Spur Steak Ranch: Day Out with My Lovelies!

 So I recently had the best catch up sesh with two of my closest friends from Manchester, Deola and Eeda, it's so hard to believe that we all moved to Lagos at roughly the same time and yet we've been unable to meet up even for a short while, talk less of having a whole day out! So we literally made an appointment for a Sunday afternoon declared that there were to be no cancellations for any reason lesser than death! Lol. Dramatic right? Well it turned out to be just what we needed because finally, we were together and we we happily bonding.

We chose this restaurant called Spur on Isaac John Street, Ikeja. It was suggested by Deola because she had been there before and wouldn't stop going on about how good the food was! She even compared it to TGI's so you guys know I HAD to check it out! I was prepped and ready to go, my stomach was suitably empty for the adventure ahead and so imagine my shock when I found out I couldn't skip family Sunday brunch. I wolfed down a "small" brunch, which by the way, doesn't exist, and was on my way.

Well, obviously everything couldn't go perfectly and so Madam Eeda was late but that left Deola and I with plenty of gossip time and time to try out their milkshakes and buffalo chicken wings as starters. Can you guys stop judging me please... Yes I went out for lunch like an hour after eating brunch, bite me! It was a Sunday! The chocolate milkshake I had was really good! It was actually a milkshake made with milk and not with ice cream. I'm having a tough time deciding which version I prefer but I think the milk based milkshake was good on this occasion seeing as I was already stuffed. Their chicken wings were yum as well, they reminded me of the really skinny ones you get at Busaba's in England.

Can you tell I was off my blogging game? The only picture I have of the milkshake is one after I've inhaled half the glass and this one clearly shows a few wings missing in action!

One thing I always always notice about restaurants in Lagos is their customer service and I must say I was pretty impressed by the service of the waiter that served us. That's not to say that he was outstanding, but he had a good basic knowledge of the menu, checked on us frequently enough and even tried suggesting something from the menu for us to try. Definitely worked for his tip on that occasion. Anyways, on to the main attractions!

Deola and Eeda both had the Surf and Turk which was 200g of steak and a few queen prawns. I must admit, the beef from the steak was soooo nice and tender, very nicely seasoned as well so kudos to the chef! He clearly knows a thing or two about meat. Oh and yes, I tasted their food too, seriously... Stop judging me... Please? I didn't try the prawns though, simply because I don't like seeing prawns as whole creatures with eyes and legs, it freaks me out a little. Oh and also I didn't want to shorten anyone's ration any further. Haha.

Just look at those sad sad eyes staring at you...

And I was trying not to be a fattie so I opted for a grilled bacon and egg toastie. The toastie was as good as toasties get to be honest. Nothing to write home about here! Unfortunately for me though, they had no brown bread. That's actually a pet peeve of mine these days, I've been to at least 4 restaurants in Lagos in the last few months, claiming to have brown bread as an option on their menu but in reality, it's just there for show!

 There was a lot of gossip, a lot of catching up and a lot of mmmm-ing and aahhhh-ing at the food for all of us and I know we left feeling very satusfied, both in our bellies and in hearts. Because truly, what better thing is there to do after church on a Sunday than catch up with some of your best girlfriends? I love these two to bits and can't wait till we book out next 'appointment'. Oh and of course, no girls day out is complete without some silly 'us-fies'!

  

I really liked Spur and so I'm going to give it 7/10, here's my breakdown.

Food- 6/10

Ambience- 8/10 

Service- 7/10

Price- 6/10

Have any of you been to Spur before? What did you think of the food and the service? If you have been or intend to go soon then let me know in the comments section!

A Surprise at Metisse

You see, this is what happens when you stay away indefinitely from your blog... You get rusty and then when trying to make a come back you figure you've forgotten the names of all the yummy delicious things you ate AND took pictures of just for the sake of the blog! I really was in quite a pickle here as to whether to share or not but then looking at the pictures made my tummy rumble and I practically started salivating. Truth be told, I haven't really eaten much today and it's well after "responsible eating" hours so maybe that has something to do with it.

But anyhow, sometime in the month of June it was my friend Robie's birthday and her boyfriend turned fiance Chris threw her a small surprise dinner, which I thought was one of the sweetest things ever. The date and time were set and the restaurant was Metisse. Now if you're anything like I was back then "Metisse" means nothing to you. Chris described it as "the restaurant on Etim Inyang Crescent in V.I, above Chocolat Royale" and I immediately responded "That's Cafe Royale" like the ITK that I am. Lol. Turns out Cafe Royale isn't the only thing above Chocolat Royale and there IS actually a teeny tiny Pan-Asian restaurant towards the back and it IS called Metisse! Look at that, mind. blown. Haha.

Side note: I'm a little pissed because I've written this post twice now but the silly thing keeps not saving, been having problems with my internet. Hopefully this is the last time I'm going to have to type this!

So as I was saying, the bad thing with staying away is that you forget what all the yummy food was called but I do remember a lot about the service though, maybe because it was quite good! Certainly what I would expect from such a place, the waiters were present and alert, we never had to look around for them talk less of stand up to go and meet them as I've had to do in some places! There was a piano in the corner churning out sweet melodies, you know the kind with the ghost pianist so the keys look like they're being played. And the manager went over and above his call of duty when Robie insisted that she wanted to have candles to blow out on her cake. All in all it was a really lovely evening out and so now on to some pictures of the yummy food whose names I've forgotten. Which reminds me, I'm reading this book called "We Need New Names" by NoViolet Bulawayo, it's quite interesting so far, review once I'm done.

Some yummy looking spring rolls (?) with a thai sweet chilli sauce

Chicken Satay!

Special Fried Rice

Yummy butterfly prawns, can you tell that one is missing from the plate? Someone was too eager before I got the chance to take the picture!

I think this was some Malay beef but I'm not 100% sure!

One of Robbie's birthday cakes.

I know she was definitely surprised to see us at Metisse that evening and we all had an amazing time and drank too much champagne on a work night! But life is for the living and any and everything goes when a worthy celebration is involved!

I love that I love blogging again! Already thinking of my next few posts! Haha!

Bisous,

Reni xx

Blog Tag: About Me!

So... I'm kinda shy even posting this because again it's been soooo long! I don't know how my days just keep flying by... I've really been thinking of blogging again and I was determined to put something up this weekend because I realised that I actually miss being able to track my growth and my progress in different parts of my life. This blog is like my little diary of every and anything, from hair to fitness to food to my writing.... It really is just a space full of just me and you lovely people who actually tune in to read what I have to say once in a while. I appreciate you guys!

For as long as I've been blogging I've actually never done a blog tag! Haha. But Tuke of Tuke's Quest tagged me today and that made me feel special that people actually still remember and think of LTV once in a while. I get people telling me how much they liked my blog and my writing and asking me to come back but I just felt like I had lost my flair for "freelance" blogging. I still wrote a lot of pieces for The Naked Convos especially this past month but those posts usually have a topic and aren't random outpourings of my heart. Okay, let me stop yapping on now. This tag is about me so for those of you who are new to the blog, welcome to a crash course and for those of you that aren't well I'm sure there are a few things you didn't know about me that you're about to find out!

Are you named after someone? :

I'm not, but there are sooo many people out there with my full name (Morenike NOT Morenikeji) that it actually kind of annoys me. Lol. I guess the short answer is no. But regardless, I love my name, I love the meaning (I have found someone to take care of) and I hate the stupid jokes that some guys try to make out of it! Haha

When was the last time you cried? :

I'm actually a huge crier, like my tear ducts are soo overactive! But I always try and control the tears, in other words I'm always moved to tears but struggle to not actually shed them!. The last time I cried was probably last month, for reasons that are still a little too painful to state on here.

Do you have any children? :

Haha. Not yet! But I would like to have at least three one day!

If you were another person would you be a friend of yourself? :

Oh... Do I really need to answer this? I mean... OBVS! I like, love me! Haha

Do you have any guilty pleasures? :

Gosh, toooo many to count! I love watching trashy American TV shows, they literally give me life! And I have an insane sweet tooth which I fight everyday because I'm trying to eat less sugar (#fitfam)! I adore my teddies that I sleep with every night even though I'm a fully grown adult now and I LOVE bags and stacking up books to read for summer. 

Do you like handwriting? :

Mehh... It's aii..

What’s your favourite cereal? :

Granola!! Followed closely by Crunchy Nut, but these days I'm trying to substitue the Crunchy Nut for some Fruit 'n' Fibre which I discovered is actually not half bad

What’s the first thing you notice about people? :

Would it be weird if I said "their vibe"? I really a whole lot on my gut and it's rarely ever been wrong about a person I've just met. I get a feeling off the person first then maybe their eyes.

What’s the colour of your eyes? :

Dark Brown

Scary movies or happy endings? :

Happy Endings! I love getting lost in overly cheesy and romantic movie

Favourite TV show? :

Grey's Anatomy! It's been my most consistent show over the years... Although I also love Scandal, The Originals, Vampire Diaries and House of Cards. Starting Game of Thrones soon, I wonder if I'd fall in love with it like the rest of the world

Winter or summer? :

Summer!!!

Hugs or kisses? :

Can I be greedy and choose both? I like kisses a lot but can you imagine getting a kiss without a hug? Lol

Special talent?

Being a pretty good listener

Where were you born? :

St Mary's Hospital, Paddington London! Same as the Royals... I wouldn't expect you guys to expect anything less of me! HA! *sticks tongue out*

Hobbies?

Creative writing, blogging, reading, eating (yes, eating is a hobby. Don't judge me) and working out

Do you have any pets? :

I don't! I really want this dog Coco that my Aunty got recently she's such a sweetie and is soo small and portable! It's weird because I'm definitely not an animal lover but this Yorkshire Terrier is just SO cute!! She's only 3 months old as well but she runs soo fast and is the cutest thing to play with. Sadly, we aren't allowed pets in the compound I live. *sigh

Favourite movie(s) ?

Definitely Despicable Me, The Best Man and Love & Basketball! I could watch those over and over again for the rest of my life

What colour is your car?

I drive one of two cars available at home. Gisele is black and she's my main car except for when my brother is home, like now. And Jasmine is silver. Yes... My cars have names... Gosh guys! I thought you'd be used to my general weirdness by now

What do you want to do when you grow up?

Hmmmm... Aren't I grown up yet? What am I now? This is an interesting question... I mean... I'd like to be a game changer in the oil and gas industry and not just for the money and I'd LOVE to be a mother and a wife and I also really want to be a published writer and I'd like to maybe run a small business on something quaint whilst making sure I never stop working out because being fit and healthy is such an amazing feeling. But to be honest, I REALLY want to fulfil God's plan for my life and I hope I'm somewhat on the right track! 

Whoosh! Well that was fun! Thansk to Tuke for tagging me and right now I'd like to pass this tag on to:

Afam of The Ramblings of a Mad Man
Mo of Within My Locket
Feyi of Feyi Adesanya
Eeda of Eeda's Atelier
Rosie of Cider with Rosie
Camille of Paris 5th Ave
Deola of Beautifully Colored
Hope you guys enjoyed reading this... It feels good to be back again!