Exceeding Expectations

Today I am blogging from a very clean looking Macbook!

Thanks to my lovely boyfriend who managed to scrub it clean for me yesterday. It was dreadfully dirty beforehand, so I’ll just enjoy the cleanliness while it lasts.

It’s been a pretty typical Thursday for me which means this post is probably not all that exciting- ha, welcome to my life. Except I did have my boy home, grabbed some groceries and didn’t get to teach any Body Step (wah) since classes have changed over the Christmas break. However, I have had plenty of chance to use some of my Christmas presents-Jersey Shore seasons 1 and 2.

 

We’ve watched the entire first season in the span of 2-3 days and we are ready for season 2. Does anyone else love this show?

I’ve also got to fill you in on a little outing we had last night. We went to a sushi train near home for dinner and I dined on a cucumber roll, we shared a chicken teriyaki and we both had our own tuna & cucumber rolls (avocado for him, plus he had a tiramisu cream dessert somewhere in there too). We’ve never really thought much of this sushi joint but we were very impressed. We’ll definitely be back, especially with its’ convenient location.

Then it was off to the movies. Somehow he managed to talk me into a 3 hr Hobbit movie.

The time actually went quicker than expected and this tired girl managed to stay awake. There was no doubt that Simon wouldn’t make it through thanks to his GINORMOUS frozen raspberry energy kick.

It’s called ‘Xtreme’ for a reason.

He loved the movie and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it too. Visually it was amazing and everything was very interesting and flowed nicely. The bits of humour they popped in here and there was also a bonus.

I think a Body Combat and some dinner is in store for me tonight, as well as some Jersey Shore season 2.

Have a great night!

What movies do you want to see? I think parental guidance looks like a hoot. What are you up to tonight?

Daily Healthy Thought: Let every struggle be a test.

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Ginga & San Churro

So I am in bed and trying to con the bf into a massage- all for the sake of my race prep… but no such luck so far (pester him people!). I am happy to report that date night was a huge success tonight and I even managed to take some pics! I did forget at first but followed through in the end 😉

To start we headed to Ginga restaurant at Southbank. It is a cute Japanese restaurant that also has a sushi train. Unfortunately, it was packed when we arrived so opted to sit at a table so we could eat sooner 😉 Next time we both agreed we would like to sit at the sushi train- it’s such a fun little novelty! To start we decided to get some sushi and share a main. The bf had tempura batter prawn sushi and prawns on rice. I chose a vegetable sushi, which was two small slices of sushi filled with the usual rice + seaweed wrap, avocado, carrot, squash?, pickle and lettuce. It was really nice actually and felt like a smaller sushi-style salad hehe. I also had six tiny tuna sushi rolls. They were adorable. They were similar to the small sushi rolls in this picture below (found on the net).

My bad on the lack photos- I totally forgot (I was hungry okay!) but I did take a picture of the pork gyoza ramen with pork bone broth. Things got a bit messy because I got a small bowl to take a portion so we weren’t both fighting over the big bowl… who knew it could be so messy sharing out noodles and soup?

I loved this dish and it reminded me a lot of Bamboo Basket’s pork dumpling soup. I love noodles and the texture of the gyoza- especially when steamed and slimy. So this baby was right up my alley 😉 The soup was also really good and wasn’t too meaty like I expected. I was very impressed with the prompt service, cleanliness and quality of food.

Then came the best part- dessert! There was a massive line so as we waited we were surprised with a shot/taster of their classic spanish hot chocolate. We were very impressed. It was delicious, thick, rich and chocolatey. Whilst I wouldn’t order this usually (because I wouldn’t be able to drink it all)- this small shot really hit the spot and wasn’t too over the top.

Then we got another lovely unexpected surprise only seconds later- we got an express entry into the restaurant. A two-seated table opened up and we were the first pair in the line. Talk about lucky!

It didn’t take us long to choose what we wanted. The bf, as predicted, opted for the fondue. Well actually he got the fondue for two that came with strawberries, banana, brownies, nuts, pretzels, caramel pretzels, marshmallows and mini churros. I definitely assisted him in polishing most of it off 😉 The fruit was deliciously refreshing and not surprisingly I really loved the combo of the melted choc with those crushed peanuts mmm. I also really liked the caramel popcorn and pretzels dipped in fondue- the mix of sweet and salty was delish. It was my first time having an entire churro to myself and I liked that they weren’t as drenched in oil or covered in sugar like others I’ve tasted. They could even pass for savoury I thought. But they had a nice crunch, dense and were a perfect vehicle for all those little naughty extras 😉

I opted for the ice cream sundae which came with milk, dark and white chocolate ice cream scoops, melted chocolate, brownie pieces and whipped cream. It was really good- I was happy with the size also. Not stingey but not humungous (I will always eat more if it’s bigger haha). The ice-cream was also really quite creamy and the white chocolate was my favourite. I was surprised that the chocolate wasn’t too bitter or rich (cocoa wise), which I usually find in some ice creams. The brownie wasn’t half bad either. My dish came out first and although we didn’t mind waiting a little bit longer for the fondue we got four complimentary chocolates as well! Is there such thing as too much chocolate?! NEVER! The service was great, cute decor, delicious food and we would definitely go back. Only at the end was I disappointed with the man behind the cash register’s attitude. I didn’t appreciate the way in which he spoke to me and my bf even remarked as we left what a w@8ker he was (can you read my code? haha). But apart from that last unpleasant thing it was pretty spot on!

 

We both really enjoyed the food and quality time during date night tonight. Personally, it was the best sushi experience I’ve had and one of the best sundaes I’ve had also- not over the top but enough to satisfy my massive (& high standard) sweet tooth. I can definitely say I carb-loaded tonight and hopefully this means I’ll own tomorrow 😉  We are currently watching Olympics (obsessed) and winding down before heading off to sleep. Hope everyone had a great (and tasty) Saturday night!

 

What is your favourite sushi roll? Describe your ideal churro?

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