The Wild Fig

Went to The Wild Fig on the 5 ways last night with Jo and Rich for Rich's birthday meal. It was my birthday treat to him as I didn't know what to get him for this birthday as he has everything already and has super expensive taste that I can't afford. They went last weekend and all they've done since going is rave about how good it was so I needed to try it for myself and Rich wanted to go back.

We were booked in for 5:30pm and were the first people to turn up. They do 2 course of £15 before 7pm.

Rich got Caprice of fresh cod loin - in tempura batter - new crop potato salad in harissa spiced alioli 

Me and Jo got Salt and pepper crispy pork belly - sticky orange dressing - peters pickled peppers

The pork belly was really bland and had no taste

Me and Rich got Butter roasted free range chicken breast - roast pepper and chorizo paella - raisins and shallots - bravas sauce

It was really nice but the chicken breast was tiny and I could have had a bowl of just paella on it's own! The portion definitely could have been bigger.

Jo got 28 day aged rib eye steak - hand cut chips - grilled asparagus - devilled butter on the side

For dessert Rich got Warm sticky fig pudding lashings of sticky toffee sauce - warm vanilla custard

I just got a mix of Jo and Rich got. Jo's steak was an extra £6.50 and did come with chips which I didn't get a photo of and Rich got a side of baby potatoes. They both got a bowl of olives each - Rich actually got 2 bowls he loved them that much.

I got Rich a cake for his birthday but the restaurant is tiny so couldn't pass them the cake to bring out when we first in. I was trying to message Jo across the table to tell her to do it, he just didn't leave the table to go the toilet or anything so didn't know what to do! When the bill came we didn't know what the extra £6.50 charge was which was the perfect time for Jo to sneak off and Rich didn't even notice. Then we paid by card and the man had to pretend the he needed to change the till roll for me otherwise Rich would have ran off after paying the bill so they could bring the cake out but they didn't sing. Was a bit rubbish but he didn't expect it.

Happy Birthday Rich! Hope you have the best time in Turkey!

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Duke Street Market

Went to Duke Street Food and Drink Market with Jo and Rich earlier for some food. It only opened up yesterday and was super busy with it being newly opened and Father's Day.

You go in and find a table so you get a table number then go to the bar to order your drinks and go to the food stalls and order your food which gets brought to your table. It was super busy so was hard finding a table but we eventually got one upstairs. There's a separate restaurant upstairs - Pilgrim that just did their own thing.

There's 6 stalls to choose from ranging from steak, to noodles, roasts, pizza and pasta. Cinder - open fire cooking. Bone and Block - Mainly steak - red meat. Finca - Cuban food. Ginger - Japanese food - Noodles, Katsu Curry. Indigo Green - Veggie and Vegan. Vincenzos - Italian.

Rich got a Steak Ciabatta from Bone and Block.

Jo got a sweet potato - not sure where from but she thought it was going to be sweet potato fries/wedges not an actual sweet potato but it was nice.

Jo also got Chicken Katsu Curry from Ginger.

Rich got Ravioli from Vincenzo which was really nice and cheesy

I got Salmon Udon Noodles from Ginger but my food took ages to come. We thought they forget about it cos Jo and Rich had finished their food before mine even came! It was nice but I think the mushrooms were raw?

It was nice in there but the food was pretty expensive and not really enough tables for the amount of people. The food options are better than the Baltic Market which I really don't rate. This is the new thing street food, food markets that are dog friendly. Having different pop up places in an open space. Not sure if the restaurants change like in the Baltic though think these stay.

On the way home we stopped at Maccies drive through - yep that's how you get a 6 pack eating a chocolate donut!

Crust

It's been a bit of a food filled weekend. We went out to Crust on Friday night for early Father's day dinner and Rich's birthday.

We went to Crust in Woolton Village - Jacob came with.

Rich got Zingara - Ham and Mushroom with added pineapple

I got Rustica - Spinach, mixed pepper, aubergine, mushroom and courgette with added chicken

Jo got Carbonara

Jo got Calamari too

The pizzas weren't great though they were really soggy as the base was too thin. Jacob got a Margerita with added cheese and was super soggy so sent it back and they made the base thicker so it wasn't as soggy and was much better. (Forgot to take a photo.) Rich ate 2 slices of his then ended up boxing it to eat in the morning.

I managed to sneak in a giant cookie that said "Best Dad in the World". I told the waiter that I wanted everything to make it massive - want music, loads of people singing just make it big.. Instead one guy came out and we had to sing Happy Birthday ourselves! We knew Rich hates it so wanted to proper embarrass him but it was the complete opposite so that kind of back fired but Rich had no idea and still hated every second of it as you can see from these 2 photos...

Trying to crack a smile there... If you follow me on Instagram you would have seen on my story them bringing it out. It was funny and did really well to manage to carry it in without Rich having a clue! 

Food filled weekend back to reality of work tomorrow and a very different Sunday post to what I'm used to - not a sweaty running selfie saying I've ran like 15 miles! Just food when I'm not longer carbing up...

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Under Armour

Don't usually do posts like this but as the customer service was that bad I've got to post something to get noticed. I apologise now it's going to be a lengthy post...

On Sunday 19th May underarmour.co.uk had I'd say about 80% of the products on the website reduced down to £8.80. So I bought 10 items totalling £79.20 (as a new customer I got 10% off for signing up to the mailing list). I received an email on the same day as soon as the order went through confirming the order and all the items I bought. The day after on Monday 20th May less than 24 hours since the order was made the amount of £79.20 was taken from my account. No further updates were given on my order. I checked the "track my order" on the website and it just said my order was "being processed." It wasn't until I was told by a friend that other people were posting online saying they weren't getting their order and getting a refund I rang up Under Armour to check up on my order. I was told that there was a glitch in the system and that all orders that were made at the weekend would be refunded. The prices that were shown on the website were not being honoured. 

I questioned why the prices weren't being honoured. If it was in a shop you would have to honour the prices you can't just say it was a mistake but the guy on the phone said they don't have to and they have spoken to lawyers and they weren't going to honour the prices. I was annoyed but I was just like ok whatever as long as I get all my money back then. I was told I would receive a full refund on my order within the next 5 working days. On Saturday 25th May I received an email saying "Your refund is on the way! We've issued your refund. It may take up to 4 business days to post to your account. Here's the gear that was returned: (product code)" Refund total £7.92 - this was seen in my account the same day the email was received. I then rang up on Tuesday 28th May as the phone lines are closed at the weekend and it was Bank Holiday Monday - to ask why only a part refund has been issued for such a strange amount when the money came out in 1 transaction it should go back in as 1 transaction. It was for a random item from the order which I never sent back and that I'm still owed £71.28. I was told there was an error and that I should receive the rest of the money by the end of the working week. I asked if I could speak to a manager to make a formal complaint but was told there was none available and I would have to email to make a complaint.

I rang back on Friday 31st May and had to ring 14 times before I finally got to speak to someone as the money still wasn't in my account. I was told that the money would take another 3-5 working days. I asked if I could have an email to confirm that the refund is being processed as at this point I still didn't have an confirmation to say I wasn't receiving my order or that the money for that order was being refunded back to me. I was told an email had gone out to me and I should have it but I said it hadn't so they would send it again but still nothing right now. After speaking to Under Armour I rang my bank to ask if they could get my money back. They said as I was told it would take another 3-5 working days to give them a chance and ring back next week if I still didn't have the money and they would raise a dispute for me and I should win it as I never received the products.

I rang back on Tuesday 4th June at 8am as soon as the lines opened as the money still hadn't gone in. I was told that I should see the money in my account on that day or at least by the end of the day. I asked the assistant on the phone - Miguel that I wanted to speak to a manager as I wanted to make a formal complaint. He told me that it was not possible. I asked him why it was not possible and he just replied just it is not possible. So I asked if I could speak to someone higher up than him. He said it is not possible. So I said I wanted to speak to a manger to make a complaint as it is a joke that it has taken over 2 weeks for the money to be refunded back into my account and that I've not had any form of communication over it. He just replied again it was not possible. I said I want to speak to a manger and he said "it is not possible, you do not need to repeat yourself." I informed him I needed to speak to a manger he replied with "I have told you it is not possible. I am going to hang up. Have a nice day" and put the phone down on me!!

I was fuming how dare he put the phone down on me. I was already so angry the fact I still hadn't received my money but he had the cheek to actually put the phone down on me. What kind of customer service is that?! And that you can't speak to manager when you want to put a formal complaint. There must be someone higher up you can speak to if you want to make a complaint. I seriously hope that phone call was recorded and they do something about that as that is unacceptable customer service and how badly the situation was handled and that appropriate action is taken towards Miguel.

After the phone call I rang my bank to put a dispute in as I didn't believe the money was going to be going into my account that day. So a dispute was made for me but they said it could take up to 2 weeks. I checked my account before I went to bed that night and the money had actually went through which I was really shocked about as I didn't believe I was going to get my money back.

It took over TWO weeks for the money to be received back into my account but took less than 24 hours for the money to leave my account. I had no communication until I got in touch myself querying it. This is THE worst customer service I have ever received and had to deal with. For a start in store they would have no choice but to honour the prices but just because it is online they think they can get away with it. The fact the money went out of my account they might as well sell the products to me. Yes they've made a loss with the prices being so low but they've definitely lost more money now as I'm never shopping with them again and I'm sure all the other people who bought things that weekend are going to be the same. So they've made a much bigger loss there at least they did have my money because no one is going to trust them no more. It has been such a drama, stress and the amount of time I've wasted having to ring them and the bank to get my money back.

I've asked if there is any compensation being offered over this and have been told nothing is going to be offered. Surely some sort of compensation is owed. There has been no formal apology or formal statement to acknowledge this mess. I sent them a TWO page long email for my formal complaint...

And this is the reply I get back from them...

I replied back "Did anyone even read my last email? How can you reply with a standard email when the email I sent was 2 pages long? Did any of them points I made even get acknowledged? 

I most certainty will not be taking up that 40% discount as I will never be purchasing from Under Armour again. I will not be giving any of my money to a company that treats its customers the way I have been treated."

That was sent 3 days ago and still yet to receive a reply from it. This is not the end of it or the last Under Armour are going to hear from me as I am not letting this go especially when someone actually put the phone down on me.

Under Armour you have no idea who you are dealing with and what you have let yourself in for. This is not the end and I am winning this.

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Neighbourhood

Went to Neighbourhood on Castle Street last night for dinner as one of the girls Jess on my team in work was leaving.

Chicken satay skewers

Breaded turkey stripes with broccolini, biscuit, honey butter, spicy sausage gravy

Rosh got the NBHD burger served with fries, beef, emmental, special sauce, salad, gherkin

Soft serve ice cream

We had a table booked for 4:15pm, we were a table of 14 all eating and there was one other table when we went in. We all got the £18 3 course meal apart from Rosh who just ordered a main when we got there from the bar.

The service was awful and so was the food. The staff were rude and just not attentive even though there was no one there. It wasn't like they were rushed off their feet, they just all looked miserable in there which I'm not surprised as I wouldn't want to work there.

Rosh just got a burger which she ordered at the bar and they put a £2 service charge on it with her drink. They were bringing the drinks over then the waitress just brought out a pair of chopsticks and soy sauce as Karen was having sushi so Rachel thought she forgot about the rest of the drinks and reminded the woman and she was so snotty to her. They were doing 2 for 1 drinks but only a very selective few to choose from. Chloe got a cocktail with a lid in it. The bottles for the tap water were filthy. When the food came Rachel asked for mayonnaise and the waitress just rolled her eyes at her - she should have offered sauces you shouldn't have to ask for it never mind get an eye roll! 

Karen got the steak which she had to pay an extra £5 for then had to pay £4 for a side of chips. Why would you get just a steak on its own with no sides? The chips didn't even come out with the steak, they brought them out like 10 minutes later when Karen had pretty much finished her steak. 

I changed my side of chips for broccolini. The turkey strips weren't even nice they had no taste to them and I would have been better off going to KFC. Anne got the same as mine but her turkey strips were so burnt we sent them back and it did come back a lot better.

Rosh couldn't even eat her food as she said it's the worst thing she's ever eaten. There was no taste, was cold and she wasn't expecting the burger to be black. It doesn't mention anywhere on the menu that it would be black so that was definitely off putting and a bit of a shock.

The best bit was the ice cream. The ice cream was actually really nice - a bit too much popping candy but I'd have that over any of the food. The place is just very pretentious for wannabe Instagram models. The interior isn't even nice and there was no locks on any of the toilets. There was no toilet seat in one of the cubicles and the toilets were filthy.

Definitely would not recommend or go there again. The drinks and food are over priced and they put a £37 service charge which we got took off. The staff don't deserve a tip for the "service." Don't think I've ever been anywhere as bad as that. I got a sore throat later on in the night and this morning after eating the food.

We went to Wetherspoons after - would have got better food in there and saved money on both food and drink!

Hope you had a good night Jess even if the restaurant was rubbish.

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Grilla

Went out last night for Sarah's leaving do as she's leaving us for a whole year to go to Australia on Wednesday! We had the best night especially making everyone believe it was Sarah's 21st and not just her leaving night...

We went to Grilla for food on Allerton Road

Jo got Halloumi fries for her starter

Sarah and Will got Hummus - could have just got one to share really

Sarah got Chicken Souvlaki

Jo and Will got the Mixed Souvlaki for 2 - Selection of souvlaki with chicken, pork, Greek Sausages, seftalia

I got Chicken souvlaki on pita wrap

I don't even like chips and there was so much chips!! Too much chips - carbs on carbs! Would have been perfect for last weekend pre marathon but now I'm defo not burning it this weekend!

The food was nice but nothing to really be raving about or special. The place is nice especially on a nice summer night. Felt like I was on holiday somewhere.

Jo bought Sarah a cake and gave it to them to bring out when we finished our food. But we forgot we did it and when the waiter came round the corner with the cake it just didn't quite flow. They went to bring the cake to me even though Sarah was sat there horrified with her head in her hands.

She hated every second of it but me and Jo were crying - we couldn't breathe it was that funny and started posting all over her Facebook wall Happy 21st Birthday and posting all old pictures and stuff. People have actually been writing on her wall still now saying Happy Birthday even though they know her and actually went out for her birthday 6 months ago. It's the best thing ever, who needs to rob a phone and frape. Just post on your mates wall and convince everyone it's their birthday is well better!

Great selfie Jo!

We ended up going to town to the Albert Dock to the River Light Festival as they were doing this show with a hump back whale. 

 

We were stood on the wrong side so couldn't see anything but then was trying to avoid getting soaked as it was splashing water out!

What we should have seen... Photos from River Festival Liverpool Facebook page.

We walked down to Brasco lounge as Sarah's family were there just to have a drink and say hi to them

Hope you enjoyed your leaving and birthday night out Sarah! It is your half birthday/we might not see you for your actual 21st so had to celebrate it! The fact people actually think is your birthday and you don't know what to do is the best. Like it wasn't planned and didn't think it would go this far and be this funny is amazing.

Gonna see Sarah for the last time tomorrow when we go to see Aladdin. It'll be my second time it's that good as I went to see it with Holly on Wednesday night. Definitely my favourite film I've seen in a long time and the only film I think I will have seen twice in the cinema. The Disney live action re makes have been rubbish but this is worth a watch and I'd recommend it to anyone.

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