If you live around Broadway Market in East London or visit it occasionally, it is likely that you will have stumbled upon this gem set on a side street, off the main road. I’m talking about Isle of Olive, a Greek deli and supermarket where you can eat what to me are probably the best stuffed vine leaves in London. (I’m sallivating just thinking about them, seriously…)
The lovely folks over at Predator Nutrition sent me a care package full of Quest bar goodness, for me to try. What is Quest bar goodness, I hear you ask?
Quest bars are designed to provide your body with protein and nutrients, particularly after a workout. If you are like me and workouts are not really something you do, they are also great as a sweet snack, instead of that chocolate bar you might be tempted to have.
The main idea is then, to easily provide the muscles with the protein it needs to recover and rebuild after a workout session – it needs between 1.6 g and 2 g per kilogram of muscle and each bar alone will give you 20 g.
These are gluten and sugar-free – some of them are sweetened with sucralose instead – and also high in fiber.
They come in a variety of flavours, as you can see on the photos. There are plenty of variations that actually include some sort of chocolate flavour, such as cookies and cream or chocolate brownie, but my favourite has been the peanut butter flavoured bar. My least favourite was the cinnamon roll but it was still nice to eat.
They are quite chewy, so if you’re expecting a quick bite you can gobble down in a few seconds, it won’t do. However, I don’t see this as a problem as we all should chew our food a lot more than we do, as it will help with digestion and will make you feel less hungry in the long run.
I would say that while I’m not a sportsperson, these are a great option to keep on your desk as a snack – I find that a lot of nutrition or cereal bars are loaded with sugar all too often and that’s not exactly the best thing for one’s health. There are way too many hidden sugars in a lot of foods and it’s good to have an option that doesn’t really pack a teaspoon of sugar in a small bite.
I would definitely recommend these to anyone wanting a healthier snack.
As you may have noticed, I am out and about all the time. Consequently, I end up eating out often, maybe a little too often, sometimes. Regardless, there are a few places that I go back to regularly – because the food is great and for a great price too. Here’s a list of favourites, in different parts of town.
East London
DF/Mexico – Remember when I went there a few months back? Turns out it’s been one of my favourite Mexican Street food places here in London so far. Definitely worth a visit, the frozen margaritas are delicious and the burritos are soooo good.
Pizza East Shoreditch – I went there a few months ago for the first time and lucky me, I got a discount key-ring. For that reason and the fact that the pizzas are actually really good, I’ve become somewhat of a regular. There is a good selection of pizzas as well as different Italian antipasti and salads. Never disappoints. My only problem with this palce is that when it gets busy, it gets REALLY busy and a little bit noisy. A reservation is advised!
South-East London
Dragon Castle – I’m not recommending this only because it’s owned by my friend’s family. It must be one of my favourite places to eat Chinese food, as their traditional Cantonese cuisine really is to die for. My favourites being the spicy tofu and the hot and sour soup. Absolutely delicious!
Soho
Bone Daddies – Ramen ramen ramen! If I had to pick one ramen restaurant that I’d have to stick to for the rest of my life, it would be Bone Daddies. The portions are large and delicious. My favourite is the kimchi ramen – kimchi, seafood and ramen, all floating in delicious chicken broth. This place also always has cool music, which is a plus for me – I’ve listened to AC/DC and other cool rock and roll bands while dining there before. Amazing! Go as early as possible, otherwise the queue will get too long.
Eat Tokyo – There seems to be an abundance of Asian restaurants on this list but I just can’t help it – I love Asian food so much! Eat Tokyo specialises in Japanese cuisine and it’s become one of my favourites. The menu is varied and you have plenty of options – sushi, sashimi, teryaki, katsu curry and bento boxes. The price is very friendly and I’ve never had a bad meal there. Once again, go early or be prepared to queue, particularly at dinner time. There’s other branches scattered around London, but I’ve only visited the one in Soho so far.
Pizza Pilgrims – Another pizza place, but in Soho. It’s good to know good options in all parts of town, no? Pizza Pilgrims is a small-ish place but queueing is worth it – you can leave your name at the door and go somewhere else for a drink while you wait for a table. The pizzas are very authentic – Neapolitan style, with a very thin crust. I recommend the Nduja, made with Italian spicy sausage.
All this talk of food has made me hungry now. Just need to make sure I don’t eat too much, don’t want to get any heartburn.
Have you tried any of these before? If you have some good recommendations I’d love to know.
*Thanks to Gaviscon for making this post possible and digestible!
This marks the last of my Lisbon blog posts, but it doesn’t mean it’s of any less importance. I’ve heard about this restaurant quite a few times before but for a variety of reasons, never got a chance to visit. This time there was such an opportunity, a nice family lunch, to eat good food, excellent wine and even better conversations.
What makes Darwin’s Cafe so special? There is, of course, the food, the quality and variety of the wine menu but also the fact that this restaurant is named after the English naturalist scientist Charles Darwin. Charles Darwin is better known for his theory on the evolution of the species and the choice of name isn’t anywhere near dictated by chance. You see, this restaurant is integrated on a much larger complex, that is dedicated to the research and advancement of Science, the Champalimaud Foundation.
Last Sunday I was invited by Joe Blogs to a very special event, an Afternoon Tea but with a twist… instead of milky tea, scones and clotted cream we got to have dim sum! The location for the exotic treat was the restaurant Le Chinois (‘The Chinese” in French), located inside the Millenium Hotel in Knightsbridge. We were greeted by the super nice and multilingual Cipriano, who is responsible for the Hotel’s Marketing and were served a glass of bubbly upon our arrival. When we were all ready and dying with curiosity about what was going to happen (it was all a bit mysterious, a bit of a surprise) we were taken to a special area of the restaurant that was reserved just for us – the 20+ bloggers who attended – where we were treated to one of the most elegant and exquisite Chinese cuisine meals I’ve ever had.
Hello the Mushroom is a blogger turned urban artist. Check out Instagram at @hellothemushroom for frequent updates on artistic endeavours and adventures!
