♡ Hello Kitty Cafe in London ♡

みなさん、こんにちは!

I was given the opportunity to go to the Hello Kitty Cafe, located at Cutter & Squidge in Soho, with my friend Chewwie. I had been trying to book a place for weeks, as well as trying to find someone to go with - I didn't want to ask Saph, as she was already going to go a few times in August - but alas I couldn't do so?! But swoops in Chewwie with her fabulous-ness and flair, and BOOM. Along we went last Sunday, eager and ready for our afternoon tea.

A little backstory behind Cutter & Squidge - they don't use a lot of sugar and fat contents in their treats, and have quite a selection of gluten free in the Hello Kitty Afternoon tea. On their website they state;

"We make everything from scratch and where possible we use real British ingredients or source from British producers where we can't. Our eggs are always free range and our butter is always British creamery butter (mmm real butttter).

We don't use any margarine or hydro-what-do-you-call-'em fats and certainly no artificial colourings, flavourings or preservatives... we really can't see the point!

Our flavourings and colourings are all natural... the hulk green of our green tea biskie is purely from the premium grade matcha green tea we use and our crazy pink raspberry biskie... that's all pure raspberry!

Our decorations are created using our homemade all natural colourings which we make from fruits, vegetables, spices and flowers - we even make our own sprinkles.

We believe in using the best fresh and natural ingredients... full stop!"

I wasn't disappointed with the shop - the layout is clean, with a splash of colour here and there, and at first, it seemed that there wasn't anyone actually in the shop?! Chewwie and I were a little confused, but after seeing a sign, we guessed that the 'secret garden' was actually hiding somewhere else! Very clever in my opinion!

Whilst we waited for our table to be ready, we were given a glass bottle filled with pink lemonade - decorated with a pink straw and a Hello Kitty bow! We were also given wristbands (I'm guessing to help the staff know who were waiting during busy periods?!) and after fifteen minutes (we did arrive early just so you know) we were taken downstairs to the secret garden for our delectable food!

The walls were donned with Hello Kitty decal style wallpaper, and there were vines donned with fruits and flowers that just oozed that secret garden vibe. We were seated at (a very snug) two seat table, that was dressed to impress - and somehow fit all the food onto as well! But they were very clever with how to put everything in front of us, as soon enough, our food arrived in a VERY high pile of wicker steamer baskets (you know, the ones you use for dim sum?) and boy, was there a lot. There were five levels altogether and that is a lot when you think about it, especially when we were told that there were refillables for EVERYTHING - food and drink! Worth it right?

The first two layers are the savoury side of the afternoon tea - the first being Kitty's snack time sandwiches of cucumber & cream cheese, hummus & pepper, cheese & red onion and salmon & chives, whilst the second layer was filled with savoury cheese scones w/ a red pepper relish and cream cheese, and a coronation cracker.

The third layer is full of a strawberry milkshake biskie, blondies and I believe the vanilla cookie - even though the vanilla cookie (the Hello Kitty face one) tasted more like the strawberry milkshake, whilst the other one tasted of vanilla and strawberry... BUT I may be wrong!

The fourth and fifth layers were the ones that were topping us at this point - the fourth layer had the Mimmy's very berry jelly kiss, Mimmy's pink lemonade marshmallow, cake truffle and strawberries and finally, the fifth layer had Kitty's chocolate mud pie and Mama's apple pie mousse.

But it didn't just end with those... ooooooooh no! We were also given ice cream at the end of it all - served up w/ strawberry sauce and in a very cute, small, blue teacup. Full is definitely an understatement at this point of the session.

Oh, I chose an apple pie flavoured fruit tea - which was very nice, lots of cinnamon, and it did have that apple pie flavour, but it was very subtle. I didn't get any other flavoured tea - which you can do throughout the session - but I did drink a bucket load of the pink lemonade, as I was seriously addicted to that stuff. It wasn't too sweet, and had that traditional lemonade sour twang at the end of each sip, which is just perfection for me.

Quite a few pieces of food, throughout the afternoon tea; is gluten free, dairy free and acceptable for vegetarians - and they do offer a full vegetarian option for the savoury side of the meal - and it did all taste delicious, well 95% of it did, as Chewwie and I weren't keen on a couple of pieces, and it was all pretty much gone b the end of our session. We even ordered another third layer - with the biskies and blondies - and was able to box it up, and take it home.

I do think £40 is a fair price for this afternoon tea - especially with the amount of food and drink you are given with at first, followed on by the extras you want afterwards. Chewwie and I, were sooo full though, that even walking back through Chinatown was a little bit of a struggle... I think we almost rolled back! I think, besides a couple of items, and that feel of feeling overfull at the end of the session, I had no problems - the staff were friendly and accommodating, the food was seriously moreish, and the flow of drinks was always there.

I would gladly go back to Cutter & Squidge though, just to try out some of the delicious things they have to offer. There is such a large selection to choose from, heck I would have problems with deciding, but then, that would mean more trips back... right?!

Cutter & Squidge have quite a few social platforms - twitter, instagram and facebook - and I do recommend checking them out, just to see all the delectable goodies they post! I'm seriously drooling already... cries

Thanks for reading!
xoxo

♡ The Blogger Hangout Summer Event ♡

みなさん、こんにちは!

I had the opportunity to attend my first ever bloggers event last weekend, and boy, did I enjoy every single moment of it! I was extremely nervous at first, as I was attending all by myself, but after reading such kind-hearted tweets, from lovely bloggers about them going by themselves also, well, I didn't feel so alone and nervous!

I arrived at the Strand Gallery, literally, five minutes before the event opened - thank goodness public transport into London was kind to me that day, especially with Pride happening (literally) next door to Charing Cross station! I was shaking with nerves, but I did it! I went in by myself, and I spoke to all the brand representatives there! Everyone was super friendly, and just so welcoming. I, honestly, cannot fault anyone there. The gallery was narrow, but I managed to squeeze myself between everyone and natter away about things i.e. blog stuff, what we like, what the brand was about and so on, and so forth. It was, just a relaxed atmosphere, and I cannot find anything to complain about!

So the brands. First off, there was Regenerate - a company that specialises in products to help enamel erosion in your teeth - and I enjoyed learning about this company, especially as I have dull, yellow teeth from years of smoking and the amount of caffeine I've consumed. It'll be interesting to test the products I was gifted from them too! The next brand I met was Home Brewtique - a company that specialises in making your own craft beer, in the comfort of your own home - and even though I don't drink myself, I learnt enough information from them to take home to my dad, who is an avid beer 'collector' aka wherever he travels to, he brings home beer from the region.

The next brand was Sass & Belle - the cutest company, that specialises in what is on trend, and turning it into quirky and innovative home-ware and gifts - and what they had on offer that day... well I was in love with a few items! I could have just easily walked out, with everything they had to offer on the table... oops! The next brand along, was the super sweet Dinkibelle - a company who specialises in nail wraps - and after telling her about the awful past I've had with nail wraps (never stayed on, never looked nice blurgh) she managed to convince me about her brand. I haven't tried the nail wraps yet, as I'm trying to grow my nails every so slightly, but she did say that I could just cut the wraps in half, and have double the amount... how cool is that?!

Next in line, was T-Tox - a brand who specialises in matcha powder, and loose leaf tea specialised to help your diet slash become a part of your everyday routine - and I'm not obsessed with matcha, unlike a couple of my friends, who seem to be matcha fiends, but I was intrigued by this, especially as a couple of the matcha products were infused with other items. One had ginger and gingko infused into it, whilst the other had peppermint and nettles - the one with ginger helped boost your energy, whilst the peppermint one helped relax and regenerate you after exercise I believe? I managed to try them both (they had been mixed with coconut water) and omg, absolute delicious. And you can add them to your cooking... hello matcha cupcakes or muffins anyone?!

I had to skip a couple of brands, as it was getting busy at this point, and as it was getting hot, I scooched over to the front door to take a breather, before heading downstairs and meeting Pink Parcel - a brand specialising in THAT time of the month for us ladies. It's a subscription box, that caters to your needs during that particular time, where you feel like absolute shit, and just need a bit of pick me up, to make you feel more human again. I loved chatting away to the ladies there, and spending time picking out my gorgeous goodies, but they seriously sold this subscription box for me... I am signing up on my payday next week.

Finally; I managed to speak to United Beauty - a brand who specialises in gel nails, but the product turns any nail polish into a gel style manicure... if that makes sense?! It came with a portable UV lamp and a gel coat - either clear, or with glitter pieces embedded. I was lucky enough to have a manicure and a lovely natter with the girls there and before I knew it... it was 4.30! I had spent, almost, the entire time the event was on, there!

I did have such a wonderful time, meeting so many new people and just being in a warm, and generous atmosphere. I'm glad it was such a beautiful day for this event, and I really hope that I'll be able to go to more in the future, now that I have a little bit more confidence to go to them by myself! Oh, before I finish off, here are all the amazing goodies I received - I, legit, feel slightly like a spoilt brat because of these! So, a massive thank you to all the brands, who took time out to talk to me and gave me gifts, and a massive thank you to the Blogger Hangout crew for having me!

Thanks for reading!
xoxo

♡ HYPER JAPAN Christmas Weekend ♡

みなさん、こんにちは!

I am back! I had a wonderful weekend away for Hyper Japan and my birthday with my best friend and my other closest friends ugh I miss them all already someone save me! I honestly haven't had such a good time for a while now and my head space was starting to get a little muddled again until last weekend. I won't bore you with any more details, on with what happened!

On the Friday, it was spent packing (and unpacking, the repacking to make sure I didn't forget anything) and travelling to the hostel - which was located in Earls Court. I honestly believed that we got such an amazing deal for the place - £12 p/n for three nights?! How could anyone refuse? Plus is was the cleanest hostel I have stayed in... ever. After Sapphire and I had finished settling in, aka throwing our suitcases into our room, we headed out into central for food as we were both pretty hungry by this point. Originally, I was going to take Saph to 'Eat Tokyo' but the location I knew about had moved to Soho and upon arriving at the destination... we found out that it was closed until the 17th!! Typical. So instead we hopped over two doors and went to eat at Taro's. I've only been to Taro's once previously but I remembered that the food was delicious so it wasn't an ultimate loss for us. We did however, eat for more than two people;

Gosh we were super full afterwards but we took the long route back to Piccadilly Circus station (through Soho and Chinatown) and even stopping off at Hotel Chocolat - where I treated myself to a couple of goodies as a pre-birthday present - we felt a lot better walking off the food.

On the Saturday, we woke up way before our alarms - excitement had set it - but we weren't going to get there super early and were aiming for the venue around 10.30/11am as that would give up plenty of time to go around before the closed session. Meeting Sharan at Earls Court Station, we eased on over to Kensington Olympia where the event was being held. We were a little confused at first on where to go as there was another event being held at the same location, on the same weekend, but we managed to find our way to the entrance and walk on in. It was super quiet in the morning, there was no pushing/shoving/cramming to get to the tables and honestly, I prefer that kind of atmosphere to that of MCM. We then met up with Victoria and mooches around the bottom level most of the first session, even getting to the front of the stage to watch the fashion show was a good sign! I was excited to see the show as I knew that a couple of my friends were participating;

Just a select few of my favourites! There was a massive spectrum of Japanese fashion on the catwalk... ahhh everyone was just so pretty! The best surprise at the end was seeing Anna Yano come onto the stage! She's super small and doll like in person and she has such a lovely singing voice as well... ahhh I could have just put her in pocket and kept her forever!

After her performance, we went around the bottom level again and purchased some food, took some pictures with friends and before we knew it, it was time for the first session to end! Saying goodbye to Victoria at this point, we headed outside and waited until the second session had opened and was in full swing... it was much busier in the afternoon than in the morning! Squeezing through people to move around and look at things makes me feel a little anxious but we managed somehow! Despite getting distracted by things... I did manage to take some form of pictures of stalls with goodies for sale;

After going around the top level, buying more goodies and also being spoilt by my noonim *shakes fist at her* Sapphire, Sharan and myself headed into central London to go and eat at Shroyu Ramen! This place has been on my bucket list of restaurants for ages and I was extremely happy to be finally going to go and eat there! We had a twenty minute wait before we could be seated but it was certainly worth it in the end;

Again, lots more food purchased and consumed! I remember ordering an onigiri, chicken karaage (to share), a spicy pork hirata bun and curry ramen with a non-alcoholic yuzu mojito to wash it all down with! Being super full at the end of it was worth it as the food was sublime! I honestly recommend it to anyone wanting to go and eat ramen! I forgot to add... before we headed to Shoryu Ramen, we popped into Japan Centre as it was (literally) thirty seconds away and I was lucky enough to pick up the last copy of ANAN magazine with Hiroki Nariyima on the cover!!! Extra special birthday present to myself there! After our food escapades, Sapphire and I said our goodbyes to Sharan and headed back to the hostel as we were exhausted from the day already! Normally, I feel awkward going back to the hostel so early (around 11pm) but the hostel had a nice atmosphere so it was all good really~

On the Sunday (my birthday yay!!) we awoke around the same time as on the Saturday... but I was surviving on only four and a half hours sleep as we had an extremely loud snorer in our room... fucking perfect. Sapphire surprised me with birthday presents and a card ;333; and after much appreciation of what she got me... we got ready for HJ. It was quiet again on the Sunday, kind of like the Saturday morning session the day before, and it was nice to properly go around the stalls and talk to people etc. I did take some more pictures of things again;

Around 3ish, Sapphire's Sei cosplay decided to break on her so we went back to the hostel to change and for myself to have a short nap as there was no one around... I honestly get really cranky if I have little sleep so a nap was the best decision! When we left the hostel around 5ish, it decided to rain on us! Just typical.... it's not my birthday unless it decides to rain on us! We met Monique and Richard at Misato's... cheap and massive portions of food? How could anyone refuse? After we had our fill, we walked over to Costa and sat talking in there until closing time! I cannot remember the last time I stayed in a coffee shop until closing time... we just had that much of a good time together;

I loved taking our group picture together and spending time with this people, my face hadn't stopped hurting from all the smiling and laughing that happened until Tuesday afternoon? It's crazy how certain company will do that to you...

And thus... Monday came and Sapphire and I had to travel back to Essex - so Sapphire could be picked up to be taken back to Telford and for me to go back home for work the next day. It felt like the weekend went by extremely fast and that we never stopped! Heck, the lack of sleep from snorers in our hostel room made me feel like that I had been out clubbing all night... I had such an amazing time with my friends, meeting new people whom I hope I can call friends for an extremely long time and I was spoilt rotten with presents for my birthday... and extra surprise being a birthday cake and cards upon my arrival through my front door - as well as being tackled by two excited dogs!

This is such an extremely long post and I apologise for the length of it.... but hey I did cut out some pieces to make it less of a feat to read! As I had purchased a lot of stuff and been given a lot of stuff, I had to put them in categories! The picture on the left is all of my birthday treats whilst the other two are pieces I purchased from Sushi Noms, Third Windows Films, a k-pop stall that I can't remember the name of and JPU Records!

If anyone would like to see any reviews about any of the above products - I do have a post planned about the Sailor Moon items in the top left picture - then leave a comment below and I shall what I can do! Thank you so so so much for putting up with an extra long post from me, I really hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing!

Thanks for reading!

xoxo