Elma - Royal Leamington Spa

Our Anniversary Meal.

I wanted to chose a place for our fifth anniversary meal that would be different, something fun and something I knew we would both enjoy. Looking briefly up restaurants in Leamington, Elma stuck out, one because it was turkish and two because the name reminded me of an elephant I am 99% sure it was a multi coloured elephant from a story book. 

I emailed the restaurant trying to book a table for 17.30pm they quickly replied explaining that they didn't open until 6pm but suggested I could still go and have drinks up the bar. I thought that it was a really nice touch and made me really look forward to going there.

It was now time to go to the restaurant after getting changed in public toilets and doing my hair and make up in my car. It took us roughly 20 minutes to find the restaurant even though it was only 2 minutes from the main high street it is
hidden down a side road. We eventually got to the restaurant at about 6pm we walked in and explained we had a table booked for 17.30pm etc and the lady told us they had opened early for us, I instantly felt guilty.

We sat down and the lady came over to take the spare table cutlery away and take our drinks ordered, we both ordered a coca cola and a still mineral water. Roughly 5 minutes later she came over and took our food orders, we had a cold meze sharing platter which was beautiful, I ordered a saffron chicken and chips turkish style obviously and Sam had a duck stew. I was so impressed with both of our food it was perfect. 

we waited roughly 20 minutes before having dessert we had another sharing platter of baklava, pistachio ice cream, vanilla ice cream and saffron candy floss which was soooooo yummy and I really enjoyed it. We also bought a bottle of turkish Raki which I haven't had since 2012 in crete,  So I had to buy it haha. The total bill with everything included was £70 which I thought was really good for what we had.

I would 100% recommend this place to a friend. if you are looking for great food that has a relaxed atmosphere.

Becky xx

Big Wok - Birmingham

Big Wok Chinese Buffet

For Mum's Birthday!

This picture is from Google, I just wanted to show you
the front.

Big Wok is in Birmingham City Centre. It is known for being really cheap and really yummy. I have been there roughly 6 times in the last 2 years. For my birthday in 2014 I decided to take Mum and Dad (and Sam) there for my birthday. Mum loved it so much she wanted to go back for her birthday this year.

I copied this picture from Google to show you
the decor.

It isn't the type of place you would go for an important meeting but for a quick lunch when your looking a mess it is perfect. The dining area reminds me of a cross between a old working men's club and a community centre with lots of tables and chairs. It looks so basic, no fancy mood changing lights or colourful wall paper. It is was it is.

Me and the birthday girl.

The food selection is really good. they have a sushi bar, a salad bar and chefs ready to custom make you a stir fry. It is a little cramped and when it is busy there isn't really any form of order,  it kind of reminds me of a car boot sale but For £6.99 I am not complaining.

I had two plates of food which were:

Chicken balls, Samosas, spring rolls, onion rings, mongolian lamb, curry sauce, bean sprouts, broccoli, sweet corn, brisket, beef in black bean sauce, chicken in black bean sauce, chicken curry, beef curry, pork, lemon chicken, noodles, egg fried rice and prawn toast.

For pudding I had ice cream which you serve yourself with half strawberry sauce and half chocolate sauce.

For drinks me and my Dad had a large pepsi and Mum had a coffee, I later ordered the table a large bottle of water and Mum her second coffee. My Dad had two plates of food and two puddings (4 bits of cakes and custard but only 2 bowls) then he went up for a bit more pork. Mum had one huge plate of food and almost ate the lot and a bowl of ice cream which for her is a lot but she loves the Mongolian lamb.

Me and Dad clearly acting "normal".

The service is really good everybody serves with a smile and they are all so quick. Every Time you finish a plate of food they soon come along and take the plate away. They all have really good manners which I think can really make the experience better.

The total bill came to £30.47 and I put £4.53 in the tips pot because I think they all work really hard and we did have 9 plates of food between us so it is a bargain really.

Mom nice and full waiting for Pudding.

My advice is if you want a posh restaurant with table cloths and a sample menu avoid the big wok but If you want cheap, yummy food and don't care what the place looks like, then this will be perfect for you 

Have you been here before? What did you think of it?

Becky xx