Sunday Funday

 My Husband and I had decided to have a date night last Sunday and ventured into Bedford Meatballs, which is still kinda new in Auckland and is situated in a side lane with other restaurants next to it. Surprisingly they were not as busy as expected so we got a table as soon as we entered (Wohoo!).

The setting is pretty American with the vintage industrial bar stools with swivel seats, soft brown leather seats and beautiful incandescent light bulbs above seating areas. Bliss. We were served quickly and were offered the drink menus and dinner menus where we tick our choice of meat, sauce, and base (spaghetti, mash, polenta, risotto, and special that changes regularly).

The drinks menu was phenomenal! On trend with the whole soda thing happening everywhere and alcoholic floats mmmmmmmmm. I decided to try the non-alcoholic Dr Pepper float and my Husband had the mandarin mango with lemon honey and ginger soda, which is handcrafted (fancy). We went all out and decided to have appetizers as well as mains, which were the BBQ pork ribs and the onion rings with jalapeno cheese sauce. Our mains were both chicken meatballs but I had it on polenta with spicy tomato and parmesan cheese sauce ($1 extra for additional sauce) and the hubby went for a sub with spicy tomato sauce.

Drinks came first followed shortly by all our orders which was handy for taking photos! I must say, the ribs were so soft and juicy while also having a whole lot of flavour, it was amazing! The onion rings were on point too, perfect for a Sunday winter treat. We stared at our mains, trying to figure out how to tackle them. They may look small in the photos, but man, is it deceitful! The meatballs were quite decent in size, well cooked with both sauces being super delicious and the sub baguette was soft enough to bite into while also not getting soggy. Bonus.

The taste of the meatballs however, quite heavily infused with fennel which made it hard to eat on its own and needed a lot of sauce with each bite. As the dish got slightly cooler, the stronger the fennel got. I was quite surprised as to how strong it was and couldn’t finish my meal. With this being the only setback, I would rate 3.5/5 for the menu, since the meatballs are meant to be the star of the show. The service was top notch and can’t be faulted. With the total bill coming in with less than $70, I would say the value you receive for going to a rather trendy place, with great service is hard to find sometimes, hence 4.5/5.

We would definitely make our way back. As long as the meatballs are toned down.

PS. I am no expert in evaluating food so these ratings are only for those who may want to know how we had personally experienced.

 

And the Winner IS?!!

When it was time for me to treat myself with something fancy schmancy after doing my final exam at University (EVER), I decided to venture to my nearest Chanel counter. I wanted to get a foundation that I could wear on a night out and be sure my skin looked young and fresh in photos and not like a ghost if some lunatic decides to go crazy with their camera flash!. A good base can make all the difference.

Since this was a pricey decision to make (especially for us Kiwis $98 at Smith and Caugheys!), the lovely lady at the Chanel counter gave me a sample each of two formulations, the Chanel Vitalumiére Aqua and the Perfection Lumiére Velvet. They advised me since I had normal to combination skin; the Perfection Lumiére would work best. With this in mind, I decided to try that first and loved it from the first blend. I used a newly washed Real Techniques buffing brush to apply the foundation as I do for all bases. The formula felt like a liquid to powder finish so I didn't need to set this foundation at all and was able to apply my Bobbie Brown cream concealer effortlessly under my eyes and also on any blemishes and scars, A++!. I wore it out to a friend's baby shower and I knew it was a whole day affair. It turns out that the longer you wear it the better it looks! I still looked normal and even got a few compliments as to how good my skin was looking (a foundation after my own heart).

A few weeks later, I tried the Vitalumiére Aqua, but didn't quite get the same satisfaction. It is definitely more moisturising and it did take me a while to blend into my skin completely. I would  recommend it for dryer skin as it will feel more nourishing while giving a light to medium coverage and can be layered it on where needed.

Both foundations have to be shaken thoroughly before use and if the person who served you is an angel, they should have advised you that before you shake the bottle, open it and squeeze it a little to get rid of any air. I did just that and squeezed a little before putting the lid back and shook it as advised. This will stop you from getting an explosion of colour on your outfit (the panic is real) after you open.

Overall, I can safely say that the winner for my skin type is the Perfection Lumiére Velvet. If you get a change to try both, DO IT!!


Perfection Lumiére Velvet, you are PERFECTION.