Medlar

Medlar is my friend Stephanie's favourite restaurant - for someone who goes out to eat daily this is saying a lot. She had a wonderful birthday party there last year, and I have been back regularly ever since! Based in Chelsea, with a michelin star to it's name, you would expect small, overpriced portions and pretentious staff but Medlar couldn't be further from that image. Their staff are all absolutely lovely, there is no pretentious-ness at all and the food is mindblowingly excellent. There is also SO much of it that it is very, very difficult to move afterwards (in a good way.)

Medlar operate a three course, fixed price menu for dinner which is £45. A mid-week lunch of the same menu is £27 so if you are looking for a cheaper option definitely opt for that - there is no difference at all except it is a little less busy! It really is excellent value for what you get. 

I went along with Jade last week, and we had the most amazing meal ever. I started with tuna tartare (Tuna tartare with ponzu dressing, tobikko, preserved lemon, avocado purée and crispy garlic) (above), Jade opted for the crab raviolo. The menu here changes monthly, but a couple of star dishes remain constant which include the crab raviolo and the duck egg tart - both of which are amazing. You also start with complimentary bread which is AMAZING - get the bread!! 

For mains I chose the 'Roast Cornish hake with baby violet artichokes, mousseron, fennel purée, sea beet and pennywort'.  This was amazing and also very healthy - a welcome respite from the rest of my eating lately! The different types of fish offset eachother perfectly and the avocado addition was really good. 

Jade went for the 'Roast guinea fowl with summer truffle pesto, sautéed wings, broad beans, St George and cauliflower purée' which she really enjoyed as well, and couldn't finish! 

Now for the dessert. I highly recommend going with a group of friends and ordering one each, to pass around the table as we saw on the table infront of us. We went for 'Passion fruit sorbet with coconut tuile' (above) which was really fresh and tangy, and the 'Chocolate tart with salted caramel and praline parfait', pictured below which was one of the best desserts I have ever eaten. It is literally my ideal dessert - rich, gooey chocolate cake with a splattering of crust on the side, salted caramel sauce drops which were AMAZING and some incredible chocolate chip ice cream. I was sorely tempted to order another straight away, but by this point had already unbuttoned my jeans so thought it was probably better not to. A must try. 

It's ok though - just when you think it is all over, out come the homemade marshmallows (orange flavoured this time, really unusually great) and amazing chocolate truffles. It is things like this which make Medlar stand out - little touches which shows they understand the turmoil of finishing a meal and thinking there is nothing else but the darkness of a food coma lying ahead. They fill this longing hole with delicious complimentary treats, and it goes down a storm. 

If you are looking for somewhere to impress a date, or just a really excellent quality meal with brilliant service, Medlar is definitely the place to come. I think it is also my favourite restaurant in London - I have never eaten anything there that didn't make me convulse in ecstasy so it is a pretty good bet for a great meal.  

University - Part Three

Cheerleading/Chess
The first two years of uni my 'clubs' were (literal) clubs... in the third year me and my best friend had a CV crisis and decided that we had better join some clubs! We also came up with the brilliant idea of starting up a Chess Club as Queen Mary was missing one... and now I have 'founder/president of the chess club' on my CV! If you spot a gap like that it is definitely worth taking the risk and filling it. We aren't the best chess players ever, but we have learnt a lot about organisation, leadership and teamwork (etc) from it and had some very cute nights playing chess :)
One of the best decisions I made throughout uni was to join Cheerleading. We have one of the best teams in England, with about 70 people on it total and 3 separate teams within one, with the top level 6 team competing in Florida at the last world's competition! (As you may be able to guess, me and Katherine were in the 'new' team). We still had such an amazing time and really dedicated ourselves (6 hours training a week...) to it, and came second in a national competition (one point off first place!).





I definitely recommend joining a club at uni, even if you think it's not really your thing! :)

Dima
I met Dima at school and we came to London together. We had heard it from everyone about how 'hard it is to be in a relationship at uni' and all the potentials of making out with strangers etc. It has actually not been difficult in the slightest and I've never ever felt like I am 'missing out' by being in a relationship at uni. It is four years coming up and he is literally my best friend and boyfriend in one, the best person I have ever met :) I'm really happy we got to experience uni together as we have had some really great times over the last 3 years.




Food
I am a major foodie, and London has a lot to eat. I would like to congratulate myself on succeeding in eating some super incredible food over the past three years, before my metabolism gives up completely!

Lantana's french bread amazingness

Chelsea Bun - always a winner (get the milkshake!)

Deep fried oreos at Feast London (definitely go to this!!!)

Medlar - incredible food

my FAVOURITE BURGERS EVER - Patty and Bun (worth the queue)

GO TO GRANGER&CO. Get the ricotta pancakes with banana and honeycomb butter. 
If you go to brick lane on a sunday you are pretty much guaranteed a food-gasm

Sapori Sardi is my favourite date-restaurant.

Maxibon cookies.... heaven



I have had a slightly love/hate relationship with Law since being at university, but by the end of my degree I have decided that I do actually really like it and I'm glad I studied it. I still am not 100% sure about what I want to do (there is just so much out there!) but I've learnt some really interesting things over the last three years. Uni is literally the best time of your life, so make sure you are studying something you love! I have had the best time ever at Queen Mary and will really miss it, but I'm more excited to see what the future holds :)

Birthday

The past week has been a very busy week, filled with friends, family and food because... I turned 21! Last year I was in Disneyland Paris for my birthday so I was not expecting this year to even compare...
best day ever

However this birthday was actually even better very good because it was spent with the people I love most. (and really excellent food and presents!)

On the night before my birthday my agency very luckily had a dinner party at Blake's Hotel, which does a-maaazing food! We ate tartare, steak and.. cake! Where they very nicely sang to me :)


Then very drunk on champagne, I went to Dima's who tucked me into bed. We woke up at 7am (I got quite excited) and he gave me the most beautiful camera ever, in the hope that I take proper pictures as opposed to snapping literally everything I see with my iphone. I have had to buy a 'dummy guide' to it, it is quite overwhelming but it takes wonderful pictures :')
My other friends bought me a polaroid camera this year, so I have understood the hint - I take a lot of pictures.


After a hearty breakfast of pancakes we headed out to the Natural History Museum (in the pouring rain, cheers London) for some ice skating with two of my bestest friends, Katherine and Nicola. Luckily the rain held off for the hour we were on the ice, and we managed to teach Nicola how to ice skate on a penguin - I later made all 3 of them follow me skating on penguins whilst singing happy birthday :D



We then went for a leisurely stroll around Harrods, followed by the BIGGEST AND BEST PIZZA I have ever eaten. I have had Homeslice pizza before in a slice form, so after to escape the rain we popped in for a quick bite. The whole pizzas are 20 inches, but I don't think any of us really understood the 'actual' size - Dima got one to himself and me and Nicola shared. For £20 it is really good value to share as it is quite impossible to finish one off alone. A large slice is £4.

 
We waddled home, meeting my family ready for our next food adventure. My dad very nicely took us for a family meal to Hawksmoor, which is my go-to for steak and their salted caramel and chocolate tart with popcorn ice cream. Dima also really loves their Sunday lunches, but I am more of a dessert girl.

We were still in the midst of a food coma from the pizza, but free food = ordering a whole lobster and forcing yourself to eat it. Followed by ordering the above tart (which was not in its normal form that evening but a souffle-type thing, which is good because I love souffle but bad because I really love the normal tart) and the salted caramel rolos to take home. Because it was my birthday and I GET TWO PUDDINGS IF I WANT. But I very nearly passed out on the table trying to eat all this food. (Also, do not go to Hawksmoor on a weekend evening because it is very loud indeed).


My dad bought me a BEAUTIFUL Michael Kors watch/wallet which I shall treasure forever and ever.


and on Sunday I had a sort of food-party with my bestest friends. We ate A LOT. Monday was naturally, at Mahiki where we were delighted with massive drinks in seashells. I went with Central list who are always brilliant <3



It was also a pyjama party.

 
And that is almost all. I dragged myself to the last food adventure of the week with Stephanie and Aji on Tuesday, to an overdue dinner at Medlar, Stephanie's favourite restaurant. This is saying a LOT for someone who eats out every single day without fail. She very nicely managed to coerce the waiters into putting candles on our desserts in honour of mine and Aji's birthday :)

The food was incredible.
 
That pretty much concludes my 21st birthday! It was really, really lovely and I feel so lucky to have such amazing people to celebrate it with :)))
xxxx