Friday night dinner…

I treated myself to quite the loveliest of Fridays yesterday. I finished up work at lunchtime and then left the apartment for several hours of relaxation and fun.

I like to think of it as easing into the weekend.

First stop was the local Everyman cinema here in Canary Wharf, where I watched ‘The Invisible Man‘ with my buddy Ernesto. More on that in another post.

We then walked up the street to our local BrewDog for a couple of pints of Clockwork Tangerine fruit IPA. It’s one of my favourites at BrewDog – fruity, but not overpoweringly sweet. The tangerine keeps it sharp.

The place was mobbed with post-work drinkers, but we still managed to find some seats and had a great chat about films, TV, my travel plans and our own plans to go beer tasting in some micro-breweries in the weeks ahead.

The one sour note? Being referred to as ‘that gentleman’ at the bar by two guys waiting in line. Nicely, they pointed out to the barman that I was next to be served. Yet their tone indicated they were aware of the large age difference between us. Some mental calculations indicated that I was, in fact, old enough to be their dad. Oh.

Anyway…

Once we’d finished our beers, I headed off to meet @TheFrankFlyer for dinner. His choice? Wagamama! We enjoyed a tasty meal – as ever – yet bemoaned the prices compared to a nice meal out in Tokyo or Osaka. Then again, nothing on their menu is really that authentic to begin with.

I enjoyed some Ebi Katsu to start. I know I’m getting older when I complain that the portion sizes seem to be getting smaller, but they’re as tasty as ever.

This was followed by a lovely Nikko Chicken Curry. The Nikko is a relatively new addition to their menu and started as a vegan curry for Veganuary. I had one last month and really enjoyed it. Now that it’s available with meat, it’s even better! (Sorry, vegans…)

Back at Chez MacPsych, we sat down to enjoy the latest instalment of Star Trek: Picard. I’m really enjoying this new series and love the new spin on an old story. The production values are superb and Patrick Stewart is a joy to watch.

All in all, it was a superb start to the weekend. Simple pleasures, but definitely among my favourite. Beer. Cinema. Curry. Sci-fi.

I have no problem settling into a weekly routine if it looks like this!

(Header photo by Timothy Dykes on Unsplash)