Review | Banana Tree's Vegan Menu

Banana Tree is a small restaurant chain that specialises in pan-Asian cuisine, serving up dishes from the Indochina region – specifically Singaporean, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Malaysian and Thai cuisine. The founder of Banana Tree, William Chow, opened his first restaurant 27 years ago in West London and now there are a total of nine restaurants with six of them in London.
I was invited as a guest to Banana Tree's Veganuary event at the start of the year, which coincided with the launch of their extended vegan menu. Whilst that evening we were given tasters of the new plant-based menu, I was only able to try a few sharer-sized dishes. However, although I was under the influence of a few cocktails, I did not stop gushing about the vegan satay sticks throughout the months that followed. When I was invited back to review the menu as a true dining experience, I was eager to discover whether the satay sticks were really as good as I remembered and check out some of the bigger dishes on the menu.

Review | Vegan Junk Food Bar, Amsterdam

Before I headed to Amsterdam, I asked the internet for recommendations on where to eat vegan and almost everyone insisted that I had to check out Vegan Junk Food Bar, so I did just that.
VJFB is exactly what it says on the tin: a vegan joint with multiple restaurants across the city that serve up filthy, mouthwatering vegan junk food proving that vegans eat a whole lot more than greens – basically my kinda place! I've been lucky enough to visit Amsterdam twice this year and both times, as a truly dedicated vegan junk food enthusiast, I made a pilgrimage to Vegan Junk Food Bar and I'll likely be going back next time I'm there too!

Review | Mala Carne, Glasgow

Glasgow is well-known as one of the most vegan-friendly cities in the UK.  Last month, I found myself with a free morning after the Paisley Food & Drink Festival, so I decided to make the most of my time and check out some of the plant-based options that the Glaswegians had to offer. After a long day boozing at the festival, we dragged ourselves out of our hotel bed and into town in search of a hearty vegan brunch. After a quick Google search, we settled upon a little vegetarian café named Mala Carne located south of the city in Mount Florida, nearby to the National Stadium.

Review | The Owl & Hitchhiker, Islington

The Owl & Hitchhiker is a pub situated on Holloway Road and was recently awarded the "Best Pub In North London" by DesignMyNight. Despite having been a local north London resident for a few years, I'd never frequented it and with a multitude of pubs on my doorstep, I had never really been too bothered about visiting. Then a couple of months ago, they released a very vegan-heavy food menu that reflected its sister pub, The Birds in Leytonstone – and it was definitely then that my interest was perked and I began to nag people to come with me to check it out!

Four Reasons Why You Should Visit Paisley Food & Drink Festival

Disclaimer: This post is part of a collaboration with Paisley.is and my trip was covered by them in return for this blog post.
Last month, thousands descended upon a humble, cobble-stoned Scottish town named Paisley to celebrate everything food and drink as part of the annual Paisley Food & Drink Festival and I was one of them.  In case you didn't know, Paisley is a relatively large town located just a 15 minute drive outside of Glasgow and is steeped in history, which is rather telling from its rich, beautiful architecture. The most striking of Paisley's architectural legacy is the grandeur Paisley Abbey, which stands prominently over the town and acts as the centrepiece of the food and drink festival, which takes place in the grounds of the Abbey.