Monkey Shoulder Popcorn Flip

Last week I was invited to go along to Monkey Shoulder’s For One Night Only event. Having had a blast at the last one, I happily grabbed a whisky drinking friend and arrived at the Shoreditch Studios ready for what was to be thrown at us. In this case this was literally popcorn. The event was called Popcorn Flip and we had been promised popcorn. Lots of popcorn... a few tonnes of popcorn in fact.

We arrived to be handed an overall to put over our clothes – at this point I was slightly confused and regretting having put any thought into my outfit that morning but we pulled on the thin overalls and made our way into the room. It was like being faced with Charlie and the Popcorn Factory. On one side was a bouncy castle with a popcorn cannon pointed straight at it. On the other side was a giant popcorn holder with some beanbags to sit on. The next room gave us a popcorn pit to sit in. Popcorn popcorn popcorn. It was time to head to the bar to help me mentally process the whole room.

As I have said before when writing up the last Monkey Shoulder event, I’m not a whisky lover. Monkey Shoulder Whisky cocktails on the other hand... quite a different story. I sampled 2 – the Rusty Nail and the Boulevardier No3. The latter is a twist on the oh so trendy Negroni but I actually surprisingly preferred the Rusty Nail which was just a bit sweeter/easier to drink.

Our first cocktail consumed, we decided it was time to brave the popcorn filled bouncy castle. Shoes off and on we went. Having not been on one for about 15 years, this was bloody hilarious. Grown adults falling over in piles of popcorn had an undeniable element of comedy about it and I couldn’t stop laughing (apart from one hairy moment where I thought I was being buried alive by popcorn – luckily I lived to tell the tale/ write this post). 

After jumping in the popcorn it was time to sample the amazing varieties of gourmet popcorn they had to offer which included chilli caramel, blue cheese, paprika and cheddar... and about 10 others. They were all completely yummy – my favourite being the chilli caramel.. very addictive stuff. 

We ended the night with a sit down in the popcorn pit. When has anyone ever sat in a giant vat of popcorn?? Surprisingly comfortable in case you're wondering! 

 

Monkey Shoulder put on yet another brilliant event full of surprises. I had to explain to my new flatmate who I invited along that this was not the type of thing I do every Thursday night. Her text the following day pretty much summed it up ‘I never want to go to another bar unless there’s a bouncy castle’.

They’ve said it’s their last For One Night Only event. I’m hoping this isn’t actually the case. In the meantime whilst I wait to hear about the next fun whisky fueled night, I’m still finding popcorn in my handbag and room.

Broadway Market & Netil Market

One of my favourite Saturday activities is to have a wander to Broadway market before settling on some lunch from one of the many great street food stall there. This weekend, the sister, Tom and I went prepared for the heat with the plan to sit in London Fields with our lunches of choice and let the rare English summer do its worst. 

Broadway is probably one of my favourite markets as its not quite as manic/ busy as Borough and makes for some really good people watching. There are also so many cafe's and bars lining the street that there are endless choices of things to do/ eat/ drink there. 

After walking having a brief walk around I noticed everyone was carrying iced coffees. We headed straight to Ca Phe - the Vietnemese stall and grabbed ourselves a couple. 

Sweet, strong, icy bliss. Exactly what we needed in that sun. 

After cooling down slightly we headed to Netil Market to have a walk round there before we could make that almighty important lunch choice. Netil Market is just around the corner from Broadway Market, run by the guys at Netil House. 

They have a selection of stall with trinket, jewellery and flowers as well as a few resident food stalls. 

Amelia went and joined the queue for the Breddo's Tacos guys and chose a selection of 3 tacos for £6. I didn't deprive her of any of them as they are pretty hard to share but don't they just look pretty! 

The newbies on the block were Bao, who have set up a really cute little hut which even has about 2 or 3 stools inside to eat. I had been wanting to try them ever since I saw enormous queues at the last Feast. I passed. Tom went for the meal deal - a sweet pork bao, 4 bits of fried chicken and their pomelo coleslaw for £8. 

I did get to try a bit of the chicken and I'm just going to say... good chicken! 

So what won my vote? What beat those 2 strong contenders... well the stalwarts who are Fin and Flounder. Fin and Flounder have a fish monger on Broadway market so you know their stuff is fresh. I have tried their amazing fish and chips but this time I went for something a little more weather appropriate. The crab roll. 

Just look at it. Carefully assembled (by a very hot and topless young man) cold crab mayonnaise with some salad, pea shoots and lemon. It was the perfect refreshing snack. at £6.50 - this bad boy could have fed 2. Delicious and a bargain! Good choice. 

We took our spoils down to London Fields, chose a picnic spot. A perfect Saturday afternoon in the sun! 

Broadway Market

Saturdays

Netil Market

Saturdays 11am-6pm

13-23 Westgate Street

E8 3RL

Rekorderlig Midsummer House and The Lauriston

When I booked tickets to the Rekorderlig Midummser House in Victoria Park about a month ago I had visions of cider sipping in the sunshine... Instead last night I got rain. And wind. And cold rainy wind. I wasn't impressed to say the least. Hannah and myself pottered down to Vicky Park, brollies out bitterly moaning about the British Unsummer. 

The £10 gets you entry to the event, a Rekordelig of choice and a snack. We started with the new passionfruit flavour with a slice of lime. 

In the garden a few individuals were braving the cold on the sheltered decking. We took refuge with our ciders on the chairs. These chairs were amazing. If I had a massive garden I would definitely be getting some. Sadly not even my yellow bag could brighten the weather and eventually the chill won and we peeled ourselves off the chairs with difficulty and a lack of dignity (celeb experts at not flashing pants we are not). 

Next we decided it was time to try one of the cocktails - a cider cocktail! I hear you cry... Well the Rekorderlini with pear cider, champers and chocolate syrup was a winner. Plus who doesn't like a retro glace cherry?

I wrongly assumed that the ticket included a cider and a hotdog. In was in fact a 'snack' which was a sample of 3 of their mini hotdog wrap type things. Disappointingly small but the snacks were pretty tasty and had it not been so bloody cold I would have gone back and just paid the £5 to get a full one afterwards. However it was cold. And raining. And after another cider it was decided that there is only so much sweet cider in the cold/ rain one can cope with and we left in the direction of Victoria Park Village in search of shelter and more food. 

After a skip, hop and jump through the park we decided to take refuge in The Lauriston, which had been on my to try list. The pub itself is all kinds of miss matched furniture, but with a projector showing Wimbledon - what a treat. They do pizzas here and bloody good ones. Prices range from about £7.95 and £10.95 depending on the toppings. 

We went for the smoky pancetta, mushroom and chilli pizza and it was just how a pizza should be. They are freshly prepared at the front with a pizza oven so you know they are going to be good. I am definitely going to be coming back and making my way through the menu pizza by pizza!

All in all the Rekorderlig Midsummer experience was let down by the weather. Had it been a glorious sunny evening (one can dream) then the £10 entry would have seemed fine as you would have stayed all night. However it wasn't that busy as people had obviously thought better of facing the rain and as a result the atmosphere wasn't great. A bit of music probably would have helped at this point... Maybe next year?

Rekorderlig Midsummer House

Until Friday 5th of July

Victoria Park

London

The Lauriston

162 Victoria Park Road

E9 7JN

0208 985 5404

Field Day

When my friend offered me a ticket to go to Field Day a week before the day, I jumped at the chance. This was Field Day's third year in Victoria Park and hopefully they are not going anywhere anytime soon. In the few days leading up to Saturday, I looked at the line-up and realised that apart from about two of the acts I was pretty lost. Undeterred, I turned to my good friend Spotify and listened to the Field Day 2013 playlist giving myself a bit more of an idea of what to expect. Some people might turn away from a one day festival full of bands they didn't know but I liked to stay positive and think of it as a day of bands and DJs I didn't know YET. 

A friendly game of male v female tug of war. 

We arrived at about 2pm deciding that if we started at 12 chances are we would need to go to bed by 8pm. Unfortunately, this did mean that we missed some of the good earlier shows but you can’t win them all. Thank god it was sunny. After Friday’s torrential rain and our WhatsApp conversations regarding wellies, which my autocorrect changed to ‘do you think I need willies?’ much to Mo’s amusement, the sun was a welcome change. Us Brits are always just so much happier when it’s sunny. 

Glad the wellies weren't actually needed in the end. 

Apparently noone told me about the new stripes dress code. 

My highlight of the day was Disclosure who were just bloody amazing. Mo’s was Django Django at the end of the night. Four Tet managed to have the coolest set with these enormous balloons which reminded me of that old Panasonic advert with the different coloured bouncing balls. 

All in all a bloody good day. Never a long bar queue and even the toilets generally had some loo roll for most the day. I will definitely be booking another ticket next year. The night ended with a go on a fairground ride (the one with the spinning chairs) followed by an after party at The Shacklewell Arms. To be honest I think I've been recovering now for the last 2 days but was it worth it? Hell yes. 

Field Day Festival
Victoria Park 

Brick Lane, Columbia Road and Lily Vanilli's

Sorry for the delay everyone. I was away having a lovely time in Hong Kong of which I will tell you more about soon.

I had a lovely weekend back in London with one main aim being a visit to Columbia Road Flower Market on Sunday. I have a balcony, which before Sunday contained 2 stools, 2 small (dying) plants and an ashtray. My next door neighbours’ ridiculously cute little garden balcony was starting to embarrass me and I’m also hoping that eventually England does remember that it’s meant to be warm and I can sit out there. Project Balcony started with a walk to Columbia Road via Brick Lane Market to get some fuel. My sister was appalled that I had never tried the noodles from the ‘Brick Lane noodle man’, so up we went to the Bethnal Green Road end of the market to queue up. At least this queue comes with a performance. At this husband and wife run stall, the noodles are hand pulled in front of you.

To be honest it looked like quite the work out. I was exhausted just watching him. Although the performance is pretty amazing we still did have to queue for around 20 minutes… not ideal when you had a post Efes night out hunger like mine. You do have to be careful with this place as during the busy lunchtime there can be a long wait.... they could do with a few more hands helping out with the noodling. 

I went for the Pork and Vegetable wanton noodle soup. We carried our bowls of noodles up towards Columbia Road market where we found a handy wall to munch them. The portion is huge – well worth the £5.50. The texture of the noodles is different then any I've had... softer - but generally delicious. There's something about a big bowl of noodle soup which I always find quite cleansing (again after a night out in Efes I feel like the cleansing is necessary). 

Having received Lilli Vanilli’s Sweet Tooth for Christmas, I wanted to pop into her café whilst in the area. The Bakery is only open on Sunday's until 4.30pm for the Columbia Road Market punters. The place was packed but I happily queued.. again, whilst admiring the decoration – I particularly liked the fairy lights with little sweet bags tied to some of the lights.

The cakes all sounded delicious (although I think the choice was a bit limited by the time we got there at 2pm). I got us piece of the prettiest Victoria Sponge I’ve seen (£3) and a Burnt butter brownie (£3) to share with the others. The sweet peas on top made it look so summery, though I did have a slight issue later on when it was stuck to my cake and a debate on whether they are edible ensued. Both were delicious and the brownie had a hit of saltiness from the burnt butter which was an unusual touch but set it apart from the average brownie. 

I've got my eye on these coconut, rose and pistachio meringues for the next time when I come back to continue Project Balcony. 

We left Columbia Road with two big plants for the balcony and this enormous bunch of tulips. The tulips were only a fiver! Absolute bargain. I would recommend going to Columbia road a bit later after lunch if you want to get the good deals. 

Once home I put my flower arranging skills to the test... impressive no? It is true what they say... flowers do really cheer a room up! 

La Mian and Dim Sum Stall

Brick Lane Market

Sundays

Columbia Road Flower Market

Columbia Road

Sundays 8am-3pm

Lily Vanilli Bakery

6 The Courtyard

Ezra Street

E2 7RH