Category: Food

Got No Beef in Cardiff City Centre [3]

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Since the COVID19 lockdown and social distancing rules came into place, I have locked myself away and tried to minimise my contact with the outside world. Fortunately, I’ve been able to work from home so my contact with the outside world has been minimal.

However, when I saw that Got No Beef had re-opened in line with government guidelines and were also participating in the Eat Out To Help Out scheme, I couldn’t say no!

So last week, I ventured out into the big wide world with my brother and sister to get myself some dinner and boy, oh boy… it did not disappoint!

The MVP burger with poutine tots

The restaurant has reduced the number of tables in line with the government 2 metre distance rule so capacity is restricted which is understandable. They’ve put up perspex screens and plastic barriers between tables which is great, as well as a sanitisation station at the front of the restaurant.

The menu has been revamped and there are SO MANY new options! You can tell that they have put a lot of thought and effort into what they’ve put together. It was near impossible to choose!

I went for The MVP burger and a side of Buffalo Hot CHKN wings. Descriptions can be found on the menu itself so I highly recommend taking a look at their website to read through it all.

The MVP burger (inside)

Pictured above is the inside of The MVP. With the ‘mozzarella’ disc inside on top of the burger patty, when cut in half displayed the most appetising melted ‘cheese’ ever. The burger had a drizzle of pesto across the top and marinara sauce on the base. It tasted incredible.

The poutine tots were even better and are possibly my favourite side on the menu. I will most definitely be ordering them with every meal I have there! The gravy is so flavourful and the ‘cheese’ on top just puts it over the edge.

The Buffalo Hot CHKN wings speak for themselves. The ranch sauce drizzled on top and on the side add to the dish perfectly. I personally prefer a hotter taste, but they were delicious and are perfect for those who just want a good kick on the tongue.

We made sure we left room for dessert so to finish off, we treated ourselves to Soft Serve Sundaes!

From L to R: Rocky Road, Super Strawberry and Cookie Dough

We each treated ourselves to one which you can see above and Oh. My. God… they were unreal! There were 2 flavours on tap when we went, vanilla and biscoff. We were given the option of picking a flavour or a mix of the 2… and we all went for the mixed option!

I didn’t get any pictures that showed off the 50/50 split in flavour but it ran right through the middle and it was lovely. We tried a bit of each others and I have to say that Super Strawberry was my favourite and the biscoff flavour soft serve was my favourite of the 2!

I was so full from our mains and sides that I didn’t even manage to finish my sundae but everything was fantastic and totally exceeded my expectations.

Got No Beef are a small family run business and you can see how incredibly hard they have worked to where they have gotten. From day 1, when they travelled up and down the country showcasing at vegan fairs, to present day, working their socks off to bring us amazing vegan food in Cardiff at their restaurant.

I can’t say enough good things about them, but you guys will have to taste it for yourselves! Make sure you follow them on all their social media accounts at @GotNoBeefUK to keep updated, but more importantly, pop down to the restaurant and sample their wares. You will not be disppointed!

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Naturally Kind Food: Doughnuts

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I’ve written about Naturally Kind Food in some of my previous blog posts. They are a family run vegan business making delicious baked goods in South Wales.

During the lockdown period, they have started introducing more into their repertoire which has included doughnuts.

I was lucky enough to catch a post on Facebook a few weeks ago which allowed me to buy a spare box!

As you can see, they look absolutely incredible. I can barely remember what the flavours were as I devoured them so quickly but from memory I believe they were Biscoff, Lemon & Raspberry, Cherry Bakewell and a Sugared doughnut. All of them were filled with delicious jam or curd and it was amazing.

My personal favourite was the Cherry Bakewell. I already love Cherry Bakewells, but combining it with a doughnut was absolutely ingenius.

The doughnuts were so fresh and delicious. The fillings where incredibly and the doughnuts were still soft on the inside but firm to grip on the outside. They were the perfect combination!

All the other doughnuts were fantastic too. Full of sweetness and were delightful.

I highly recommend visiting the Naturally Kind Food facebook page where you’ll find lots of information. Give them a Like to keep up to date on their products and to make sure you don’t miss out on any opportunity for some delicious vegan goodies!

You can read my other Naturally Kind Food blog posts here:

Grind Coffee

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Tom and I bought ourselves a Nespresso coffee machine a year or so ago to save myself some money on my morning Starbucks trips, and it’s really done the trick. It’s a nifty little machine so if you’re curious, you can find it here.

We’ve been habitually buying our coffee pods from our local supermarkets as they’re so accessible, but of course, terrible for the environment. I’d spent some time researching other offerings and tools such as re-usable pods that you can re-fill but the reviews were often off-putting.

Instagram ads then came and saved the day. I saw an advert for Grind coffee and started following their Instagram page. Grind are a London based coffee shop and most impressively in my opinion, offer a coffee subscription service. What this meant was that you can subscribe to their coffee to receive regular deliveries. This meant there was potential to never run out of coffee!

To start, I thought it would be sensible to try the coffee, so I bought a refillable tin of their House Blend from Amazon.

What I should mention also, is that their coffee pods are compostable which was a big factor in my decision to give them a go and make the purchase.

The Grind aesthetic is really simple and cute. The brand is so distinctive with their pink colouring and clear bold font across their packaging. The refillable tin is great. It’s got a screw cap, and when it first arrived, the tin was sealed like a can which I thought was good and keeps the coffee fresh before we could get round to it.

The coffee itself tastes fantastic. I could easily say that it’s the best coffee I’ve ever tasted. It’s incredibly smooth and not too bitter. I’m far from a coffee expert, but I thoroughly enjoy the taste of their coffee.

So I decided to take the plunge and subscribe to their coffee. You can choose a subscription that suits you, which also include decaf coffee and their Black Blend (which I haven’t tried) and you can choose how many and how regularly you want to receive your deliveries.

They are posted in letterbox friendly packaging so you don’t need to be home to accept the delivery which is incredibly handy!

As you can see from the pictures above, the aesthetic is carried through to all their products and the subscription boxes are no different.

The pods are only slightly more expensive than the ones you can buy so easily from the supermarket but with the added benefit of being compostable. So with the flavour being so fantastic, it just made the most sense.

After trying their coffee, I’m so pleased that I’ve decided to subscribe. It’s nice to know that we’ll be kept well in coffee!

OnePlanet Pizzas

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So… Pizza. More specifically, vegan pizza.

OnePlanet Pizza are a vegan pizza company who do frozen vegan pizzas. Who doesn’t love the convenience of a frozen pizza when you just can’t be bothered to cook. I’ve tried one before that I bought from a local vegan shop and I enjoyed it.

You can order their pizzas online via their website and the more you buy, the more you save. So I bought 5 for £5.60 each. It is quite pricey for a frozen pizza, especially compared to some of the options that are available in our supermarkets these days such as the offerings from Chicago Town and Goodfellas.

I ordered 2 meatless pizzas, 2 chick’n and sweetcorn and 1 mushroom pizza, all with wholemeal bases.

They’re a reasonable size and the minimal packaging is really good to see. Ingredients and cooking instructions are all really clear on the packaging and it’s nice to see all the toppings so clearly.

The first pizza I tried with the chick’n and sweetcorn which I enjoyed. The fake chick’n wasn’t really like chicken but it was nice to have that meat replacement, and who doesn’t love sweetcorn. The vegan cheese is the show stopper in my opinion. It melts beautifully and tastes pretty good.

The second pizza I tried was the meatless pizza. I somehow managed to forget to take anymore pictures but it was fine. My only criticism is that the onion chunks were certainly prevalent and incredibly overwhelming in parts but it was still a decent pizza. I don’t think I’d order it again.

And finally, I had the mushroom pizza which I think was my favourite. Again, no pictures, but the delicious cheese and I am a huge fan of mushrooms so it was a big contributor to my love for it.

I was a big fan of the wholemeal base, and it was nice to have the option to choose from the wholemeal or their classic white base which you wouldn’t be able to do with store bought pizzas.

Overall, the pizzas were good. I wouldn’t be rushing to buy them again any time soon due to the price, but it’s nice to see convenient offerings from a vegan company who know the market and are trying to help the world and not just jump on the vegan bandwagon!

Naturally Kind Food [2]

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I wrote about Naturally Kind Food a few weeks ago after winning their cakes and I have seen their cake boxes with no-contact delivery plastered all over my social media, so I thought I’d treat myself.

I contacted NKF on Facebook to arrange a delivery date and payment. You are confined to the delivery dates available as they are running everything themselves from the baking of the cakes right through to the delivery service!

The box is £20 and filled with SO many goodies from different flavoured cakes, brownies, bars and tarts. And so instagrammable!

Tom and I have made our way through everything now and it was honestly so delicious. My personal favourites include:

  • Lotus Brownie
  • Chocolate Hazelnut Cake Slice

I mean, it was all amazing to be honest with you but those 2 were particularly highlights.

There are so many treats in the box and it comes with a note which includes everything that is contained in the box and their ingredients. Not every box will be the same as it can change depending on what they bake but I can guarantee you that each one will be absolutely delicious.

We’ve even been lucky enough to receive a second box from Tom’s mum and dad as a treat! What I did spot was that some of the cakes were different so I’m really looking forward to trying those out.

I truly recommend taking a look at Naturally Kind Food if you’re in the South Wales area. The treats are absolutely delicious and it really brightens up my day. And for £20, who could possibly say no?!

Make sure you follow them on Facebook and Instagram too to get updates on any delivery areas and dates!

The Cruelty Free Beauty Box: Build Your Own Box

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Due to the unexpected COVID19, the CFBB were unable to send out the April boxes. But worry not my friends, when normal business resumes, subscriptions will continue as normal! In the mean time, in order to get my beauty fix, I ordered a Build Your Own Box (plus some extras…!)

The build your own beauty box allows you to select items from a given list for £24.95. The list contains various beauty items and snacks. In total, you’ll be allowed to select 5 items so I chose:

  • 2 packs of Soffle’s Pitta Chips
  • Delhicious Body Scrub
  • Lue by Jean Seo Spot Control
  • Natura Multigrain Infused Sheet Mask

I added an extra pack of Soffle’s Pitta Chips because desperate times call for more snacks, and the tin of Ananda’s limited edition Easter wagon wheels which are always delicious.

I’ve used both the Delhicious Body Scrub and the Lue Spot Control before and I absolutely recommend and rate both products! You can read my blog post about the body scrub here and Lue Spot Control serum here.

Although these products aren’t new for me, it was money well spent as I know I will use them and I know how good they already are. If you’re looking for your fix, hit up The Cruelty Free Beauty Box website to have a browse.

Stay safe out there!

OMG IT’S VEGAN

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I’m sure we’re all very familiar with Facebook and Instagram ads, but I came across an interesting one a few weeks ago for vegan sweets! As we’re in lockdown, I thought I would treat myself to my favourite fizzy sweets so thank goodness for OMG IT’S VEGAN.

I highly recommend a visit to their website to see their full range of sweets which is spectacular with so many different sweets in so many different sizes on offer.

I am a huge fan of fizzy sweets in particular so I treated myself to a 1kg bag of mixed fizzy sweets, a jar of apple sour belts and a jar of strawberry fizzy pencils.

The jars are so lovely. They’re a good size and currently on my home office desk for me to snack on during conference calls! I’ve barely made a dent in them so far.

The kilo bag of mixed sweets is incredible and I am so happy with the mix in them. They make for a great insta photo too.

My only criticism, of myself, is that I should have ordered the bigger bag!! There’s still plenty in the bag but I’m dreading how upset I’ll be when the bag runs out.

The service was great from start to finish. I got updated when my order was dispatched and very shortly after, it arrived! Regardless of this, with COVID19 still amongst us, we have to remember to be more understanding with our delivery services as they are doing their best.

Anyway, I’m so pleased with my OMG IT’S VEGAN order and I heartily recommend that you visit their website for some delicious treats.

The Ivy in Cardiff City Centre

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The girls in work and I have very recently made it a tradition to go for a long lunch whenever we have a birthday celebration. Last month was of course my birthday (as if I haven’t mentioned it in every blog post!) and the girls treated me to a lunch at The Ivy in Cardiff.

The table was booked and some of you may know that The Ivy is renowned for being a bit more upmarket than your usual places so we dressed a little less casual than we normally would for work.

We were greeted at the door by the host who offered to check in our coats and then took us to our table. The restaurant is beautifully decorated with gorgeous wall papers and lots of plants. A quick note while we’re on decor, pop to the toilets upstairs. It is absolutely gorgeous up there and the ceiling is covered in flowers. It’s perfect for Instagramming!

We ordered cocktails while we perused the menu.

The cocktails were great. They did your usual classic cocktails like a Singapore Sling as well as signature cocktails which are a bit more interesting.

Shortly after, we ordered food. There isn’t much on the menu for vegans, but there are a few options which is better than nothing. I ordered the Keralan Curry which came with rice. I also ordered a side of thick cut chips, mostly because I just wanted to try them, and also it’s the classic Welsh staple.

I was delightfully surprised by the curry. It was delicious and full of so much flavour. It was filled with fresh vegetables including sweet potato and tenderstem broccoli. It was actually an excellent vegan option and I was not disappointed!

We didn’t get any dessert, but again, there wasn’t much in the way of vegan options for desserts. Sorbet and a plate of fruit… Not the most inspiring!

Overall, it was a pleasant experience. I really enjoyed my curry and the service was fantastic. I was lucky enough to have the girls treat me as a birthday gift, but the menu is a bit pricey. It’s a great location for a nice meal and an excuse to dress up a bit!

The Cosy Club in Cardiff City Centre

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It’s taken me a while to write this post as it appears that birthday gifts and events make great blogging content!

Last month, Tom treated me for breakfast on my birthday before he headed to work. We went to The Cosy Club in Cardiff City Centre. I’ve been to The Cosy Club before and they have a decent vegan menu.

The service is always good and on this occasion it was no different. We were greeted by the host that morning, she asked us if we needed any allergen menus and she kindly gave us the vegan menu and took us to our table.

After a few moments, our waitress came over and asked us if we’d like to order drinks. Tom ordered a soy vanilla latte and I ordered breakfast tea with a side of soy milk. As we were ready with our food order too, she took our order.

Tom ordered crumpets with plain vegan spread. The option on the menu came with cinnamon vegan spread which sounds unusual and Tom wasn’t a fan but they were more than accommodating. I ordered the vegan breakfast with the addition of avocado and scrambled tofu.

Breakfast was great. The scrambled tofu was a great addition. It was full of flavour and wasn’t a standard scrambled tofu you can often find at restaurants these days. The falafel was great and I loved how crispy it was. And as a lover of carbs, the potato rosti was a great equivalent for hash browns.

Tom enjoyed his crumpets and coffee. He’s not a big breakfast eat so he always makes me look greedy when we go out for breakfast which I’m totally ok with.

The Cosy Club is a good chain for vegans. There’s a good range of options and they are tasty. The service is great and every time I’ve been there, the staff are friendly and helpful. The location is great for those who are shopping in the city centre so I recommend a visit if you’re looking for a convenient breakfast spot.

Bad Brownie

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My amazing best friend, Alicia, moved to Mexico last year, but she most certainly didn’t forget my birthday!

The day before my birthday, I received an unexpected package which was addressed to her. I messaged her and she, of course, told me it was my birthday gift. I waited till my actual birthday to open it and it was very exciting.

She had treated me to an incredible box of delicious vegan and gluten free brownies from Bad Brownie.

The box was filled with a tray of brownies in different colours and flavours. I love a good snack so I was ecstatic. I couldn’t wait to try them and Tom was eyeing them up too. He was lucky there was plenty to go around!

There were so many to choose from, it was difficult to know where to even begin. Fortunately, it came with a card that listed all the flavours with pictures!

The first flavour that stood out to me was Peanut Butter & Jelly so that was the first one I tried. To be completely honest with you, I was a little disappointed. I thought it was lacking in the key peanut butter and jam flavours. The brownie itself was nice but the flavours weren’t there.

The next one I went for was Cookie Dough. Again, I was a little disappointed with this one. I don’t know whether the descriptions had hyped me up a little and set my expectations higher, but the cookie dough flavour was really plain.

The saviours of the box however were Salted Caramel and Passionfruit & Coconut which were the 2 I thought I’d enjoy the least.

I alway find Salted Caramel to be a gimmick but the Salted Caramel brownie was really lovely. It wasn’t too rich and it had all the flavours I was actually expecting which is more than I can say for other Salted Caramel treats.

My absolute favourite was the Passionfruit & Coconut. I do love a good fruity flavour and I love passionfruit and coconut so this was great. The part I didn’t think I’d like was the jellied top (similar to that of a Jaffa Cake), but I actually really loved it. It’s so different and makes it so much more interesting.

I’m 50/50 on this box. They weren’t the best brownies that I’ve ever had, but they weren’t bad either. Some flavours were disappointing but the good ones really did make up for it. Overall, a balanced gift which I’m still very grateful for!