Last night me and Sam were fortunate enough to be invited to Rofuto's first look cocktail party at their new Izakaya style restaurant on the 16th floor of the Park Regis Hotel at the end of Broad St/Five Ways.
Claiming to be the highest restaurant in Birmingham - defeating Marco's steak house and with huge floor to ceiling windows it gives a great view across all of Birmingham.
Rofuto aims to serve high quality dishes using some traditional Japanese techniques but serving them in a creative modern style.
Upon arrival we were greeted by the friendly staff and were shown to the bar where we had a choice of three signature cocktails - a Lychee Martini with vodka, Melon Fizz with Midori, vodka and topped with lemonade (my personal favourite) and finally - Ronin Out of Time which included Nikka whisky and plum sake (Sam's favourite). I was extremely grateful that I had the chance to try all three. I also had a look at the wine list and was really impressed that they had an extensive choice of Riesling.
I also loved that the kitchen is open plan so you can watch your food being cooked over the coal grill. We were served a variety of canapés all evening, the standouts for me were the crispy chicken with kimchi sauce and lime, yakitori chicken and the halibut champagne yuzu miso. They also served some knockout desserts - matcha tiramisu and cardamom panna cotta.
Me and Sam have booked in for lunch at the restaurant soft launch this Saturday and after seeing the full menu I am very excited to try it! I will keep you updated!
Check out their website and twitter - @RofutoTweets for full details about the official opening of the restaurant on the 26th of April.
It's nearing to that time of the year where my legs start making an appearance as the summer season approaches. Despite the fact that I love summer AND summer clothing, I absolutely despise shaving my legs.
Recently, I was invited to a blogger event at Café Opus in Birmingham for a cocktail masterclass with a company called Friction Free Shaving (FFS) to celebrate their recent success. I was intrigued to find out more about the UK's first ever women's monthly razor subscription service and how the concept worked and of course I was excited to be sipping on some bubbly alcoholic beverages with some fellow bloggers!
During the cocktail masterclass we were fortunate enough to be able to re-create 3 of Café Opus' best selling cocktails which were each named after the 3 different razors that FFS offer as part of their monthly subscription service.
The first cocktail was named after their most expensive razor - Samantha which still only costs £7 a month, the handle is rose gold (I hear you reaching for your purses already!) and it has 5 blades per head. The first subscription box you will receive comes with the handle and 4 blades, the reason behind this is that you should ideally be changing your blade every week in order to achieve the best results and avoid irritation. This is a complete game changer for me as I am guilty of forgetting to change my razor regularly, resulting in me putting pressure on my skin by shaving with a blunt razor and the end result? Horrible shaving spots and ingrown hairs on my legs - not ideal! FFS make remembering to buy razors in a weekly food shop at Tesco a thing of the past as each month after you receive your first subscription box you will receive 4 new refill blades that are suitable for the razor that you have opted for.
The Samantha cocktail included Chase gin, Limoncello, topped with lemonade and fresh lemon juice. This was my favourite of all 3 cocktails as it was refreshing and light - it would be the perfect summer drink for a BBQ whilst showing off your new smooth legs in a cute dress!
The second cocktail was named after the cheapest of the 3 razor's - Faye. Faye costs only £3 per month and you will receive a silver handle and 2 blades per head. Again, you will receive 4 new blades each month. All of the razors from FFS are high quality - you wont notice any difference from those you would usually purchase on the high street. This cocktail included brandy, honey, vanilla syrup, topped with milk and sprinkles of honeycomb. I was unsure about the flavours of this cocktail, especially because of the milk - it was good but perhaps a little too sweet for my taste!
The final cocktail we created was named after the Frankie razor blade which costs £5 a month for a 3 blade razor and refills. No matter what blade you end up going for I think its great that FFS also allow you to change your blade preference at any time. This cocktail was the hardest to re-create as it was layered with rose syrup, Chase blackcurrant gin and topped with my all time favourite tipple of choice - prosecco. So good- but unfortunately I did not win the competition for the best looking Frankie cocktail!
We were also very kindly gifted a goody bag at the event which included our very own personalised Samantha rose gold razor, FFS t-shirt, Joe & Seph's gourmet popcorn with white chocolate and vanilla bean and a whisk.
Thank you to FFS for an inviting me to such a fun event and Café Opus for hosting!
To find out more about FFS visit their website here.
