OK so a post about food, and a where to go if you are on the move., and this is one I can recommend.
The Three Bells, terminal 3 Heathrow is not through security in terminal 3, it is just before that. When you go into the terminal itself, after you have checked in, go up the stairs and head to the far right of the terminal. You will walk past the security and see signs for the toilets. The Three Bells is on your left, next to an Italian I think.
I went in there at 1800, prior to a flight to Dubai at 22:00. The place was full, but I didn't want to go through security. The place was full, but the service was excellent, their is table service and it is quick.
I sat down, was asked by a lovely waitress what I would like after about 5 mins. I ordered a Guinness and Gammon and Chips.
The Guinness was with me in about 3 minutes and the food 10 minutes after that. OK it was not Michelin star food, but it was like a good honest pub grub. I was more than happy with what I received and the portion size was very good, some of the guys I was with had fish and chips, it was so large that they had to share.
The 2 Guinness and the food only came to under £20 and for an airport I was impressed.
Results:
Price: 8.5 out of 10
Quality: 8 out of 10
Service: 9 out of 10
Total: 8.5 out of 10
Saturday, 15 November 2014
iPhone to Sony Xperia Z3
Another review about something not related to food, could still be of use to some.
Recently I decided it was time to get a new phone.
After years of having an iPhone (which I was more than happy with) I decided I wasn't prepared to pay the large sums for a new iPhone 6 especially as I wanted to have at least 128gb of space. So I looked through the alternative, finally settling on the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact.
Below is the review of the phone and how easy it was to transfer.
Cost difference:
Basically the iPhone 6 compact not that far below £800 for the 128GB, the Z3 I got by looking around a for £400 and I paid £40 for a 128GB SD card.
Transferring all data from iPhone to Sony?
Surprisingly this isn't as hard as what you may think. Sony has an inbuilt app that allows you to transfer all of your contacts, iPhone music library, and photos to the new phone, if you want. This can be done from the computer or the phone itself.
In regards to the contacts their are a few small issues, what is does is it links the contacts on your phone to your Google account, so if you happened to already have a Google account with people on it, that are also in your iPhone you will have to pick which contact you want to keep.
Although there is some messing about, generally I would say this is easy.
If you used the mac calender, syncing it with your iPhone, this can still be done with your new android device, by downloading an app called SmoothSync. Great app and worked well.
What to do about apps?
Most of the apps that you have on iTunes are available on android and in a lot of cases they are free.
OK it is a pain in the arse when you first get the phone to go through your apps and look for them on Google, but this is really only a one off, and once you have done it once you will not need to do it again.
Apps that I would recommend getting are:
AVG antivirus - Virus Scanner
AVG cleaner - Cleans up your phone from all the junk you collect
Greenify - This will turn off apps that are not running and save your battery.
File Commander - A bit like windows explorer, lets you look through the folders on your device
Tasker: If you want to customise your phone
Office Suite - Office basically
Adobe - So you can read pdf's
FireFox - Sometimes a little better than Chrome
VLC player - Plays any video file I have ever come across
Anything else is personal preference.
The difference between Android and Apple.
Lets face it, anyone who has used an iPhone knows it is so simple to use, anyone can pick one up and just use it out of the box. Yes the more you play and the more you use it the better you will get and the more you know, but that is the same with anything.
The Sony and other android devices are a little harder to use. I mean yes you can take it out of the box and make calls, send text etc but using the apps, understanding the widgets and all the other customization stuff is a little harder.
It took me a little looking on Google and YouTube to figure out how I wanted it setup, but in general it is easy to do.
One thing that I do find frustrating is that when you close the apps i.e. press the button in the right hand corner and swipe them off the screen, this doesn't stop the app running in the back ground. Which will use up your battery. However Greenify will get ride of this for you, (just remember if you get this app you have to give it admin permission to do its job, this is found in the settings of the phone)
Conclusion:
Although it may take you a little bit more time to get used to the phone, it really isn't that big a deal, even with a small amount of playing you will be fine, in the end if you want to you can customize it a lot more than an iPhone, even the keyboard can be changed, it is a welcome change to be honest.
Issues.
OK so I did find one thing that is very very annoying. After about a week of having the phone, I broke the screen, long story.
Anyway I got a new one through the insurance.
Now I thought that the back up of the phone would allow me to download all of the content of the phone, display setting and everything as you can with an iPhone (effectively replacing the new phone with a mirror of the old one). This is not the case with the Sony, when you restore from back up. Your contacts, apps etc will be added back onto the phone, but not how you have set them out on the phone or some other phone settings.
Yes you can say that you shouldn't break the phone, but I have to admit that the way Apple does it, is SOOO much better and easier.
Conclusion.
Would I recommend moving from iPhone to Android?
If you are happy paying the higher cost of the iPhone then I would stay with them, however for about half the price you can have the same spec phone, in fact in a lot of ways a better spec phone for half the price. Plus with the removable memory, such a good feature.
So the answer is a definite: YES.....
Which is a better system/phone?
This is a hard question, it is each to their own, I would say that apple is much more simple to use, better back up and better support, but android is more customization, there are more phones out there on the android system, each with there own merits.I like them both.
All I can say is give it a GO, if you don't like it sell it on eBay, you wont of lost a lot.
Am I happy as a convert?
YES
I hope that this has helped some of you out if your thinking of leaving the giant that is Apple.
Recently I decided it was time to get a new phone.
After years of having an iPhone (which I was more than happy with) I decided I wasn't prepared to pay the large sums for a new iPhone 6 especially as I wanted to have at least 128gb of space. So I looked through the alternative, finally settling on the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact.
Below is the review of the phone and how easy it was to transfer.
Cost difference:
Basically the iPhone 6 compact not that far below £800 for the 128GB, the Z3 I got by looking around a for £400 and I paid £40 for a 128GB SD card.
Transferring all data from iPhone to Sony?
Surprisingly this isn't as hard as what you may think. Sony has an inbuilt app that allows you to transfer all of your contacts, iPhone music library, and photos to the new phone, if you want. This can be done from the computer or the phone itself.
In regards to the contacts their are a few small issues, what is does is it links the contacts on your phone to your Google account, so if you happened to already have a Google account with people on it, that are also in your iPhone you will have to pick which contact you want to keep.
Although there is some messing about, generally I would say this is easy.
If you used the mac calender, syncing it with your iPhone, this can still be done with your new android device, by downloading an app called SmoothSync. Great app and worked well.
What to do about apps?
Most of the apps that you have on iTunes are available on android and in a lot of cases they are free.
OK it is a pain in the arse when you first get the phone to go through your apps and look for them on Google, but this is really only a one off, and once you have done it once you will not need to do it again.
Apps that I would recommend getting are:
AVG antivirus - Virus Scanner
AVG cleaner - Cleans up your phone from all the junk you collect
Greenify - This will turn off apps that are not running and save your battery.
File Commander - A bit like windows explorer, lets you look through the folders on your device
Tasker: If you want to customise your phone
Office Suite - Office basically
Adobe - So you can read pdf's
FireFox - Sometimes a little better than Chrome
VLC player - Plays any video file I have ever come across
Anything else is personal preference.
The difference between Android and Apple.
Lets face it, anyone who has used an iPhone knows it is so simple to use, anyone can pick one up and just use it out of the box. Yes the more you play and the more you use it the better you will get and the more you know, but that is the same with anything.
The Sony and other android devices are a little harder to use. I mean yes you can take it out of the box and make calls, send text etc but using the apps, understanding the widgets and all the other customization stuff is a little harder.
It took me a little looking on Google and YouTube to figure out how I wanted it setup, but in general it is easy to do.
One thing that I do find frustrating is that when you close the apps i.e. press the button in the right hand corner and swipe them off the screen, this doesn't stop the app running in the back ground. Which will use up your battery. However Greenify will get ride of this for you, (just remember if you get this app you have to give it admin permission to do its job, this is found in the settings of the phone)
Conclusion:
Although it may take you a little bit more time to get used to the phone, it really isn't that big a deal, even with a small amount of playing you will be fine, in the end if you want to you can customize it a lot more than an iPhone, even the keyboard can be changed, it is a welcome change to be honest.
Issues.
OK so I did find one thing that is very very annoying. After about a week of having the phone, I broke the screen, long story.
Anyway I got a new one through the insurance.
Now I thought that the back up of the phone would allow me to download all of the content of the phone, display setting and everything as you can with an iPhone (effectively replacing the new phone with a mirror of the old one). This is not the case with the Sony, when you restore from back up. Your contacts, apps etc will be added back onto the phone, but not how you have set them out on the phone or some other phone settings.
Yes you can say that you shouldn't break the phone, but I have to admit that the way Apple does it, is SOOO much better and easier.
Conclusion.
Would I recommend moving from iPhone to Android?
If you are happy paying the higher cost of the iPhone then I would stay with them, however for about half the price you can have the same spec phone, in fact in a lot of ways a better spec phone for half the price. Plus with the removable memory, such a good feature.
So the answer is a definite: YES.....
Which is a better system/phone?
This is a hard question, it is each to their own, I would say that apple is much more simple to use, better back up and better support, but android is more customization, there are more phones out there on the android system, each with there own merits.I like them both.
All I can say is give it a GO, if you don't like it sell it on eBay, you wont of lost a lot.
YES
I hope that this has helped some of you out if your thinking of leaving the giant that is Apple.
Monday, 7 July 2014
Bodum Coffee Mug and Press - Product Review
Thought I would put a few product reviews on here, as well as restaraunt reviews. So here's the first.
This is Bodum coffee press and travel mug. It's about £24 from there own website, www.bodum.com, but I am sure if you look around you can find a little cheaper online.
It's a thermal mug which allows you to make tea and coffee from fresh coffee grounds or tea leaves, using a French press built in. Although I only use it for coffee and wouldn't mix between the two as you may contaminate the flavour.
I have had this mug for a while now and love it. I am a little bit of a coffee snob, not ashamed to admit it and while working away a good coffee in the morning is my daily little treat. It allows me to bring some good coffee from home and make a good coffee over and over again.
The coffee will stay warm for a good hour in the mug, it's easy to clean and easy to travel with (it fits in my rucksacks side pocket well, as well as my cup holder in the car).
If you happen to stop off somewhere without any coffee you can always add another coffee from say costa or Starbucks to it, saving yourself a few pence too.
I have a number of thermal mugs at home and this is the one I go for anytime I'm away from home for more than a few days.
I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes good coffee or tea. Yes it is a little expensive but a great mug, strong and sturdy, and makes good coffee. The only downside I find while working on a boat, is that in bad weather the base is a little small meaning it may fall over, but with the cap it rarely spills.
Rating 9 out of 10.
The French Restaurant - Midland Hotel Manchester
So recently I organised a surprise birthday for my girlfriend and I in Manchester, part of the surprise was to go to The French Restaurant, by Simon Rogan. Here's what I thought of it.
Location and decor.
The hotel itself is beautiful. On arrival I was impressed with the Marrocco feel in the bar just to the right of the restaraunt. It is very elegant and the staff made us feel welcome without being too pretentious. We were offered a seat in the bar and happily listened to the piano player to our left.
Very pleased at this stage.
Pre dinner drinks: 8.5 out of 10.
The restaraunt was nice although the tables had the look of garden furniture. Maybe that's just me but took away from the experience of what was supposed to be one of the best restaraunts in Manchester. Although the feel was relaxed and calming.
Decor: 6.5 out of 10.
The Food.
We ordered the 6 course taster menu which was £59 per person. There was other choices, but this seemed like a good option and by the end really worked out as an 8 course menu.
I have to say the good was a little hit and miss. The bread that was brought to the table was over cooked, giving an instant let down to the choice of dinner location.
Then the amuse bouche. This was lovely light, a good start.
As the rest of the course came, some were good, like the cod course and soup, and the beef cooked perfectly, seasoned well and great presentation (in fact all the dishes were presented well).
Others not so good, like the lamb, the Jew was so over seasoned I couldn't taste any of the lamb, and destroyed my pallet for the following course.
I also found that there was far too much enphasis placed on smoking. As a advice BBQ smoker myself. I love the flavour, however not in every course.
Initially thought the position sizes were a little small, even for a taster menu, but as the night went on, I found it was just about right for my partner and I.
Overall I would say enjoyed the meal. The good did out way the bad, although when eating at a restaraunt of this standard why is there any bad course?
Rating: 6.5 out of 10.
Service.
Funny one this.
To start with when we say down everything seemed a little rushed. Menus, orders, drink, all taken within the first 10 mins.
Bread on the table not long after and the drinks with the rolls.
This speed continued for the. First 4 courses. 35 mins into our dinner and we thought we were going to be done in less than an hour.
Then suddenly a big slow down. We had to wait a very long time between the remaining course. I would say on average between 15 to 20 mins after our plates were taken. At first this didn't bother us. Have us time to chat and enjoy the evening. However after about 1 1/2 hours it was getting a tiresome.
Although saying that, the staff we're pleasant and attentive. So no complaints there. Just the timings.
Overall service rating: 5.5 out of 10.
Value for Money
Again a funny one. Was I happy with what it cost. Well at the end was close to £200. Which isn't too bad for the food and drinks we had. Although. For some reason at the end I did think, I have had better for less in London and other places. I wouldn't say it was too much, maybe I was thinking with the deal it would be less than £150, and with the small issues I have mentioned above I think it should have been.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10
Conclusion.
I suppose the question I should answer is would I go back. Probably not.
There was nothing wrong with anything really, which is the problem. Some of the dishes were truly excellent, however on a special night, in what is raved about as one of the best in Manchester I had high expectations, so shouldn't all the dishes be like this, or at least most of them????
I wouldn't say to friends don't go, but I wouldn't also say it is a must.
Overall Rating: 6 out of 10.
Below are some pictures of the dishes. As I mentioned above, they all were extremely well presented.
Hope you enjoyed the read.
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