Towards the end of August, I flew back to my homeland of England because my husband was playing Reading Festival. I grew up always going to the festival so was excited to attend it once more, see some friends and just have a weekend filled with fun. Despite having a terrible time with missing connections on the flight over & a whole problem with United (don't ask) once I'd arrived (a day late) I was determined to forget the whole travel experience & have the best time. The whole weekend was brilliant. Saw some amazing music (even got a VIP pass for N.E.R.D!) and just had an all round top notch time. It felt good to be back in the UK for a few days ( I hadn't been back since November) and it felt amazing to be able to go to the shops and see all the wonderful new (to me) products that have surfaced since I've been gone. Obviously I made a couple of stops to some of my usual restaurants too, but here's what went down on my latest trip...
L-R Me, Soraya, Rosie & Rowdy. Pharrel doing his thing on Main Stage
Nandos - Southampton, UK
First stop once I got to my friends was Nandos! There are a few places I really miss when I'm in America - Nandos, Pizza Express, Indian food & Chip shops, so I had to have at least one of them for my first proper meal. (I had chips from the chippy the night before after arriving really late into the country, but this was an actual meal & not just a few chips before bed.)I ordered the butterfly chicken in lemon & herb (I like to add all my spice after with the sauces) and then a side of peri peri chips & chargrilled veggies. Nando's never lets you down. Tasty, balanced and delicious. I ate so quickly I think my friends thought I'd never seen a piece of chicken before. And I definitely could've eaten more of the chips too. Should've got some to go...
Dominos - Reading
After a long, long weekend of partying with all the friends and listening to allllll the music, we decided that once we were finished at the festival on Sunday night we would get take away pizza as our reward. And it was a great decision. Caleb's manager does something called "Tommy G Pizza" which basically means that if anyone in the band texts him on tour wanting pizza he sends across allll the pizza & sometimes this rule extends to me - so he was lovely enough to give us some Tommy G Pizza love that night! I rarely eat Dominos in America - they have different set pizza toppings than the UK and I always loved the Texas BBQ, so without that, it's just not worth it; especially because their GF is also so small! Anyways, as I was in the UK, that's exactly the pizza I got - A Texas BBQ (bbq sauce, chicken, onions, bacon & peppers.) and I also asked for extra of the Garlic & Herb dip because this also doesn't exist in America (WHYYYY). It all tasted exactly how I remembered. I definitely miss the days of eating large bbq pizzas and having the soft crusts to dip into the herb dip, but this was a good close second of a reminder. I wish Dominos was as good in other countries, but for some reason it truly only works in the UK.Crendon Indian Cuisine - Long Crendon
Al Forno - Putney, London
On Tuesday I visited my sister back where I grew up - London. She actually lives in Putney now, but she seems to love it there, so my mum & I spent the day with her & her two children - Max & Izzie. I was desperate for a Pizza Express, but my sister had already booked a table at an Italian close to her home so we didn't have to go too far with the kids & that was fine by me.
They offered GF pasta, but cannot guarantee against CC. I ordered anyway, and I didn't feel unwell afterwards (take that for what you will). I took a shot and ordered a GF Spaghetti Bolognese and it was just OK. I think I've been tainted by how good the bolognese was at Demartino when I was last back in London with Caleb (see London, November) and this just wasn't as good. It was still tasty, but now i've been taught what a proper bolognese is and should be like, I find myself picking apart what I usually would have loved. We had a fun lunch & my nephew is so cute these days that I really enjoyed the whole experience. Afterwards we went to get him some "chocolate eyes" which are Cadbury Buttons and I looked for a Mint Aero but had no luck, so gave up on the search. I would definitely eat here again, but I would probably order a different dish. My sister had the Carbonara which looked delicious, if a little swimming in butter (I know, how strange... who uses butter in Carbonara?) and I would definitely give another dish a go despite not being fully in love with the food on this visit.United Airlines
After the disaster of my journey over to the UK, on the way back I had a much better experience. I had an entire row to myself, the flights left on time and I even got my GF meal! *big cheers from all reading this blog*. Actually, I really enjoyed my plane food - which I'm not sure is something I've ever said before! For once it wasn't rice and the chicken came with potatoes and what seemed like a ratatouille and I enjoyed both. I also enjoyed my GF roll and dipping it in butter. I haven't just had a roll with butter in (probably) years, and for some reason this day it tasted unbelievable. My side of fruit was disappointing because it was melon (not my fave), but I can't have everything! On arriving into America they also gave me a roasted vegetable roll, but I didn't want to eat it, so no idea what it tasted like. Anyone else feel bad when they prepare you GF stuff but then you don't eat it? Just me?
My suitcase might have been full of treats... My husband Caleb & I at the festival!
Snacks
Apart from all the meals I ate on my trip, I also managed to fit in a lot of snacks, because snacks are the best and I spend my life living off of... snacks. Here are just a few of the items I tried/got to eat...
First things first...Warburtons Tiger Bread. I know, I know I'm at least a year behind all you lucky people who still live in the UK, but I finally managed to find a loaf and try it! I took it with us to make bacon sandwiches with for the mornings before heading to the festival and boyyyy am I glad I did. Absolute treat. Fluffy, spongey and didn't fall apart the second I touched it; it was actually a little malleable! Who would've thought it! I enjoyed it during the weekend, then bought another loaf & a loaf of their Sourdough & packed them in my suitcase to take back to America with me! They are now sitting in my freezer & I can't wait to use them up! If for some reason you live in the UK and you haven't eaten this bread, go and do it now!
Whilst I was at the airport waiting to fly home, I decided I would check out the shops to see what I could get that was GF for my flight (just incase they didn't have a GF meal for me again (does anybody else do this?) There were only Boots or WH Smith, and Boots had the GF sandwiches. (There was also a Leon, but strangely I didn't want that.) I chose the Roast Chicken Salad sandwich & actually ate it on my layover once I'd landed. I've got to say - I'm not sure why so many sandwiches have mayonnaise in them, but I really don't love it & would much prefer a relish or something instead. The sandwich was only OK. Not a patch on the M&S Chicken & Avocado Salad one I had last year. So, in the future, I will stick to M&S. And also hope that they take the mayonnaise out of their chicken sandwiches too.Below is just a quick list of some of the other items I grabbed to snack on/bring back to America with me & what I think of what I've tried so far!
- Freefrom Asda Red Velvet Cupcakes - They were just OK. They were a little dry, but I still enjoyed them as a quick sweet treat. They weren't big, so I could pretty much eat one in two or three bites. If you're not too worried about the texture & are looking for a quick fix then this is a great thing to buy. If you want an amazing GF cupcake, then I would like elsewhere.
- Mighty Fine Salted Caramel Honeycomb Dips - I'm not sure where these came from, my friend had them earlier in the week and had saved me some & I am super glad she did! They were just like bite sized Crunchie pieces and I thoroughly enjoyed them. These are a must buy & I will find out where they're from so you can all enjoy them too!
- Livia's Kitchen Nugglets - These were little vegan GF raw cookie dough bites and came in a little individual pack! My friend also bought these for me, so again I'm not sure where they're from, but I found them just OK. They were fine to eat, but I'm not sure I would buy them for myself. Which is a shame, because I was really looking forward to eating them all!
- Schar Mini Dippers - Who remember KP Choc Dips from when they were tiny? I was obsessed with them. I would always use a small amount of chocolate on each dipper because I was afraid the chocolate would run out & then on the last biscuit I would go to town. And this was no exception to my faultless technique. Really, really enjoyed this & it tasted just how I remember the KP version tasting & that's all you can ask for really. Two thumbs up - if anyone wants to send me a supply of these to America, I'd welcome them with open arms.
And thats about it for this time. I'm still sitting here mad that I never got my magical Pizza Express, but what can you do? It'll have to wait until September, when I'm back for a couple of days again! Next up on my travels is New York again (can't wait!) and eating that fried chicken sandwich of dreams from Friedmans. What a time.
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