ROUND-UP: #TAKEONTHETIGER + LONDON COCKTAIL WEEK + THE CHOCOLATE SHOW

It has been a pretty busy couple of weeks, as some of you may have noticed – apologies for bombarding your Twitter/Instagram feed, as usual.

First up – a little trip down memory lane as I made a visit to Tiger Tiger which has undergone a massive reconstruction with the recent addition of Haymarket Kitchen. I must admit that it has been years since I last stepped into one of their branches during my university days – a popular venue that I’m sure many of you can relate to.

Running slightly late due to traffic, I arrived just in time, as wooden trays of food were piled onto the table. The #TakeOnTheTiger burger challenge involved consuming THE Tiger Tower which was stacked with juicy beef, grilled chicken breast, bacon, cheese, chilli sauce and onion rings – clearly too big a feat to be chomped down by my tiny mouth, and I was rather grateful for the cutlery provided. And just in case this isn’t filling enough for those of you with large appetites, you would be glad to know that it also comes with a side of chips and small coleslaw salad (one of your 5-a-day), all to be washed down with a glass of Jack Daniels and bottle of Stella. I’m not much of a whiskey or beer drinker, but thankfully I still had my Pornstar Martini at hand.

 I must admit that I did ‘cheat’ a bit and left the bits of bread by the side – I’d like to think of it of being a ‘smart way of eating’ … unfortunately not all of us have high metabolic rates (!)
To make sure that we covered all bases, we ordered some pancakes for dessert, which came with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce.

I would highly recommended going hungry should you decide to take on the challenge – you will thank me later.

Next up is my visit to the grand opening of the London Cocktail Week village, a week-long pop-up which transformed Old Spitalfields Market into a maze of bespoke pop-up bars, vans, trucks, and even bicycles (!) – each serving up specially-created £5 cocktails for LCW wristband wearers.
Wristbands secured and drink tokens in hand, we had a little wander round the village, sampling little shots of alcoholic concoctions along the way.

Whilst ‘making our mark’ on one of the box-like drink stands, we were offered an ‘immersive cocktail experience’, by a man with a tray carrying perfume bottles and a jar of white powdered substance – not suspicious at all…

We checked out the Alchemy Lounge, centered on Sodastream MIX and designed by renowned designer Yves Behar, where they launched carbonated cocktail mixers by Ryan Chetiyawardana a.k.a. Mr Lyan, serving bespoke carbonated cocktails created by Mr Lyan himself.

And finally, caving into my sweet cravings, I attended the Chocolate Show Gala Evening at Olympia National Hall which featured an exclusive first look at the show, prior to The Chocolate Show which ran during the weekend from 16th-18th October.

Chocolate macarons at Belle Epoque Patisserie

A chocolate Bulldog from Hotel Chocolat – I think I’m going to name him Doug, Bull-DOUG…

Fudgy brownies by Paul A. Young

3D-printed chocolates!

Apart from ogling at the scrumptious looking displays of chocolates and desserts, we also got to watch a performance by Charlie & The Chocolate Factory The Musical’s Willy Wonka and Charlie Bucket, followed by a preview of The Chocolate Fashion Show with stunning couture outfits made and inspired by chocolate.

The SPICE BOYS!

And that’s a wrap folks!
I’m going to take a breather, and probably nibble on whatever’s leftover from the Chocolate Show goody bag – not that there’s much left as I’ve already devoured most of it…
I might have to replenish my chocolate reserves. 
More chocolate = More Productivity.

There will be more posts coming up, including my fishy adventure to Billingsgate Market.
Watch this space x

The Cheekster, signing out x