Juboraj Mill Lane - tasty!

Following a feature in the weekly email I receive from Martin Lewis' MoneySavingExpert.com, I applied for a Taste Card as they had a "3 months free" offer on (they still have a 1 month free trial on if you follow the link).  Taste Cards offer discounts at a number of restaurants in Cardiff.  Not as many as in London where it seemed that on any street you could find a restaurant that was part of the scheme (with the help of the handy Taste Card iphone app).  The discounts range from 2-4-1 or a percentage discount off food.  Some restaurants allow the card to be used on Fridays and Saturdays but, in Cardiff, it seems that quite a few don't.

We decided to pop out on Sunday for a curry at the Juboraj on Mill Lane.  I love the food there but it is expensive compared to other really good curry houses - another favourite of mine is The Panama, great food and much better value for money.  To use a Taste Card offer you have to book in advance and mention that you want to use the Taste Card discount, which in the case of the Juboraj on Mill Lane was 50% off food.

The restaurant happily accepted our booking and we turned up at 7pm to a busy, but not packed, restaurant.  I noticed no difference in the service or the quantity or quality of food - all of which were excellent but when the bill came there was a hefty amount deducted!

I'd always recommend the Juboraj but because of the prices it's not somewhere that most would go for their Saturday night takeaway but with the Taste Card it makes for a relatively inexpensive meal out!

3D movies

Ok, so I'm a little behind the times but on Saturday night I went to see the latest (and final) Harry Potter installment in 3D at Cineworld.  After donning the mandatory Buddy Holly glasses - well at least they're an improvement on the cardboard red and blue ones that Kelloggs gave out in the 90s with their 3D cereal boxes - and sitting expectantly for the first 3D trailer to appear, it did and it blew me away!

You truly feel that you can reach out and touch the characters.  The special effects pop out at you.  3D creates a fantasy land which made the Harry Potter film even more magical.

Blondes have more fun...

One of the highlights (no pun intended) of moving back to Cardiff for me is being able to see a good hairdresser and colourist without spending a fortune! 

I have never really felt comfortable in a hairdressing salon.  I don't find it relaxing or therapeutic.  My eye sight is not great and I have to remove my glasses when I have my hair cut.  So I sit there nervously imagining the horror that awaits me when I put my glasses back on! 

My last disaster was big bouffant 80s hair which was crispy to the touch - a very unfortunate consequence of going to a hairdresser in Greenwich who charged me 50 quid for the privilege.  In ordinary circumstances I would have said something and asked for another cut but I was fearful of ever decreasing amounts of hair and ever increasing volume so I decided the better course of action was to cough up and go to Canary Wharf.  Getting a good hair cut in Canary Wharf is easy although expensive; colour though is wholly different ball-game.  There is this awkward stand off between the incredibly hip multi-hued colourist asking me what I want and me standing there in my city uniform of silk blouse and black skirt suit wanting deep down to ask for something nice and unnoticeable, that makes me look younger and less tired but not looking like I'm lacking pigment or possibly have a tiger as a dim and distant ancestor. 

And so last Friday I was back in a chair at the only hair salon where I have felt truly welcome.  The only place where I always get an absolutely perfect set of highlghts.  The place I trusted with my hair on my wedding day.  Jelajo and more particularly Kelly - the best colourist in the world as far as I'm concerned!

My first Cardiff event - a Capital time was had

I was grateful to be invited by Capital Law* to celebrate the opening of their new Shoreditch-esque offices on Tyndall Street on Thursday 30 June 2011.  I heard rumours of some guests asking whether the interior decoration had been finished (!) but the exposed brickwork and loft-conversion style decor are the perfect fit for a modern and innovative firm.  An eclectic mix of guests meant no conversation was the same and it was great to be experiencing Welsh hospitality again!

I couldn't help but be struck by the differences between networking in London and Cardiff.  In London people attend events in groups, after a few drinks perhaps daring to approach someone unknown only for them to either look at you like you're a complete weirdo, or spend the next 20 minutes telling you how fabulous they are. 

What a difference a city makes!  Cardiffians (or those who have adopted Cardiff as their home) are welcoming, interesting and interested (!). 

*At private events Chatham house rules apply so no conversations are attributed to guests