What to do in London this weekend: 6th September

There is SO much going on this weekend, it's cray cray. My inbox is positively overflowing with exciting activities and openings so without further ado, here is my pick of the best:

Blackout Banquet at Butler's Wharf - Starting tonight and running for the next ten days, 140 diners each night are treated to a completely alfresco (although there is a wet-weather contingency plan if the weather remains as pants as it has been today!|) feast at one abnormally large banqueting table. The best bit? At 8.30pm, all electric lighting is turned off, and diners are left to enjoy their treacle-cured salmon with just candlelight and the flow of Tower Bridge to aid them in seeing such culinary delights. The price of this once-in-a-lifetime experience? £35. Buy a ticket. Now.

Grill Shack - OK, so there are a lot of great breakfast and burger joints in London, but what makes this all day grill really stands out is the innovative take on service. You can either order from their app on your phone or at a self-service station in the restaurant (which also lends itself nicely to sending sneaky drinks to other tables...). What's more, if you're watching your figure or a (nuisance) pescatarian like myself, there are plenty of veggie/healthy options to choose from, which is a welcome break from these places that offer one type of burger or nowt.

Mario signs stuff - First things first, I adore video games, and none more than those in the Mario franchise. I blame my family and friends - my grandma completed Mario Bros. on the Nintendo NES at least ten times, and that is a conservative estimate. At uni, we would play MarioKart on the Wii at least once a day. Therefore, you can understand my unbelievable excitement at the prospect of meeting the big guy himself! That's right, this weekend Mario will be in Oxford Street's John Lewis. Or rather, the voice of Mario, Charles Martinet, will be, and he will also be signing autographs amongst all the fun and merriment of "competitions and games". I swear to god, this is the most exciting thing that has every happened in London. Ever.

Pop-up Ping Pong & Retro Arcade Games - Continuing the theme of nerdy video game obsession, I am VERY excited by Pop Up Ping Pong's upcoming event, which brings together some of my favourite things in life: table tennis, beer pong, drinking and vintage video games. Pac man, ping pong and piña coladas (possibly) all for £7?? YES. PLEASE.

Pop-up Screens presents Dirty Dancing- I had the best time last week at Future Cinema's Dirty Dancing After Party; those guys seriously put on an amazing event. And, seeing as how you can never have enough Patrick Swayze (it is scientifically impossible) I would definitely be up for watching this again tomorrow. And who doesn't like an outdoor cinema screen with a bar and gourmet popcorn? Nobody. Except agoraphobics maybe... But yes, definitely on my hit list this weekend.

I carried a watermelon...

Disappearing Dining Club; Back in 5 Minutes - I think secret hideouts are my favourite things about London. Ok, so most aren't so secret (I'm looking at you Mayor of Scaredy-Cat Town), but it's nice to think that we're one of the chosen few who know about something unbelievably good. Step up Back in 5 Minutes, a restaurant and private dining room hidden behind a clothes shop on Brick Lane. This amazing little nook in one of the busiest areas of London on a Saturday night is quietly serving up incredible 4 course meals and Grey Goose cocktails to those in the know.

Redemption Bar - Having ticked off everything on my weekend to-do list, you'll probably have a pretty stonking hangover. Don't worry, I have an answer for that too; an alcohol-free bar! On Sunday, make sure to head to this a pop-up that's going against the grain. But seriously, all your favourite cock mocktails, amazing food, a 360 degree view of London and a clear head for work on Monday morning. What's not to like? 

Things to do this weekend: 30th August

It's almost the weekend (woooooo! I appreciate this so much more now that I have a job), and so here is a pick of things to do on these sacred 2 and a bit days:

Future Cinema presents Dirty Dancing - Future Cinema's Dirty Dancing inspired event, is the ultimate night out for any wannabe 'Baby'. Starting with the screening of the classic movie, complete with bars, activities and my fave B.O.B's lobster, you are transported to everyone's favourite holiday destination, Kellerman's, without ever having to leave Hackney Downs. If you didn't get tickets for this, you can always watch the movie at home, preferably with the drinking game, then grab your watermelon and head on over to Kellerman's staff quarters (aka, Oval Space in Bethnal Green) for the ultimate after party! 

Monikers - such a kitsch 'back to school' theme which even boasts an indoor school bus with plenty of walls that you are welcome to graffiti on - what's not to love? The place is more than just good theming though; what really wowed my friends over at gradfoodies, however, was the incredible food. I'm really excited to try it. Mainly because my favourite meals are those made up of small, shareable dishes, and this place specialises in just that. 

Do all your Christmas shopping - to anyone who knows me, it is no secret that I am OBSESSED with Christmas. Seriously, expect to see a LOT of it here in the next few months. And ok, maybe it's a bit too much to ask to complete all of your shopping by the end of August, but with the summer sales in full swing (feelunique have a particularly good one), now is the perfect time to pick up a lot of bits. Also, with Harrods and Selfridges already opening their Christmas shops, you really have no excuse not to be prepared...

Harrods: Christmas in July

What to eat/drink/do in London this weekend

I follow a ridiculous number of PR companies, pop-up aficionados and random bars and restaurants on Twitter, that my feed is usually awash with exciting sounding things to do in London. So much so that it can be overwhelming. So, here is my hit-list of things to try out in the capital this weekend:

Street Feast London - Having tried out the food trucks at London Truck Stop already, I'm excited to see what the Dalston Yard sister event has to offer. Opening tonight, and continuing every weekend throughout the summer, this array of street food will be available each Friday and Saturday until midnight. And it looks good! Ranging from the standard (yet delicious looking) fare of hotdogs and tacos, through to the more exotic options of gyoza and dosa wraps (and the infamous Anna-Mae's mac'n'cheese from Truck Stop!), there is something for everyone. What's more, with entertainment on offer for adults (DJs and cocktail masterclasses) and children (workshops) alike AND the amazing weather, Street Feast London feels like a fail-safe option this weekend. @StreetFeastLDN

Pop up Ping Pong - Having grown over the past few months into an incredibly popular event, the PUPP team are taking their fun filled night to the lofty heights of the 29th floor of Millbank Tower (home to Altitude 360). With catering from the 'pop up slider bar' #BRGR and a free cocktail included in the £7 ticket you'd be hard pressed to find something not to like about this night. Ping pong, burgers and booze, oh my! @PingPopPong

The Hangover Club - In this weather, any excuse to be outside is a good one as long as it contains food and drink and no physical activity, obvz. Enter The Hangover Club, a few minutes walk from Tower Bridge - offering up everything you could want after a big night out, whether you're one for hearty breakfast burritos, healthier egg white omelettes, or hair of the dog Bloody Marys. And the Shakshuka sounds AMAZING. Make sure to book a seat if you're keen! @grub_club

B.O.B's Lobster - having visited Burger and Lobster as a pescatarian who didn't think they liked lobster, I was reluctantly drawn to the lobster roll and was an IMMEDIATE convert. So, what better than a roving camper van (although for ease, it is setting up shop this weekend at Borough Market) serving lobster rolls, lobster mac'n'cheese and lobster bisque?? Nothing. Nothing is the answer. @BOBs_Lobster

Review: Truck Stop London

As a self-confessed Americanophile (pretty sure that's not a word, but I couldn't find a Franco/Anglophile alternative...), I couldn't just sit in on '4th of July', and so I decided to try one of the options from my list. As it is a monthly event and, having never experienced the food truck phenomenon, I opted for Truck Stop London at Canary Wharf.

Although I've never been to a food truck site before, I think it's safe to say that the centre of London's financial district is a far cry from the concept's origins. However, the choice of Wood Wharf, a manmade island with a very green feel to it, actually worked pretty well and, if you can ignore all the city guys in suits, you could soon forget where you actually were.

We were some of the first people to arrive and, although that meant that we were the ones to face the few teething problems of the evening (we were feeling indecisive so asked for a description of every drink on offer at the bar until settling on wine and making the poor bar guy search everywhere for a corkscrew), it did also mean that we didn't have to queue for a single truck and didn't have to worry about anything running out.

Seeing as how I massively pigged out and had a carb overload, I won't go into great detail about what I had (vegetarian balls (lol) from The Bowler, mint and courgette arancini and Pimms lemonade from Cheeky Italian, classic mac'n'cheese from Anna-Mae's, and mango frozen yoghurt from The Little Mixing Station), but overall it was pretty good. I do feel like I failed as I had wanted to try out the star of the night, Mother Clucker, and the Taco Shack, but I very much overdid it early on and just had to give up (pretty sure I went into a food coma when I got home...).

Although it doesn't look too appetising, the veggie ball (with marinara sauce, rice, and sides of coleslaw and crispy onions) was really good but so much food! The arancini balls were great too (very minty!) but I did add red pepper sauce to them, which I think they definitely needed. As for the mac'n'cheese, it was definitely very popular (the queue was huge by about 7pm), and it did taste good, but for such a massive bowl, I once again had to add some sauce, this time of the hot variety. I think that this would have been amazing had I chosen a different version with toppings, but it wasn't the most veggie-friendly menu, so this was my only real option. If I ever cross paths with this food truck again though, I will be sure to ask if I can do a 'create your own'.

Desserts were a little bit disappointing, but as they're not really the star attraction of the event, I think this can be forgiven. Both the jelly and the fro yo were ok taste-wise, it was just the consistency that made it a bit difficult as the first was more like a puree and the other was a bit too lumpy, due to the mango bits.

All in all, it was a really fun event that I'm sure will only get better as time goes on and I would be really keen to visit again next month so that I can try the trucks I wasn't hardcore enough to get to!

Review: You Me Sushi

I live disgustingly close to four different supermarkets; I'm talking 2 minute walk to each of them... But yesterday evening, I was far too lazy to make this trip to any of them, so instead decided to order some sushi. A quick google search sent me to You Me Sushi and, seeming to be pretty standard stuff, I decided to try it.

I'm a bit rubbish with sushi and never know how much to order. Needless to say, I ordered WAY too much - so much so that they brought two sets of chopsticks and soy sauce, assuming it was for two people (fatty) - and so I am planning on making a lunch out of it today as well (I'm not entirely sure that this is the best idea, but the supermarket is just soooooo far).

The sushi was OK, although it had become a bit warm as my order included gyoza as well. They had thought ahead and kept them in two separate bags, but the proximity had made them go a bit 'sweaty'... They were also not very uniform at all, and fell apart pretty quickly (probably as a result of the sweatiness), but the spicy mayo that comes with certain sushis (is that the plural?!) is reeeeally good. My main issue though: there was NO wasabi - I didn't even think that was possible - so be sure to ask for some when ordering to avoid such bitter disappointment. As for the service, the site was easy to use, but the delivery was about twenty minutes late - not a great problem, but just be aware if you are about to eat your own arm.

This wasn't the worst sushi I've ever had, but it also wasn't the best, so if I were looking to get some delivered again, I'd probably try somewhere different before going here for the second time (or I'd just get off my ass and go to the supermarket). There are a LOT of branches of You Me Sushi across London though, so potentially I was just unlucky with my order/branch, so all in all, a pretty useless review...