Hot yoga studios in Cardiff

Hot Yoga is growing in popularity. It’s said to be a favourite workout of Madonna and Andy Murray, among others, and is supposed to assist stretching, remove toxins from your body and help weight loss.

I’ve been taking various yoga courses in and around Cardiff for years, and had always wanted to try hot yoga, but there was never anywhere offering classes. That has changed in the last two years or so and now it seems hot yoga studios are popping up all over the place.

Not to be confused with Bikram Yoga (Bikram classes consist of the same 26 poses and 2 breathing exercises each time) Hot Yoga is a more traditional hatha yoga practice, in a room heated to around 38 C.

My favourites are Elite Fitness in Fairwater and Yoga Fever in Adamsdown. In particular I love Ashley’s Monday night class at Elite, where the practice is a challenging vinyasa flow, with a short relaxation at the end. Sharon’s classes at Yoga Fever are great too.

Since doing regular hot yoga classes I feel stronger and more flexible. I absolutely love it.

A few words of warning though, hot yoga is unsafe for anyone who is pregnant or suffering from certain medical conditions such as those with high blood pressure. As with all new exercise – check with your doctor and the teacher first.

Wear tight fitting clothes such as leggings or capris (make sure they’re thick leggings especially for sport and not see-through when bending over!) and a vest top. Loose clothes and cotton t-shirts will trap heat and feel clammy. Sports bras are a must for the ladies too.

Enjoy!

Dinner at @Chapel1877Bar

I went to Chapel 1877 on Churchill Way last night, a place I’ve wanted to try for some time. Located in an old Chapel (no surprise) on Churchill Way, it’s been really beautifully done out inside, keeping many of the old features while modernising the interior. It’s just lovely.

You can eat in either the bar or upstairs in the first floor restaurant. We had a seat upstairs but the a la carte menu wasn’t quite what we were looking for – luckily the staff were happy for us to order from the much more hearty fare on the bar menu.

I went for the chapel burger (with gruyere cheese, chips and homemade slaw – £10) which was delicious. Friends steaks and the fish and chips were also highly recommended.

We shared desserts and these were really good, the creme brûlée with cinnamon biscuits was lovely. We also went for the chocolate plate (£9) – mainly due to the inclusion of the awfully named ‘sexual chocolate shot’ which was a shot of what seemed to be cherry liqueur, chocolate and baileys. Terrible name, but yummy. Also on the plate was a faultless brownie and a chocolate and coffee mousse. Best dish of the evening.

I paid in full for my food and drinks and the Chapel was not aware I was writing this blog

http://chapel1877.com/

Four best places for afternoon tea in Cardiff

This is an update of an old post about afternoon tea in Cardiff, which was far and away the most popular post on the blog. Which proves just how much people like afternoon tea. Here are my five favourites.

Pettigrew Tea Rooms

Pettigrew Tearooms in Bute Park opened in the spring of 2012 and has quickly become a one of Cardiff City centre’s most popular places. Set inside the West Lodge in the Castle Walls, at the entrance to Bute Park, it’s a unique setting.

The interior has been cleverly designed too, with authentic tiling on the floor and lovely mismatched vintage china.

A friend and I booked for their festive afternoon tea (£15pp) last Christmas and it was such a treat.

Owner David greeted us with a teacup of non-alcoholic mulled wine and a mini mince pie each on arrival and we were then treated to endless pots of tea (we went for the Christmas blend, a black tea very similar to Chai with warming Christmas spices) finger sandwiches, cranberry scones and a slab of cake of our choice. Luckily they are equipped with plenty of cake boxes for you to take home whatever you can’t manage!

Their regular afternoon tea is £13.95 and I’d really recommend the lavender Earl Grey tea and a slice of classic victoria sponge. This place is a must-visit in Cardiff.

www.pettigrew-tearooms.com

Waterloo Gardens Teahouse

Readers of the blog already know how much I love this funky suburban tea room.

If you’re looking for an afternoon tea with a difference, this is your place. With over 50 teas to choose from – they also serve coffee if you need a caffeine fix – you really are spoilt for choice.

Afternoon Tea at Waterloo Gardens Teahouse

As for the food, it’s the usual finger sandwiches (tuna, smoked salmon, roasted peppers and hummus for example) although they will cater to dietary requirements (including gluten-free). It’s the cakes that really excel though – the freshly mades scones with cream and jam are melt-in-the-mouth delicious and you’re also able to choose a huge wedge of one of the many cakes on offer too. The courgette & lime and white chocolate & raspberry cakes are my personal favourite.

Cost; £13.50 per person.

I also hear they’re opening a new branch soon…watch this space for more…

www.waterlootea.com

St David’s Hotel

Afternoon Tea at St David’s Hotel, Cardiff

What a treat the afternoon tea at St David’s Hotel is! My friend and I pushed the boat out on this occasion and opted for the champagne afternoon tea (£26pp). We were shown to the a window table at Tempus restaurant with a wonderful view of Cardiff Bay and Penarth Marina. The bubbles (Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut Champagne) were brought over as soon as we sat down and we were also given a choice of teas, served in gorgeous vintage china cups.

The cake tier was out of this world! Scones with jam and cream (of course), delicious mini pastries and exquisite cupcakes (on this occasion one blueberry and one carrot flavour). Their taste definitely lived up to presentation. It really was a lovely experience and I would highly recommend Afternoon Tea at St David’s Hotel, particularly for a special occasion or treat.

Traditional afternoon tea costs £18.95 per person.

www.thestdavidshotel.com

Park Plaza Cardiff

The Park Plaza offers both traditional (£15pp) and champagne (£25pp) Afternoon Tea at its Laguna restaurant. My companion and I had afternoon tea there during December and the Christmassy touches (mince pies, a big slab of Christmas cake) were a lovely addition. A special mention has to go to the teeny blackcurrant macaron placed on the top tier. Perfectly formed and full of flavour, I’ve never seen macaron included in an afternoon tea before and it was an unexpected treat.

Afternoon tea at Park Plaza Cardiff

I opted for the cinnamon tea which was deliciously warming and perfectly complimented the seasonal cakes on the menu.

www.lagunakitchenandbar.com

Have you tried afternoon tea at another Cardiff location? What did you think? And do you agree with my experiences? Let me know!

I paid in full for each afternoon tea mentioned here and none of the restaurants were made aware I would be blogging about them.

My #ShopCardiff week

Last week I took on the Shop Cardiff challenge.

It was a really fun week and looking at my Twitter stream, lots of people were getting involved. Here are some of my highlights;

Fitness
I’m not currently a member of a gym, when I exercise I use council-run leisure centres or independent yoga studios. So hot yoga at Elite Fitness in Fairwater on Monday and another class at Yoga Fever on Saturday wasn’t that unusual for me. However, I hadn’t been to the former since their studio relocated from the city centre to Splott a few months ago and I’d forgotten how good Sharon’s classes really were.

Eating out
This is where Shop Cardiff really came into its own. On Thursday I met up with a friend for dinner. This friend and I meet up quite regularly, so to keep costs down we usually hunt out a 2-for-1 deal or some other voucher, mostly in chain restaurants. But I suggested that on this occasion we meet at the Smoke House in Pontcanna, a new restaurant which I’d already heard good things about. I’m so glad we did. The food was perfect (see the pulled pork above – yum), the staff incredibly friendly and it wasn’t even that expensive – under £15 a head for a main course and a beer was much better than a chain deal, when you consider the service and quality of the food.

I also ventured back to Pontcanna on the Saturday night with my husband, for dinner at Fish at 85. Again the quality of the food and the service was a cut above what you’d expect in a chain. This meal was more pricey, but we were celebrating my new job and his birthday so it was what we’d expect to pay for a special night out.

Shopping
This is where I fell down. Being a full-time working Mum means I stuck to my once-weekly supermarket shop, which I get delivered to the house. For convenience and price it is one thing that really helps me juggle my time.

However I made the effort to head over to Wally’s Deli for Easter chocolate treats after work one evening (my boss sent us home early on the Thursday before bank holiday – whoo hoo – otherwise it would have been closed by the time I’d got out of the office and walked there.)

I also needed to buy some birthday balloons so rather than heading to a supermarket I popped into the party supplies shop in Llandaff North at the weekend. I’ve used it before and it’s great, they’ve got loads of party stuff and its easy to park.

Others
During the week I also visited Salon Nia in Radyr for eyebrow threading and we took our little boy to Gelynis Farm for the Easter Egg Hunt, which was really fun and only £3 per child. You can see a pic of the bunny doing her thing below. Although these are both things I would have done despite it being Shop Cardiff week.

Overall I was surprised at how much it wasn’t actually that much of a challenge for me, as I regularly use independents. However where I failed during the week (supermarket shopping and two Brains pub lunches) it was purely down to convenience – particularly as I don’t work in the city centre.

What struck me is that what you get with independents is personality and customer service. When chains expand they seem to employ larger amounts of low-paid staff, who don’t really buy into the ethos of the company.

Perhaps next year I’d organise my time better and stock up on fruit, veg and food for the week at one of the Riverside markets rather than using a supermarket.

I hope Shop Cardiff continues to build on its success. I’m looking forward to #ShopCardiff2014 already.

I’m taking on the #ShopCardiff challenge

I’m planning to take on the #ShopCardiff challenge next week. The challenge is to support the city’s independent retailers for a week, avoiding all chains, starting this Monday, March 25th.

You can read more about the challenge here and here.

What’s already struck me about the challenge is that it will involve some forward planning. For example I can’t think of any independent food retailers near where I work on Ocean Way in Cardiff. So I’ll have to remember to take my own lunch every day, or try and stop at an independent before work. But equally I’m looking forward to trying some new independent restaurants that I haven’t tried before.

I’ll be blogging and tweeting about the challenge throughout the week.

Mother’s Day at The Lansdowne

We wanted a relaxed lunch for Mother’s Day this year and decided to try the Lansdowne in Canton after hearing that the food was good and it was child-friendly.

I went for the pork belly Sunday roast (£8.95) while the little man had a child’s portion of the same (£3.50). My other half had the vegetarian roast dinner, a butternut squash terrine (also £8.95). Our dishes also came with a side order of cauliflower cheese – one of my favourite Sunday lunch accompaniments.

Food was great, it was indeed very child friendly (toys, child’s cutlery, lots of high chairs) and it made for a relaxing Sunday. The 50p-a-bag pick and mix behind the bar made a for a nice after-dinner treat and they make a great Bloody Mary. Perfect.

The Lansdowne did not know I was writing this blog and we paid in full for our meals and drinks.

HD Brows @SalonNia

Eyebrows are ‘in’ at the moment, or so I’m told.

Years of plucking and waxing my eyebrows was starting to take its toll. And I wanted to try eyebrow threading (said to be less painful and last longer than waxing) But I didn’t fancy doing it in the middle of a shopping centre, which was the only place I’d seen it carried out.

So when I friend mentioned Salon Nia in Radyr I decided to give it a go.

The salon offers eyebrow threading from £8. But they are also a fully accredited HD Brows salon – a technique which uses waxing, threading, tinting and plucking to give your brows a fully defined and groomed appearance. I decided to go for the full HD treatment.

I am so impressed with how it turned out. The threading was not painful at all and my eyebrows look defined and groomed, without being over the top. £30 is a little steep for the treatment, however the beautician explained that I wouldn’t need the full HD brows service everytime and would just need threading every so often until I wanted them tinted again.

I’ve already had compliments on my eyebrows! Well impressed.

www.salonnia.co.uk

Salon Nia do not know I am writing this post and I paid in full for my HD Brows treatment