Thursday 4 August 2011

Sweatin it out..

I was craving some Korean food when we got back in from Belgium last night so we ordered delivery from Ginnan. I don't know of any other place that delivers Korean to our house- The food is good but not great.
I needed my weekly fix of kimchi..
Bibimbap
sushi platter
eel over rice
bbq pork

Back on the grind this morning! Let me tell you how hard it is to get back into working out if you haven't done it in a while. I typically like to workout when I travel but I just decided not partake this time around ;) I think I got in one workout out of the 5 days we were there, hehe.. I guess its nice to also take a break and let my body recover some. I've also noticed that my bum foot isn't hurting anymore so I'm very grateful for that!

Gym time: A lovely treadmill run for about 30 minutes before the sweat got the best of me!
after the gym I stopped by Pret to get another salad
I sliced in some beets from our fridge for a nice sour addition.. Delish!

Agenda: Zumba practice, mail my transcripts, send in my personal statement, teach Zumba, relax!

Eat, Drink, and be Bloated!

Our tour through Belgium, we consumed lots of beer, food and chocolates. It was worth every pound I gained :-D. Aside from the food, Antwerp, Bruge, and Brussels are lovely, beautiful cities.


On our first lunch in Antwerp, we were recommended towards a Bistro right in the city center. Note to self= Never eat at a crowded restaurant in the city center because it ain't gonna be that good! I mean it wasn't bad per se but we felt we could have had a better first meal in Antwerp.
The menu had a bazillion choices on it so I just chose something spur of the moment... The shrimps were drenched in olivey garlic sauce.

the chocolate waffle was amazing!
We stopped to have a beer before heading to dinner at Grill 77.
http://grillhouse77.be/
We started with some fried cheesy croquettes.

I don't quite remember what soup this was.. guess it wasn't too memorable

I had a lot of meat on this trip. This filet was delicious!

mushroom gravy for my filet

mas beer and people watching

although Mcdonalds sounded pretty good after a late night, I managed to grab a cous cous salad for lunch
hearty bread on the side..yum!
Who knew there was a pickles flavored chip! On our way to Bruge...

We watched In Bruge after sightseeing the first night and can I tell you I LOVED it! It made staying in Bruge all the more fun :)

Bruge was such a quaint and pretty town with lots of stores,restaurants, and chocolate shops
sort of broke the cardinal rule of eating right before dinner but I was really craving a pot-o-mussels!

http://www.parkrestaurant.be/
T took me to Park restaurant in Bruge for dinner.
We started w. a lovely complimentary smoked salmon dish
We each ordered the set menu and started with the scallop served gratin style on the shell. All I can remember is that it was full of lots of cheesy goodness!
shrimp bisque- it was a very thin broth but it had a lovely seafood flavor
I ordered the beef filet with potaters and roasted veggies
T had the dover sole
my dessert was really good- chilled nougat with pistachios on a bed of fruit. Yum!!
grand marnier ice souffle
Our last meal in Bruge was at Den Amand
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g188671-d741849-Reviews-Den_Amand-Bruges_West_Flanders.html
We started with some crackers and some type of pesto dip.. maybe aubergine?
Parmesan crackers
I don't know what inspired me to get an Asian dish at this restaurant but something about homemade spring rolls with veggies inside sparked my interest. The portion was HUGE and really tasty
T had the pasta with prawns
chocolate waffle for dessert! Off to the Brewery tour..
http://www.halvemaan.be/
We each had a beer before heading on the Half Moon Brewery tour.

I bought some hazelnut Belgium chocolates before heading out of Bruge and onto Brussels!
On our first night in Brussels I made sure to have the famous "Mussels from Brussels!"
T ordered his gratin style with snail butter and cheese. Snail butter?!? Yes please!
I had a whole pot to myself and boy did I enjoy it :)
Have you seen a happier face?
lord help me! I'm not gonna be able to fit in my jeans..
Our lunch was also recommended to us by our hotel concierge.

They brought out three different sauces- Bearnaise, Peppercorn, and a gravy type sauce.
This restaurant serves you a full plate of food and also walk around and offer you seconds.. more steak? more frites? more veggies? You got it! Needless to say I only had what was on my plate.
Sadly, even though the food was delicious, I felt like such crap afterwards.. Such a heavy meal for lunch!
Towards the end of our trip, I needed some green and fresh so T and I decided to stop by a sushi restaurant for a quick snack. Seaweed salad never tasted so delicious in my life!!



we washed the sushi down w. an 11 euro ice cream treat
I was pleased but my partner wasn't..apparently a 15 dollar dessert is deemed too expensive ;-)
http://www.marcolini.be/
couldn't resist stopping by Pierre Marcolini for their macaroons.

Dinner was an Italian restaurant near the city square. I forgot the name!
pesce carpaccio to start
Pasta alla vongole for ME
trio of pastas for HIM
Well.. it seemed like a good idea at the time..
http://www.deliriumcafe.be/
We stopped at the Delirium cafe to try their some 2000 Belgium beers on offer....I'm sure they don't have all 2000 in stock but seriously?! 2000 beers? Who knew!


Our last meal in Brussels was at this quaint Italian restaurant right by our hotel. Who knew there was good eats right where we stayed!
He had the quatro pastas
Trio of pastas for me!

So happy to be back in London. Call me crazy but I'm even welcoming the rain.
Time to detox!