The Grand PP Arcade, Restaurant & Cafe, Koh Phi Phi.

We happened to stumble upon the spectacular Grand PP Arcade on the beautiful Thai island of Koh Phi Phi. We were instantly drawn into the cafe by the delicious smell of Thai cooking. We were seated in the dimly lit outside area below the fabulous lanterns and ceiling plants. The menu was quite concise, but still, with everything sounding so delicious, I found it extremely difficult to choose what to order. 

I decided to go for the vegetable spring rolls to start. They were, hands down, the nicest spring rolls I have ever eaten. The light pastry was stuffed with thin rice noodles and shredded veg and they weren't greasy in the slightest. I loved the rustic wooden boards the spring rolls were served on and the shot glass used for the sweet chilli dipping sauce. We each devoured all three in seconds!

 

For the main I went for the yellow Thai chicken curry which was also extremely delicious. The creamy coconut curry was served with basmati rice and a delicious side salad. Although we were advised not to eat salad while travelling, I couldn't resist!

  

          "The calm within the chaos."

The Grand PP Arcade is a must for anyone

 travelling to Koh Phi Phi !

Barcelona Baby

I was well and truly spoiled rotten last week when my fab boyfriend Dave whisked me off to beautiful Barcelona for the long weekend. We explored the absolutely gorgeous city for three brilliant days and were blown away by its stunning Gothic and modern architecture, friendly people and, most importantly, the fabulous food! We ate Tapas, drank Champagne Sangria, and, became obsessed with the city's incredible food market, which was definitely the highlight of the trip. Stalls stacked with chopped fresh fruit, fresh smoothies and fruit juices, meats, vegetables, artisan chocolates, macaroons, caramelized nuts and so much more lined the market space. The buzz was incredible with locals haggling with the tenders and tourists making their way through the hustle and bustle of the place. 

I couldn't get enough of the cups of chopped fresh fruit and delicious smoothies. We walked down to the market each morning for breakfast and its safe to say that I was actually in Heaven.

The coated nuts, artisan chocolates and macaroons were absolutely delicious. I got a little carried away and spent €30 on nuts alone the first day that we visited the place. But, in fairness, who could resist?

The Champagne Sangria was delicious but, beware, its a bit stronger than you may be used to! Cointreau, Honey Rum and fresh lemon and orange are added to the champagne which makes it pretty hard to resist. 

Take it from me, Barcelona is a must see city for anyone with an interest in culture, architecture and most importantly - food.

2013 - What a Year!

I know I'm a few days late, but, I'd like to take this opportunity to wish all of you a very Happy New Year. I hope it's a fab year for each and every one if you. I myself have great intentions for 2014 which, if go to plan, I'll be blogging about in future. But, for the moment, let's do a quick re-run through Yummmmyy's 2013.

2013 really has been such a brilliant year with so much happening with Yummmmyy. I've learned an awful lot in a year and, I really like to think that my bakes have improved by miles. I'm now baking cakes and other bakes to order - something I would have only dreamed of at the beginning of 2013.

Lets return to February 2013 when I was awarded the Liebster Award for best up and coming blog of the month. I couldn't believe it when I opened the email informing me that my blog had been given such an award. I was actually a little bit skeptical as I'd only been blogging for a few months at that stage and I thought of Yummmmyy as more of a private baking diary that no one really paid any attention to. Little did I know, Yummmmyy was actually reaching many other bloggers and followers in all corners of the world! Winning the Leibster Award really gave me that boost of confidence I needed to keep blogging and to believe in myself as a blogger.

In March 2013 another achievement made me realise that I really did have a group of followers who appreciated what I was doing. I was approached by an Irish company called Ads on Bags, who asked if they could feature some of my recipes on the surfaces of their biodegradable supermarket bags. Once again, I found myself second guessing the offer and asking myself why this company would choose my recipes to feature on their bags. How and ever, I agreed to submit a recipe for publishing once every month which turned out to be such a good opportunity.

With the Summer came more exciting opportunities, the first being my invitation to the launch of Kenco Millicano's new travel mug designed by Orla Kiely. I was so excited at the thoughts of mingling with other Irish foodies at the launch when I received the invitation.... Aaaand, would you believe, myself and my boyfriend Dave were pictured at the launch in the Irish Tatler!!! 

Also during the Summer, I was a recipient of a fabulous  cooler box full of Philadelphia products to try, which I had been sent courtesy of Kraft Foods - I felt so important being asked to test a new product. Like I said, SO much has happened in one year! 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

WELCOME 2014

Philadelphia Simply Stir Review

A couple of weeks ago I woke up to find a special package from Kraft Foods sitting in my kitchen. They sent me a cooler bag full of samples of their new "Simply Stir" range. They included a recipe for a chicken dish along with some of the other ingredients and kitchen utensils I'd need to make it. I was over the moon and I said I'd definitely give it a go for dinner some evening. It really was a quick and easy dish to make that everyone at home loved. I made both variations; the mushroom and the garlic & herb, and I have to say that the garlic and herb was definitely my fave ...

My cooler bag full of goodies !!!

Prep time: 5 mins
Cooking time: 10 mins      
(Super Quick!!!)

YOU WILL NEED...

1 Sachet of Philadelphia Simply Stir Sauce
4 Chicken Fillets
1 Small Head of Broccoli
A few Mushrooms

 

1) Slice the chicken fillets into cubes or strips and brown them in a pan
2) Par boil the broccoli while the chicken is cooking and when the chicken is brown add it to the pan
3) Throw in the mushrooms, followed by the Simply Stir Sauce and stir until it has heated through
4) Philadelphia recommend that you serve the chicken with Basmatti Rice

I definitely recommend these Philadelphia Simply Stir Sauces to anyone who is looking for something quick, easy and healthy to make for dinner

A Tasty Trip to Torremolinos!!!

WOW, it really has been a while since my last blog post - I'm disgraceful :P I just haven't had a minute over the past few weeks with work, college and a deadly trip abroad. Firstly I had a full week of college assignment due dates too get through, followed by a stressful week of exams, and then I headed off to sunny Spain with my boyfriend to chillax for a week. We had a ball and ate mountains of deeeelicious food which I took plenty of pictures of, despite looking like a bit of a weirdo at the dinner table :P   

BOBBY PERU TEXMEX NACHO MOUNTAIN
nacho chips with melted mozzarella and cheddar, spicy chicken, homemade guacamole and hot hot hott jalapenos

We tried this restaurant on our first night and couldn't resist going back twice more during the week - the food was absolutely delicious, aaaand they definitely made the best Mojitos in Spain :)

GAUCHO'S FILLET STEAK
with creamy garlic butter, fresh salad and chunky chips

We didn't realise we were getting ourselves in for a fine dining experience at Gaucho's Steakhouse when we strolled in from the beach in casual summer clothes - it's a well hidden spot that serves absolutely delicious steak.

GELATERIE ICECREAM

I'm a huge ice-cream fan so I couldn't resist a cone in the sun more than a few times thoughout the week :P My favourite flavours were definitely Ferrero Rocher and Kinder, but the coconut was well up there too :)

PASSOÁ 

Passion fruit liquor mixed with Orange Juice is definitely one of my favourite Summer drinks, followed closely by White wine Spritzers with loads of ice and a lemon wedge - I'm not going to say how many glasses I may have drank during the week :P