Harry Potter World - London

In February, we took my sister and two of her friends to Harry Potter studios here in London for her birthday treat. Not a big Harry Potter fan myself, I was happy to see her show an interest in the HP books as she rarely reads (and, you know, I'm a nerd and I just can't understand how anyone wouldn't enjoy reading...how is it possible?).

Anyway! I won't go on forever about the tour because 1 - it's not really easy to describe in writing and 2 - it was nice but not mind-blowing. In fact, I'd go as far to say that it's not worth the £37+ adult ticket fee. There were a few things that were very impressive to experience (the Great Hall being one) and the remainder of the tour was mainly spent looking at some sets, props and short videos explaining the filming, crew, sets and props. The props WERE incredible to be fair - I don't want to take anything away from that. The amount of effort, time and detail that went into each and every piece was evident and there were literally tens of thousands of pieces: chairs, tables, costumes, cups, beds, couches, rugs, wands, books, statues, jars, HOUSES...the list is endless! And it's always interesting to see how small everything looks in real life compared to the movies. For example, Harry's bedroom in Hogwarts was a tiny little corner section of the studio!

The final "part" of the tour really takes your breath away. It's a 1:24 scale model of Hogwarts that the creative team built to film the wide and sweeping shots of the school. It is truly magical, and took weeks to build and perfect. I think that was my most favourite part of the tour, plus the Great Hall and the special make-up effect "room". Oh, and also the room with Kings Cross station as it looked EXACTLY like Kings Cross which was incredibly disconcerting considering we were in the middle of Watford!

I'm in two minds on whether I'd recommend the tour. I think for children it's not that easy to enjoy because it's mainly going around looking at props and identifying things that were in the movies rather than a more interactive experience. For adults who love the HP franchise I think it's more interesting because one can appreciate the magnitude of the Harry Potter world. So, in conclusion, I am not really sure! >.<

~Sx

 

The Beef Stops Here

I'm normally a chicken kinda girl. Or sushi. If sushi is involved, sushi is normally chosen. 

Having said that, I do enjoy a nice steak or burger but I'm quite picky about how it tastes.

But.

There's one place in Amman you're guaranteed to get amazing, tender meat. Brisket.

Brisket. Just typing their name makes my mouth water. It's a little unassuming place tucked away in Shmeisani, one we lived 10 minutes' walk away from without ever coming across it. Probably better for our arteries...

Brisket is run by a couple, both really nice, smiley and extremely helpful. The speciality is brisket, a type of smoked beef cut into thin slivers that you can gloriously dunk into their incredible brisket sauce. They also serve beef sliders, chicken wings, ribs and delicious sides (do not, I repeat, do not let the beans pass you by. They are divine.).

If you want to go and eat a nice slab of smoked brisket or the rack of ribs then you need to order them a day in advance. The first time we went there were 4 of us and I ordered 1.5 kgs of brisket and a full rack of ribs. And we devoured it all. Like, inhaled it. For me the brisket won over the ribs. It was juicy, it melt in our mouths, it was perfectly cooked. I'm running out of descriptive statements! We also had chicken wings to start, fries and mashed potatoes, which were yummy. I think the staff were surprised when we then turned around and ordered 7 sliders (mini-burgers) and ate those in seconds. They were incredible. And then after that we ordered a second round of chicken wings hehe.

We've been back since and we actually ordered 3kgs of brisket. I know, the environment is very angry at us! But I really can't speak highly enough of Brisket. I hope we'll be able to go back there soon.

Sx

Kitchen - Head Chef in the baseball cap.

Cool wall decorations.

Love those signs!

Chicken wings.

The Star of the Show.

How good does that look??

The ribs.

Sliders. Life changing.

Award worthy efforts.