Nando's, Union Square, Aberdeen

For Baby D's birthday celebration in Scotland, we checked out Nando's as per the birthday boy's request. In Aberdeen, there are two Nando's - located in The Academy in Belmont Street and Union Square. We visited the latter; the restaurant was absolutely heaving and we had to wait about 20 minutes for a table.

Once seated, we browsed the menu and waited for someone to take our order. Later we found out that Nando's UK operate a semi self-service system (order and pay at the counter and food will be served to your table) .... a boo-boo on our part as in Malaysia we get full table service.

The kids got an activity sheet each to keep them entertained while waiting for the food to arrive. Before long, our appetizers arrived - we ordered the 3 Chicken Wings, Red pepper dip served with warm pita strips and Halloumi sticks. Everything was very tasty, we especially enjoyed the chicken wings which were moist and flavorful (we went for medium flavour and it was just nice for us in terms of spiciness). The halloumi sticks came with an addictive chilli jam dip. They're £3.70 each or you can order three starters for £9.95.

It would be a crime to come to Nando's and not have their flame-grilled Peri-Peri chicken. The chicken is marinated for at least 24 hours, for all the flavours to lock in. As it is flame-grilled, you can taste the smokiness and slight char it gives to the chicken. We ordered two 1/2 chickens (with 2 regular sides £10.95)  - one medium and another with lemon and herb (for the kids). The kids ended up eating our medium sauce one, as the lemon and herb was too mild for their liking. LOL! The chicken leg part is definitely the best as it's moist and juicy.

We also ordered a Sunset Burger (with 2 regular sides £11.45) to share - two grilled chicken thighs sandwiched between melting Cheddar cheese, smoky red pepper chutney, baby spinach and a soft bun. Fantastic burger, I have to say!

Sides are very nicely done - we tried the chips (crisp and fluffy), corn on the cob, garlic bread, side salad and Supergrain salad. The latter which came with quinoa, kale, edamame and beans with an avocado & buttermilk dressing was surprisingly very good - healthy and delicious, WIN!

For the full menu, click here.

Opening times: Sun - Thurs 11am - 10pm; Fri-Sat 11am - 10.30pm.

Price: Total bill £51.40.

Location: Nando's, Union Square, Aberdeen, Scotland, AB11 5RG, United Kingdom.

Tel: 01224 581 959




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Moscow State Circus (Gostinitsa) - The World's Most Famous Circus in Back in UK!

The UK will play host again this year to one of the most spectacular circus displays in the world, the Moscow State Circus.

The world’s most famous circus will bring its latest and greatest production GOSTINITSA - a rapturous and passionate new circus experience that fuses the Moscow State Circus with the glorious Golden Age of Hollywood, and promises all the spectacle and nerve-tingling, edge of your seat thrills for the whole family.

Witness the magnificent ingredients served up in this truly great show, an experience that you won't want to miss.The Circus has been planning this event for the last two years and the artistes have been in training ready for this world-beating performance, which promises to be breath-taking.

Award-winning Clowns, Chervotkins Duo, will guide the audience through this incredible show which features acts like the Didyk Troupe, acrobatics on Europe’s only DOUBLE Russian swings. Expect performers to fly through the air and somersaulting from one fast moving swing to another... incredible!

The marvelous Alikhanov Troupe will feature three acrobats performing on two ten meter poles balanced on the single shoulder of a man, climbing and spinning to the very top of the same pole.

You can also catch Unicyclists the Gorodetskiys Duo, Eugeniy Hochrova Foot Juggling and the sensational trapeze artistes, the Peruskins Duo and Anna Rastsova.

Don’t miss this amazing show, created especially for the UK and all housed in a state of the art centrally heated theatre-style luxury Big Top.



For locations of their UK Tour 2018, please click here. Locations include Sheffield, Chester, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Inverness, Aberdeen and more, from now until August 2018.

Watch the promotional video here :)

For more information or to purchase tickets for the Moscow State Circus, please visit their website.



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Royal Kashmir Indian Restaurant, Aboyne, Scotland

Aboyne was the last stop we made during one of our road trips; it is a village in Aberdeenshire about 45 minutes drive from Aberdeen. There is a really nice play park at The Green so the kids amused themselves until it was dinner time.

We decided to have dinner at Royal Kashmir Indian Restaurant. Indian is one of our favorite cuisine to have in the UK, they do it so well here.

To start, we had the poppadums (£3.20 for 4), nice and crispy. They are served with mixed pickle, spiced onions and mango chutney.

Before long, our mains arrived. We had the Lamb rogan josh (£9.95), from the Golden Oldies selection. One of our favourites, this was not too spicy, creamy with tender chunks of meat.

If you would like to try making this at home, have a look at this recipe here.

We also had the Desi Korma, one of Chef's special creations (£12.95). This is a classic dish served at Bangladeshi weddings, with a mild and buttery taste so it's perfect for kids. Very good recommendation from our server. To go with the curries, we had a peshwari naan (£4.75), garlic naan (£3.75), pilau rice (£3.50) and aloo gobi. A hugely satisfying dinner, with great service.

Here's wishing all who are celebrating, a very Happy Deepavali!


Opening times: Sun-Thurs 5pm - 11pm; Fri & Sat 4.30pm - 12.00am

Location: Royal Kashmir Indian Restaurant, Ballater Road, Aboyne, AB34 5HT, Scotland, United Kingdom.

Tel: +44 (0) 1339 886664


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Doonies Farm, Aberdeen, Scotland

Since we had so much fun during our first visit, we revisited Doonies Farm when we were in Scotland again for our holidays. 

It was a beautiful day, and we enjoyed walking around feeding the animals and playing in the playground area. See my original post for more details and scroll down for photos of our 2nd visit here  :)

From now until October 25th, Doonies Farm will be open from 10am to 4.30pm daily. Family ticket is £10 (2 adults and a maximum of 3 children). Buckets of cabbage for 50p each.

There, help yourself to the whole bucket of cabbage :P

Thistle, Scotland's national flower

Opening times: April 1st- October 25th (Seven days a week); 10:00 am to 4:30 pm

Price: £4 for adults, £2.50 for kids, £10 for family ticket (2 adults, 3 kids), under 2's free entry.

Location: Doonies Farm, Coast Road, Nigg, Aberdeen AB12 3LT, United Kingdom.

Tel: +44(0)1224 875879

Website: http://dooniesfarm.co.uk/

GPS Coordinates: 57.131954,-2.060673


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Silver Darling Restaurant, Aberdeen, Scotland

During our last trip to Scotland, we visited Silver Darling Restaurant to celebrate my mother-in-law's birthday. Silver Darling is one of the top restaurants in Aberdeen, specialising in seafood. We attempted to book here twice, before we finally got a table for lunch (yes they're very busy and popular!) and I'm very glad that we got to eat here as the food was exquisite. Definitely the best meal of our trip. :)

The dining room is a large raised conservatory on the flat roof of an old granite custom house providing a spectacular and panoramic view over Aberdeen Harbour and bay. 

The Silver Darling, named after the Scottish nickname for herring fish, is owned and run by Frenchman Didier Dejean. Opened in June 1986, the Silver Darling is one of the few restaurants to have been recommended in the Good Food Guide for more than 28 years. It has also been recommended in the Michelin Guide and in the Egon Ronay and in 2008, The Sunday Times ranked the Silver Darling in the top 10 seafood restaurants in UK.

The lunch menu in my opinion is really fantastic value for money. You can get 2-courses for £19.50, or 3-courses for £24.50. It changes on a regular basis, with one special item changing on a daily basis depending on the fresh produce they receive. The menu consists mainly of local fish with a French twist as well as Mediterranean and occasional Far East flourishes.

For starters, both Hubby and I went for the starter of the day - we immediately ordered it when we heard the word "scallops" mentioned. Three beautiful, plump scallops sit atop a bed of leeks and crisp filo pastry and a crayfish bisque reduction. Perfect start to our meal :)

Since this is a seafood restaurant, we made sure we ordered fish for our mains. Hubby once again went for the catch of the day which I believe was monkfish. My MIL went for the pan fried sea bass with asparagus & celeriac remoulade, green tapenade, with a tomatoes and herb dressing - she certainly was impressed with it - beautifully crisp skin and moist flesh.

I went for the rock turbot, which was poached in a seafood broth and then served with mussels, octopus and cockles atop a bed of saffron potatoes and aioli sauce. Oh and topped with julienned vegetables and samphire. Love this heart-warming, tummy-pleasing fish dish, not to mention so pleasing to the eyes too.

As for desserts, Hubby went for the cheese platter which was served with homemade fruit jellies, MIL went for the sweet custard tart with preserved raspberries and raspberry coulis (which Baby C loved, so she was standing next to granny to steal bites) and I had the vanilla pod panna cotta with grenadine rhubarb, sesame tuile  and rhubarb jus (which Baby D loved so you know where he was during dessert time).

Overall, an enjoyable meal at Silver Darling. Food was fantastic, and service was excellent throughout too. 

Verdict: Good value for money lunch, considering the high quality ingredients used. Food is excellently prepared and visually pleasing. Great place for special occasions too.


Opening times: Mon-Fri 12.00pm-1.45pm, Mon-Sat 6.30pm - 9.30pm.

Service: Excellent.

Price: Total bill £81.00 for 3 adults, including wine.

Location: Silver Darling Restaurant, Pocra Quay North Pier, AB11 5DQ, Aberdeen, United Kingdom.

Tel: +44 1224 576229

Website: http://thesilverdarling.co.uk/

GPS Coordinates:  57.142369, -2.069631


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