Camino restaurant

Lunch date at Nandos because it was rainy and a perfect day for it. Do we need any other excuse for piri piri chicken!?

cutie patootie alert!!

we ordered the whole chicken platter w. piri piri spice sprinkled chips

with 10 wings (5 lemon & herb, 5 extra hot!) and a side of garlic bread and corn on the cob

T's garlic bread with grilled haloumi. I'm not a huge fan of the salty haloumi but when I'm in the mood for it, its extra delicious!

We spent most of the day just lounging around and then went out for dinner around our Kings Cross hood.

We looked up stumbled upon a great cozy bar called Bar Pepito. They serve a small selection of spanish tapas, wines, and their house specialty Sherry.

the bar is pretty small but we were fortunate enough to grab table both times we were there (before and after dinner)

We ordered their pan tomate to wet our appetites for dinner at Camino. This was fantastic! A perfect combination of crispy bread, tomatoes, olive oil, and sea salt. Yuuum!!

Dinner was at Camino restaurant across the way in Regent's Quarter:
http://www.camino.uk.com/

We were brought a mini platter of olives as a starter

 

couldn't resist ordering more pan tomate but the Pepitos was definitely better. Camino's was lacking the extra olive oil topping and salt. 

potatoes w. mojo picón (not sure what the sauce is but it tasted tomato-y!)

crispy squid with dipping mayo.

We ordered a pitcher of a rum based drink. T wasn't a fan since it tasted predominantly of coconut rum. I'm not really sure if I'm a big fan of malibu anymore either. Icky.. too many drunken college memories of the stuff. :-)

octopus with olive oil mash and paprika

cuttlefish squid ink rice.

rib eye

langoustines

leek gratin on top of flatbread

chocolate fondant cake with ginger ice cream and a berry compote.

The food was delicious but everything came out all at once and most it was served COLD or at room temperature-- a big no no in my book! The food definitely had a lot of potential to be great if it was at least served hot. Everything felt like it had been sitting out for too long. Bummer right?! Also, given how much everything cost, T and I would probably go back to http://www.saltyard.co.uk/ or
http://www.finorestaurant.com/. All in all, I would go back if I wanted tapas near our home or a lively place to grab a quick bite and fun cocktails.

more eggs and hummus for breakfast

Sore abs

Holy smokes my abs are S-O-R-E today!! I feel it everywhere, even in my sides!! Its the kind of soreness where it even hurts to laugh so nothing funny today! :-) I love the feeling though because it means I actually worked something!

We spent last night inside-- I can't complain w. a bottle of prosecco!

We made some ready made Bingham's salmon and haddock fish cakes and a fish pie. I also sauteed some peppers and microwaved brown rice.

the fish cakes were alright- sort of bland though even with the mayo dipping sauce.

I enjoyed the fish pie- it had some salmon and another kind of white fish with creamy mash potatoes. Yum!

I had some dates w. almond butter this morning thinking I was going to go for a run but it started raining.. HARD! :( Boo! I guess it meant I could have a real breakfast w. T

Sonoma was all upset too because we were going to take her to the Heath so she could run around but she's stuck inside with nothing but a yoga matt to lay on :**(

Cheese and onion 2 egg omelette w. truffled quail egg on top.

on top of hummus spread toast

It was mighty delicious!!

Agenda: practice some routines for zumba, relax, lunch, read more of my book (The Help-it's really good!!)

You've been schooled!

more yummy beet and piri piri chicken leftovers for lunch.

more of the same hummus and eggs for breakfast.. I better switch it up before my tastebuds get tired of the combination!

I had such high hopes for this watermelon but it turned out to be overly ripe. Note to self= eat watermelon that sells itself as "ripe watermelon" right away! :o)  Booooo!!!

I had a few overly ripened bites and then gave some to the dog.

she loves it for its sweet taste!!

 nom nom nom....

In the gym: 3 sets of 12-14 reps

• swiss ball dumbbell chest press
• plank single arm row with dumbbells
• straight arm pulldown
• push ups (I'm trying this new thing called being on my toes instead of my knees! haha.. I could only squeeze out 6-7 reps but I was shaking by the last rep so I could tell my muscles were reaching failure!)
• oblique side bends on back machine
• swiss ball reverse curl

I was doing some ab exercises and a gym floor PT came up to me and totally schooled me on how to do my ab exercises more efficiently. He pointed out that my hip flexors and lower back (rookie error!!) were doing most of the work instead of my abs. I have to be conscious about keeping my belly button pulled in and shoulders off the ground more. Ouch!! I could definitely feel the difference. It's such a small change but it hones in on your abs instead of other body parts (legs, back, hips). He was incredibly helpful in pointing out what I could be doing better- turns out just because you're a level 3 PT, doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement!! Love it! Bonus- I also managed to get some help with the dreaded assisted pull up machine. For some reason, that machine has always scared me and I never went on it. Turns out, its not so bad and I'm really looking forward to using it to strengthen my upper body!! 

Pret a Manger tuna salad--- why mess w. perfection! :-D

Agenda: take my whiny ass pup to the park

Tamarind restaurant

after my PUNCH class, I had a berrylicious protein smoothie! I didn't have any more spinach so that is why the color is so purtty!!

• skim milk
• handful of ice
• frozen banana (for an extra creamy smoothie!)
• frozen berries
• scoop of chocolate protein powder
• squeeze of agave nectar
• toppings: almonds. dark chocolate chips

for lunch, I had a very odd combination but it was mighty delicious.. Yummy beets!

I also warmed up a ready made piri piri chicken from Waitrose in the oven.

with some brown rice. God, did I tell you how much I love beets?! I didn't realize I had them sitting in our fridge for my consumption. T'was my lucky day :) Did you know they're good for you too?
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=49

I also snacked on some pretzels and hummus in hungry anticipation for our lovely dinner coming up that night.

We were lucky enough to dine at Tamarind, a michelin starred restaurant.
http://www.tamarindrestaurant.com/

We started with some dipping sauces and pappadoms. Hello Indian version of chips and salsa!! If you get me started, I can't stop! Good thing we were dining with others and that sort of stopped me from taking the basket and putting the crumbs to my mouth ;-)

http://www.tamarindrestaurant.com/pdf/shahi-dawat-june-2011.pdf

We went with the Shahi Dawat tasting menu. Everything was really delicious!

and very pretty to look at..The green stuff is this mint chutney--it was interesting but I'm not really sold on it. The tiger prawn was HUGE and tasted amazing.

their almond and date naan was super sweet and a good dipping utensil for the finger lickin sauces!

Help!! I can't get rid of that dark shadow in all my pictures. W.T.F. (what the funk!)

 

a trio of delicious desserts--- the rice pudding was my fav

I would definitely recommend Tamarind for their delicious food and unique take on Indian food. Even though it was an enjoyable dining experience, with the price considered, I wouldn't necessary go back. Plus, I thought the service could have been a tad bit friendlier-- can I get a genuine smile??

Breakfast this morning: Return of eggs and hummus. Can't get enuff!

Our eggs seem extra yellow today...humph...

After breakfast, I decided to test out my foot since I didn't feel my normal aching pain. I wasn't sure if it was a good idea at the time but the open pavement and fresh air was calling my name :)

okay, so I might have run veeeery slowly but at least I was running!!

and BOY was I SOOO happy to be out running again. I'm. in. love. with. running. today! My foot only started bothering me at the 45 minute point but I was able to turn around from Regent's Park and come home with a smile on my face. Running high fo sho yo!

My feet will thank me later..

Song of the day: Santana's version of "Songbird" on Glee!