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    Fancy a try? Get 50% OFF your first order of 8 cans. That's just £12!

    Since lockdown in the UK began I have been passing the time by getting into my craft beers. I'd gotten the odd box from Beer52 before but this time I decided to keep my subscription up and running over the months and try out some new beer types and breweries. I've never been a fan of the darker beers like stout so my subscription solely centres around lighter beers like lagers and IPAs. Here are my thoughts on the subscription and a couple of my favourite beers from the box this month.

    What do you get?

    Each month you get a copy of Ferment Magazine, which is a magazine written and published by the guys over at Beer52 which has all kinds of articles related to the craft industry. I like to read the interviews with the breweries that are featured in the boxes each month. This helps to give you an idea of the ethos of the brewery you're drinking from and helps you to feel more involved in the process. 

    You also get a little snack to have with your beers each month. This month I got some sweet chilli chickpeas which went down a treat with my favourite beer on the list which we'll talk about in a minute.

    Finally, the most important part, you get a selection of beers. You have a couple of choices to make when you set up your subscription. Firstly, do you like dark beers as well as light beers? If you do, you can choose a mixed box including everything from IPAs to stouts. Or you can choose to just have the light beers, like me. Secondly, how many beers do you want? The standard subscription includes 8 Beers for £24. You can then upgrade to 10-packs or 12-packs if desired. But you can get your first box of 8 for HALF PRICE by clicking here. All beers you received are listed in the ferment magazine are rated on all kinds of qualities as well as ideal drinking temperatures. 

    Top 3 Beers

    3) Alone Together DDH Amarillo  - O Brother


    Alone Together was a much different beer to the others in the box. This was quite distinctively sour and dry. It made a change from the rest of the beers in the box which tended to be quite sweet. At 4% ABV this beer was mild but woke up with the high 'fizziness' of it. Would recommend.

    2) Howling Gale Pale - Eight Degrees

    Howling Gale was very sharp on the throat which offered a crisp and refreshing taste. It was perfect for the hot weather we've been having lately. Brewed by one of my favourite microbreweries, Eight Degrees, it is definitely one I would have again if given the chance.

    1) Happy Days Pale Ale - Rascals


    This was the stand-out beer from this month's box. This pale ale was relentlessly smooth with a wonderful tropical aroma. This had it all. It was refreshing, smooth and fruity. The best of the bunch, I will actively seek out this beer whenever I can. It's going to be hard but I'm certain it will be worth it.

    Have you ever tried Beer52? What did you think?
    Fancy a try? Get 50% OFF your first order of 8 cans. That's just £12!



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    This is a post of firsts. The first post on my revamped blog and my first recipe post! I thought I'd start with something simple and easy to follow. If this goes well then expect to see more of these in the near future!


    What You Will Need

    • 150ml Semi-Skimmed Milk
    • 230g Self-Raising Flour
    • 60g Unsalted Butter
    • 30g-50g Grated Cheddar (Depending on how cheesy you want them!)
    • A pinch of salt

    Let's Make It


    1) First you'll need to make sure your oven is pre-heated to 210C.

    2) Add the flour to a large mixing bowl and rub in the butter. This will be easier to do at room temperature. If needed, microwave the butter to soften it but be careful; you don't want to mix the flour with liquid butter. This will rid the end result of it's buttery flavour.


    3) Slowly mix in the cheese and milk. The mixture will get very sticky at this point so be careful. Flour up your counter and pour the dough onto it. Knead lightly so all the cheese is mixed into the dough. You'll have to keep adding flour to the dough to stop it from sticking. Once satisfied, roll the dough out flat so that the dough is about 1.5/2 cm thick and cut out circles to place onto a previously greased baking tray. The circles can be any size you'd desire but I'd recommend  circles of a 6 cm diameter. I improvised with the lid of an old coffee jar.


    4) Lay the discs out flat onto the greased baking tray. I manages to get 12 from my dough. Rub the tops with a little milk and make sure they're placed with a couple of centimetres between them.


    5)  Place the tray into the oven and bake for about 15 minutes. You may want to add 5 minutes if using a non-fan oven or the scones have not risen or tuned golden. Enjoy with a nice cup of tea!



    Thanks for reading, if you give this recipe a try
     then please send me pictures of your results!
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    So my fiancee and I were planning a little trip to London in the midst my final university exam period. We all know how expensive London can be so we planned that we'd head to a chain restaurant that we looked up beforehand, The Slug & Lettuce. 

    We'd researched the menu for the bar beforehand hand liked the food we saw, plus the prices were not too bad either. We underestimated how busy it'd be so we didn't reserve a table beforehand. Our bad, it is London after all. Upon arrival, we were greeted quite abruptly with "Have you booked?". Of course, though, we hadn't. But a table was still available anyway so we were seated.

    The waitress informed us that she would be back in a few minutes to take our order. Upon looking at the menu my fiancee decided to have the Smothered Chicken (£10.29) and I wanted to have something different to what I usually eat when out and went for the Chicken Tikka Masala. We also decided to treat ourselves to a Zombie cocktail each (£9.95 2-4-1).  It took a while to place this order since the waitress seemed more concerned with 'chilling' at another table of presumably her friends.

    Once the drinks arrived and we tried them we couldn't complain too much, but that's where the lack of complaining ended. Let's talk about my fiancee's food first with a game I like to call "Spot the Piece of Chicken". 
    For reader convenience, I have pointed out the poultry.


    It was dry, bland and even a 3-year-old child would call it bite-sized. I mean, for over £10 you'd expect your chicken to be a bit thicker than the knife you're cutting it with. When I say cutting I mean probing. I guess a good thing to say about this meal is that you can admire the majority of the plate that you're eating it off? Slug and Lettuce? More like Slug and LetUs disappoint you.

    Now for my lovely curry...


    Once I got the plate to stop sliding around on the...other plate... I got to taste it. Not going to lie, it wasn't the best curry I had ever eaten in my life. The rice tasted like it had been cooking for as long as it had been grown for. The chicken, like my fiancee's smothered chicken, was on the dry side as well as bland. The sauce looked like it was mostly water and could have done with being simmered longer.

    We were terribly disappointed with this meal. Terrible tasting food, you don't get much for your money, and chicken you could replace your window panes with. All in all, I give this place a 2/10. That's 1 mark for the table not wobbling and 1 for the fact that the drinks "weren't too bad".

    2/10
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    The people behind Bear Coffee Company kindly invited me and 4 of my friends to the opening of their new store in Derby. This is only their first new venue since their original shop opened in Uttoxeter in 2016 so they are a relatively new company since being founded in 2014. 

    Upon walking in the thing I first noticed was the alternative layout of the bar compared to the conventional way. The bar/counter was centred in the middle of the room with the seating area to one side and the majority of bar stools to the other. There was surprisingly good lighting in there as well.  considering most modern coffee shops think its 'cool' to basically make you drink your coffee in the dark.  

    Cappuccino - £2.60


    I thought I'd start with a classic cappuccino. Our server informed us that the baristas strive for perfection on the drink side of things. If a coffee doesn't come out perfect they will just throw it away and start again. There was a 20 minute wait for our drinks but was understandable since the place was completely full and it was the first time the workers experience the pressure of a busy flow of customers. When the coffee arrived it had a well-made design decorating the top and the actual coffee was quite strong. It didn't stand out as much as I would have liked it to but it wasn't a bad coffee. At £2.60 I'd say it's an average price at today's standards. I sneaked a bit of my friend's Salted Caramel Shake and wow was it good. You'd need a sweet tooth to be able to handle the whole thing. Now, let's get onto the food...


    Eggs Benedict - £7.00


    For food, I ordered the Eggs Benedict. Never had this dish before and didn't really know what it was but I took a chance when I saw it on the menu. English muffin, bacon, poached egg, spinach and hollandaise sauce. Did I regret opting for this? Not at all. The sauce that topped the eggs was phenomenal and the entire thing really does fill you up. I think I've found a new favourite meal. At a price of £7.00, it's definitely something I would have again. 

    Although the service was obviously going to be slow on their "trial-run" day, we felt welcomed and comfortable. Very friendly staff who were easy to talk to and have a laugh with. We even tried a Mexican wave at one point to get the waitress' attention (it worked).

    Although I didn't try the other food my friends did have some comments. One friend, who ordered the BEAR breakfast loved the food but said the choice of bread was a bit too hard and crunchy. Another friend ordered the veggie BEAR which again was nice but he didn't feel was big enough since there wasn't much of a substitution for the meat ingredients in the main Bear Breakfast. My other 2 friends enjoyed the all American pancakes which they had nothing bad to say about what so ever!

    I'm not going to beat around the bush, I'm 100% going back again. Until next time, BEAR!


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    What do you get when you cross National Burger Day with the 10th birthday of a gourmet burger chain? A night of amazing food! Byron celebrated their 10th birthday on the 21st of August and invited me, among other bloggers, to their celebration for "a true VIP burger experience". I was then asked to tell you guys, on National Burger Day, what I thought of the night and the food I was served!

    Starters (While You Wait)


    9 Nuggets with BBQ Sauce - £4.75
    For my starter, I thought I'd try one of the most common foods most places serve, chicken nuggets. I was expecting some sort of generic food that you'd find in most establishments but these were different. The chicken was moist and tender, seasoned perfectly. But the stand out part from the starter was the BBQ sauce they were served with. I even thought about saving the sauce to pour over my burger later, but I couldn't resist. There is also an 18 nugget option for an extra £3.00.

    Mains (Proper Hamburgers)


    Gizzmo - £10.00
    Sweet Potato Fries - £4.00
    For my main, I thought I'd try the burger that was brought back especially for their 10th-anniversary celebrations, the Gizzmo burger. A 6oz Welsh rarebit burger topped with cheddar, applewood cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion and -most importantly- mayonnaise. The burger was cooked to a perfect medium level and seasoned well. The large amount of cheese within the burger I didn't find to be too overpowering. With applewood being my favourite cheese I found it hard to say no. On the side, I had some majorly crispy sweet potato fries and the crispier the better. Byron does stray from the norm with the fact that you have to buy your chips as an extra to your burger. I wouldn't think the burger alone would fill you up enough even though it tastes amazing. A total of £14 for a main? I'd take that as a once-in-a-while treat but not as a regular thing.

    Desserts


    Oreo Cheesecake - £4.95
    To finish off the night I opted for 2 of my favourite sweet treats combines. Cheesecake and Oreos. The dessert was gorgeous and filling. Just the right amount of sweetness and not too dense. My only dislike about the dessert was that the base was a bit on the hard side for me. I prefer the base of my cheesecake to be soft and crumbly, but apart from that, I would have it a second time.

    Including my £6.75 Peroni and £2.60 Coke, my meal would have cost me £33.05. Again, not too bad for a treat every now and then. The price of the Peroni was very steep, considering a supermarket will sell you the same bottle for £2. The service on the night was amazing. Staff at Byron's go the extra mile to make you feel welcome and comfortable. They were one of the standout features on the night. (Plus they were very patient with us bloggers taking constant photos and getting in their way).

    Would I go again? Once in a while, yes. But I'd probably steer clear of the beer! Book your table here! Happy National Burger Day everyone!





    Have you tried out Byron? Do you have any thoughts of your own? Let me know in the comments down below.
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    Film... An industry, an art form and even a powerful force of change. For many decades our society has produced some absolutely amazing films: Schindler's List, Star Wars, Mulholland Drive and even amazing comedies/kids films, such as Lion King and How to Train your Dragon, even Zootopia and Wreck it Ralph, which in my opinion will definitely go down among them.

    And then... there's the emoji movie. I honestly don't even know where to start with this, to be honest.

    I mean I suppose I should start with the premise. I don't even want to do a proper and genuine summary for this film because it doesn't deserve it. Essentially this kid wants to text his crush but doesn't know what Emoji to send, from there we enter the world of Emojis... And massive fucking product placement... Literally, they go through these different 'worlds' which are essentially just different apps. Now admittedly that could actually be a pretty cool idea and I could see some ways of them being able to make that into something different, but you know what it is? It's a Facebook app, a YouTube app, a candy crush app and a Just Dance app that is out now on IOS and Android! It's just insulting.

    Then there's the blatant ripping off from Inside Out and Wreck it Ralph; two actually good kids films. The former being ripped off from the whole jumping to multiple worlds thing as well as the whole 'world within X' situation. And Wreck it Ralph, well the whole story just has so much of that film written all over it.

    The point that I'm trying to get at is that it's just a pure representation of everything that is wrong with the film industry in my opinion. I think what makes it worse is they genuinely don't care about the hate it gets, the whole point of the film is so that if (and when) shit is thrown at it, it sticks. They couldn't care less if the film is reviled, as long as they make that money, that's what separates this from other bad films in my opinion, like I'm all for ironically going to see shit films, I love it, but in this case I just think you shouldn't give them the money, if you have to see it I urge you to borrow it from someone when it comes out on DVD or do something to not give them money as this film seriously doesn't deserve it, if anything, I hope the film flops disastrously, it would send a good message to the execs, but of course, it'll sell really well. 

    Anyways, thanks to Adrian for giving me the opportunity to be a guest on his excellent blog and thanks for listening to my rant you lot! If you want to find my blog you can do so here:

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    I was invited back to Turtle Bay, a Caribbean inspired restaurant in the city centre of Derby, earlier this year to try some more of their delicious food. If you have read the previous Turtle Bay review then you would understand why we were quick to revisit this restaurant.

    The members of staff in the restaurant are incredible. This time around my guest and I had a waitress named Precious. She was professional, friendly and her personality was so bubbly and energetic it made you feel instantly comfortable.

    Now to talk about the food.

    Starter

    Duck Rolls - £5.10

    The duck rolls were delicious. The duck was wrapped in a toasted flatbread and was served along with orange chutney. The chutney personally wasn’t to my taste but the toasted duck rolls tasted perfect without it anyway.

    Garlic and chilli pit prawns - £5.10

    My guest ordered garlic and chilli pit prawns. These prawns still came in their shell and were covered in a tasty herb and chilli butter. They were served alongside a nice, soft roti which paired really nicely with the prawns. The fact that the prawns still came in their shell, gave a real authentic feel to the dining experience. 

     Main

    Trinidad Chicken and coconut curry - £9.95

    For my main, I ordered a Trinidad chicken and coconut curry. This curry is not particularly spicy so it’s perfect for people who like it mild. It was creamy and full of flavour. Not only did it come with rice like you’d expect, but it also came with flat bread too so you could choose which you’d prefer to eat. You also got a perfect portion size.

    Jerk Sirloin Steak - £16.95

    My guest ordered a Jerk Sirloin Steak. This consisted of a big piece of steak cooked to your preference and came with fries, salad and fresh chutney. It was cooked to perfection.

    Dessert

    Passion Pie - £4.96

    For dessert, I ordered a passion pie. This tasted fresh and was full of flavour. It was very like a key lime pie but instead of lime it was passion fruit curd and had a nice generous portion of meringue on top.

    Caymans upside down rum cake - £4.95

    My guest ordered a Caymans upside down rum cake and let’s just say you could taste the rum. I would massively recommend this cake if you are a rum fan. This came served with a nice creamy scoop of vanilla ice cream.

    Cocktails - £7.50 each

    Koko Colada
    Rude Boy
    Jamaican Mule - Seen Above Right
    Passion Rum Punch - Seen Above Left

    All the cocktails were delicious and are worth the price. Each one tasted different and would be perfect in different scenarios, for example, the Koko Colada was very creamy and heavy feeling so this drink would be perfect if you were just visiting for cocktails or would be nice to drink after your food has settled. However, the passion rum punch was very light and refreshing tasting and is perfect to drink whilst eating your meals.
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    I was invited by the manager of Paradise Island Mini-Golf (PIAG) months ago to come along with a few friends of mine to visit the newly opened mini-golf course in the Derby Intu centre.

    It wasn't until last week that I managed to finally visit due to the end of the uni year, exams and other priorities. So off I set with high hopes and expectations, knowing I was about to play on 2 18-hole courses. My pre-excitement was heightened by the press-release images I had previously seen. You could really tell just how much time and money had been invested into the decor surrounding the courses.
    Upon arrival my presumptions were proved to be correct, the design of the props and environment was phenomenal. There was so much to look at. Sadly though, this was what seemed to be the main concentration by the designers, leaving little time or thought for the design and lay-out of the actual course.


    I can only speak for myself here but my main want out of a mini-golf course is variety and excitement on the holes. I'm not too fussed about what's going on around me. I want moving obstacles and multi-stage holes. Holes with large pars and many different possibilities. Disappointingly all the holes had to offer were a few pipes to aim for and some stationary hazards. The par for the holes on either course never exceeded 3, with the majority of the holes having only a par 2. Th pars on each course are exactly the same; whether this was purposeful or accidental I do not know.

    The prices range on whether you play 1 or 2 ourses. For me, a student, I would have had to pay £10 for both courses or £6.50 for the 1. Thy also offer a deal for a family of 4 for £36 for both courses among other deals for different age groups.

    To sum up:

    • The decor of the courses really is gorgeous and well thought out, something of a rarity among modern day mini-golf courses
    • The 2 courses do become repetitive after a while, specially when you're playing both holes
    • The price is a little more that I would expect to pay on a mini-golf course but if you're attending with a family you could be paying a fairer amount

    If anyone is interested, I won the first course with an exact par of 42! We won't talk about the second course...let me know if you beat me!


    To book your own trip to the course in the Derby Intu centre please visit their booking page.

    Here's a bonus video of a cheeky hole-in-one.




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    So way back in April I was invited to the opening of the brand-new Derby chain of Bodega Cantina. Due to university work, exams and other 'adult stuff' getting in the way my report of the opening was put on hold. So without further ado let's FINALLY take a look at the (kinda) new restaurant.

    Bodega Cantina is a chain of South American style restaurants with venues in Birmingham, Worcester, Leicester and, now, Derby. I was invited to the opening of the new eatery on the 12th of April. Upon arrival in Sadler Gate, Derby we were greeted with a Margarita and began looking around the building. The thing that immediately hit me was the beautiful decor, most of all this artwork on the wall:

    From what I recall being told it was created by a local artist in Birmingham. This mural sit underneath a sky-light making it a very gorgeous part of the main room.

    We were brought around little tasters of the food Bodega has to offer and my god they were all so amazing. With almost all their dishes being made on site you could really taste the freshness pushing through the flavour.



    My favourite dish that I tasted that night was the Pulled Pork tacos, but the real twist was that the meat was marinated in Dr. Pepper. Sounds strange but your questioning would stop when you taste them, absolutely flavourful and tender. Other items that we tasted included nachos, fritas and coxinhas. Every time a new plate of food came around I found it difficult to say no, it tasted so good.

    The one thing that caught my eye when looking at the menu were the prices. It's not exactly the cheapest place, especially for a student city. It's a good place to go for a treat every now and but wouldn't be your sort of 'regular' place to go. After talking to the owner of the restaurant he confirmed that they never planned to go for the cheap, student vibe and wanted the place to be seen as a once-in-a-while treat.

    In summary, Bodega offers great tasting food combined with a beautiful design. Great for visiting every now and then if you fancy trying something alternative and different. If you want to try this food out for yourself then please making a booking online or call: 01332 224270.

    Thankyou for reading, if you have visited or do visit Bodega
     then please let me know what you thought down below!
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