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Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts

A love letter to Porto ❤️

Monday, August 19, 2024

 


I was lucky enough to spend a week meandering through Porto's cobbled streets, and sampling the best fish in the city! I booked the surprise trip for my partner's birthday in August, and it was very much a highlight of my summer this year. I am so grateful for being able to travel frequently and experience different cultures and traditions ðŸ’«

 
In this blog post, I’ll share the highlights of our adventure, from breathtaking viewpoints to wandering through Porto’s charming alleyways and indulging in unforgettable meals by the Douro River.


Manteigaria - Pastel del Nata

It wouldn't be a trip to Porto, without an unhealthy amount of Pastel del natas being consumed. These little tarts have me in a chokehold. I fell in love when I first tried one in Lisbon last year, so when I knew I was returning to Porto this year - I knew I had to stock up! Sure, you can pick up a pastry anywhere but the Manteigaria ones are a Portuguese staple. 

Consumed best with a black coffee!


Time Out Market Porto

You can't visit Porto without visiting the famous Time Out Market, here you will find a range of food vendors, ranging from authentic Portuguese food, fresh seafood, burgers, and pizzas.
We decided to go with a few sharing plates: the steak sandwich(tender and full of flavour) with potato chips, prawns in garlic & fresh herbs sauce, and grilled sardines—a true Portuguese classic.

Of course, we returned to the market! This time we had to try the famous smash burgers from Brusco—made with 60-day-aged beef, two perfectly crispy patties, cheese, onion, cucumber, ketchup, and mustard. So simple, yet unbelievably delicious. I’m fully behind the Time Out Market hype because it’s honestly fantastic. Whether you’re after a quick bite with friends or a more special date night, the market has so many options to match your vibe. 

It’s a place that’s got something for everyone, and I can already see why people keep coming back!



 Pizzeria Bella Mia

Ok, I know what you're thinking.. why go to Portugal and not order Portuguese food? Well, majority of Portuguese cuisine contains pork and I don't eat pork anymore. This recommendation came from my good pal Issie (shout to you!), conveniently located right next to our Air Bnb, this quaint little pizzeria made for the perfect date night. I won't lie to you, I love a white pizza (slightly controversial I know!) and Bella Mia didn't disappoint with their Woodland Truffle sourdough pizza, with mozzarella, spinach, mushrooms, and truffle oil. 

Bella Mia is a little gem with an outdoor seating area on a quiet street where you can sit back, sip on a glass of Portuguese vinho verde, and people-watch.

Bellissimo ðŸ’Œ

 Bolhao Market

One of my favorite things about being on holiday is visiting a food market. There's something special about soaking up the atmosphere and tasting fresh, local ingredients. 

Mercado do Bolhão, Porto’s oldest and most popular food market, is filled with local vendors selling everything from fresh seafood to cured meats, cheese, and homemade pastries. There's a real local buzz here, it's also very affordable and less commercialised than Time Out Market - so if that's more your thang.. come on down.

Holy Sandwich 

The holy grail of all sandwich places in Porto, the creme de la creme if you will. We stumbled upon Holy Sandwich on our first night, and I couldn’t have imagined a better welcome to Porto’s food scene!  Don't let the 80's American diner style put you off. There's a reason why Holy Sandwich is trending on Tiktok and the food is bloody delicious.

Don’t just take my word for it, if you’re in Porto, Holy Sandwich is a must-try! Whether you’re craving comfort food with a twist or just need a break from traditional Portuguese flavours, you won't be disappointed. 


Zenith

Okay, can we all just take a moment for this acai bowl? It was sensational and tbh, I am thinking about booking another flight to Porto just to devour it again. There's just something so nice about fresh fruit on holiday, and why does it always taste so much better than in the UK? Riddle me that..

Zenith is definitely a bit of a social media hotspot, however, it did live up to its name, we stopped by for brunch to fill up before an exciting day of exploring the city. I would recommend arriving between 10-11am before it gets too busy as you might be waiting a little while for a table.

Dom Luis I Bridge

Is it even a trip to Porto if you don't visit the Dom Luis I Bridge? Arguably, one of the most iconic tourist attractions in Porto, and for good reason! The views from the bridge are breathtaking - head down there in the evening to catch the sunset. Built in the 19th century by one of Gustave Eiffel's students, this iconic bridge spans the Douro River, connecting Porto to Vila Nova de Gaia and providing fantastic panoramic views. 


 Duoro Valley Wine Tour

Now, you cannot visit Porto - the world-renowned home of Port without going on a wine tour. Admittedly, I am not the biggest fan of wine, but when in Rome. We learnt all about the wine production process and sampled some of the best wines in the region, all whilst sailing down the Douro and taking in its spectacular beauty. We booked this tour via Get Your Guide, and whilst the prices might seem steep, I think it's good value for everything included. 

The tour started at around 9am, meeting at the Living Tours agency, near Sao Bento station. We opted to pay extra for a slightly smaller tour, as we wanted it to feel more authentic - plus the added bonus of getting to know the people in our tour group. The only thing that let the tour down a little bit, was the lunch! We were told that we would have lunch by 1:30pm and we didn't end up eating until 3:30pm, after being a few glasses of wine deep.. its safe to say that we were all very tipsy and the hanger took over!. We expected the lunch to be substantial, but the portion sizes were tiny - so definitely keep this in mind when booking this tour, to bring lots of snacks with you as it is a long day. 



Still not convinced? 

Well, I guess you will just have to check it out for yourself and see what all the fuss is about! 

Thanks for reading my latest post! I hope it’s inspired a little wanderlust and maybe some cravings too.

Eating out in Bristol on a budget

Monday, July 2, 2018





Okay so, a little while ago (and by a while I mean 6 months oops), I showed you 5 useful ways that you could do uni on a budget Part 1 and Part 2. A recent article that I wrote for Uwe Hub Voice called "Eating out in Bristol on a budget"  prompted me to delve deeper to explore my culinary taste buds. 

Admittedly, I don't exactly have the best diet (granted) but I figured why not turn these university posts into a series and (try) to write them as regularly as possible. So far, I have covered uni fashion on a budget, my top 10 things to do in Bristol, and an overview of my first year at UWE. 


So here I give to you a compilation of my favourite cheap places to eat out in Bristol. 


1. Pizzarova 

I mean, are you even a UWE student if you haven't heard of Pizzarova before?; situated amongst the hustle and bustle of Gloucester road, Pizzarova is home to the pengest pizza in Bristol. It is known for miraculously curing hangovers and with 20% off for students, you can't really go wrong! The cheapest pizzas range from £5 (with fewer toppings) to £10 (with more toppings). 

And if you find that you cannot eat a whole pizza to yourself then you can go halves with one of your house mates and it will be even cheaper. This makes eating out in Bristol on a budget   even more desirable. 


2. Three brothers 

Maybe you're on the go and want a quick bite to eat in between shopping or on your break from work? Well pop down to Three Brothers at Welsh Back for a spectacular £5 lunch deal where you will get a burger and a portion of chips! Additionally, if you download their app Zapper , first time users get £5 credit which means you can eat for free! 

With riverside views that you cannot beat, you should definitely hurry down to Three Brothers to dine in style and eat out on a budget. 



                                        3.  Yakinori

Japanese food lovers look no further! I give to you..... Yakinori! Situated on lively Park street, this vibrant, quirky restaurant is complete with an open kitchen and amazing lunch time deals. If you need something quick and on the go then you can grab a chicken katsu or terriyaki box from just £3.99. 

For those of you who are too lazy to leave your student houses, you will be happy to know that Yakinori is also available on the Deliveroo app and they also offer Vegan and Vege options too! 
Maybe student life on a budget isn't so bad after all? 



4.  Pieminister 

Picture this, you are out for dinner with 6 of your house mates for one of their birthdays, you happen to pass Pie Minister but the
powdery aroma draws you back in. Then you find out that you will receive a cheeky 10% off with your student card, surely this can't be true you ponder?

Yes folks, you have heard it here first... classic pies will cost you a minuscule £5.95 served with gravy! And that my friends is how you do uni on a budget. 


  Did someone say pies? 


        5. The Canteen 
Arguably, with two food awards beneath their belts, it can be said that The Canteen is the bee's knees in Bristol! Their menu includes a range of vegetarian, gluten-free and vegan options.

The Canteen is one of Bristol's most vibrant meeting places as it is situated amongst the energetic Stokes Croft area. Prices at this quirky setting range from £5-£10 and include free soup and crusty bread too! Not to mention The Canteen also host's regular live music from many local and creative geniuses. 



Recommended apps 

What better way to check out what your local restaurants/bars and coffee shops have to offer than to use Wriggle! My favourite thing about this app is that it automatically updates with deals closest to wherever you are, so imagine you're strolling down the road with your girls and you see loads of cheap food deals flash up! Absolute heaven. The best thing about Wriggle, is that you can visit the creme de la creme of Bris but on a budget.


Another app that we all know and love is Groupon, the infamous app for last minute birthday presents and food deals! We all love a good bargain and if you're planning to go out for food in large numbers then you may want to consider Groupon where you can save yourself some serious £££. 

Groupon has some serious offers right now, like Time Out Kitchen's Two Monster Freakshakes for only £7.50 and


Thank you all for the support and for reading my blog posts, I really appreciate it! 

Love Leah xx 


How To Do Uni On a Budget Part 1

Wednesday, January 10, 2018





Okay so maybe you've just got accepted into university for this coming September ? or maybe you're already a uni student who can't quite tighten your purse strings?

It is no joke when they tell you that going to uni will make you broke and when I say broke I literally mean broke. The kind of broke where you can no longer afford fancy lunches out with your friends every week and the kind of broke where you decide to have a nap for dinner. Well folks, when I tell you that all is not lost would you believe me? Yes it is possible to do most (but not all) of the things that you want to do at uni if you budget more strategically, this means ditching M&S for Aldi and getting more for your money. 

So here is a compilation of 5 useful ways that you can do uni on a budget. 


1.  Finding cheaper alternatives

This can include anything from the likes of changing your regular expensive supermarket to shopping online and splitting the costs with your pals. If you find that you're an impulse buyer, like myself then this might particularly benefit you as you will not be tempted to grab loads of random items (that you don't need) from the till point. Sometimes you may find that you only need a few little bits, in which case clubbing together with your housemates to split the delivery costs may work in your favour. 

The way that I see it is if I budget around £30 for a week's worth of food then I can spend any additional money that I have left over on going out and doing fun things with my friends.


2.  Saying "No" 

Another way that you can do uni on a budget, is by simply saying "no" to plans that maybe you've been forced into going to and at the time you politely agreed but you don't actually want to go. I think this is a big problem with people at uni because many of you have only just settled in so you're still trying to "find your feet" plus you're lumbered with the struggles of moving away from home and being pushed out into the big wide world by yourselves. Some of you may want to impress your peers and be well-liked, this is fine but you should feel comfortable enough to say no to things without worrying about what the other people may think of you for not going. 

At the end of the day it is for you to weigh it up and make your own choices but for me I would much rather go to an event that I actually want to go to rather than going to something that I won't enjoy just to impress other people, plus you will save sooo much more money just by simply saying "no". I remember when I first started uni, I was a little bit like this because I struggled to say no to plans and went to everything just because everyone else was! Now, I will say no to a lot more events and not care about missing out at all. 



3. Depop, Depop, Depop!! 

Okay so lets suppose that your loan has just dropped and you have a dnb event on Friday that you still need to find an outfit for, what are you going to do? Well.. obviously head to Depop and spend the majority of your loan on some wavey garms.

Depop is one of the best apps for selling and purchasing quirky clothes at a discounted price. If you're looking to make some money fast and have a few key designer pieces in your wardrobe then you should definitely consider using Depop because you don't have to go through the whole auction process like Ebay and it is geared more towards younger people so you're more likely to get a response quicker! Alternatively, if you're looking for a few bargains and won't max out your overdraft then cop a few Depop garms and do uni on a budget. 


4. Pre-paid cards

Alright I will be honest, I am yet to try one of these bad boys but so many of my friends at uni have one and they say that it makes budgeting 10x easier. If you don't already know a pre-paid card is essentially a top up card and means you will always stay within your budget. The best thing about them are that you have no interest to pay back and no "unexpected" charges to catch you out. If you're wondering about going into your overdraft too much then a pre-paid card might be the solution for you. 

If you decide to go on a night out and don't want to spend endless amounts of money that you don't have on drinks for yourself and other people, then you can just take your pre-paid card along with you and then use the Uber app for taxis to get home. 


5. Sign up for UNiDays

So it is inevitable that by the time you finish reading this that you're thinking "I have a job or I have more money than the average student so I don't need to budget" or  even "I just really like eating out". Well if there's one thing that you should take from this blog post on how to do uni on a budget, then it's that you should all download the app UNiDays (unfortunately this isn't sponsored btw) but you can get so many good restaurant deals from the likes of Zizzi Italian, Ask Italian and Chiquitos.  It also means that if you're saving between 25%-40% off the bill that you can spend on some cool clothes or event tickets! 


My final piece of advice is not to restrict yourself from everything, if you want to spend half of your overdraft on a new coat and then not be able to pay your rent for the next month then you do that, just don't blame me when it goes wrong. Have fun and enjoy yourselves whilst you still can but don't over do it!

Do any of you go to uni? And if so do you have any useful methods of how to budget and most importantly do you stick to them? I would love to hear back from you in the comments below. Thank you all so much for reading, I appreciate it! 

Love Leah xx







Trip to liverpool & OOTD

Thursday, April 17, 2014



Hello fashionistas!

My blog post today is going to be a bit different to what I would normally post. I thought I would share with you all, pictures of my trip to Liverpool. As you may know my dad is a massive fan of Liverpool FC, so he decided to take us down to Liverpool for a few days.

On Tuesday afternoon we attended the 25th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster; people came in their thousands to pay their respects to those fans who did not make it home that dreadful day of April 15th 1989. We laid flowers to commemorate the 96 people who passed away.The atmosphere in the stadium was that of distress and sorrow as the mother of one of the victims paid her tributes. The souful choir sang exquisite hymns in harmony which made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and created a sense of tranquillity throughout the stadium.




                                                 
       The Hillsborough memorial service tickets and the hymn booklet issued when we entered the stadium.  

Shankly's gates reading 'You'll never walk alone'.

Hundreds of scarfs tied to the railings of the gates to remember the deceased fans of 89'.


The thousands of football fanatic fans that attended the ceremony.

After the memorial ceremony, I was longing to try the scouse traditional meal of curry &chips;
believe me when I tell you that it tasted better than it looked.



Tuesday evening we explored a few places in Liverpool, we located Mathew street best-known worldwide as the location of the cavern club where The Beatles played on numerous occasions in their early career.

Me posing with the John Lennon statue.

Unfortunately the shop was closed when we arrived.

A photograph of The Beatles in their younger days.

My favourite make-up shop M.A.C.

                                                  We visited a chinese buffet for dinner, the food was delicious!
                                                       
                                                         Black & white attire (OOTD)




  We went for a ride on the echo wheel of Liverpool in Albert Dock and saw some spectacular sights, the big cathedral and our hotel (Hampton by Hilton).

I was very apprehensive going on this ride because I am not great with heights but I am so glad I did.
Jess and myself on the Liverpool wheel.



              We spend the whole of wednesday sight seeing, visiting muesums and shopping in the city centre.
OOTD

Visiting the slavery museum was truly moving; witnessing what black people used to go through has completely changed my perspective on life. I have learned alot from the brief 45 minutes in the muesum.


My blog post was longer than usual today and I have cut alot out of my two days spent in Liverpool ( I will spare you the boredom). These pictures were taken with my Nikon Coolpix L120 and my I phone 5.



Hope you are all well, thank-you so much for taking the time to read my blog it means alot.


Leah x









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