Happy bank holiday weekend! The weather might not be showing up for us here in the UK, but that didn’t stop me and my girl friends having a fun day together in London yesterday. Our dinner at the popular Islington neighbourhood spot Nem Nem was particularly special and too good not to share with my fellow foodies.
Located on Upper Street since it opened in 2015, Nem Nem has earned a name for itself for serving the most authentically delicious, yet affordable Vietnamese food in town. With our reservation at 8pm on a Saturday night, the place was bustling and packed out with diners, so I’d definitely recommend booking to avoid disappointment.
To start we ordered a selection of dishes including the prawn summer rice paper rolls, the vegan crispy spring rolls and the vegan Hanoi battered ‘fish’. The prawn rolls were the perfect fresh, light appetiser and the vegan fish made with marinated aubergine in a light batter was incredible.
For mains I had the squid mango salad with a side of rice which I shared with my friend who was having the squid salad too. Everything was so tasty and seasoned to perfection with the herbs and spices which feature so heavily in Vietnamese cuisine.
The portions were certainly generous and with a bottle of bubbles and a few other drinks as well, the final bill came to £28 per head. An absolute bargain for a two course dinner with wine in the centre of Islington London.
Service was very attentive and friendly and we didn’t have to wait long for food despite it being peak dining time. With another restaurant now open in Hoxton called Nom Nom, I’d say this is one of North London’s best kept secrets for exquisite Vietnamese cuisine complete with plenty of vegan options too. Highly recommend this restaurant next time you’re visiting the area and looking for a good value lunch or dinner, just make sure to book beforehand! – https://www.nemnoms.co.uk
Upon returning from our holiday to Santorini last week, I can definitely put it up there as one of the most beautiful, picture perfect places I’ve ever had the fortune to visit.
From the aesthetic white wash towns built into the cliffs of the volcanic rock overlooking the caldera, to the stunning sunsets every evening showering the island in golden orange hues, I can see why Santorini is a world famous destination for couples in search of a romantic vacation.
During our week we explored most of the island including the capital Fira and the Instagram famous Oia. We even did a sunset boat cruise and had plenty of time for relaxing at our hotel by the pool too, so a week away turned out to be just right.
We stayed at Cresanto Luxury Suites in the town of Imerovigli situated between Fira and Oia. Whilst this is a newly opened hotel which is still finding its feet in terms of delivering a 5* service, it was a great location and our spacious room with the private balcony and plunge pool with sea view was fantastic.
Dinners and drinks out were fairly expensive which we expected, however my boyfriend’s favourite gyros spot Jimmy’s Souvlaki was less than 10 euros for a meal and drink. When in Greece it’s local gyros for lunch most days!
We enjoyed lots of delicious meals together including wonderful fresh seafood, my favourite Greek feta salad on repeat of course, and even some great Italian cuisine too.
Over the next few posts I will look back on each area of the island we explored and share my top tips along with my food and drink recommendations.
Having been to Santorini before, my boyfriend already knew of some hidden gems for sunset which avoid the crowds and provide uninterrupted, panoramic views at golden hour.
So stay posted for all the picturesque Santorini content to come as I relive our incredible week on this breathtaking Greek island of love ❤
Last week, me and my two best girlfriends jetted off to the stunning Spanish island of Mallorca for five days in the town of Alcudia. We’ve been besties since we were in infant school, so we get on like sisters and couldn’t wait to be going on a proper girls vacay together this summer.
Arriving at a busy Gatwick Airport on Friday 4th August, we treated ourselves to the lounge for bottomless pre-flight bubbles and a bite to eat at leisure, before our plane departed that afternoon. Holiday mode was on!
We didn’t stop nattering the entire journey and before we knew it, we had arrived at our hotel later that evening following a smooth flight and transfer with easyJet. The next morning we awoke fresh and ready for a day of sunbathing at our hotel.
We stayed at Sol de Alcudia Apartments where we shared a room complete with a kitchenette and balcony. Whilst this is a family resort, it wasn’t too busy and the staff were friendly and helpful too.
I was very happy with the gym which was just down the corridor from our room and almost always empty, so I had the space to myself for my morning workouts.
We spent most mornings getting in our sunbathing time whilst reading our books, cooling off in the pool and chatting away of course.
The hotel was a five minute walk from the main beach of Alcudia, so we took a stroll there on the first day to see that golden white sand and dip our feet in the ocean.
After a refreshing glass of Sangria for me and Spanish beers for the girls, we found a nearby Lidl to stock up on essential holiday snacks and food for lunches.
This is what holiday lunches are all about; a mezze of picky bits including crisps, crackers, hummus, olives, cold meats, cheese, grapes, bread and of course, the iconic tub of Aioli. Sat out on our balcony soaking up the Spanish sun and chatting with my girlies with a wine in hand, now that’s an ideal holiday scene right there!
If you’re a regular here you’ll know I’m a salad lover and when I’m holiday, it’s all about a Greek Salad, so I suggested we do this for our balcony lunch one day. We just went to the local grocery store where we managed to get some tomatoes, cucumber, onion, olives and feta. Usually I would put oregano and lashings of olive oil on my Greek Salad, but seasoning wise we could only find salt in the shop, so instead my friend came up with the idea of mashing the feta with the juice of a lemon and some of the salty olive brine. This was a delicious twist on a classic and definitely something I’ll try again at home too.
It was so fun getting glammed up for warm summer evenings out with the girls. My friend did my hair a few times with her Dyson Air Wrap and I’m obsessed, I might have to get one for myself now.
On the Sunday night we decided to book a nice dinner out at Ca’an Matevet just over in Port d’Alcudia. As usual I did my research on Instagram to find the trendiest looking place and this restaurant was our kinda vibe.
I love being a bit more experimental and playful with my holiday outfits, so for this occasion I wore my leopard print swimsuit as a body paired with my Stradivarius wrap skort, chunky pearl sliders, a pair of oversized gold shell drop earrings and my Dune woven white handbag. My girlfriends are so effortlessly cool and always look very trendy in all black and neutral tones. How cute that my friend’s pearl hair clips matched my pearl sliders. ❤
We were seated at our table outside overlooking the port as the sunset and a live band played, setting the perfect evening dinner mood at golden hour.
Being in Spain we couldn’t resist ordering a number of incredible tapas to share. We all agreed potatoes bravos were a must as well as the fresh scallops. The toasted bread with cured Mahón cheese, sobrasada from the island and honey, was simply divine.
This goat’s cheese salad with walnuts, hazelnuts, capers and homemade fig jam was a highlight for me. We also got the garlic prawns, olives and some bread with Aioli to accompany our meal. Service was great, I couldn’t fault anything and don’t be fooled, we ate every last bit – us girls like our food!
We finished up with a round of cocktails instead of dessert as we were full from our feast. I had a Paloma whilst the girls had a Mojito and a Tommy’s Margarita which we enjoyed as the sun went down and the live band continued their second set. The staff were so friendly and attentive, the food was amazing and the ambience on point; I’d highly recommend visiting C’an Matevet if you’re in the area –https://canmatevet.com.
The weather was perfect during our stay reaching highs of 30 degrees, so a classic orange ice pop was the ideal poolside refreshment.
Another night, another bar, and on this evening we actually stumbled across this fun hotel bar just around the corner with another live band playing. They were called Von Bros and played reggae style covers, we were loving it!
Once again my besties were looking super stylish in chic black outfits, whilst I was in a baby blue mini dress bringing a splash of colour to the group.
On our final day we got up early to visit the markets in the Old Town of Alcudia.
There was so much to explore, from beautiful fresh produce to lots of gorgeous clothes and jewellery from local sellers.
My friend bagged herself a lovely cream crochet top and I got a white crochet cutout Grecian style dress.
I just wish I had a local market back home selling fresh fruit and veg as marvellous as this!
And not to mention the variety of olives to choose from, I was in my element.
The streets of Old Town Alcudia are so picturesque lined with ancient buildings, blooming bright flowers climbing the walls and exotic plants in terracotta pots.
We stopped for a morning coffee at a cute cafe where two coffees and a water was less than 4 Euros!
It was scorching hot so we took it in turns with my friend’s ‘World’s biggest diva’ hand fan. 😀
I’m also loving this headscarf on my friend giving market girl vibes paired with her gingham playsuit, so cute. ❤
We then explored more of the town and took a walk up on the ancient walls which boarder the Old Town of Alcudia.
I saw an old open air theatre and decided to put my gymnastics practice to good use with a handstand balance centre stage.
For lunch we found a quieter restaurant with a courtyard off the beaten track.
I had this simple but super tasty green salad and a refreshing Coke Zero.
Our final afternoon we spent back by our hotel pool soaking up the final few hours of Spanish sun.
I also brought this floppy hat on our way out of the markets which is exactly what I was looking for, I can’t wait to wear it on my next holiday.
We had a chilled dinner at our hotel before packing that night, as our transfer back to Palma Airport the next morning was at 7am.
We had a fantastic time in Mallorca together with plenty of chats, giggles, sunbathing, good food and drinks, pool time, reading, relaxing and just having lots of fun. Thank you girlies for such a wonderful trip, lets get planning girls vacay 2024! ❤ ❤ ❤
We’re well into March and British Summer Time begins next week! I’m a summer girl at heart so I couldn’t be more excited for spring and the summer season ahead. Bring on those long days and warm summer evenings chilling in the garden having al fresco dinners on repeat.
Spring is also a fun opportunity to change up your wardrobe and experiment with layering separates including tees, shirts and blazers. As the weather warms up I can finally wear more interesting pieces like this cold shoulder backless sweater which I simply paired with black jeans, Chelsea boots and a fedora hat for Friday night drinks at the pub.
I recently purchased this cute khaki tank top from Zara as a perfect little transitional piece great for layering too. I styled it with a silk neckerchief, flared jeans, platform maroon boots, plenty of gold jewellery and my long trench coat thrown on top for a Saturday night dinner date with the family.
We went for a lovely meal at El Castello where we enjoyed a delicious spread of Italian food and wine in celebration of Mother’s Day and my brother’s Birthday. I had my favourite seafood linguine dish and I shared a yummy cheesecake for dessert with my boyfriend.
Now I’m winding down after the weekend and having a chilled Sunday evening at home before another busy week of work ahead. We’ve made it through a long English winter so springtime couldn’t come sooner ❤
These past few weeks in the UK have been a scorcher with temperatures hitting over 33 degrees on many days and the humidity pretty unbearable when you don’t have a pool to jump into! With this ongoing heatwave I’ve eaten even more fresh fruits, colourful salads and delicious seafood, so I thought I’d share a few of my favourite meals from this week to give you some yummy inspo too.
During summer I tend to swap my usual oatmeal bowl for a refreshing smoothie bowl. Just take a frozen banana, frozen blueberries, frozen strawberries, a splash of soya milk and blend to make the most dreamy purple bowl of sweet goodness, best served in a coconut bowl for that aesthetic photo. I topped mine with more blueberries, strawberries, nana chips and toasted nut mix, but you can top your bowl with whatever you have going in the cupboard really.
Friday evening was a night with my girls and my friend made the most delicious teriyaki salmon buddha bowls for us. In the bowls she started with a bed of grains layered with the edamame beans, spring onion, cucumber, avocado and then topped it off with the crispy baked salmon pieces marinated in soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, lime and sriracha. Paired with a few bottles of bubbles whilst catching up with the girls, this was a simply divine way to wind down from the work week.
You can’t let a heatwave pass by in England without doing a classic BBQ, so that’s exactly what we did this weekend back at my parents house. As always it was a team effort to put together this wonderful spread of incredible food.
Dad was on the Weber barbecuing the chicken, sausages, trout, prawns, corns, mushrooms and courgettes, whilst my mum and I were in the kitchen assembling all of the accompaniments. We had new potatoes, an artichoke parma ham salad, and my speciality as always was the greek salad. I even roasted up some padron peppers to graze on whilst we cooked and sipped our rose wine in the sunshine – this is what summer is all about!
So that’s a taster of what I’ve been eating this week and as you can see, my meals are always full of colour to pack in those nutrients and make me feel good. Whilst I like a glass or two of wine over the weekend, I also make sure to nourish my body with healthy, fresh, wholesome food as this is what makes me feel amazing from the inside out; balance is key 🙂
Dani Aneka 