Joj

East London, it was time to explore his area a bit more! A short twenty minute walk along the canal from his apartment is Barge East, a gorgeous 118-year-old Dutch barge on the canalside in Hackney Wick.



We were invited for lunch and ended up very grateful to have chosen a rain-free day, although there is covered seating if it does rain! We sat in one of the little greenhouses (it has an open doorway so it doesn’t get too hot) and loved how cosy it was. We were kindly offered prosecco to start our lunch with, but declined as we’re trying to make a conscious effort to reduce our alcohol intake (both of us find that not drinking massively helps our sleep, mental health, and overall wellbeing), and instead opted for a coffee (him) and an elderflower fizz (me).




There are different areas for you to sit in, and you have the choice of sitting on the old barge itself, or on dry land in the gardens or terrace. The gardens around the old barge are very pretty, and the relaxed, canalside setting makes you feel as though you’re in the middle of the countryside rather than London. I loved the different areas, and all of them are served by the street food style vans near the entrance. With covid you order through an app and everything is brought to you, but it was still refreshing to have a sort-of street food style experience after 18-months without, and it was the perfect relaxed Saturday afternoon lunch.




Food-wise we were in for a treat! We began by sharing the Hoisin Duck Scotch Egg which was out-of-this world good, but my goodness the mains were even better. I chose the Hackney Cheese Steak Burger, while the boyfriend chose the Buttermilk Chicken Burger, and each came with a side of Chickpea Fries which were unusual but tasty.

I’ve been seeing individual friends each week since lockdown ended, slowly seeing them all for the first time in months. It started out as picnics and drinks in the parks, then moved to restaurants at the beginning of July, and finally I plucked up the courage to visit an actual bar with a group of friends at the start of August. Since then I’ve seen a few groups of friends, but the lovely bunch I saw for our Amazonico dinner last night, I hadn’t seen since January when we went to Isabel! We had the best evening, it’s a restaurant we’d all been wanting to visit for ages so it felt extra special, and I wanted to share our experience as we were all super impressed!



We started with pre-drinks at Sketch just up the road, before walking down to Amazonico. I made the mistake of wearing new heels, so the boys had to practically carry and support me down the street haha. We arrived and were shown to our big booth table. All of the staff were wearing masks, you had to use anti-bac gel on arrival, and I loved that our table felt a little private and tucked away. You’ll have to excuse the poor quality of the photos – I wasn’t expecting to post about it so I didn’t take my camera, so I only have phone photos!



We all ordered cocktails and snacks, I chose a Guavita cocktail which was a delicious and refreshing combination of gin, watermelon & guava shrub, with cardomom, pomegranate, lemon, jasmine, and soda. A few of the others chose the flamboyant looking Peacock Spirit! Snacks-wise we chose the Guacamole and the Cassava cheese bread – the guac was slightly better than mine (huge understatement, and I promise mine is pretty amazing), and although I only had a little nibble of the cheese bread because , it was incredibly moreish and I desperately wanted to devour the entire bowl of them!



Our huge array of starters arrived, and while everyone else shared a selection of Ensalada Amazónica (mango and avocado salad), Patacones Mechados (Crispy plantain, pulled pork, achiote seeds), Tequeños (clay oven chicken rolls), and a variety of sushi, I stuck to my keto-friendly dishes and had the Hamachi Tiradito (thinly sliced yellowtail). My yellowtail was absolutely beautiful and tasted super fresh in a zesty passionfruit dressing.

For mains I chose the Merluza Negra, which was Patagonian black hake, grilled eggplant, plantain crisp. The fish was cooked perfectly, although the grilled eggplant wasn’t really grilled and was more of a mousse, but very taste nonetheless! I absolutely adore plantain, but it’s not exactly keto-friendly due to the high-carb content, so I was relieved that there were three *very* thin plantain crisps – it saved me because I can’t say no to plantain!

The others chose a lot of red meat – lamp chops, steak, the whole shebang. Other than Francis who like me chose fish! We also had a bunch of sides; cassava fries, tomato salad, and broccoli and carrots.

MNKY HSE, Mayfair – The Hottest London Restaurant of 2017.
MNKY HSE is without a doubt the hottest restaurant in London right now. First came Coya, then Chiltern Firehouse, then Sexy Fish, and now MNKY HSE (pronounced ‘Monkey House’). A Latin American fine dining restaurant on Dover Street in the heart of Mayfair, the restaurant is fairly unassuming from the outside, and it’s only when you walk through the bar and descend into the basement that your eyes adjust to the effortless cool surrounding you. Match that with incredible Latin American food, and you have a winner.

Having opened just under a year ago, t’s already been used for multiple fashion events, including the GQ closing party for Men’s Fashion Week this year. Despite departing after dinner around 11pm, just as the night was really starting, we got a small glimpse into the potential of the space, and it’s safe to say I’ll definitely be going back for a later dinner time when I return to London at Christmas!
I picked Jasiminne up enroute as she FINALLY lives nearer to me! Since she moved to Battersea from East London, I can now pick her up on my way into central as Battersea is on my way haha. We had catch ups and did some car-dancing/singing like we always do, and once parked up round the corner from MNKY HSE we wandered down the road to it.
Dan was running a bit late due to a delayed train, so we sat at the table, ate some chips, and ordered some drinks – I could only have one alcoholic drink as I was driving, so chose the most delicious Guava Pisco Sour…

Half an hour later Dan rocked up and we quickly ordered a whole bunch of stuff to share. Unfortunately the lighting inside was *very* dark and moody with overhead yellowy spotlights, so terrible for photos. But alas. We went with…
Yellow Tail Aguachile

Date Night at Aster, Victoria.
D&D Group are home to some of my favourite restaurants in London: Quaglino’s, 100 Wardour Street, Bluebird, and Orrery. So when I was invited to test out Aster, their French restaurant in Victoria, I instantly said yes. I was already a big fan, but had only ever visited for breakfast and the last time I had dined there was before Covid-times. So I was thrilled to finally be able to experience dinner there, and it truly did not disappoint!



I dragged kindly invited my boyfriend along for a little date night, and he very patiently waited for me to take photos of his food before tucking in and even offered to order a different starter to me so I could get a better variety of photos. He’s a keeper, I tell you! Thankfully he loves food just as much as I do, so we ordered a bit of a feast! We started off by ordering a selection of artisan breads to nibble on, along with our drinks: a pear bellini for me, and a Rothaus, alcohol free beer for him (which he declared a very good non-alcoholic beer).



We both decided to share the Cote de boeuf for our main, so I chose a lighter starter: the asparagus with homemade hollandaise and poached egg. The boyfriend went all out on the protein and had the steak tartare (talk about a beef overload – sorry veggies&vegans!). Both starters were lovely (the hollandaise sauce was honestly incredible) and thankfully didn’t fill us up too much before the steak arrived.




When the Cote de boeuf arrived our eyes lit up, we literally turned to each other and just grinned! The medium-rare meat looked absolutely perfect, and was accompanied by portions of chips, broccoli, and bernaise sauce. The chips were a little bland, but the Cote de boeuf was one of best pieces of steak I’ve ever eaten

Joj updated their business hours.

Hotel Review: COMO The Treasury Perth.
I first heard about COMO The Treasury back in 2015 when it opened and caused an insane amount of excited chatter in Perth. All of my friends over there were telling me how it was the most expensive hotel in Perth, and after visiting the restaurants and bars inside the Old State building in which COMO The Treasury is housed, they all encouraged me to check it out on my next visit over there! Well, five years later (and despite many visits back home inbetween) I finally got to experience Perth’s most expensive hotel. So, was it worth the five year wait? Absolutely.

The 19th century building genuinely took my breath away when I stepped inside. I entered the hotel from the small side-street beside St George’s Cathedral, and was instantly whisked into the small but cosy lobby, with plush seating and tables covered in native flowers, and one lone check-in desk, highlighting the boutique size of this luxury hotel. With just 48 contemporary rooms and suites, the hotel is small and select. The staff are cheery and welcoming, and the light and airy space is reflective of the majority of the hotel, which was designed by Kerry Hill.

An elevator took me up to a dimly-lit corridor with largely-spaced apart doors leading to the guest rooms. Even the smallest guest rooms at COMO The Treasury are an average of 55sq m, with the largest suite measuring a huge 120sq m. I walked into my elegant Heritage Balcony Room and was instantly shocked (as in, my mouth literally dropped open, shocked) by the size and space before me.
It was without a doubt the biggest ‘standard’ hotel room I had ever seen, and beautifully designed too, with light-hued furniture and natural light flooding in from the original oversized windows. My room had everything I could need with a VERY comfortable king-sized bed with Egyptian cotton bed-linen, a table and chairs, large desk, and a sofa/chaise longue thing.

There was a gorgeous balcony stretching the entire length of the room, with chairs and a table.

The mini-bar features local wine from the Margaret River wine region, and a range of delicious complimentary snacks (the lemon biscuits were my favourite) and cold and hot drinks (including fancy cold pressed juices).

And then there’s the bathroom; a swoon-worthy room of beautiful travertine stone tiles with a twin vanity unit, and a floor-space large enough for a plethora of activities – I personally cranked up Beyonce and danced around as if I were on stage. The walk-in wet-room style shower is also huge – big enough for me to perform ‘Freedom’ (if ya know, ya know) mid-hair wash. As well as the shower I also tested out the insanely deep bathtub with the provided COMO Shambhala at Home aromatherapy bath-salts, and then dried myself off with the plushest towels I have ever used.



And when it was time to sleep? I simply pressed a button and the electronic sheer blinds and blackout Roman curtains blocked out the Perth sunshine. My only complaint is the lack of charging points next to the bed – I had to charge my phone over the other side of the room at the desk which is just annoying. Seeing as it opened in 2015, you just expect charger points next to the bed in a luxury hotel.
I woke up bright and early the next morning and extremely jetlagged, and headed to the swimming pool. It’s absolutely beautiful and I wish I had more time there to truly make the most of it! There’s also the hotel’s tranquil spa, COMO Shambhala Urban Escape, where you can enjoy yoga and pilates classes. I however visited my favourite yoga studio in Perth for restorative/yin yoga (the perfect de-stress after a long flight), the Myall Yoga & Wellbeing Studio, which is just a short walk down the road from the hotel.



There are loads of eateries and bars in the State Buildings making COMO The Treasury an incredible location for foodies. The evening of my stay I visited trendy Thai restaurant Long Chim with my best friend for a catch-up dinner after not seeing her for over a year, and although we adore Long Chim’s food, there really is something for everyone with Australian and European restaurants too. Breakfast is available with the hotel, but I decided to visit Petition Kitchen for breakfast instead as I’d heard so many good things about it, and I’m so glad I did – their French Toast was DIVINE!

Hotel Review: Paramount House Hotel, Sydney.
When I lived in Sydney I was super lucky to work in Surry Hills. It’s one of the trendiest suburbs in Sydney with a wide-variety of bars and cafes, and those quintessential Sydney terraced houses set on leafy tree-lined streets (even to this day I still miss my old Sydney terraced house). The call of the Kookaburra fills the air through the day, Gelato Messina scoop out double-scoops of their homemade gelato, and by night the bars and restaurants are filled and buzzing with people and big fluffy Flying Foxes hang upside down from the trees.Almost every street in the suburb has a hot new bar on it, but the one thing the suburb has been missing, is a luxury hotel. The only hotels in Surry Hills until recently have been hotels attached to pubs, which, to put it nicely, aren’t particularly ‘nice’. But in 2018 Paramount House Hotel opened with 29 rooms and suites, finally giving visitors a luxury property in Sydney’s coolest neighbourhood. When I visited Sydney back in February I decided to check it out and see what it was like!

Paramount House Hotel Sydney Review


The luxury hotel is housed within the former headquarters of Paramount Pictures Sydney and has retained much of its original brickwork and industrial-chic features. To get to the hotel lobby you enter through the Paramount Coffee Project cafe – which serves up a classic Aussie breakfast worth checking out – and walk past a large luscious tree and into a polished concrete space flooded with natural light from the over-head glass. The staff are friendly and the check-in process is quick and easy. If breakfast is included in your room rate, you’re given a small coin which you need to look after and hand to the Paramount Coffee Project staff when you go to pay.



I turned the key to my Loft room and when the door opened was astounded by the unique design of the interior. I entered immediately into the bathroom, with a private toilet behind a door to the right, and the sink space immediately ahead of me under the staircase. Past the toilet is an open bath space made from beautiful Italian terrazzo tiles, but no privacy screen – not great if you’re staying with a parent/sibling or a friend.

Paramount House Hotel in Surry Hills Sydney hotel review
The bath is a rectangular wooden box made of native blackbutt; a nice idea, but frankly a little impractical – it’s impossible to lay back and relax, you sort of have to just sit there with your knees up under your chin like so…

Paramount House Hotel in Surry Hills Sydney hotel review
Aesop bath toiletries
Paramount House Hotel in Surry Hills Sydney hotel review
Gorgeous Aesop bath products are provided, and rather than a closet, there’s a hanging rail under the stairs, which, although fine for male guests, is slightly inconvenient for anyone with dresses longer than knee-length as the space under the rail isn’t long enough for either midi or long dresses – the bottoms of my dresses covered the mini-bar snacks.

Paramount House Hotel in Surry Hills Sydney hotel review


Past the bath-space is a cosy living area with a comfy relaxed couch, which I loved lazing on after my impractical and slightly uncomfortable bath, and a door leading onto a balcony with table and chairs. Upstairs is a mezzanine bedroom, with beautiful coloured linen bedding, and a wooden tree-trunk bedside table with power outlets directly above (thank goodness!).

Paramount House Hotel in Surry Hills Sydney hotel review
Paramount House Hotel in Surry Hills Sydney hotel review
Paramount House Hotel in Surry Hills Sydney hotel review
When I returned to my room later that evening I was pleased to find a glass bottle filled with fresh lemon and orange water – I poured it into the glass provided and my face creased into a pained expression as I tossed it around my mouth. It was sparkling water. An unusual choice when surely it’s fairly common knowledge that many people can’t stand sparkling water? I mean, have the staff at Paramount not seen the amount of memes around this issue! Sparkling water aside, I had a blissful sleep and loved the space of the Loft room with the living room and balcony.

There are plenty of food and drink options both within Paramount House and in the local area. Paramount Coffee Project is perfect for a relaxed breakfast and lunch (I really enjoyed my banana bread breakky!), while the in-house restaurant, Poly, is an intimate space, and a spin-off of famed Sydney restaurant, Ester. Downstairs is a cocktail bar, and mere minutes away there are my old favourites; Chin Chin, Tio’s, Rosie Campbell’s, The Clock, and The Winery.