Bounce

Ping pong and pizza, familiar concept now right? After our experience at Ping (here) I had high hopes. The first noticeable difference is the size of Bounce. The place is enormous, yet it's somewhere I walk past all the time and have never noticed before. Granted its only been open around 6 weeks...and is underground

Head downstairs and you will be greeted by a mass of after dinner drinkers and pongers. There must be 20 tables, including one that was used in the Olympics this year. We had reserved a table, but you can walk in and pay £10 for an hour if you are prepared to wait.

We arrived around an hour prior to our booking to have some fuel for our competitivity. We sat on a lovely long table. The restaurant area is reminiscent of Pizza East; part of the Soho House chain, all wood and lots of decorative / rustic glassware. The 'group menu' (there were 15 of us) only has three pizzas on, tomato buffalo and mozzarella, salami or vegetable. When they arrived they were wafer thin, and light on topping. With the buffalo mozzarella and tomato I was expecting big torn hunks of mozzarella on top and lists of fresh tomato, unfortunately this wasn't the case.

Bounce Group Menu

Bounce Menu - for normal people!

Cocktail list, beware of the tipping point

We decided the pizza was best described as functional and moved on to more important matters. The drink list has some pretty inventive cocktails on and they are all wicked strong...be warmed. Illusions of ping pong greatness will become apparent after a couple of cocktails. One is actually limited to two per person. They also serve 50ml measures as standard on spirits.

Lackluster Pizza

A few drinks in we got down to business. After everyone had a warm up we decided for 'winner stays on' alphabetically. Being C it wasn't long til I was out...however after D had managed to whip the rest of the alphabet we went on to doubles. I am not very good at hand eye coordination and be warned you WILL be hit with flying balls.

It's crowded and buzzy. Great fun to watch guys in suits with ties flung over their shoulders lunging for balls. Especially in November when half of them are rocking dodgy moustaches!

Bounce pings Ping out of the park. The pizza is no where near as good but if you're more into playing and getting dangerously drunk Bounce is your bag.

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Selfridges Lucky Bag: Reviewed

When I got the email about limited edition Selfridges Beauty Workshop Goodie Bags, suffice to say I was incredibly excited. Billed as 'A lucky dip from the most exciting make-up, hair, skin and body brands, hand-picked within The Beauty Workshop at Selfridges. Each bag includes a minimum of five beauty must-haves, while a very lucky few contain a Beauty Workshop service gift card for the ultimate pampering experience worth £170'.

As soon as they came out I was online ordering the £15 bag (I know bargain right?!) and paying £8 for next day delivery (I know, excessive...) As promised the next day it arrived and I did an air punch and everything. It was heavy, this was looking good. I ripped it open; hence there being no photos of the sealed back. The only thing that happened next was disappointment.

The contents are not products I would associate with Selfridges. They don't feel high end or exclusive. More Boots than the most fabulous department store on earth. The contents? First out a Bourjois nail polish remover. Value £4.99. I don't actually paint my own nails thus don't have a need for nail polish remover. Still that's what explains the weight.

Next up, a James Reed wash off fake tan.Value £18.50 for the full size of 200ml, this is 30ml thus worth less than £3. It may get used; however I have loads of fake tan in the draw currently gathering dust. Third out of the bag is a Beauty Junky strawberry face-mask that looks more like it comes from the bargain section of Superdrug than the Beauty Hall of Selfridges. Value £1.99. It's getting worse...

Second to last an Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tar; currently on sale in Selfridges for £10 (although it's so tiny 10ml I am not sure about this), I haven't tested it yet but it must be damn good for that price. On trying the application it's fairly tricky and tastes a bit funky...I also managed to get it on my hands...eek

Lastly a Disco Duck Creme Brulee lip balm RRP £3.99. It looks nice but it doesn't lift my disappointment. With the pretty yet thus far unexplained as to why expensive lip balm I make the total value of this a max £23.97. Not the best. As for the £170 voucher, I wasn't the lucky one. There is a voucher for an eye brow shaping, which I will likely give away.

So overall a nice idea, not very well executed. One amazing stand out product would have made up for 4 mediocre ones, but I make this all mediocre at best, poor if honest products....what a shame. Did anyone else get one and have an amazing haul? They are now sold out; there was a limited run so if you were somehow tempted; you're out of luck.

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Restaurant Review: Disco Bistro EC4

Residency's are the new black. A little more than the pop-up, but not as committed as the 'new restaurant', restaurant residencies have been popping up all over London. Tonight it was our turn to visit the newest of this breed, Disco Bistro residing upstairs in an otherwise mediocre pub on Carter Lane.

After squeezing through the after dinner drinkers in the Rising Sun downstairs we ducked through the doorway into the lowly lit Bistro upstairs. On first glance it's very quaint and atmospheric. Delicious. We were seated right by the mantelpiece with a great view of the small but perfectly formed restaurant. The menu is simple and straight forward. 3 starters, 4 mains and one dessert.

Soft and warm sourdough bread / cakes with whipped butter, delicious

My 'don't point that thing at me' face

Love a bit of fizz by candlelight

The creatures of habit that we are, there wasn't any need to look past native shrimp. All of the fish is 'boat fresh', it was caught in Cornwall yesterday and ALIVE this morning. This makes it both delicious and a little bit terrifying and blows the mind. The shrimp however weren't alive anymore.

We had one of these huge platters each...

One thing we noticed about the starter, it was huge. I didn't count the shrimp as I was scoffing them down but at the end there were a few of the little blighters on the plate.

How did they taste? The softest most delicate shellfish I've ever eaten. Generally shrimp have a little crunch and quite a firm texture, these were almost falling apart and so buttery soft they just slipped out of their shells. No muss; No fuss.

For main? Again us creatures of habit it was always going to be beef short rib. When it arrived it looked like a steak, a big juicy one. Accompanied with potatoes, cabbage and mushrooms appealing it was. I literally touched it gently with my knife and the whole thing almost collapsed  It was SO tender it was satisfyingly falling apart and again buttery soft. The diners in this restaurant can be as lazy as they like as there isn't much chewing involved. Everything just slides down the throat - whoosh; there is goes.

The mushrooms and cabbage had a very satisfying crisp...

...Against the beef that literally fell apart

Told you

The food was clearly really high quality and the menu well thought out. By this time the place was buzzy and the atmosphere was cool and chilled out. For a really intimate setting you don't feel over crowded or like you're sharing your table with neighbours. The balance is just right. Even though this was a soft launch and we had 50% off food, for two glasses of fizz two starters and two mains it was a snip. Really good value for the quality. A meal for two with wine you're looking about £35 per head.

Happiness is buttery soft beef and champagne

Love the man housing the bill...

Catch it while you can....Disco Bistro EC4 is above The Rising Sun on Carter Lane (St Paul's) for the next 6 month; opening on the 19th November. Book Here.

Atmosphere: 4/5
Food: 4/5
Drink:4/5
Overall: 4/5

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BBC Good Food Show

After a false start and heading all the way to West London sans tickets, on Sunday I finally made it to the BBC Good Food Show. As someone who goes to a lot of trade exhibitions I don't venture to a lot of 'Consumer shows'. I am never prepared for how incredibly packed they are and how RUTHLESS people are to get their monies worth.

Feeling a tad delicate I was in the mood to gently browse and stuff my face, naturally. First up we headed to the restaurant to see what was on offer, thinking it HAD to be good. You purchase 'DC's' which are dining currency. After perusing what was on offer the choice was clear. Sushi and monkfish biryani; 4DC's (or £'s) for the sushi and 6DC's for the biryani; so the tenner that was just changed was now in another till and I was ready.

First up the biryani. It was absolutely delicious and just what the hangover doctor ordered. The sushi I managed to fumble and drop. Luckily they let me take another one and that was gone in about 5 seconds flat, luckily in my mouth this time. Was it the best sushi I've ever eaten? No. Was it functional? Yes.

Feeling slightly more human it was off to the stalls.. There was unfortunately not a huge amount of choice. Lots and lots of sauces, chili sauce, curry sauce and all sorts of sauce. I did however get to bring my new camera so this will give you a better idea of what was on offer (and what is in focus!)

I can't get enough garlic

Cured meats

Argh the crowds

Starbucks showcasing Verismo, which for the record is pretty good

Co-located with the food show is the wine show. Pretty small but some gems in there. And a hairy dog is always appreciated...

Buckfast, snigger

Bubbly Champagne Company and cute little toppers

M&S got in on the game

Then coffee was required, Starbucks Verismo Latte

Dessert? Chocolate fondue

and marshmallow fruit kebabs

White chocolate fountain was something to behold

Crabbies

Masterchef's at work

Did I buy anything? yes I did - three dozen sausages! They were a pack of 6 for £3 or 6 packs for £10! 36 sausages for £10, how can you say no to that?! One pack have since been made into some delicious hot dogs. The other packs are snuggled away in the freezer waiting to be turned into lazy Saturday morning breakfasts  sausage casseroles and probably more hot dogs  Does anyone have any sausage recipes to recommend to me??

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