Bia Mara

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Bia Mara is somewhere Mark and I having been coming to for a while now and somewhere I always mean to write up about, I am being completely honest when I say it serves the best fish and chips (and being british I've tasted a fair few).
You see its popularity straight away as the place is always busy and even if there is a queue I would still suggest waiting, staff are efficient (and always friendly) meaning you won't be waiting to long. Plus with a central location and minimal/modern decor (love the lights) its a great place to head to whenever your in the centre.

I can't say enough how great the food is, the fish is always fresh, chips nice and chunky and the garlic truffle mayonnaise is to die for. Our favourite is the fish in lemon and basil tempura with seaweed salted chips and garlic truffle mayo, plus mushy peas (which comes in 2 pots) on the side and we always head here when we're with Finn as he loves a good fish and pea combo.

So if you haven't tried this place yet and are in the centre of town its a must to go to, plus with prices 10-12 euros a menu how could you complain.

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Sushi Oui

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Something that I am counting down the days till I can eat again is sushi, well that and a rare steak, baked camembert and pâté on toast! I hate when you can't eat something, you crave it so much (why I never stick to diets).
I mentioned in a previous post about Makisu (a take on sushi) but if your one of those people who go for the real, authentic deal then there is a great place called Sushi Oui.
It opened last year and being situated right near my old work was a places at the time I couldn't wait to try (the nearest sushi before that was Carrefour). As soon as it opened I was there and after trying the lunch menu it became my lunch twice a week (which when you work part time is a lot!).

For lunch I would always go for the set menu: a sushi box (18pieces), salad and miso soup for 12.80 euros (might be different online). My favourite was the 'Trio' box (shown above), theres spicy ones which are delicious and I love sushi with the lettuce around it...so refreshing.
You can obviously get their sushi anytime of the day, but value for money the lunch menu is great. If you go for something different they do have a wide selection of sashimi and sushi, with even some cooked versions which I might have to try very soon (will satisfy some craving).
All in all if you're into sushi you need give this place a try...plus they deliver!

Lastly, if you're into design then you should check out their website, booklet and packaging, great, simple and clean…mmm can you tell I worked in design.

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Take away - Makisu

Brussels Life | Things to do

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Its been a while since Mark mentioned seeing a new sushi place and we thought lets give it a try. Now being a lover of classic sushi, when I first saw the menu I wasn't exactly tempted…I mean foie gras in sushi, not something I would put together! But like most things you can't knock it until you try it and after trying it Makisu has now become one of our staple takeaways! We seem to call it the healthy option, as the other choices are either pizza from Dea's (really good btw) or if alcohol and a late nights are involved the occasionally friterie (well we are in Belgium)!
Both the interior of Makisu and location (plus tram stops right by) are great! So perfect for if your eating there or taking home, plus price wise its bang on.

Our usual order is: Spicy Pablo, Dragon Roll, Makifornia, Alaska Roll and Up The River, all of which I would highly recommend! Mark always adds the WTF(G)!? (foie gras) which seems to acts like his dessert, and I love hearing him correct himself every time he orders it (lets just say he doesn't use the abbreviation).
If you haven't been yet, and are looking for something different I would definitely give it a go. Plus its perfect for people who eat sushi regularly and others that aren't so keen, as the tastes aren't too traditional.

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Goodbye Summer

Brussels Life | Things to do

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So Summer is officially over (can't believe the drop in temperature from last week), the winter jackets and closed shoes are coming out from hibernation and I am still praying I won't have to put the heating on for another day.
This Summer has been a great eye opener for us, its weird to say but I don't think I really knew Brussels before having Finny. It seems like something has been happening every weekend, unfortunately for us we would find out about it the day after, but the ones we did manage to go to were brilliant, e.g. Belgium National Day, Comic festival Parade and Belgium Beer festival (which was on the same weekend).

I guess after this Summer we've realised that having busy weekends equal a happy Finn, not only because he got to see loads of new things, but he ends up sleeping better (which lets admit is a big bonus for us).

So its now got me questioning what we can do as a family on colder and darker days? Finn will clearly be dying to get outside no matter what the weather and there is only so many walks around the park we can do.
One place we know and have visited is the Brussels Natural History museum, which shocked us at how close it was. I would say its probably better for older children (a lot of educational things) but still Finn really enjoyed it, there were so many animals and dinosaurs to see that you could spend a full day there.

Then from what day time events I can see, the rest of September is mainly about Food and Design.
This weekend 13th-15th is Eat! Brussels we went last year and it was great day of relaxing and eating. There were a wide selection of dishes (reasonable prices) that sometimes choosing just one was difficult. Not sure how it will be in the rain but we might just chance it. Then throughout September there is Brussels Design September which seems to have different exhibitions, markets, lecture, etc. So definitely something interesting to go to one of these weekend. Clearly Visit Brussels will be top of my site to visits this Autumn/Winter.

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Ethiopian date night!

Brussels Life | Things to do

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Last Friday I had the whole day to myself (the first time since being pregnant). Gaga kindly was looking after Finn so I could spend time sorting upcoming projects (stay tuned for that). This included Finn staying at my parents that night before, which meant Mark and I could squeeze in a rare 'Date Night'! (how we cherish these)
We decided to go for dinner at the Ethiopian restaurant Toukoul. If you haven't been to an Ethiopian restaurant before it involves eating a selection of spiced dishes with traditional flat bread or 'Injera'. Its all about sharing with the Injera as the utensils ( meaning prob best eaten with someone you know well).
We had the menu done for two, ('Cornise', 54 euros). The picture above doesn't include the two other dishes that go with it and really doesn't do the platter size justice, it is big! Mark and I were bursting after eating it, and trust me Mark can eat a lot!
It's definitely another place I would recommend, its a great experience and has delicious food.

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A family who lunch

Brussels Life | Things to do

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It was a sunny, not exactly warm Saturday this week and Mark and I thought why not be adventurous and head into the centre of town (something we rarely do). I had read about a little canteen called Yeti, which served good, locally grown food so it was a perfect reason to get out.
After an hour or so of window shopping in town we walked in and were greeted by friendly staff, a relaxed atmosphere and some tasty bulgar wheat chilli. It was one of those places you could spend half a day just chatting over coffee and even Finn was comfortable enough to give a rendition of his best vocals.
They also do a very popular brunch which we will definitely be going back for, it looks delicious! So if you happen to be in the centre of Brussels and don't know it, I would say its a must to visit!
To top it off, when we left Yeti we both seemed full of energy (well apart from Finn who decided to sleep) so we decided to walk all the way up to Lilicup for a cupcake treat which lets be honest, is always worth a visit.
All in all it was a pretty perfect Saturday. I do love how you can now find places like that in Brussels. Since we were last on the 'going out' scene, it seems like quite a few interesting places have popped up, which just means a lot more reasons to venture out.

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