“You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth”
Moose had an inset day on Friday so he was home for an extra day. Yay! Of course I had nothing planned for us to do and it turned out that my car was still in the garage while they waited on a part for it anyway. So, I had to get a bit inventive.
We ended up having a pretty good day. Cakes were baked (with minimal input from me) and LEGO was played with and we managed to shoehorn in a movie with popcorn – not to mention the epic battle sequence Moose and I sat down to draw.
Moose likes to make up Superheroes and draw them having a battle. We don’t call it violence <ahem> it’s “action”…
There used to be a pretty good variety of Chinese restaurants in Peterborough but that has long since been the case. These days finding a good eat-in Chinese option is a pretty tough call.
One Saturday, Mum and I found ourselves pulling up outside her local Chinese restaurant.
The Royal China. What it lacks in kerb appeal – and it really does – it makes up for with it’s food and hospitality!
We were quickly seated and were offered a set menu which seemed like good value for money. The set menu is a 3 course option at £15 per head.
There is plenty of choice. We opted for mixed starters which consisted of 9 different dishes to try. The satay chicken was by far my favourite and probably the best I have ever tasted.
The spicy To-Ban Beef was a dish I hadn’t tried before but was lovely – nothing was overly spicy. Other dishes were 2 different styles of spare ribs, crispy seaweed, sesame chicken toast, prawn toast, spring rolls and chicken with chilli and garlic. It was brought out to us within 15 minutes of ordering and we were asked a couple of times if we would like any of the dishes topped up which was nice.
On to the duck!
Plenty of succulent duck meat and fresh chopped spring onion and cucumber with pancakes. I thought that the hoisin sauce was a little too salty but not enough to complain about. Mum didn’t notice it at all and we happily munched our way through all of it.
The main course
I feel like to get a good measure of how good the place is you need to try a Sweet and Sour dish at a chinese restaurant. With that in mind, I opted for the Sweet and Sour Pork. Mum went for the healthier Cantonese Pork. We both decided on noodles for our side dish.
My Sweet and Sour Pork was absolutely lovely. The balance was just right and the pork wasn’t too chewy and nice and crispy. Don’t be put off by the small portions, it was made really clear to us that we only had to ask if we wanted more and they were more than happy to oblige.
Mum’s Cantonese Pork was well received and the bit I tried was delicious. The noodles were lovely too. Nicely flavoured and not too oily which is something I have encountered at other establishments.
We honestly didn’t feel the need to order any more than was brought out to us but we were asked several times if we were sure. In the interests of a thorough investigation of the food on offer, I decided to leave room for dessert.
I was glad I did
The desserts are not included in the set menu but they are really reasonably priced. To add one to your meal, Royal China charge just 90p! I opted for the cheesecake but there was a pretty good choice on offer. Ice cream, toffee apple (when do you see that on a menu?!), profiteroles, banana fritters, or lychees.
As well as my cheesecake I also ordered coffee. The coffee here is really good. I don’t know about you but I hate it when I have had a nice meal and then a bitter coffee ruins it at the final hurdle!
A nice surprise
Along with our coffees we were presented with a little plate of complimentary pick & mix style sweets. I had thought that I was a sensible grown up of 37 years but it turns out that being presented with free sweets has much the same effect that it had on me as a child. It was a lovely touch.
The Set Menu
Would we go again?
So I guess that’s the most important question, isn’t it? Before we visited The Royal China I checked out Trip Advisor for reviews. I read that the staff were a bit rude, that the place was freezing cold and it wasn’t an entirely pleasant place to visit.
What we found was a welcoming, well set up Chinese restaurant that while it looks a little run down outside is a great choice for a meal. All of the members of staff who we encountered were very polite and professional. We were very well looked after during our meal without it feeling intrusive. The menu was incredibly good value and the food was utterly delicious! We will definitely be back for a return visit and I quite liked that there is a separate section which would be good for hosting larger party sizes making it a good option for family get togethers.
Looking for other restaurants to try in Peterborough? Why not check out our review of Turtle Bay
This a sponsored post. All opinions remain my own.
Let’s make something abundantly clear, I was not the Spice Girls biggest fan. The idea of Geri et al turning up on my doorstep would not fill me with happy thoughts. They would probably only be there to have a word with me about the ceremonial burning of their debut CD on a small fire in 1997 anyway. The CD belonged to one of my sisters and frankly, they had it coming. There are only so many times you can expect someone to put up with Wannabe at top volume after all.
Grrl power
I did buy into girl power though. There was a very definite influx in the 1990s of strong female voices in music and as a teenager at the time I absolutely loved it. There was a mass of them to choose from too. I still adore many. Shirley Manson, the lead singer of Garbage is definitely who I would choose to share a bag of Walkers crisps with even now. Shirley embodied everything that teenage me wanted to be in life. Not only could she write beautifully, she looked fierce, spoke out for what she believed in and she didn’t care what you thought.
There was so much female forward music in the 1990’s though. Gwen Stefani to Missy Elliot, Lauren Hill to Courtney Love ..and of course, Alanis Morissette was God. I mean she literally was God. In the movie, Dogma.
There were kind of a lot of Superhuman females on our screens in the 90’s too. This was the decade which brought us Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Charmed and of course, Buffy the Vampire Slayer!
Buffy Summers was a happy go lucky cheerleader who also happened to be the Slayer, protector of the Hellmouth and the World. Leader of the Scooby-Gang, with a tragic love life. She’s a big sister and orphan, and has the entire weight of the world on her shoulders. Buffy is one of the best examples of how a woman is not defined by the length of her skirt or the twirl of her hair. It’s her actions, day in and day out that prove her worth.
The Spice Girls are back!
Nowadays my sisters have their own families to annoy but it was nonetheless amusing to see The Spice Girls pop up on a Walkers crisps advert last night during the final of BGT. The Ad was pretty funny too! We loved the Mum.
The advert opens with a presenter reporting outside what appears to be a regular semi-detached house, announcing that the ‘number 1 Spice Girls Fan has won a VIP tour ticket’. As the girls appear on screen rushing towards the house, what was initially thought of as a regular home, turns out to be a shrine to Spice Girls. Memorabilia is scattered across the walls and the super fan eagerly awaits their arrival, Walkers crisps in hand.
Flash forward to inside the house, and following a friendly exchange of words, Baby Spice turns to the super fan, hand outstretched for a Walkers crisp, which is where it all begins. As the fan swerves her advances, viewers including Googlebox’s Malone family and Walkers aficionado Gary Lineker, watch on as the action unfolds. Determined not to give up his mouth-watering crisps, the final scene sees the girls’ car screech away from Dev, with the VIP ticket back in their hands.
Luckily for Walkers fans, this means the title of “best ever fan” could still theirs.
Out of the many hilarious and over the top submissions that were entered into Walkers’ Best Ever Fan Challenge in the week leading up to the ad premier, one lucky fan will take the title thanks to Dev’s misstep.
Fans were asked to post a Spice Girls related snapshot from back in the day, or to create something new and share on their social channel of choice, tagging @Walkers_Crisps and hashtagging #BestEverFan. The prize? Four VIP tickets to the Spice Girls concert on Wednesday 15th June; an exclusive meet and greet with the girls, plus 5* accommodation and travel – it’s the ultimate prize for the best ever fan.
But fret not there are other exciting prizes for those that don’t win the golden package, including 2 pairs of standard tickets to the Spice Girls concert and a range of Spice Girls merchandise.
Were you a Spice Girls fan in the 1990’s? I would love to know which 90’s star you would share a bag of Walkers crisps with? Let me know in the comments below!
Well. It’s all gone horribly wrong. In the words of a favourite meme of mine; Not only have the wheels fallen off, I have burnt down the cart and used the insurance money to buy cupcakes.
I have been steadily gaining rather than losing lbs. Not due to the meals on my planner but the bloody snacking! Still, at least all of the Easter chocolate is now gone. Finally!
I am having another retinal bleed so blurry eyesight means a lot less chopping and prep and a LOT more grab and go. I am determined that I am going to push through though. In fact I need to.
The plan is to plan- and stick to it. What do you do when you feel your willpower slipping?
This week in food
Friday: My lovely Stepmum is cooking for me so MrG and the kids have pie and veg
Saturday: Nandos style butterfly chicken breast with mediterranean rice (frozen from aldi 1.5syns per portion) and salad.
Sunday: Roast Pork, honey glazed roasted parsnips and carrots with brussel sprouts and mash.
Monday: Lamb koftas with salad and flatbread
Tuesday: Sausages and chips and beans.
Wednesday: Salmon with baby sweetcorn, and green beans* and jersey royal potatoes*
Thursday: Chicken pesto pasta and pea shoot salad
*included in the Aldi super six this week. keeps the costs down
Breakfasts: Trying to keep the expenditure to a minimum because it’s half term and frankly I would rather spend the dosh on having some fun with the children. With that in mind breakfast will be mainly porridge and fruit (I have a stash of frozen sweet cherries so I can add those to my porridge)
Lunches: I am going to try to make lots of hard boiled eggs and salads this week. The weather looks well suited for it and they are easy enough to make a take on days out.
If you are interested in seeing some more Slimming World friendly meal ideas feel free to check out one of my other plans here
Items within this post were gifted to me in exchange for inclusion. All opinions remain my own
Fathers day is just weeks away now and if you are anything like me you will (still) need ideas on what to buy that special man in your life.
Whether he is outdoorsy or a complete couch potato, carry on reading to find some great ideas on what to buy him.
For the tech lover
Powerful, quick and accurate. The Ring RTC1000 Rapid Digital Tyre Inflator inflates a 13″ tyre from flat to 35psi in under 2 mins. Flat design remains stable when inflating. Features include a quick-set dial, large backlit digital screen and a bright, integrated LED light. Powered directly from a vehicles 12V socket with the attached 3m power cable. Specially designed compartment on back of unit stores the 0.5m airline. Supplied with case, 3 piece adaptor set and spare valve caps.
Another fabulous gift for a Dad who loves cars (a DWLC) has to be a dashcam. The NextBase 422GW Dash cam which is Alexa compatible is a top points scorer then, surely?
Voice call and message on the move using the world’s first 1440p Dash Cam with Alexa built-in. Use Alexa to play music, find parking, control smart home devices and talk directly to your Dash Cam. Emergency SOS will alert the emergency services to your location in the event of an accident. Intelligent Parking Mode records any bump or physical movement on the vehicle when left unattended.
A great choice for the safety conscious, tech loving Dad is the NEOS smart home camera. Really affordable at just £20, the Neos SmartCam is a clever little home camera that is compact in size and features live streaming in 1080p full HD, night vision, 8x digital zoom as well as motion and sound detection with in-app alerts and 2-way audio.
For the tea drinker
Dad needs his own mug for his cuppa and this beautifully illustrated ‘Wild at Heart’ mug made from fine bone china produced by Royal Worcester would make a lovely gift or perfect addition to your kitchen. This mug has a different image on the front and back and a third image on the inner rim.
The beautifully designed box contains four of their best-selling organic, vegan and fair trade chocolate bars. Using only the best organic, Ecuadorian, fair trade cacao, Ombar’s Gift Box shows off the dark and rich tones of chocolate, in its purest form. The box contains 1 x Coco Mylk bar, 1 x Coconut 60%, 1 x 72% Cacao and 1 x 90% Cacao bar! Perfect with a cuppa!
For Dads who aren’t big drinkers, Woodstars 1% may be the perfect choice. Harvested from the rainforests of Brazil where it grows wild, açai berry is first macerated in alcohol for twelve weeks to release all of its natural colour and flavours, then blended by Woodstar’s Master Liquoriste in the Cognac region of France with blackcurrants, berries, botanicals, and cocoa. A light-bodied drink with deep complexity and a deliciously dry finish, this is a perfect low-alcohol alternative – yet best enjoyed in a wine glass.
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