Photography Archives - Page 4 of 10

bloomzy / March 7, 2016

Where to Eat in London: Nosteagia

Nosteagia | Bubble Waffles & Bubble Tea | Nearest Tube: Shoreditch High Street

Every now and again I will complain about the lack of Taiwanese food in London. For some reason it’s a real rarity. So when I do find it, I hold onto it. Previously I’d found the delicious lunchbox offerings of Bian Dang, but a part of me was craving for something sweeter. Luckily, I happened upon Nosteagia whilst browsing Instagram one day. I noticed that they were located close to my office, at Pump on Shoreditch High Street, so I rushed down for one of their bubble waffles. Yes you heard me correctly, Taiwanese bubble waffles!

The Sweet…

On my first visit to Nosteagia I tried the King Chocolate Bubble Waffle; a mixture of M&Ms, Nutella, chocolate sauce and cream. It was delicious, and gave me a much needed sugar boost after a long morning. Since then I have tried waffles overflowing with coco pops, ones with matcha ice cream, peanut butter…even one with half a Snickers bar sticking out of it! These sweet treats are as delectable as they are Instagramable.

And The Savoury…

Believe it or not, Nosteagia offer savoury dishes as well. In fact when I popped by on my first visit I brought a friend, who ordered the Gyudon (Japanese dish of rice and seasoned beef). It was so authentic and delicious, that he comes back with me every time, and he always orders the Gyudon. In fact quite a few of my work buddies sing the praises of Nosteagia’s savoury dishes.

Final thoughts on : Nosteagia

Nosteagia may be offering up Instagram worthy foodporn for the people of East London, but there’s more to this street food vendor than meets the eye. It is run by two of the loveliest people I’ve met in the London street food scene – two students who wanted to bring Taiwanese Bubble Tea to London. The ingredients used are fresh, and the food is made on the spot. The introduction of a weekly special has also been a real treat. I always look forward to seeing what they will come up with next. In my opinion, the savoury dishes are just as worthy of your lunch money as the waffles. However if I had to give one tip, it would be to come here for a savoury lunch…and stop by later for dessert!

Read more in my Where to Eat in London series.

bloomzy / February 9, 2016

5 Instagram Travel Accounts You Should Be Following

You may remember my ‘Instagram 5′ series. Well it’s been a while since I last graced the blog with one, which is surprising as my love for the app is stronger than ever. Here I have picked out 5 of my favourite instagram travel accounts.

Who? @tokography
Why? This is one slick Instagram account. Tobias is constantly travelling the world, as is made evident by the “now in: …” section of his profile. I love his consideration of colour and viewpoints when shooting. This isn’t your typical travel account; you’ll definitely feel inspired to pick up your passport when browsing his feed.

Who? @josephowen
Why? With the prevalence of “big” travel Instagram accounts using DSLR, you may be shocked to find that Joe takes all of his photos on his iPhone. Even more so when you catch a glimpse of his crispy and clear photography.

Who? @iikkyu
Why? I started following Joe after I saw some of his photos from Tokyo (a city he visits often). I felt that he considered his subjects in a similar way to how I do so myself. That, and he’s also a big fan of Brooklyn coffee. You can take the boy out of London…

Who? @cerealguides
Why? Of course Cereal had to make it onto the list. The Cereal Guides (created by Rosalia Park), are in-depth guides to cities across the world. So far Cereal has released London, Paris and New York. Each guide offers an in-sight into the best cafes, restaurants, shops and places of interest. If you don’t know a local, this is the next best thing.

Who? @nihaojoe
Why? My friend Joe is currently travelling around India, and he’s an awesome photographer. Nuff said? Nuff said.

Do you have a favourite Instagram travel account?
Let me know in the comments!

Source: Please see the individual Instagram accounts listed above.

bloomzy / February 1, 2016

Celebrating Chinese New Year at Yauatcha

Yauatcha City | Dim Sum | Broadgate Circle | Nearest Tube: Liverpool Street

Last week Yauatcha invited myself and VA (chopstickpanorama) to come along to their City location, to celebrate Chinese New Year with them. I don’t usually celebrate new year, whether it’s British, Chinese etc etc…you get my point. However when Yauatcha told me that this particular celebration would involve copious amounts of food – and gin – I found myself unable to say no.

Dim Sum

We ordered all of the dim sum dishes from the CNY menu, which includes: Caviar siew long bun (full of soupy deliciousness), Foie gras roast duck puff (beautifully presented rich parcels of goodness), Caviar taro dumpling (a dumpling by any other name…) and Black truffle edamame sesame ball (oddly sweet). The Caviar siew long bun was the best dish by far for me that evening. However the Foie gras roast duck puff came in at a close second. Controversy aside, this is a delicately rich and buttery dish, and I love the heart shaped pastry. I could easily have ordered both of these numerous times, and gorged on them for the rest of the night.

Main

For our “main” we ordered the Yauatcha scallop pushing (a light, refreshing salad), Hakka fortune pot (a variety of meats & seafood) and Dried oyster fried sticky rice (to accompany). The Yauatcha scallop pushing was a mixture of textures and zesty flavours. Our server also explained that this traditional dish comes with an added bonus; by mixing it as high as possible you can make one wish for the new year. Let’s see if VA’s comes true (she did all the mixing)! I was excited for the Hakka fortune pot as it included abalone (a new taste for me), however I felt slightly let down by the dish. Alongside the Dried oyster fried sticky rice, it all just seemed like a classy version of a Chinese takeaway…which to be fair, isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s just not for me.

Gin Cocktail Flight & Macarons

The cocktail flight was a lovely accompaniment to our meal. Each of the 3 cocktails was served at separate times throughout the evening; to compliment the food we were served. Of course the Saffron gin and tonic was my favourite. Ever so sweet, and a pleasing colour – kudos to Monkey 47 for this dry & complex gin.

The macarons (Gin and tonic, Juniper berry, Bitter orange almond, Elderflower ginger, Rose rosehip and Camomile) were a delight, as they always are at Yauatcha. Their innovative use of ingredients never fails to produce a unique flavour and texture. My favourites of the evening were the Rose (tastes just like Turkish delight), and the Camomile (the buttercream is almost custardy in texture).

My thoughts…

Our meal came to just over £157 (£79 each), including the cocktail flight. Taking this into consideration I can’t say I would go back and spend that much. However I would happily go back for the select few dishes that helped make my evening so delicious (see bolded items).

Head to Yauatcha to view their Chinese New Year menu.

bloomzy / January 2, 2016

A Travel Resolution for 2016

Travel Highlights from 2015

Part of the reason I’m so excited about the New Year finally being here, is thanks to some pretty awesome moments in 2015. Last year I made a resolution to visit as many new countries (ones I had never been to before) as possible. Well I don’t think I did too bad; I visited Germany, The Netherlands and Italy. I am so grateful for the opportunities I have had, and it has spurred me on to work even harder in 2016.

I will be returning to Japan in March. It’s been almost five years since I was there last, so naturally I am already planning all of the things I want to see/do. Of course I intend to reunite with all of my friends. I also hope to eat ALL of the delicious food, and take plenty of photos. My inner photography geek is pretty excited about this, because when I was living in Tokyo I only took snapshots on my mobile phone/digital camera. Oh hey there, my name is: the annoying tourist in the corner with the DSLR.

I’d also like to take more long weekends away from London, and discover more European countries I’ve yet to visit. On my travel wish list this year? Denmark, Iceland and Sweden. I wonder if I can best 2015 and manage to do those alongside Japan… I’ll certainly try my best.

You can check out my 2015 travel posts here.
Send me your travel recommendations in the comments below.

bloomzy / December 30, 2015

Blogs I’ll Still Be Reading in 2016

Old photo is old…but relevant

Looking back at my ‘Blogs I’ll Still Be Reading in 2015‘ I’m pretty darn proud of myself. My predications were spot on. Actually what I should be saying is, well done to my favourite bloggers for all the awesome content they brought out during 2015. Well I don’t expect next year to be much different, but my reading preferences have altered slightly; some of my old favourites are still in there, but there’s some new additions too.

Blogs I’ll Still Be Reading in 2016

Park and Cube – Inspirational photography and awesome lifestyle posts.
Joe Allam – Full of interesting content for lovers of photography.
The Bearded Bakery – Mike always posts the best recipes…and he uses a lot of matcha!
Worship Blues – Meaningful words and photos. A blog with a lot of soul.
Vasilieva – An image heavy blog, with a hauntingly beautiful photography style.
I Heart Alice – I love Alice’s photos, her style, and her personality. This lovely lady is a triple threat!
Chopstickpanorama – I had to include VA! She continues to help drive me to do my best. And I just love her photos!
Style and Wellbeing – It can be difficult to find a blog that fits your style exactly, but I fell in love as soon as I set eyes upon Brittany’s blog.

I hope to continue discovering more amazing blogs in 2016. Feel free to leave your own, or your favourite blogs in the comments below.

bloomzy / December 27, 2015

Christmas Day | Photo Diary

Christmas Day in Wales

Christmas Day, for me, has always been a family affair. From the beginning of December I look forward to spending a relaxing day, chatting and eating with all of my family members. This year I spent it in Wales, with my “in-laws”. My day started with a light breakfast and coffee, whilst others slaved away in the kitchen (much appreciated) preparing a Christmas feast. Trust me, you don’t want me anywhere near your Christmas dinner. Unless you count eating it, because I can do a pretty good job of that.

I think this time of year allows us all to be a slightly more eccentric version of ourselves (read: show our true colours). And that’s great! I mean, when else would it be acceptable to start drinking champagne at 11am? It’s also readily accepted that you will gorge yourself silly, on food you simply refuse to eat any other time of the year. Again, I’m all for this. I actually love brussel sprouts and stuffing. I’ll pass on the Christmas pudding though. However, dowsing it in brandy and setting it a flame does make for a good photo.

I really just love the feeling and general joyfulness during this holiday. I’m very lucky to have some wonderful family and friends. And whereas I do appreciate them all year round, it is nice to spread a little extra love. After all, tis the season.

bloomzy / December 2, 2015

A London Life… at Sushinoen with Nuffnang UK

Sushinoen* | Japanese | Whitechapel | Nearest Tube: Aldgate East

London is a culinary melting pot of cuisines. We have the complete A-Z of food, from Algerian to Zambian – Foodies need not be disappointed. Whereas I do enjoy discovering new cuisines, there’s one I always go back to – Japanese. After living there, I have a handful of recipes that I like to re-create at home. However there’s nothing better than having someone else cook for you, am I right?

This past weekend I was lucky enough to be a guest at Sushinoen, courtesy of Nuffnang UK. A cute Japanese restaurant tucked away in the heart of Whitechapel, Sushinoen serves up a variety of Japanese dishes. We were sat at a sunken table (horigotatsu), which I always find super comfortable. After everyone had arrived we ordered a bottle of plum wine (umeshu) – my favourite Japanese tipple. Conversation flowed as the first round of food was brought to the table: Butakakuni, Agedashi Tofu, Beef Tataki, White Tuna Carpaccio, Mixed Seaweed Salad, Shumai, and Chicken Gyoza. Honestly I would recommend it all, but it was the Butakakuni and the Agedashi Tofu that really had something special. Agedashi Tofu is probably my favourite Japanese side dish, the crispy outer is complimented by the soft inner (and a wondrous tentsuyu broth). However it’s the Butakakuni that surprised me the most, as I’m not the biggest fan of pork belly. This though was so tender it fell apart and melted in the mouth – definitely my dish of the day!

At this point I was already starting to feel full, and then a wild plate of sushi rolls appeared! We had the Bravo Duo (seared tuna & salmon on California roll) and Spider (prawn tempura on California roll) rolls. I could only manage a couple of bites, but I was left wanting for more – thank you Hidekazu Tojo for this marvellous invention! Unfortunately we were all too full to eat any Sukiyaki (the next dish on the menu), but nothing was wasted as we were given boxes to take home. The dessert of matcha ice cream & mocha was a light & refreshing end to the meal. Of course I always have room for something sweet – my friends say I have betsubara – especially if it’s matcha.

For any bloggers interested in working with brands, I’d highly suggest checking out Nuffnang UK.
And for those with a rumbly tummy, Sushinoen is definitely worth a visit.