A Fish Foodies Fantasy

I first visited Ocean Basket in City Centre Mirdif Mall, Dubai last October when I had the pleasure of interviewing the CEO Grace Harding and Fats Lazarides who was the founder.  At the time they treated to me to lunch and I have been set on returning with my family since.

Finally, on Saturday we did return.  The sandstorm meant that Ian had to cancel training and the only thing to do in order to avoid the fact that there was more sand in our house than in the desert, was hit a mall.  Having not been to Mirdiff we chose there and subsequently ate at Ocean Basket.

Ocean Basket, Mirdif
 Mall

Throughout the interview with Fats and Grace, they mentioned on numerous occasions how important quality of food was.  That they wanted excellent food, at a very reasonable price, “Simple, delicious food that makes people want to return is what we strive for,” said Fats.  And this is exactly what they have achieved.

On a busy Saturday afternoon, as we hadn’t booked in advance, we were asked to wait for 10 minutes whilst they cleared a table that would shortly be finishing.  The clean canteen like restaurant was full to the brim of people.  I loved that they under promised, a trick that all front of house staff could learn, because within 5 minutes we were sat at our table with menus provided for us. 

The bread, butter and dips (I loved the incredibly hot chili oil, and my daughter couldn’t get enough of the tartar sauce), were brought quickly to our table whilst they took the drinks order. 

Platter for 2

With a huge variety of seafood available, Ian and I settled on a Platter for 2, which consisted of 6 mussels, 12 prince prawns, 2 fish fillets, calamari and calamari heads.  It comes with chips and rice.  I was a little dismayed though as when ordering, we had been asked if we wanted to upgrade our prawns.  I did think this a bit odd; especially when I could have sworn the waiter at one stage said that we could do this if we pay an additional 100aeds.  Needless to say, we declined as I clearly recalled being told that quality at a reasonable price is key and with this in mind, we shouldn’t have to pay an increase for prawns.

The fish and seafood is cooked very simply, sautéed in butter.  The Mussels, which I literally had to fight my husband for, were cooked to perfection in a garlic cream sauce.   The prawns were slightly smaller to others, we saw leaving the kitchen, which people must have paid the increase for, but they were delicious, having been grilled lightly.  The calamari was superbly cooked.  Not one piece was chewy, and with my husband not being a fan, I was happy to be left to eat these all myself.

The Platter for 2 is such a large dish, that despite sharing it between our two year old, and ourselves we just couldn’t finish what was on the plate.  The staff were very quick on this and offered to provide a doggy bag so I was able to finish this off later.

Boho is Back with Burberry

With animal print playing a big theme across the Burberry Autumn/Winter 2015 collection, this collection took me straight mack to my child and also reminded me very much of 2003 (think Sienna Miller bringing boho to life, but with a grown up feel to it).

The look was classically 70’s peasant dresses, with lots of suede knee high boots, suede trench coats, suede bucket bags and everything you would expect from a decade that epitomised the relaxed, off duty look.

The brilliant news is that the poncho is back all-be-it with a fringe and/or embellishment - both themes that ran repeatedly throughout the show.  With 70’s colours like Plumb and Tan, the standout items were the full-length fringed capes, which were styled over peasant dresses.

#LondonFashionWeek  #Fashion 

All images in this are courtesy of the Daily Mail

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London Fashion Week - Fall / Winter 2015-2016

Following hot-on-the-heals of New York Fashion week, London isn’t proving to be a disappointment based on the numerous photos that are circulating Instagram and Twitter.

Fall/Winter is my favorite time of year for fashion – This isn’t the best for someone who lives in a perpetual summer.  I love to layer and the ladylike pieces that have graced the catwalks so far have been stunning.

In particular, I love the 70’s inspired sheer Preen dress, whilst David Koma kept minimalism with a twist of the early 70’s the order of the day in his collection.  Whereas Issa proved that our love affair with fringes is here to stay another year. 

Preen Fall Winter 2015

Tempered London was not a disappointment either.  "This season is both effortless and confident," says Alice Temperley and the collection lives up to this.  With a strong tribal print, for me the real winner was the layered winter look.  Smooth, classy and completely classic.

The New Me

So the 30 day squat challenge has begun in earnest and I can’t really move.  I have found muscles I never before knew I had.  Also, I found out, I never knew how to properly squat before.

It wasn’t the best of moments, when my husband walked in and laughed his head off. After his fit of laughter he managed to ask,  “What are you doing?” before laughing again.  Once I explained, he was very happy to tell me I was doing it all wrong, “Your legs need to be the width of your body apart and you need to pull yourself up like so.”  Showing me how I should be doing it.  For all of you out there, it should I have linked a YouTube video as it is much easier to see it in real life than have someone explain it to you in writing.

Day 1 is 50.  Seriously 50.  I managed to get to 25, but by 30 the sweat was beginning to make a show and I was blowing.  The key, as Ian told me, is to do all exercises slowly.  It makes your muscles work harder – making the day after infinitely more painful.  The last 5 though were absolute torture.  I could only just make them.  Day 2 was pretty much a blur.  I did my 55 though; at least I think I did…

Day 3 is meant to be 60 squats but right now, I can’t even walk properly – I am looking like I have lost my horse!  Ian assures me that I will start to feel that they are easier by day 3 but I won’t hold my breath. 

Detox Delight

Last night my mother reminded me that lent had started last Thursday.  Admittedly, she was not too impressed that she had to remind me.  As for I, I just can’t believe that I missed Pancake Day!

Regardless of the religious connotations, I always try to give up something for lent or change my life in some way.  I’m not the good (not-so-little) catholic girl I once was, but I do it because I love a challenge.

Normally, I give up chocolate, sweets or promise myself that I will get fit.  But this year, I am thinking something different.  I say this because I decided yesterday to give up chocolates and sweets, but realised that I am sat in Starbucks, writing this with Iced Mocha…  An epic fail clearly.  After quite a bit of though, I am thinking that this year I will do a whole body cleanse.

Throughout the whole of 2014 I read about detoxing through juicing.  I even went so far as to buy a juicer - although I did tend to stick with Orange and Carrot juices, maybe throwing in a handful of spinach to make me feel like it was harder work than it should be. I certainly didn’t fall in love with it the same way some of my colleagues did.  I used to get updates on ‘the juice of the day’, “Today I have beetroot, spinach and apple,” Becs would proclaim one day on entering the office.  Another, it would be some awful concoction that looked a tepid brown…

With hindsight, I was glad that I listened to my taste buds.  A juice diet long-term has been proven to be bad for your health.  High in sugar and low in essential fatty acids and protein, they should be used purely as a boost to your health and not as something that you should engage in long term.  Regardless of what it could do to your health, your teeth and your overall mental wellbeing, it has been proven that these juices should be consumed in a three day cleanse and not as an alternative to a meal.

So for me, with ladies night this week coming up, plus a couple of dinners with my girlfriends, should I engage in cleansing right now or leave it until the following weekend?

Alternatively, I could do a digital detox.  This is sweeping across the UK at the moment, with tourist companies enabling those who feel as though they are addicted to their smart phones, to leave them behind for a weekend.  You basically book yourself on to a retreat (think Glastonbury with the teepees and fields, but without the huge name bands to accompany the mud fest with music), and you hand in your cellphone at the door, only getting it back at the end of the day.

Another detox I could do is a detox of the mind.   One of my best friends is a life coach and swears by the fact that she had counseling, as it was the best thing for her.  She gave up her high-powered Human Resources Director role with a multinational company, studied and became a life coach herself. 

Or I could soup it up.  An alternative to juicing, I could soup.  This would enable me to get all the nutrients I need and be fit and healthy. 

Personally though, I don’t want to lose weight, but I do desperately want to tone.  So, instead maybe a 30-day squat challenge would be beneficial whilst I try out every type of detox that I can find.  

Decisions, decisions…  Right now, I don’t really want to take anything away from my life so I think I will do all of these and more.  Starting with squat challenge.