Feeling Very Ready For Veri Peri

Hey!

Welcome to another blog post! The wonderful guys at Veri Peri invited myself and Luke to come along to their Bradford branch and try out some of their fabulous food from their marvellous menu.

The photos within this blog post were shot via my phone so apologies in advance if they're aren't great. I had my DSLR on me but the glare from the warm weather was making me unhappy with the photos via the DSLR. 

We entered Veri Peri and was greeted by a wonderful member of staff. They took us to a table, gave us two menus and asked us to take our time and choose whatever we wanted. Myself and Luke decided to peruse the menu for a few minutes and then decided on what drinks we wanted. The waitress came to our table. We both ordered a Sunshine Mocktail which consisted of Orange, Pineapple and Mango. It was refreshing and a drink that you definitely need in a morning.

We had another look at the menu, ordered our food and took some photos of the restaurant.

The first dish that we had was Hummus which was garnished with Pitted Olives and Pitta Bread. I love Hummus no matter what but sadly neither myself or Luke like Olives so we just ate around them. The Hummus was lovely and creamy with a slight acidic kick. I loved the warm pitta bread against the hummus as it was a mixture of textures. I think that this would be great to share with others with some more pitta bread and drinks.

We also ordered a Value Platter which consists of Chicken Picatta, a Whole Chicken, 2 sides and 2 drinks.

The Chicken Picatta consisted of sliced Chic\\\\ken Breast coated with Egg Yolk and pan fried in Olive Oil. The Chicken Breast was tender in the middle but crispy on the outside which I loved. There was also herbs on top of the Breast which made it flavoursome and I think that this would be great on it's own with fries and coleslaw or something of that sort.

The Whole Chicken was marinated and covered in Lime and Coriander. Lime and Coriander is one of the many sauces/rubs that you can get on your food at Veri Peri. The other flavours include Garlic, Lemon & Herb, Hot, Extra Hot and more. I loved the crispiness of the Chicken but I did wish that they included some boneless meat just because taking out bones does get messy. I loved the flavour. The lime cut through the sweetness of the Chicken and the Coriander added a bit of depth to the Chicken.

You also get unlimited drinks with the platter which I think is needed just to refresh the palate from time to time.

Myself and Luke then ordered a burger each. Luke will let you know what he ordered on his blog post when it's up but I ordered a Beef Burger which consists of a Freshly Minced mixture of premium Beef which is marinated in a special dry rub. The pattie is then grilled and sandwiched with Veri Peri signature sauce, Tomatoes, American lettuce and Cheddar cheese. I loved the beef patty as it was moist but also slightly peppery which I loved. The Lettuce which gave the whole dish a refreshing hit of flavour.

This came with Mozzarella Sticks and Fries. I love Mozzarella Sticks no matter what. Crispy on the outside and gooey on the middle. I wouldn't normally put them with Burgers as a side but they were amazing. The fries were crispy but fluffy on the inside and when paired with Garlic sauce they were so great! I will have to put Garlic Sauce with my fries more often!

I then ordered a Sizzling Brownie with Ice Cream. Luke was hesitant about ordering dessert but honestly I will never turn down dessert and I love Brownies so this was perfect for me. Luke shared it with me due to us both being quite full. The whole point of this Sizzling Brownie is when the waitress pours the sauce over the dish it sizzles which it did. I thought this was brilliant! The brownie was gooey on the inside and crisp on the outside. The perfect Brownie! And with the hit of that fresh Vanilla Ice Cream just hit the spot. Perfect for the end of a date. .

All in all, I loved Veri Peri, I do think that the tables could be slightly spaced out just in case theres a group of people using the refill drinks station. I do love the fact that they boxed up food for us and that you can order from Veri Peri via Deliveroo depending on the location of where you live.

If you're in the Bradford area then I urge you to try out Veri Peri.

What's your favourite Chicken dish below? Let me know down below!

Thanks to the staff and PR over at Veri Peri for inviting us and looking after us during the day!

I hope that you have enjoyed this blog post and I hope that you come back for the next post!

Thanks for reading! 
Jamie x

This post was in collaboration with Veri Peri. This post was in exchange of food. All views and opinions are my own. 

Ox Club Leeds Brunch & 200 Degrees Leeds Coffee Review

Hey!

Welcome to another blog post! The lovely guys at Ox Club and the PR team behind them invited me to come and try out some of their amazing dishes from their Brunch Club menu with a few other bloggers and I thought I would tell you guys about it all!

We started the day off by walking quite quickly to the train station due to the train strikes that were happening on the day, Once we arrived in the heart of Leeds, we made our way up to Headrow House which is about a 5 minute walk from the infamous Trinity Leeds shopping centre.

Ox Club is the restaurant that is situated within the wonderful Headrow House which is situated on the Headrow. Ox Club serve brunch on weekends but they also serve their wonderful food within the evenings via their Evening Menu. Ox Club also participate in themed nights where they serve a particular menu which isn't normally available to the public such as an all veggie night. The restaurant use seasonal produce and their menu's changes on a daily basis subject to availability of ingredients

First on the menu was Korean Fried Chicken. This came with Rice, Pickled Cucumber, Kimchi and a Crispy Egg.

I loved the crispy Chicken against the freshness of the Kimchi. I think that the addition of the crispy egg was a fabulous choice. I loved the Spiciness of the Chicken as it wasn't too powerful but it left a warm sensation at the back of yout throat. The spiciness was well balanced via the cooling Cucumber and the Kimchi. I think that this is something different to have for Breakfast/Brunch but if it's slightly cold outside or if you're curing a hangover then it's absolutely perfect!

Then we tried Flat Iron Steak and Cheddar Eggs. This was accompanied by Home Fries and a delicious Chipotle Tomato Jam.

Steak and eggs is a breakfast dish that is most commonly eaten by people who are training for events such as triathlons and such. As I have never trained for anything yet, I've never had Steak and Eggs. I loved the Steak even though I know that Steak can be a very personal thing! I wasn't sure what to think of the Cheddar Eggs at first but after the second taste I knew that I absolutely loved them. The jam was lovely against the creamy eggs.

Next stop on the food train was Cauliflower Shawarma. The items that were paired with this included Grilled Flatbread, Buttered Ras Al Hanout Eggs, Pomegranates, Pine Nuts and Yoghurt.

Cauliflower is normally shoved under Cauliflower Cheese where its normally overcooked then covered in a very Cheesy sauce so I was already interested in this very fresh dish. This Cauliflower Shawarma showed me that Cauliflower can be lively! The crispy flatbread and crunchy Cauliflower against the soft eggs was an interesting texture combination. I absolutely loved it though. I'm not used to a crispy Flatbread so I would have personally preferred it to be slightly more soft but that's a personal thing. I loved the addition of Pomegranate as it just made the whole dish that little bit more fabulous!

The staff then brought out the beautiful Bubble & Squeak. This delicious dish came with Smoked Sausage, Cabbage, Fried Duck Egg and Chicken Gravy.

I always thought that Bubble & Squeak was one of those things that was a back up dancer due to it being traditionally made from leftovers but this dish was sensational. The cabbage and potato against the smoky sausage worked really well. Smokiness and freshness just contrasted against each other very well. I loved the gravy against the potato as it just made the dish feel very comforting. I think that this on a cold winters morning would be great!

We then tried the Coconut French Toast with Sriracha Maple Butter and Bacon.

I love Coconut and French Toast so I already had high expectations for this dish. I think that the Sriracha Maple Butter added a slight kick in the back of your mouth without being overwhelming and well Bacon added a contrast between the sweetness in the Maple Butter. I just loved this dish and I think that this would be great with a large coffee. I'm still a bit unsure on whether the Sriracha was necessary but on the whole this was a great dish.

Finally, we enjoyed Ricotta Pancakes, Honeycomb, Blueberries, Honey and Creme Fraiche.

I have never had Ricotta Pancakes before but they were thick and fluffy and something that is definitely needed for a weekend. A stack of these on their own are heavenly so when you add Honey and Blueberries to them it just makes them extra special! The Blueberries add a fresh note against the eggyness of the Pancakes and the sweetness of the Honey. I'm not the greatest fan of Creme Fraiche I'm not going to lie but I think it helps cut through the honey within this dish. I think these with a few Bloody Mary's is always an amazing start to a weekend and I would honestly eat these every weekend but maybe without the Creme Fraiche, Honey and Blueberries I would make a hot Blueberry sauce for the colder weekends.

Once we had finished off trying the menu at Ox Club we were told that we could go down to 20n 0 Degrees which is opposite the Boots store which is located within Trinity Leeds. We were meant to be participating in creating some amazing Latte art but due to it being a wonderful yet busy Saturday afternoon we decided that we would try some stuff from 200 Degrees. I decided to order a Mocha for both myself and Luke. I then asked the barista to recommend us a couple of sweet treats as I wasn't really feeling a sandwich after sampling the dishes at Ox Club.

He suggested a wonderful looking Brownie and a sweet treat that changes every Saturday. This dish is dubbed Saturday Special. This sweet treat was a Chocolate and Raspberry Tart. The brownie was divine but honestly any brownie is divine in my eyes. This one has a sort of gooey but nubbly centre which I think was via Chocolate Chips but I could be completely wrong. Dark and decadent made this Brownie amazing against the bittersweet (Coffee always has a bitter edge in my opinion) Mocha. The tart had a filling of Raspberry sort of compote I think layered with a Chocolate Ganache. The pastry was crumbly and perfect against the smoothness of the ganache. The raspberry was a amazing. Some would say that it was a surprise but as this tart is garnished with Raspberries then it should be well known. The sharp fruitiness of the Raspberry against the ganache was really nice. A perfect tart to have whilst having a chit chat and I'm thankful for this recommendation as I will remember them both quite well.

I will definitely have to go back to try their sandwiches!

What's your go to dish when it comes to brunch? What's your favourite hot drink to order at a coffee shop? Have you been to either Ox Club or 200 Degrees? Let me know down below!

Thanks to I Like Press for inviting myself and Luke to both events. Thank you to the guys at Ox Club/Headrow House for serving us fabulous food and for being amazing to us bloggers. Thank you to the guys at 200 Degrees for being amazing, creating amazing drinks and food and for recommending me those amazing sweet treats!

I hope that you have enjoyed this blog post. I hope that you like the photos that I have taken within this post and I hope to see you next time for another post!

Thanks for reading! 
Jamie x