Exploring Europe: Prague, Czech Republic

Back to my travel posts! The first place we visited on our Eastern Europe two week trip was Prague. Ten years ago (?!?!) my boyfriend and I had decided on Prague for our first ever holiday. But due to our student lifestyle it was half the price to spend a week all-inclusive on the Costa Brava. God bless those package holidays when you earn £30 a week in retail... So obviously we never made it. When we started planning this trip, it was top of our list and we scheduled in three nights and began the research.

We chose three nights so that we could spend one day mooching around and take things easy. The rest of the holiday was going to be so jam-packed. On the first day we hit the sight seeing a little too hard and ended up clocking up about 20km which obviously did lots for our poor feet! On first impressions, Prague was stunning. As the holiday went on and we explored more areas, it only ever got prettier. I would say it is probably one of the prettiest places I've visited ever, not just on the holiday. I adored the beautiful pastel buildings, the history seeping from the pores of the architecture and beautiful terracotta roofs.

Three nights was the perfect amount of time to spend in the city and I feel now that I've done it all. I would go back but I don't feel the NEED to go back. But for a girls holiday, it would be the perfect break away. There's so many quaint streets to get lost down, incredible food to enjoy, great beer to sip and lots of sights to take in.

Although I loved Prague, the insane amount of tourists completely threw me. It was quite overwhelming at times, especially trying to navigate through Prague Castle and across Charles Bridge. But we did go during high season so it was kinda to be expected. My top tip is to start your sightseeing early to try and beat the crowds and spend the later part of the day enjoying the endless beer.

Keep an eye out for my guides on what to do and where to eat in the city coming soon!

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Recipe: milk chocolate and pistachio fudge

Sometimes you fancy a sweet treat but you don't always want to slave over a hot oven. This is where Nigella's chocolate and pistachio fudge comes into play. It's probably not what you would call a traditional fudge but it hits the spot and is so simple to make. Wing Yip got in touch and sent me over some of their condensed coconut milk to sample so what better way to give it a whirl!

Ingredients
300g of good quality milk chocolate, chopped
30g unsalted butter
1 can of Wing Yip condensed coconut milk*
200g pistachio nuts, shelled

Method
1.  Put the chopped chocolate, butter and condensed milk in a large saucepan and milk into a smooth mixture.

2. I prefer to put my nuts in whole. But you can put the pistachio nuts in a plastic sandwich bag and smash into little pieces using a rolling pin.

3. Put the nuts in the chocolate mixture and stir well.

4. Pour into a dish of your choosing, leave to cool and then pop in a fridge to set.

5. Once it has set, cut into little pieces and tuck in! Keep in mind, it's very addictive! You might be a little bit better at making them more uniformed than me...

As always do tweet me to let me know if you make it - and send me some in the post please! Happy baking!

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Restaurant review: Yo! Sushi, St Paul's, London

Yo Sushi is one of those chains that I seem to see everywhere and always make a mental note to visit but alas I never do. So when they got in touch to see if I wanted to review their special Yo! Festival, I jumped at the chance. And now wish I'd tried it sooner! I have definitely been missing out...

Yo! Festival is running until 23rd September and is offering an extra 46 blue dishes at a special price of £2.80, Monday to Friday. What a bargain eh? There's such an incredible range of things to try and it's not only sushi either. Both hot and cold dishes are included in the deal.

So what did we manage to put away? A LOT!

To kick things off we ordered a couple of hot dishes including a delicious soft duck gyoza with an incredible plum sauce - I took to unconventionally dipping my sushi in - and the crisp katsu chicken curry drizzled with a sweet tonkatsu sauce. So far so good! Then we went wild and got a bit greedy picking off the dishes from the conveyor belt. The novelty didn't wear off all evening.

Personal favourites included the fried battered octopus balls with a generous sprinkling of flavoursome fish flakes, enormously addictive salmon chahan filled with crunchy vegetables and chilli powder,  a very filling avocado and salmon hand roll with a sprinkling of sesame seeds and the hoisin duck roll with that plum sauce sent from the heavens above.

The staff were incrediably attentive and we never once felt rushed. The location of St Pauls was amazing - nothing quite like dining next to that impressive cathedral. Finally, the food tasted so fresh given the fact it goes around the belt a fair few times. My boyfriend and I both agreed that we will most definitely book in another trip soon!

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