Month: July 2018

A Vegan Meal @ Yo Sushi! July 2018

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Yo Sushi! is a great option for vegans, especially if you are in the move and travelling through London Victoria as my Husband and I were this weekend.

Yo Sushi! have gradually been increasing their vegan options over the last few years and now there is even their Green Wednesday offer where 20 vegetarian and vegan dishes are only £2.30 each.

I used to always get the same items at Yo Sushi! but now there are so many choices I need to mix it up a little!

My favourite options however, which I always get are the seaweed salad and the aubergine. These dishes are so tangy and fresh.

For my warm dishes this time I chose the vegetable tempura to share with my Husband, the spinach and edamame gyoza and the vegetable yaki soba.

The tempura batter was light and the vegetables so fresh.

I really enjoy the gyoza everytime I have them. The crunchy outside and the tasty filling are a great combo.

The noodles are really tasty too and filling for a little dish.

The only area I feel Yo Sushi! let vegans down is in the desserts with only fruit available. Come on! Mochi are accidentally vegan so I don’t understand why we can’t have a vegan plate of them!

If you are a student you can get 25% off at Yo Sushi! you just need to make sure to have your student code somewhere safe so you can produce it when the bill comes.

Have you enjoyed the vegan options at Yo Sushi!? What did you have? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

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A Vegan Meal @ Yo Sushi! July 2018

City Vegan Lunch Market

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I have visited City Lunch Market in the past which takes place on Thursdays at the Guildhall in the City of London (7 minutes from my workplace!) they usually have a few vegan options amongst the more meaty offerings so I was over the moon when I saw that my friend Sean AKA Fat Gay Vegan had organised an exclusively vegan market to take place this week at the Guildhall.

I arranged to meet Mitsu (of To Happy Vegans) who works even closer to the Guildhall for our monthly vegan lunch.

I had spied on the FB event which caterers were going to present and I was excited to see there were quite a few I hadn’t tried before.

I decided to try out What the Fattoush! Palestinian vegan food and got their meal deal of fattoush bowl, side of fried okra and drink for £10. The okra was fab and reminded me of fried pickles (I ate them while Mitsu was getting her food so I didn’t take a pic oops!) The fattoush was your middle eastern fayre and a very well done version of it. My understanding of fattoush was that it is a bread salad which usually includes pomegranate so I was a bit surprised that this version omitted both these ingredients.

Mitsu chose the ramen from Fussy Chilesauraus, these noodles are served cold which was welcome on this 34°C day!

Mitsu also bought some pizza from Pickywops to have for dinner. I’ve tried their pizza before and their bases are something special.

For dessert we bought a doughnut each from new kid on the vegan doughnut scene Bear’s Dough. I loved my classic sugar and cinnamon it was light and chewy and delicious!

We were melting at this point so definitely needed some ice cream to cool down (that was my excuse anyway!) so we headed over to Black Milq. Mitsu chose the black sesame and I have the blackberry crumble, just what I needed!

I tried a seitan wrap from Cafe So Vegan at Hackney Downs Vegan Market which I wrote about here and lots of people were keen to get their hands on one as the queue demonstrates!

The crowd looked to be the general city crowd rather than specifically vegan peeps so I’m glad how well they were embracing the market and hopefully it will become a regular event. How wild is it that I could be going to a vegan market so close to my work, I almost didn’t want to go back to my desk (almost).

We couldn’t leave without getting a selfie with the man himself before he too melted into a sweaty mess. (This is an Australian man who spends six months of the year in Mexico and was complaining about the heat!)

What are vegan lunch options like near your workplace? How jealous are you of me right now?! Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

City Vegan Lunch Market

Superdrug B. Clay Face Masks

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Anyone who knows me knows I love a good face mask (usually because I post a selfie everytime I use one!) As a teenager I loved picking up a couple of individual sachets for a sleepover and nowadays I love relaxing with one after a long week.

As UK based vegans know, Superdrug are fabulous for reasonably priced, cruelty free and clearly marked vegan options.

A couple of weeks ago I was at Boxpark Shoreditch visiting Superdrug’s vegan pop-up shop and picked up a single use mask and loved it so much I bought a full size version at the weekend. Lucky for me they were on “buy one get one free” so I bought two pots for £6.99!

I especially love clay masks, it’s one of the only thing that can make me lay still. If I have a bath with Epsom salts (which you have to soak in for at least 20 minutes to get the benefit) I am constantly checking my phone to see how many minutes there are before I can get out! But slap a clay mask on me and I’ll happily lay there feeling it drying out until I can’t move my face anymore!

The first mask I’m going to talk about is the B. Purified clay mask. The blurb says –

“Use B. Purified Clay Face Mask for a deep purifying cleanse. It will effectively draw out dirt and impurities and give instant refreshment.

The benefits –

Deeply purifies pores – rich in Kaolin, a natural clay that absorbs impurities, without over drying the skin.

Gives a mattified, clearer complexion – contains a blend of oil absorbing ingredients and eucalyptus extract.”

This mask wasn’t as thick as others I have used, which means there’s many more applications in the pot! It went on really nicely and my skin felt fabulous afterwards.

The other mask I have tried from the range is the B. Detoxed clay mask.

“Use B. Detoxed clay face mask to liven up dull, fatigued skin. It absorbs accumulated dirt and debris and helps to minimise the appearance of blemishes and pore size within four weeks.

The benefits –

Instantly refreshes and brightens. The rich clay formula, combined with detoxifying benefits of charcoal powder draws out built up impurities.

Minimises pore size and blemishes – absorbs excess sebum without over drying the skin and prevents pores from getting clogged.”

No underestimation the is the best face mask I have ever used! (And I have tried a lot!) My skin just felt so clean and soft after using this mask and left me feeling glowing for days afterwards.

After I have worn my mask for 20 minutes I remove it using my reusable pads. I bought these a few years ago and have been using them ever since, they are flannel like pads which you can use for cleansing and makeup removable. Once you’ve used them (there’s quite a few in the pack) all stick them in the bag and put them in the washing machine with the rest of your wash. So much better for the planet than wipes or cotton wool.

There are two other masks in this range B. Glowing and B. Hydrated take a look and see which one is most suitable to your skin needs.

Have you tried any of the Superdrug B. face masks? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

Superdrug B. Clay Face Masks

Hackney Downs Vegan Market July 2018

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My friend Karen and her 6 year old son came up to visit me from Bournemouth so we decided to spend the day in East London.

Our first stop was The Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green. If you haven’t been before I would definitely recommend it. They have toys from different eras and different countries and it will take you a trip down memory lane. There are also lots of interactive exhibits to keep youngsters entertained too. Like all the museums in London it is free to enter.

We then headed to Hackney Downs, we passed Love Shack just by Cambridge Heath station. I have been following their Instagram for a while and can’t wait to go there, it’s a chilled out space with hammocks, Miami vibes and of course vegan food!

We walked through the Downs to get to the vegan market which was lively but gladly none of the stalls had long queues. I opted for a herby seitan and mac wrap from Café So Vegan. The portion of seitan was very generous and the creamy mac and cheese was a great addition without it being too messy!

I had recently heard about Dope Soft Serve so on a day like Saturday with temperatures reaching 30°C ice cream was definitely needed! I chose the cinnamon crunch which came with cinnamon cereal flakes popcorn and miso caramel. The ice cream is actually quite thick for soft serve and very creamy.

I couldn’t go to Hackney Downs without picking up some cakes to take home from Vegan Delice. I got this gooey chocolate peanut delight for Husband which he really enjoyed.

And I had this brownie topped with a Baileys Almande cream. The Baileys flavour really came through, I was lucky to get one of the last ones!

I also stopped by Temple Goods to get an iced latte and I picked up a couple of croissants for breakfast as finding vegan croissants is so difficult!

I always enjoy my visits to Hackney Downs Vegan Market and my friends enjoyed it too!

Have you been? What did you try? Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

Hackney Downs Vegan Market July 2018

MOD Pizza July 2018

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A week or so ago a new MOD pizza branch opened up in my town and after sampling the delights of the Leicester Square branch in London I knew this was going to a regular dinner location for my Husband and me.

MOD charges one price (£7.87) for a standard 11″ pizza and you can have as many toppings as you like. The bases are vegan and they have dairy free cheese available.

We shared a garlic bread with dairy free cheese and had a pizza each along with a refillable soft drink.

They had accidentally made too many vegan garlic bread so we got another one on the house which was a nice treat.

They certainly don’t scrimp on the toppings and the dough is light and crisp. For an extra fee you can get a thicker base which I think I’ll go for next time.

The cinnamon strips are also vegan if you ask for them to be made with oil instead of butter.

I really enjoyed my visit to MOD Pizza and will definitely be returning. I think the only thing that would make it better would be if they offered some vegan meat options.

Have you been to MOD Pizza before? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

MOD Pizza July 2018

Vegan Yes July 2018

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My friend Jo and I went out for our monthly meal on Tuesday and this month we chose Vegan Yes a Korean Italian fusion restaurant located in the middle of Brick Lane. The menu is a quirky as it sounds, featuring both Italian and Korean dishes as well as some featuring both cuisines.

Jo went strictly Korean for her main choosing the bibimbap that featured all four the kimchis Vegan Yes had to offer. She found this simple dish very filling and I was happy to help her finish it. Each kimchi had a distinct flavour and was very fresh.

On the side she had a hemp hot dog, I also snuck a bite of this and it was really taste with a definite umami flavour.

I had the Toppognocchi which featured Korean rice dumplings and Italian potato dumplings in a tomato and Korean spiced sauce with olive oil and sesame seeds. This was a fab dish and was surprisingly not too spicy for me. You could really taste the olive oil in the croutons too.

I had a gorgeous seaweed salad on the side to add a bit of greenery.

For dessert Jo chose the chocolate mousse, she said it had more of a pudding type texture than a mousse like one but it was tasty all the same and she finished the whole pot (I didn’t get a look in this time!) I chose the chocolate covered mochi. I’ve never had mochi with chocolate around it but it definitely won’t be the last time!

To drink with our dessert Jo had a ginger tea and a had a cold moringa with plant milk. We also had filtered water free of charge with our meal served in metal cups.

The restaurant is small with only two tables and then a bar with stools but I think you could fit quite a few people in there if you don’t mind it cosy!

The only disappointing thing I found was that it was cash only. I can’t believe in 2018 in central London you can get away with not accepting cards.

The meal was very reasonably priced coming in at around £13 each for us which isn’t too shoddy for a main, a side, a dessert and a drink each.

Would definitely recommend heading to Vegan Yes if you are in the area.

Have you been to Vegan Yes? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

Vegan Yes July 2018