Bollywood Fever Hits Belfast's MAC

Take the hottest arts venue in Northern Ireland, the finest Indian street food, an amazing spectacle of Bollywood dancers, accompanied the sounds of a top Belfast DJ, all washed down with bespoke Havana cocktails and Cobra Beers and what do you get?

The most dazzling event to hit Belfast this summer….Boobie Bollywood in aid of Marie Curie, NICFC and Arts Ekta.

Organised by the infamous Boobie Nights committee, and held in the urban and modern surroundings of the MAC, the event will welcome over 300 revellers donned in their finest Indian garb who will party Bollywood-style over three floors as well as outside the building in the stunning Saint Anne’s Square.

Holly Payne, Boobie Nights committee member is pictured with Sharon Wright, from Canteen at the MAC who will serve an array of delicious dishes and drinks throughout the evening. For tickets visit .themaclive.com or call 028 9023 5053.

Proper Pizza All Round at Little Wing's New Holywood Restaurant

We Smyths are huge Little Wing fans, so when their newest location opened in Holywood a few weeks back, it was as good an excuse as any to 'wing it'.

Little Wing has restaurants in Bangor, Ballyhackamore, Ann Street in the city and on the Lisburn Road. Bangor is our usual, but Holywood previously being a bank building makes for a large, bright dining experience, and I think we will be locals there instead. The food was fabulous too, no teething problems with being a new restaurant to speak of, everything was beyond delicious.

Starters include olives, garlic bread or dough sticks. As in similar family friendly Pizza places, there's a three course children's menu. They choose between dough sticks or soup for first course, with pizzas or pastas as their main meal. The dessert cone and mini-hot chocolate is all included in the set price.

The pizzas at Little Wing are PROPER Italian pizzas. Thin, crispy, with traditional toppings. I always get frustrated when getting Do******s Pizza due to the complete lack of anchovies or olives on the menu in the Bangor branch. In Little Wing you can have both, you can even have calamari (squid).

Shape and size wise the choices are  

1) a regular size pizza  

2) Ireland's BIGGEST pizza, 24", by the slice with side salad, or tackle the beast yourself

3) Skinny Pizza. I'm not sure it means it's a healthy option rather than the regular (although thin crispy dough is definitely healthier than big, thick bases other chain stores sell). These cost £2 more as they include more toppings, and are served on a rustic, wooden board. My husband went for the spiciest on the menu, and I got the anchovie pizza with black olives as an extra. Perfect.

4) a Calzone pizza, a folded, tasty wonder.

The skinny pizza truly defeated me, but boxes are on stand-by to bring your left overs home.

Now I may have been full, but my dessert stomach had room, and as our son got an ice cream with his anyway, we both perused the desserts and coffee menu.

I got the Nutella Pizza and my husband got, as he said, 'the best chocolate cake I've tasted'.

We were very happy with all concerned. Setting  friendliness, value for money, all spot on. They are even in the process of setting up a children's play area in the back, and kids get a spot-the-item colouring page on the back of their menu to keep them busy whilst the pizza is cooking.

You can also order pizza to take away. The Holywood restaurant also has a mini Patisserie Mimi, selling macaroons & treats. So you can pop in for a nosy even if you aren't sitting to eat.

Tweet me @rudedoodle if you get a chance to pop along over the long weekend ahead, your family will love Little Wing. 

Super Duper Summertime at Heatons- WIN £75 to Spend In Store!

Heatons are all geared up for a super summer. All the ingredients of a happy afternoon in the garden, including tableware and BBQs.

The new fashion lines are bright, crisp and smart and I'm in love with the glitter kitty shoes, if only they did them up to adult size 4 I'd be having a pair! 

The new children's collection is very smart, and reminds me of Baby Gap ranges. The boy's selection is Americana themed.

How sweet is this cabin luggage? Boys' suitcases available too. Priced at €10

Lots of very reasonably priced swimwear in store too, and paddling pools. I'd recommend picking the latter up early, as we've all been caught out by the shops selling out of pools once the heat wave arrives.

There is a great selection of summer bright tableware and accessories too. I love the photorealistic kiwi fruit.

It's not only the kids who get stylish clothing, this classic dress caught my eye at €25

For summery back garden BBQs how about one of these tops, teamed with Capri denims and flip flops?

Now the part you've been waiting for. Heatons have given me a £75 gift card to give away to one lucky reader, but please read these details first- 

The £75 gift card is not exchangeable for cash, or anything else. The gift card ONLY WORKS IN STORE, IN NORTHERN IRELAND. It doesn't work for the Heatons' online store, or in the south. Good luck! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Spur Nachos, Wings, Ribs, Steak & Miley Cyrus Riding a Giant Hot Dog.

Last night Ms. Miley Cyrus played Belfast, Northern Ireland, and we had been lucky enough to win a pair of tickets for the spectacle. First though, keeping in with Miley's country roots, we headed to Victoria Square to have a big feed at the Spur Steak & Grill.

Local readers, a great tip for attending Odyssey concerts is to park closer to the city centre, and grab something to eat first. This way you avoid queuing for the couple of restaurants there are left in the Odyssey Pavillion, and even better once the gig is over you just walk across the Lagan foot bridge & avoid the bumper to bumper traffic trying to escape the carpark. 

We got to Spur at 6pm & already it was pleasantly buzzing. They have an extensive menu and it's definitely a kid-friendly eatery, with a soft play area for them to enjoy while you have a coffee or cocktail after your meal. If you visit Spur on a Friday, children eat free.

Our waiter, Havier was very attentive and friendly. Our starter was a a delicious plate of nachos & Jack Daniels buffalo wings. 

The menu includes combo meals, like ribs and chicken, surf and turf, ribs and steak, which is handy as it's all so tempting you might not be able to decide on just one meat.

My husband went for the rack of ribs, with two sides included, cone and chips. The ribs were drop-off-the-bone tender. 

I had rump steak with blue cheese sauce. I always ask for rare steak and look how perfectly it came out.

I'm still losing weight, so for my two included sides I chose side salad and the corn.

Overall opinion? If you love your meat, you'll love Spur. We are going to call back with our son next time so he can enjoy the atmosphere too. 

Time to dander over to The Odyssey for Miley! We had great seats, especially for the acoustic set she does mid-way through. I shall let the (far away, pretty blurry) photos speak for themselves. I tried not to have my phone camera out too much, as there's always the risk you end up watching a show through a tiny screen instead of soaking up what's going on; and a lot was going on.

Glorious Mid-Century Art Work by Bangor's Neal McCullough

Hello readers, I've not been able to blog too much recently, so I've invited my favourite local artist who I've featured regularly before on The World of Kitsch, Neal McCullough, to guest post about his current exhibition. Thank you, Neal!

Hey Hey, World of Kitsch Regulars. I’m Neal McCullough from Bangor’s Hand Drawn Creative Illustration. Claire has graciously allowed me to write about my latest illustrated Exhibition currently on in Belfast’s Atelier Design Interiors showroom.

You’ll know my illustration work already, because I designed the The World of Kitsch logo right above this post. Like a lot of World of Kitsch fans, I’m obsessed with vintage illustration and mid-century furniture, so I’ve put together a collection of ten new illustrations showcasing my mid-century obsession called “Asseyez-Vous”

The Asseyez-Vous illustrations were created following meetings with Victor & James at Atelier Design’s hyper-chic showroom in Belfast’s Refound Building, and a lot of the finished illustrations feature little hidden gems from their range of kitsch, retro furniture and textiles.

“Asseyez-Vous” was due to wrap up on 3 May, but has now been been extended for another month, so if you’re in Belfast in May, call in. The showroom is open Wednesday-Saturday. I really hope you like the pretty pictures. Prints range from £10 to £80. If you aren’t in Northern Ireland you can also order prints through my Etsy store too. 

Thanks for having me! 

Cheers, Neal

www.handdrawncreative.co.uk

Catch the Second Half of the Great Ulster a pub Week

The greatest celebration of Northern Ireland’s pub culture is taking place in a pub near you this week.  The Great kicked off on Thursday 1stMay 2014 and runs until Friday 9th May 2014.

The Great Ulster Pub Week is the biggest pub centric multi-venue event seen in Northern Ireland and will showcase all that’s ‘Great’ about the Ulster pub.  Over 160 pubs from right across Northern Ireland taking part in the exciting pub celebration, with hundreds of unique events showcasing great food, great entertainment and great craic taking place.

From live music, magic, theatre productions, poetry readings and pub quizzes to arts & crafts workshops, film screenings, special menus and charity challenges, The Great Ulster Pub Week offers a diverse array of events that’s sure to surprise and delight pubgoers across Northern Ireland.

For further information and for full event listings, visit www.greatulsterpubweek.com or find The Great Ulster Pub Week on Facebook, Twitter, You Tube and Instagram using the hashtag, #UlsterPubWeek

The Big Beef Taste Test at St. George's Bar & Grill, Belfast

On Saturday evening we were invited to a Beef Masterclass at St. George's Bar & Grill. The beef in question was a selection of high quality cuts straight from Hilltown Farm. One of the farmers called in to tell us all about the free range style their cattle are raised, including the eight pints of stout each beast delights in each day! The beef is aged on location, meaning your steak has a tiny mileage from farm to plate.

Head chef James then gave us a short Masterclass on the cuts and techniques we can use at home. From beef heart, to cuts of rump, we all learned a little something new. 

Beef heart, tastes a little like liver or kidney

Slow roasted beef with rice

The kitchen was hot, so we took our drinks out on the terrace which overlooks the famous St. George's Market area. The Bar & Grill serves brunch on market mornings, and I really want to call back for that, over looking the pretty cupcake stalls and craft vendors. Most of the produce St. George's Bar & Grill comes from the market downstairs, from local vendors, making it super fresh.

Our tasting platter consisted of a tender rump steak, a deconstructed lasagne and a posh version of cottage pie. We had been out all day Saturday, so we had our son with us, but they really looked after him. While we were having the Masterclass they allowed him to draw on their menu chalkboard, and knowing the food was a little bit too picky for a six year old, they offered him chips to feast on. He really felt special. 

Michael enjoying an ale made on Hilltown Farm

So tender

The restaurant has pre-theatre or concert menus, so we have already planned to come back the evening before we see Miley Cyrus next month. Showing a theatre ticket, or even an ice hockey ticket will get you a free glass of wine with your meal.

Thank you for having us, St. George's, I have you down as one of Belfast's best kept secret foodie stops now. 

Cadbury Easter Egg Trails All Over the UK this Weekend. We Took Up the Quest at Mount Stewart.

We are just back from a lovely day out at Mount Stewart, one of the National Trust's Northern Irish properties. This long weekend, all over the UK, Cadbury are holding Easter egg trails, and you can find your nearest trail here.

We had a lot of fun. The trail costs £1 on top of National Trust admission. Your child receives a special Cadbury Passport, a Safari hat, and on completion of the trail each child gets an egg. 

Mini Hunter S Thompson

This is a 'stop taking photos and get on with the trail' face.

Michael with his egg

We brought a picnic, but there is also a small restaurant/cafe at the property.

On the way home to Bangor we cut across the peninsula and stopped in Donaghadee for a paddle and to share a parcel of chips. Perfect day.