiwan and is a milky, tea-based drink with chewy 'tapioca' balls added to it. Thus it is known as "the drink that you chew".

I didn't want to tell the nice man that I thought it sounded absolutely disgusting, so I went along with it and decided to try one anyway. I fancied something less milky and a bit more refreshing, so opted for an iced fruit version of the traditional bubble tea.

Step 1: Pick your flavour - I chose lemon.

Step 2: Pick your tea base - On the expert's recommendation I chose green tea, although you could also choose between black tea or jasmine tea.

Step 3: Sit on a box and wait.

Here is the result: 

The actual drink was delicious and refreshing. The balls on the other hand were effectively soggy wine gums, and made the whole drinking experience very strange. At first they were fun and exciting, but I was soon sick of them constantly getting in the way, and ended up pinching my straw so that I could enjoy my iced tea without them.

One man in the cafe told me that he liked firing them at people in the street through his straw. Maybe I should have tried that...

Personally I think I will opt out of the balls next time, as half of mine ended up in the bin. Regardless, the lemon and green tea concoction was very enjoyable and I look forward to trying out some different flavour combinations in the future.

Birthday Boy

9 years ago yesterday my four-pawed little friend was born.

Happy Birthday Bugs.

Praying that we wouldn't make him go for a birthday ride in grandad's zimmer...

...but of course we did.

At least he got some chicken dumbbells to make up for it.

Going...

Going...

Gone. 

Yum.

Banana Bread

Today I have eaten this for breakfast, lunch and tea. Enough said. 

Dippy Dippy

The perfect dippy egg:

1. Fill a saucepan with enough water to just about cover your eggs.
2. Bring to the boil.
3. Once boiling, put a lid on the pan and turn the heat right down. Leave for 30 seconds.
4. Turn the heat off completely and leave for 3 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, make your soldiers (I like marmite).
5. Carefully remove the eggs from the pan and place in a bowl of cold water to stop them from cooking any further.
6. Dry the eggs gently and crack their little heads off.

Enjoy!

Easter Weekend

I LOVE Easter. I'm not sure why you wouldn't given that it is the one day where eating a disgusting amount of chocolate is completely acceptable (and expected). This year it was very nice spending a relaxing couple of days with the fam after a busy week away from home. 

Mum whipped up a traditional Simnel cake which is effectively Easter's version of Christmas cake. Fruit and marzipan. Not my cup of tea it has to be said but I have been told by the Simnel fans in the family that it tasted very nice. 

Fun fact - the 11 marzipan balls are supposed to represent Jesus' disciples...

Looking back it is probably a good thing I don't like Simnel cake as I think I would have exploded had I indulged in any more food/chocolate.

On Easter Monday we took advantage of the free bank holiday parking and drove into London for the day. A spot of shopping followed by afternoon tea at the Waldorf Hotel, a visit to the Tate Modern and a trip to the theatre. Perrrrrfect.

I am strictly a Devonshire cream tea follower - clotted cream first and then jam. I just don't understand why you would put the wetter ingredient on first and then try to spread the cream?! Note to Cornwall: it doesn't make sense.

After wandering around London and culturing ourselves at the Tate, we headed back in the Shaftsbury Avenue direction. There was then time for a quick G&T before we had to make our way to the Apollo Theatre to see 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.' It was great, definitely worth going to see even if you haven't read the book. 

BRGR.Co - Wardour Street.
Tim had been on the prowl for a good burger all day. None of us really knew why seeing as we had stuffed our faces at tea, however when we passed this little place on our way back to the car, none of our post-theatre bellies could resist. The burgers looked too good. They also conveniently came in different sizes so you could order according to how hungry you were. We opted to take them away so that we could enjoy them in the comfort of our car. A great way to end the day.

The burger definitely didn't make it home. It was long gone before we even left London.