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"Eating is not merely a material pleasure. Eating well gives a spectacular joy to life and contributes immensely to goodwill and happy companionship. It is of great importance to the morale."- Elsa Schiaparelli

The waiter passed around a sampling of the black truffles they were using in their specials dishes.

A crisp, fruity, and delicious bottle of white wine.

Assortment of breads on a wooden platter shaped like a baguette. I got such a kick out of the presentation!

Salty garlic foccacia bread. Savor. every. last .bite.

Sauteed mushrooms on toasted bread with generous portions of goat cheese.

The chef very nicely portioned it on two separate plates. A+ for service (a rarity in London)

Starter pasta with monkfish, red snapper and prawns, in a light tomato based sauce. It was good. The problem I have with a lot of seafood pastas is that it sometimes tastes "too fishy". Not the good fishy taste but the cringe when you take a bite taste. This wasn't at all like that. Very pleasant to eat.

Fresh ravioli with roast duck, mascarpone cheese, cinnamon, sage, and butter. So creamy, velvety, earthy, and amaaaazing!!

Seabass fillets w. fennel, raisins, and pine nuts. The fish was very tender and flaky. T and I both agreed that the skin should have been a bit crispier.

T's lamb cutlets w. roasted squash, mushrooms, and a pistachio and anchovies dressing. I snuck in two bites of the lamb and it was perfectly cooked. The meat was melt in your mouth good. Like butta! *not that I've ever put butter in my mouth* Well.. except for this one time in college when I ate a really really hot pepper. Note to younger self.. drink milk next time!! Oh I digress...

Stuffed to the max buuuuuuuuuuuuuut..

We couldn't resist. I mean, who could say no to this?! Nougat ice cream w. crunchy carmelized hazelnuts and dark chocolate sauce.

scoop of Pistachio gelato. Pistachio is my all time favorite gelato flavor. Although this was very good, I still think the one I had in Venice tops the cake.

Just in case you missed it. A close up for the cheap seats in the back!

That's a wrap folks.

All you can eat...

Vegetarian style! I was a staaaaarving child after the gym today so I meandered my way into this place.

Doncha love it when restaurants display their food in the window to attract hungry customers like me :). I always walk by this place to and from the gym so I figured today would be a good day to try it.

They did say "all you can eat". To me it was "all you can cram into this small container"

You should never eat out of a plastic container if you can help it. Doesn't do your food justice. For me, it's more satisfying to eat from a plate.  My favorite was the purple veg. It was crunchy and had a sourness to it that I enjoyed.

Brussel sprouts. Yuuuuuum. 

I think next time I'll stay away from the mysterious looking fake meat items. They tasted alright but I felt awkward eating something I didn't know what it was.

Snack time: I'm on a tea kick. Green tea w. mint.

 

Horraaay for the weekend!!

Are you happy?

I think I've decided after doing an hour workout sesh at home that I'm definitely more suited for a gym workout environment. I can push myself to get through a workout but I definitely don't have the same high energy and intesity as I do when I'm at the gym.

After workout protein shake:

Enjoying every crunchy bite. carsh carsh carsh..

Leftovers lunch:

 

I bleed siracha sauce. Literally.

I try to eat dark chocolate that's over 70% but this was lying around.

The chocolate looks a little stale but the taste was anything but. The dark chocolate flavor imparted hints of orange. SO.GOOD! I had 4 squares and had to stop myself from going back for more.

Mid afternoon study/tea break. Who needs to go out for afternoon tea when I can just make it at home!

This is the greatest invention EVER when it comes to convenience of making tea. You put your cold water in here, press down on the button to the right and VIOLA; you have hot water in minutes. Do they have these things in the states?

Tea time x2 with an extra treat on the side.

In my book, tea is an accompaniment to something. I can't drink it on its own. Enter: shortbread cookies. Yuuuuum. So buttery and delicious with lots o' sugar crystals on top.

Strawberry jam for a little sweetness.

Breakfast this morning:

Hankering for some greek yogurt.

Protein for breakfast=full longer=more workout energy for me!!

Surely this will get me through the afternoon until after my Body combat workout and back/shoulders/chest

Lots of fruit: Blueberries, mangos, raisins, almonds, and agave nectar for sweetness since the greek yogurt is pretty bland.

New fitness reading material. The happy issue.

Some of the things that make me happy: family, friends, salsa dancing, delicious food, christmas time, laughing til it hurts, and gazing at the stars. Happy thoughts this morning :)