This week I turned 24, and I am literally still in shock. I feel like at 23 you still have the comforting proximity to your early adult years and late teens. But 24? That’s a whole new realm of adulthood.
Birthday celebrations kicked off on Monday evening, when I tried Pho for the first time with one of my best friends. I got the Beef Combo, which had brisket, steak and meatballs in a broth with rice noodles. I’m not going to lie, but I think ordering a pho with chicken or prawns would’ve been a better decision. It’s just that steak in a soup like this is a little too strange for my liking. For me, steak should stay served with a creamy peppercorn sauce and garlic mashed potatoes. However, it may not have helped that we were eating a gigantic bowl of hot soup in 28C weather (82F for my American readers).
Then came Tuesday, my actual birthday. I woke up to the sweetest video-card from my boyfriend, where he revealed 1/3 of my present (as he labelled it). The clue was the backdrop of his video – he was standing right outside Bermondsey Square Hotel; a four-star hotel that I recently told him I’d always wanted to stay at. He booked us in to stay there for the coming weekend.
I pulled myself out of bed and got ready for my birthday brunch at 11:30am: makeup done, hair curled, and a change of outfit RIGHT as I was heading out the door (classic). I met my gym-instructor-turned-gal-pal at Coppa Club near Tower Bridge. I had hired us out an igloo, despite the fact igloos are meant for eight people and there was only the two of us. Honestly, the igloo was more like a greenhouse in the major sunshine that came out – but it was nevertheless EPIC. I was running a little late (for which I totally blame the last minute outfit debacle), so my friend ordered us mimosas, which I was then greeted with upon my arrival. Then poured the espresso martinis, aperol spritz, pornstar martinis, and lemon drop martinis. *The fact that I can list off what we had is probably a good sign though.
We shared a club caesar salad, truffle and parmesan fries, and a fig, ricotta and walnut sourdough pizza.
Next, The NED. I had never been The NED Hotel before, even though I have passed it twice a day, everyday, for over a year. I wanted to get my nails done, so I booked myself in for the Ultimate Cowshed Manicure, which included a scalp and shoulder massage. Let’s be honest, they had me at “massage”. Safe to say it was the most relaxing experience and I will totally be going back for more. I went for a bright red nail polish called “Lipstick” to match my red heeled sandals.
My friend waited for me as I got pampered, so when I came out of the spa – there she was! We strolled over London Bridge and decided to continue the party, which resulted in a cheeky pitcher of sangria at Borough Market. After the pitcher was fully consumed, *cough cough*, I mean, evaporated into the air, we picked up some bubbly at a local grocery store and headed to my new flat.
A bottle of bubbly, a boogie to tunes, and another outfit change later, we went to go meet my boyfriend and old flatmate for drinks on the green by Tower Bridge. After this, my boyfriend took me out to a beautiful Italian restaurant in Shoreditch called Gloria Trattoria. We shared the truffle & fennel salami, creamy burrata, and tomato focaccia for starters. We then had a truffle pizza, a spicy meat pizza, and spaghetti and giant meatballs. Then, as if I had anymore space in my stomach left to fill, a tiramisu was delivered to our table by three singing waiters.
The next few days were spent detoxing from all the fun.
On Friday morning I met another one of my besties. This time, it was for coffee & a bagel at this really cool coffee shop, Crol & Co, near Borough Market. (Yes, yes, I know – everything I do is around Borough Market! I can’t help it, I am simply in love with the area!). We sat outside in the sunshine while we drank our almond milk cappuccinos and ate our salmon and cream cheese bagels.
The next day it was Bermondsey Street Festival, or “Market”, as it was called this year given COVID-19’s restrictions on gatherings like this. I bought a delicious canelé from B-Street Deli that was covered in a mouth-watering salted caramel. I also had a grapefruit spritz that Comptoir Gourmand were selling outside their amazing bakery that turns into a cocktail/wine bar at night.
My boyfriend had this delicious ‘nduja mac & cheese, which he ate as we wandered over to our favourite food market nearby on Maltby Street. There, I had orange wine from Bon Vino and a delicious steak in a chimichurri sauce with crispy french fries.
It had reached 3pm and was time for us to check into Bermondsey Square Hotel for the night. On the way there, we picked up some ice cream because WHY NOT?! I got a waffle cone with rum & raisin ice cream on top of a scoop of pistachio ice cream. OH MY LORD. Rum & raisin is definitely a new favourite flavour. If you haven’t tried it – literally run to the shop now and go get some. Though, admittedly, it’s actually a really hard ice cream flavour to find.
The fun doesn’t end there my friends.
We checked into our hotel and had a little snooze. A few hours later, we headed out for some wine at Trivet near London Bridge. I had a full-bodied orange pinot grigio in the most beautiful wine glass. If you follow me on Instagram, then you are fully aware of my obsession with their glasses.
Chapter 72 was next on the list – a family owned, independent coffee shop/cocktail bar that has won multiple awards. It was the TimeOut 2018 winner for ‘Best local coffee shop SE1’, and the Evening Standard said it makes ‘one of the best Espresso Martini in London’. Not bad, eh?
So obviously I ordered the espresso martini.
My boyfriend and I then walked to Café Amisha, an Italian restaurant and deli where First Dates star, Fred Sirieix, can often be found. The service was absolutely impeccable and the food and drinks were amazing. Instead of boring you with more words of what I ate, I’ll leave it down to the photos.
As I’m sure this post implies, I had the most fabulous birthday week. I am so grateful to all of the beautiful people who celebrated with me <3.
Here are some more pictures of Bermondsey Street Festival to showcase the local effort that goes into putting on an event like this for the community.
SEE: Sip Eat Enjoy 