This weekend we travelled to London to celebrate Ben’s
birthday and what better place to stay than
Charlotte Street Hotel. This
beautiful hotel is located in the heart of Fitzrovia, just a short distance
from Oxford Street and Soho, which was perfect for all the goings-on we had planned.
We arrived around lunch-time and checked into our room before dashing out to do some shopping.
The bed was probably the comfiest hotel beds I have ever slept on (I don't think any bed is comfier than your own!). 11am checkout was just too early for us, we could have slept in all day!
Personal messages are always a nice touch, thanks Fanny.
Our afternoon shopping turned out to be quite
stressful. What started off as a leisurely mooch around the shops, ended
up with us doing laps of the Oxford Circus / Regents Street / Carnaby
Street area, dashing in and out of the same shops trying to find an outfit
for the evening. Much to our annoyance,
we both ended up buying from the first shop we went it… Why does that always happen?
We finally arrived back at the hotel, got ourselves spruced up and ready to go out and enjoy our evening.
Ben had made a reservation at the well known Michelin starred Chinese restaurant Hakkasan. This is definitely a must must must try when you are in London. We have wanted to go for so long but have only just got around to going this weekend after living in London for 3 years!
You enter the restaurant on street level, before making your way underground and into the atmospheric restaurant.
The host will take you to the bar area to grab a drink whilst you wait to be shown to your table.
I opted for a pink mojito (of course). Mojitos are probably my favourite cocktail, it was pink, (girly alert), which is my favourite colour, so it was a no brainer. Ben had a Chinese Mule, which was a n interesting twist on a Moscow Mule. It makes a change for Ben to order a cocktail which isn't served in a martini glass!
The fruits of my shopping trip... My dress is from Topshop which is available
here.
The food was incredible. To start we shared the crispy duck roll and jasmine tea smoked pork ribs. The ribs were our favourite as they literally fell off the bone. I'm drooling just thinking about them.
For our main course we shared chicken satay, vegetarian vermicelli and ribeye beef in black pepper and merlot sauce. The food arrives at different times as and when it is ready and is designed for sharing, so make sure you order meals you are both going to enjoy.
We finished off the meal with a pudding to share which was a chocolate praline bombe coated in rice crispies. If you fancy going, you can view the menu online
here
Once we had finished our meal, we headed off to Soho house to go to the wrap party for the BBC Three show, Cuckoo, which Ben has been working on for the last few months.
The roof deck of Soho house was hired out for cast and crew to celebrate. Ben managed to add a plus one to the guest list which meant I was able to mingle with A-list celebrities.... just my usual Saturday night.....
We finally headed home in the early hours of the morning on a rickshaw. Again.... my usual Saturday night transport.
I don't know what I was more excited about, meeting Taylor or going home on a rickshaw??