Tag: birminghamuk

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Birmingham Food review

BAB ABOUT TOWNS FAVOURITE BIRMINGHAM FOOD DELIVERIES IN LOCKDOWN

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So, for the past three months, I have been quite a busy girl supporting my independents and helping those who are isolating with putting together information on how they can get in their weekly shop, keep active, and seek free advice. So many Fantastic businesses agreed to be part of The North of Birmingham blog post and it has received a pretty amazing and overwhelming response by so many people. I can see so many of you using the blog daily and it is fantastic to hear that so many of you have said the blog has opened up their eyes to wanting to shop more independently which was the aim!

I regularly post about my food deliveries via social media and a lot of you have been wanting to know what independents I would recommend and what are my favourites. So, I thought why not put together a blog post of all my favourite independent food deliveries I have had in lockdown. I regularly review restaurants, venues, etc so why not start something new and review at home?! From scrumptious cakes to fantastic DIY food kits, it seems Bab about Towns blog has been burning a hole in your pockets for the last three months and apologies, the hole is just going to get bigger after reading this post!

SILVER TREE CATERING

Silver Tree Catering is a catering company based in Sutton Coldfield, who decided to deliver essentials such as fruit & veg hampers and treats to those in isolation. They have a variety of hampers on offer from Breakfast to Cheese hampers. My first purchase with Silver Tree Catering was the cheese hamper and the fruit & veg box. I ordered before 12 pm and it came the next day. The fruit & veg hamper offered a great variety of fresh produce, very impressed with the quality and the hamper lasted for around three weeks. The cheese hamper was just amazing, a great selection of cheeses with crackers and pots of chutney with grapes. It was nice sitting out in the garden tucking into it, it was like we were transported to a wine yard in Italy until I heard one of the neighbor’s shouting in a Brummie accent “Are you making a Brew Bab?”

I have ordered from Silver tree a couple of times (I regularly buy the freshly baked bread, and the cream tea was delightful!) and will continue to do so because they are so professional and the food is high quality, just fantastic value for money. I can tell there is a lot of passion and heart that’s gone into their products, so I am happy to support a hardworking business that deserves all the gratitude that they deserve any day

Order from Silver tree Catering here

WHAT THE CLUCK!

In the words of King Curtis “Chicken Nuggets is like my family” but more so “What the Cluck is like my family” This right here, is the breadwinner, my absolute favourite takeaway I have ever had and boy, I’ve had a bloody lot in my time, These guys smashed it. I ordered the chicken strips platter which comes with fried cauliflower covered in Buffalo sauce, BBQ pit beans, house slaw, and the sexiest Mac N Cheese I have ever tasted jeeeeez getting me all hot & bothered over here woo! What The Cluck didn’t just impress me but impressed my fussy bugga of a Mom who now withdraws her statement that “The Bingo is the best place for Fried Chicken” now Its “What The Cluck is the best place for fried chicken” so we have an all-round winner!

The process is very simple, simply order via their website, choose what platter you want, What The Cluck will then send you a confirmation email with the date and time of delivery. When the food arrives its just a 20-minute oven job and that’s it. Super easy to make, super service & super satisfied, bloody well-done Guys that’s how you deliver a bad boy feast!!!

Order from What The Cluck! here

THE PATTY FREAKS

Fancy getting your freak on?
Well, now you can at home with these fine buns! When The Patty Freaks announced they were delivering to Sutton Coldfield it caused an outcry of cheers and relief after the devastation of losing our beloved M&S for good and the closure of TGIS [Insert troll face] due to Co-Vid. as a town we needed a pick me up and wow, did the Patty Freaks deliver!
Full of juice, dripping with flavour and topped with sexy buns, and gone within 10 minutes. The loaded chips are heavenly, just oozing with sauce. Oh yes, The patty Freaks delivered alright, and may I mention they delivered HOT and ON TIME food, I was given a time slot between 4.30 and 5.20 and it came dead on 4.30 so fantastic service and what a bloody treat this was! ⁣I ordered the following:


The O.G burger: Bacon, cheese, ketchup, mustard mayo and pickled onion.

⁣
Sweet Freak burger: Bacon, cheese, peanut butter, caramel waffle, and chilli jam.⁣

Cajun chips⁣
⁣
Loaded chips with bacon, cheese, crispy onion, and BBQ sauce.⁣

You will need to keep up with them via social media to find out when they are next delivering and a little advice, be quick! these bad boys are like Willy Wonka golden tickets so don’t be a bad egg and feel too disappointed if you miss out because they are also popping up now and again at Digbeth Dining Club!

Stay up to date with The Patty Freaks and Order here

STRIPCLUB STREET FOOD

This kit comes with a parental warning as these buns are well naaaaaughty! Stripclub Streetfood is a very popular vendor at various food markets over the Midlands especially at Digbeth Dining Club, you will often have to queue but that first bite though is worth a thousand queue waits, trust me. So when Stripclub Streetfood announced they were back on selling burgers the whole of Birmingham kind of just lost their minds a bit…

Okay so it’s not ready-made burgers delivered straight to your door but they have come up with a fabulous idea of putting together these awesome burger DIY Kits in which, you can get down and dirty with, and attempt to create the worlds dirtiest burger, I was up for the challenge. You have all the ingredients you need and instructions to follow, you can make the kiss XXX or biscoff burger or get creative and do what you like! I think this is a fantastic kit and I really do hope they stick with it because I really enjoyed it and my family members loved taking the piss out of me getting all Gordon Ramsay on their ass.

The kit is priced at £40 and To get your hands on one of these kits, you got to download the app which you can find here and place your order just like that!

Really fun, really creative, and really bloody delicious these burgers. Get the family involved, get your mates involved, and just have a couple of beers and relax eating some seriously amazing burgers.

Stay up to date with Stripclub Street Food and download their app to order your DIY burger kits here

BITE ME CAKES

This was a first, an afternoon tea delivered to my door and I can tell you, It certainly won’t be the last. If you know me, you know I am a big lover of afternoon tea so when I heard you could get an afternoon tea delivered to your door, I first called BS and then slapped myself silly after receiving the amazing service that I received that day from Bite me Cakes.
The afternoon tea comes all prepared, from finger sandwiches to mini desserts just the perfect size, and just the way I like it! The afternoon tea that I received included the following:

A very generous portion of finger sandwiches with a variety of fillings: smoked salmon, chicken, cucumber & pepper, and cheese.

Scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam. Scones just needed to be heated up in the microwave, no fuss.

A great variety of cakes and treats such as brownies, lemon drizzle, chocolate strawberries, and more. all ready to be eaten and tasted fresh so simply serve.

Bite me Cakes caters to vegans as well, I didn’t opt for the vegan option but there were still lots of options for veggies and vegans with the afternoon tea we ordered. So this afternoon tea can be enjoyed by all, also any other allergies need to be addressed to Bite Me Cakes as they can also cater to gluten-free and dairy-free.

I was absolutely impressed with the service, the quality was fantastic, the variety was there and the amount we got, still a family of three could not finish it. Very simple to order just message Bite me Cakes and await your delivery, I was kept informed on the day regarding the time of delivery which was very helpful. The sandwiches were really tasty, the scones are big but soft and buttery, and the desserts are sweet yet VERY Satisfying and the brownies were oh so gooey! A hassle-free afternoon tea that would make the perfect treat to invite your friends and family over and to enjoy all together. So impressed, and you made our afternoon really lovely, so thank you so much for the incredible service and amazing afternoon.

Order from Bite me Cakes here

VEERUS

New to Sutton Coldfield, Veeru’s is an Indian street food restaurant offering mouth-watering street food from Punjabi Wraps to Speciality naan pizzas! unfortunately, they didn’t have a chance to do a proper opening due to CO-VID but it didn’t let it stop them and opened up their delivery and collection services. I have had three takeaways since opening and every meal has been sensational, full of spice, full of flavour and just fantastic! My favourite dish I would say is the lamb kebab (got a nice kick to it!) but I also had the mixed grill the other week and wow, best-mixed grill I’ve had in a long time and the portion was so big that three people couldn’t even finish it.
I will say that delivery time was a bit long (1 hour 20 minutes) but if I’m getting amazing well cooked and full of flavour food then I don’t care about the waiting time. You can pre-order with Veerus so maybe this something for you to consider but this is a new business that has had to think fast on their feet and adapt to change to survive, and although waiting times are a little long, I think they are doing a fantastic job giving the people of Sutton Coldfield some bloody fine and fantastic Indian street food to enjoy in their homes

Veerus really did exceed my expectations, the quality is superb- second best to non and has quickly become my favourite Indian takeaway in Sutton Coldfield. I just can’t wait for the restaurant to open, a fantastic new addition to Sutton Coldfield that will no doubt in my mind will thrive.

Order from Veerus here

AMY ELIZA

Categories
Birmingham lifestyle

10 THINGS I REMEMBER GROWING UP IN BIRMINGHAM IN THE 90S

I was sat the other day by the Birmingham library looking out on the hectic Broad Street which is more like a classier version of the strip in Malia. Memories suddenly came flooding back to me going along this street in a car with my family being mesmerised by Broad Street, I still do feel mesmerised with the number of blow-up dolls and girls falling out of cabs with the skirts over their heads however I had completely forgotten how much Birmingham has changed over the years. I am going back about 20 years ago, back to the 90’s where I would be full of excitement going up those bloody long escalators coming out of New Street station into the Pallasades, begging my mom to go to Woolworths for the pick n mix and then using all my birthday money to buy 4 for £20 on music cassettes from Virgin Megastore. What I know now and what I knew then is pure comedy, and I thought I would do a little post and share my thoughts of Birmingham as an 8-year old curious child and I am pretty sure some of you might have thought the same of our City

BROAD STREET OR ROME?

I remember my parents uset to take me out in the car to various Saturday night events and I would always see this building that would question if my Mom and Dad had drugged my frosties that morning and took me to Rome for the night. Although this sounds like a fantastic idea (not the drugging bit) but this was not the case. As I got older I realised that my parents were not taking me to Rome every other Saturday night they were just taking me to that bloody long street in Birmingham; Broad Street. I later found out that the building that convinced me I was in Rome was in fact, The Town Hall. Parents take note if you want to take your kids on holiday, just take them to Broad Street.

FLARES WAS EVERY 8 YEAR OLDS REASON TO COMPLAIN ABOUT BEING AN 8 YEAR OLD.

Those big purple doors, the people standing outside in fancy dress and the flickers of light reflecting off the disco balls you would see from outside. I didn’t want the newest Barbie doll or any more Polly Pocket’s for my birthday, I wanted an ID to go to Flares. “It’s for big people, you can go to it when you are 18” when I finally turned 18, I checked out Flares and..it was a bag of shite.

THE DISNEY SHOP IN THE PAVILLIONS

I remember sitting in front of the TV and seeing advertisements for Disney World, of course, the overly happy kids, my favourite characters pratting around with families and the Kiss from Mickey at the end sold it to me. It was selling the dream to kids, so 90% of kids would beg their parents to take them to Disney World whereas the other 10% would beg to go to Butlins. Finally, my Mom turned around after months of begging and said we are going to Disney World and I can pick something to buy! It still didn’t hit me when I was heading into town on the bus with no suitcase. My mother had me like a fool as I stood outside the Disney shop in the Pavilions shopping centre in Birmingham looking very confused, this certainly was not Disney world. I soon shut up when I had a run around and was obsessed with watching the big screen with all narrated Disney movie trailers. I did manage to go to the REAL Disney world when I was 11 years old and they just forget to mention how bloody expensive, overly crowded and how most of the rides are not suitable for shortarses like me. This photo was taken after I was not allowed to go on the Kraken at Seaworld as I was too short…I was pissed.

TAMMY GIRL

From Bay to MK one and then we had the ruler of all girl’s fashion Etam/Tammy Girl. I remember Etam in the City Centre of Birmingham, can’t quite remember where exactly but I do remember when the redevelopment of the Bull Ring finished in 2003 Etam and Tammy Girl was moved to the Bullring. Tammy Girl was usually on top of Etam and it was aimed at the teeny girl boppers, if I had an upcoming party It would be Tammy Girl where I would be getting my outfit. Sadly, Tammy Girl is no more.

THE VAMPIRES IN THAT PARK

Getting the bus into town and getting off along Bull street, I would always walk past a park (you guessed it, Pigeon Park) that was home to “vampires” of course, as I got older I realised these were not vampires but they were people who followed the “Goth or Emo” lifestyle. I would see them all standing round in circles, some swigging back these bottles that looked like they had pee inside them (It was lambrini) and some of them would be trying to sunbathe. One thing I knew for sure when I was 8, was that I didn’t want to end up joining the vampires and drinking pee when I was older.

BRMB PARTY IN THE PARK

96.4 fm BRMB, Every year BRMBs Party in the park would come to Brum and I remember always wanting to go in the 90s however the new Millennium came and in 2002 I found myself at my very first and also my last BRMB party in the Park concert. Blue, Gareth Gates, Will Young and more acts performed at the Birmingham City football ground, I couldn’t tell you what I thought of the concert because I can’t remember a thing but if I can remember seeing S Club Juniors then I am pretty sure I would have remembered these acts so I am guessing they must have been shite.

50P FOR A BUS TICKET WAS EXPENSIVE

Don’t you just hate it when the elderly turn round to you and say, “oh you young people got it easy nowadays” No, I haven’t got it easy because I have to fork out around £5 every day to get to work and back then get asked multiple times by Randoms for change?! Gone are the glory days of paying 50p or under to get into Town and also, to add insult to injury, many of the buses don’t print out the McDonalds and Burger King vouchers anymore. However, as a child, I never understood why we had to pay for travel. I remember thinking why on earth do we have to pay, and I thought 50p was bloody expensive. To a child in the 90’s, yeah it is, I could get a load of blackjacks and Freddo’s for 50p but no, I had to spend my 50p pocket money on bloody bus fare.

THE GERMAN MARKET…IN BIRMINGHAM?

There was a time in Birmingham where the German Market only existed in Germany. I have sweet happy memories of holding my mom’s hand walking up to Victoria Square without a rub of a randomer’s arm or an end of a German sausage in my face. Usually every Christmas eve we would head into Birmingham so my Mom and Auntie would do their last-minute Christmas shopping, it was still packed back then but not so much as now. Thank god I never experienced it when I was little, I would have screamed the bloody place down and just pee myself on purpose so I could get out the hell out of there.

SCHOOL TRIPS IN BIRMINGHAM…LETS GO WILD!

From being forced to participate in games of bowling to mimicking puffer fishes at the sea life centre, there was a school trip every couple of months and guaranteed it was in Birmingham. The best thing I looked forward to on school trips was my packed lunch because for some reason my mom would let me choose what I wanted in my lunchbox, only if I was on a school trip. When I was not on a school trip, I was constantly disappointed with squished tuna and mayo sandwiches, a pathetic cheese string, an apple (that I had to get the dinner lady to cut up) and a penguin bar that would always hurt my teeth and told crap jokes. So, school trips were my favourite, It was a time for kids to let loose! One trip I will always remember is watching a music production at Symphony Hall in which me and my friend thought it was funny to make fart noises whenever the trumpets would play…I felt so powerful coming out of Symphony Hall because the teachers were too embarresed to tell me off however that soon changed when I got back to school…Am I first kid to get a detention for making fart noises in Symphony Hall?

TOYS “R” US= LOSE THE PARENTS

You don’t understand how much I would beg my parents if we ever went into town to go into Toys R Us on Dale End, they were always reluctant to take me but who could blame them? as every time I went there one of the workers would have to do a tannoy call out for me, as I would always go missing…on purpose. I would find it hilarious and hide away from them, I was a right sneaky little bugger, but could you blame me? Toys R us was almost like a drug, it sent kids wild! it was like a magical land where every kid wore a smile, and everything was free…unfortunately for my parents.

AMY ELIZA

Categories
Birmingham photography

THE BEST OF BIRMINGHAM: DECEMBER PHOTOGRAPHY PICKS

I will be combining my two loves in my life in this blog post: Photography and Birmingham
Both have given me so much in my life, Photography gives me excitement and it gives me a platform to express my creativity and it helps people to understand me as a person more. I am a dreamer, I am always dreaming and using my imagination 24/7. Birmingham also gives me a platform to showcase my passion, a community that accepts creativity/dreamers and often the subject in my photographs. Birmingham is full of fantastic creatives, so many undiscovered photographers with never-ending imaginations and talents that can generate instant emotion when looking at their photographs. After the last Best of Birmingham photography post did so well I thought it would be a great idea to carry it on! Showcasing Birmingham/Midlands photographers that are talented and have created amazing imagery of our city, please show these fantastic photographers some love on their social media pages. The reward for work well done is the opportunity to do more so its important to credit our creatives as they really do open our eyes to see how bloody beautiful and great our city Birmingham is.

Please respect the copyright, if you would like to use the imagery please contact the photographers via social media pages.

JOSH GATES

A spellbinding photo of the Birmingham wheel using a mirror ball, creativity at its best from the talented Josh Gates

www.instagram.com/jsgimagery

ROSS JUKES

A vintage Christmas with beautiful tones from the very talented Ross Jukes.

www.instagram.com/rossjukes/

Website: www.rossjukesphoto.co.uk

MIKE FARLEY

A beautiful Classic black and white photo of the Western Arcade in Birmingham from the talented Mike Farley

www.instagram.com/mfarleyphoto/

ALEX TZOTZIS

A colourful Christmas scene of the German Market in Birmingham from the talented Alex Tzotzis,

https://www.instagram.com/alex_tz78/

PAUL DHILLON

Another creative mirror ball photo but this time of the German Market by the talented Paul Dhillon.

https://www.instagram.com/pauldhillon/

AESHA NISAR

This girl is killing it in the photography game, just look at those tones! by the talented Aesha Nisar

https://www.instagram.com/aesha.nisar/

GRACE LEE-MCDONALD

A miserable Rainy day in Birmingham, how can it look so beautiful? A stunner by the talented Grace Lee-Mcdonald

https://www.instagram.com/graceleemcdphotos/

AMY ELIZA

Categories
Bars Birmingham Food review

THE GIN VAULT BIRMINGHAM REVIEW

Let the good times be GIN!

Hidden away on Gas Street, you will find this little gem of a place on the canals. A Gin bar offering masterclasses, cocktail making and TAPAS. Gin lovers are faced with a novel of gins to choose from and a varied food menu with great offers on all week. This has been on my list for quite some time to try out and finally, the time is here!

Entering the vault, it is a reasonable sized venue all lit up with fairy lights. Very pretty venue and very warming, the staff are there to greet you and make you feel welcomed, straight away I felt very comfortable in there. For some reason, it was giving me old London/Pirates vibes, something different and it’s something that draws you in and makes you sit your butt down! Now, where do I begin with the 40 pages worth of gin?! I mean, this is a gin bar, what do you expect? It’s not a gin bar if there not offering a bloody book full of the stuff, its safe to say that you will never be stuck for choice here. I asked for advice from the lady at the bar, who was very happy to help, I opted for a raspberry fruity gin cocktail that was refreshing and not too heavy.

We went for 6 tapas for £17.95 and we was spoilt for choice because there wasn’t one plate on that menu that we didn’t like. Good selection of meats, fish and vegetarian and some great gluten-free options. Its order at the bar service when we went to order our food however there were a few plates they didn’t have due to non-deliveries however they offered suggestions such as I wanted the mac and cheese with chorizo but they said they could do mac and cheese croquettes in which I was happy with that.

Looking around its defiantly a place I would recommend for dates, and somewhere I would go for pre-drinks, the little booths are so inviting but the benches could do with being a little bit bigger as we had to move as my bum kept sliding off or maybe I should just lay off the avocados? The lighting is quite dark and the candles create that homely cosy feel which creates a relaxing atmosphere. 

The tapas portions are small but they are very filling. The tapas were very tasty and full of flavour, not the best tapas I have ever had as Spanish food is my favourite but it’s still very good! My favourite dish was the salmon bruschetta. I was impressed with the variety that’s on offer and the pricing, it’s very reasonable for what you are getting and I finished with a full belly and didn’t go snooping in the fridge when I got home.

Overall, another gem in Birmingham offering guests a unique experience and a great atmosphere for all kinds of occasions with an impressive selection of Gins. If you are a gin lover and looking to expand your palette, this is the place to do it. I would like to point out that there are other drink options such as beer, spirits and soft drinks. The staff are very friendly and very caring. I will defiantly go back here again to try out more of the fantastic food and try out the 400 gins that are on offer, this may take me some time!

Simply GINTASTIC!

AMY ELIZA

Categories
Bars Food review

BAB, WE ARE NOT IN BRUM ANYMORE- BIRDIES REVIEW

Birmingham to classy Ibiza who says you can’t have both in a day Hey?

Birmingham has opened up its very own tropical paradise in the heart of Digbeth. Birdies is an outdoor cocktail bar with a beach/island theme selling refreshing cocktails and bloody good BBQ food. 

Right next door to Ghetto Golf and just down the road from Digbeth Dining Club, you will see the Birdies neon sign flashing amongst palm trees to lure those of us desperate for a holiday. Stepping into Birdies is like stepping into your holiday without the hassle of early morning rises, broken toilet signs and crying children. The place has been made out of shipping containers (of course, that’s Digbeth for you) decorated in fantastic art that gives that quirky edge. Open roof in the centre means it’s the place to be in the summer, however, I am wondering what they are going to do when dreaded winter arrives.

It’s order at the tills, they have a main bar for ordering the drinks and then they have the kitchen bar where you can order the food. They do not display food menus on the tables so you will have to check the main menu by the food bar. From halloumi burgers to salt and pepper chicken and even ‘Buddha Bowls’- there is a variety on offer and they even cater for vegan and gluten free.

I opted for the salt and pepper chicken fries and a cheeky can of Estrella. Once ordered, I sat back and relaxed listening to the music, the music is bloody good in here and I need the playlist ASAP. Seating area is very generous here from container seats to barstools and deck chairs. Warning: the bar area is not so generous as there is only one bar, so it gets very busy on the nights as it’s lit up with fairy lights and looks like a classy full moon party-if they ever do exist. You have a great mixture of people in here, people of all ages and it’s great to see a couple of the old gals dancing with the young lads and teaching them how the older generation get down- I learnt a few things that night…

On to the important stuff, FOOD. The food is from streetvendor Apocalypse Cow who also provides the food for Ghetto Golf. It took about 20 minutes to come but I didn’t really care about the wait as I was too busy downing my drink and enjoying my holiday. When it did come my eyes lit up like a Christmas tree (too soon? Okay, okay) My salt and pepper chicken was POPPIN’ forget bloody KFC, Birdies chicken is finger lickin’ good! Layered with a Chinese sauce, very vibrant, very tasty, and the portion sizes are very generous, I actually couldn’t finish mine as it is quite filling. I made another trip back to Birdies for the cocktails, also very refreshing and tasted great and the prices are quite reasonable here. A variety of fruity cocktails on offer and beer, so you may be stuck for choice. For all you non-alcoholics or those nursing a dirty hangover, Birdies provides mocktail versions of all the cocktails so you don’t feel left out.

Birdies is the place to be, vibrant, lively and just a pretty god damn cool place to have casual drinks in the day and then a dance on the night. The only downside I would say is the bar on the nights, it gets way too busy and you could be waiting there for 20 minutes or more to be served. In the day, its perfect and the staff are very friendly and willing to help. If you’re sad that summer is over, you can always pop to Birdies as it’s summer all year round but just don’t expect a tan at the end of it.

AMY ELIZA

Categories
Food review

Breakfast at the Medicine Bakery Birmingham

Sunday Morning and Cronuts are calling.

Never heard of cronuts? Well, you will after your visit to Medicine Bakery in Birmingham however this bakery has a bit more to offer then just the yeast and Sunday morning I was there to find out.

Hidden away in the centre of Brum, you’ll find this gem squished in between Nando’s and Santander Bank literally 20 second walk from Victoria Square, look out for the fresh bread outside. When you step through the front door you are greeted with a grand staircase, but don’t let that put you off as what’s awaiting for you at the top of that staircase is bakery heaven, so in fact, it’s a stairway to heaven.

As I got to the top, I have never seen such a lovely display of bakery goods, but what caught my eye first are the cronuts. The staff are very helpful, straight away a young girl was there to assist me with my non-existent bakery knowledge, I asked what is a cronut? Instead of “its soo good you got to try it” she actually explained what it was “ A cronut is a croissant/donut pastry, looks like a donut but its made from croissant-like dough which is filled with cream, these are blueberry mascarpone flavoured” it’s nice to have staff actually explain what they are selling instead of throwing the “don’t care what you say just buy it” card at customers. Soo tempting but I was here for breakfast, so I quickly shuffled forward to the restaurant/seating area and never looked back… Until 2 hours later. 

The restaurant is pretty huge, light, spacious and straight away felt really chilled out in there. Its order at the till service, and straight away I was greeted with a smile, given a menu, and informed of how the service works. Menu was pretty impressive, lots of options – vegan friendly, and I was spoilt for choice. Still dreaming about the cronut, I opted for a light dish-Avocado & chilli on sourdough with a green tea with mint. 

Set my laptop up, my tea arrived, and I zoned out, people started to flood in, but the room is so big, it never got loud! I was surprised how quiet it was with the amount of people coming in maybe because the seating areas are all spread out in the room, you are not too close to people. I was then greeted with a big smile carrying a more then generous plate of my avocado and sourdough! Bright, colourful and bloody good looking- tucked straight into it but found myself struggling half way through as I found it to be quite filling! Very tasty and very fresh. I paid under £10 for what I ordered, and I wouldn’t have minded paying more for it as I enjoyed it so much. In fact, I have paid more for a similar dish however the quality didn’t compare to Medicine and I actually paid £15 for what looked like a baby’s nappy that had exploded on my plate.

Plate to the side, work was calling, I was checked on after I finished, and I have to say I was pretty impressed with the customer service. Quite a lot of young staff working, smiles and friendly service, that’s what I like to see! I was already eyeing up the lunch menu after my breakfast but still full, I decided to pack up and pay the bill, however I couldn’t exactly just walk out there just yet, a cronut was calling.

A young girl was assisting with packing the cronuts, I also queried about the carrot & walnut cake , only because I know my mom would kill me if I walked past a carrot cake and didn’t buy her a piece, I landed in her good books that afternoon, I have to say the cronuts are bloody divine however word of warning you have to be quick to swipe one of these bad boys, I tried the following day and failed miserably- all gone by 4pm! Not a big fan of carrot cake however I found myself gobbling it down on the night and vacuuming at midnight *sigh*.

In conclusion, The Medicine Bakery is quirky and different, Great for a grab & go and even better for wining & dining (Yes! They sell alcohol) I would definitely recommend and would like to go back and try the lunch & dinner menu. An independent Brummie gem, I would say that is definitely worth more credit and more visits. 

AMY ELIZA

Categories
photography

AMY ELIZA PHOTOGRAPHY

So, I thought I would introduce you all to my photography business Amy Eliza Photography. I set my business up about a year ago now and I want to give you all a bit of an insight into my journey so far and why I chose to be a photographer.

WHEN DID YOU FIRST START GETTING INTO PHOTOGRAPHY?

I remember around the age of 13, I came across my mom’s video camera and I although the quality was not perfect (dad kept having his thumb over the lens) I thought it was so lovely to watch back, I couldn’t remember singing “Tale as old as time” on the toilet when I was 4 years old but thankfully my mom had footage of it to remind me that I was a funny little thing back then and still am now. From then I became interested in film/photography, I asked for a Canon cyber shot camera then attended college studying Media Production in which I also studied photography, however I hardly attended ( 9am class, I had to get two buses and I just couldn’t be arsed sometimes!) I did attend the one day, we were all sent out to Birmingham City Centre to take photos of the public, I came back developed my pictures and proceeded with the rest of the day. It was thanks to my photography teacher who gave me the wakeup call that I needed and to get my arse into gear, when she saw my photos she decided to give me a bollocking for not attending but then the conversation ended with ” Your photos reminded me of Sally Mann’s work, they are bloody good, what the hell are you doing?” Say no more, I got my arse into gear and started getting out there with my camera.

WHATS THE BEST THING ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHY?

Being able to freeze time, look back at moments, and to share with others.

WHATS ARE THE HIGHS AND LOWS OF PHOTOGRAPHY YOU HAVE EXPERIENCE SO FAR?

Highs- I would say the support, Birmingham is a great community to live in as a creative you are supported from every angle in this great city.

Lows– I am a perfectionist, so it does get a bit stressful in the editing process, if I feel it’s not working, I will take myself way, cool off and watch a movie, it usually does the trick and sparks some creativity! Cost of equipment is a pain however its really all about the person behind the camera, you don’t just press the button and take the picture, you make the picture

HOW DID AMY ELIZA PHOTOGRAPHY COME ABOUT?

At the time I was pretty unhappy, and going out with my camera taking photos brought a lot of joy to me, Although I was “in a relationship” I found myself alone a lot of the time, it was only when my relationship at the time was starting to go downhill I decided to organise and set up Amy Eliza Photography. It was new, it was exciting, it was a long time coming and It was a great cover up to keep my mind of the break up. I started advertising free photoshoots for kids & family’s, even though I was offering my services for free, I had it in my mind I wasn’t going to get a lot of response but bloody hell, I was so wrong. My phone kept pinging, email after email and I felt the excitement and the confidence building inside of me. From then the reviews came flooding in, the more photos I posted the more recognition and the more bookings I was getting. It’s a shame because that was a time in my life where I finally felt I was going somewhere in life but then behind the scenes I knew I was going to lose someone I had in my life for nearly 7 years so it’s was a bittersweet time for me.

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED SO FAR?

  1. BE YOU! plain and simple really.
  2. Passion is essential in this game, the more passion I have for photography, the more I learn, the more I create, and gives me strength to make the impossible, possible.
  3. Networking, networking is essential in photography, communicating with local photographers, businesses and other creatives has really helped my business take off. The more you network, the more you are investing in your business and creating more opportunities for your business.
  4. The more you post, the more people will know your business! Never apologise for shoving it in people’s faces, the world needs to know you are serious and they need to know your name.
  5. It’s not all about the camera. You could have the best camera in the world and still produce rubbish photographs. I have a lot of people asking what equipment do I use? The most valuable equipment I have is my eyes and my creative mind.

WHAT IS THE FUTURE FOR AMY ELIZA PHOTOGRAPHY?

There is still so much to be done with my business. I am currently specialising in Portrait/lifestyle and event photography, I would like to explore a bit more! I would love to combine blogging and photography; travel photography would be an absolute dream, but I really want to focus on taking on photography full time and to influence others to follow their dreams. Too many people worry what other people think these days and shoot down their dreams because of them, haters are your confirmation that you are doing something right.

If you like to know more about my photography, then please ask away! I will be sharing more from my photography business- behind the scenes footage, tutorials and more!

AMY ELIZA