Time certainly flies, and before I knew it, it is already the end of the month. The past month has been marked by an intense work schedule which kept me away from blogging and posting stuff on social media 😅, though it actually feels quite fulfilling to be back at work at the same time and getting into a routine again. 💪👌
The end of the month also marks my birthday, but both of my celebration plans with friends and a weekend abroad have both been cancelled due to rising cases in London and travel restrictions in Europe. It’s a shame, but I definitely do feel it was the right thing to do. Nothing feels quite the same at the moment as it was back in the summer. And seemingly with a possible local/national lockdown looming over us, everything seems very uncertain for the future. Right now, I am just taking a day (if not an hour) at a time and trying to live in the moment as I always told myself. Sometimes it seems that life passes us by. An article I read a few days ago reminded me that at times we spent so much time mulling over things that had happened or worrying what will happen in the future, instead we should let go and experience the moments we have – immersing ourselves in the very now.
Happiness sometimes really lies around the corner. I was greeted with an unexpected surprise today when my colleagues signed and wrote messages on a birthday card for me! ❤️ Totally made my day at work! 😊 (Plus the café owners who kindly gave me a free feta cheese roll with my lunch! 😁)
After a long day at work and despite being by myself today (plus the miserable rainy British weather ☔️), I was determined to celebrate with a birthday meal to mark my 27th year. I decided to visit a Mexican restaurant called Mestizo when a conversation with a friend last week brought up about mole sauce. I heard of mole sauce before and was aware of what it is, but I never tasted one in any Mexican places in the UK before. So I was curious as to where I could find it here in London, and this place came up in my internet search.
Tamales, cuitlacoche (or huitlacoche) and tres leches cake are all things I have come across when I was binge-watching MasterChef US at a time, but never experienced before today, so this really was an eye opener in a way! 😋❤️ I absolutely loved the tamales (texture and flavour-wise it really reminds me of the Chinese zongzi we used to have during Dragon Boat Festival!) The quesadillas with the cuitlacoche tasted good and flavourful, but I was surprised how much the cuitlacoche tasted like ordinary mushrooms. I was most looking to trying the Mole Poblano, but I don’t think I am completely sold on mole sauce. 😂 (It’s unlike anything I tasted before- it’s sort of tasted like a sweet gravy with a hint of chocolate and chilli…) Finally, to conclude my birthday meal, I really enjoyed the richness of the tres leches cake. It wasn’t too sweet and the sponge was also moist and delicious! 💛 (Though personally I can do without all the sauce around it! 😂)
After dinner, I strolled through the Mexican store next door (also owned by the restaurant) and bought some sweets to take home with me! 🍬
What else will I be up to during my birthday week? Watch this space! 😉
Tango's Baking 