Thrift.ie

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Entries Tagged ‘lunch deals’

Make Your Own at MYO IFSC!

Ever wasted an entire lunch break standing in line to buy a soggy sandwich made with too much butter, not enough fillings, with ingredients you don’t like, and then paying a bomb for it? Well, we’re avid lunch eaters too, and we certainly have!
In fact, one of the main reasons the site came into being was we were fed up with the choice and value on offer in our area, and wanted to put some time and effort into researching what really good lunch options were available out there! Hey, we all eat it every day, why not make it better?!

Well, MYO IFSC (that’s Make Your Own by the way!) had the same thoughts, and they too decided to do something about it! From an initial Australian concept (obviously those Aussies had the same problems as us!), MYO has grown into revolutionary sandwich and salad bar gives its customers the
power to create their own lunch, exactly the way they like it! Simple eh? Simple but effective! Oh, and by the way, they’ve crackin coffee too!

The M.Y.O. concept is incredibly simple but  ingenious. On entering the store (as I say, one of the perks of the job is we’re a lunch eater too!) we grabbed a tray, chose from loads of freshly baked bread and began assembling our sandwich from the 75 fresh gourmet sandwich fillings, including deli-style meats and cheeses, as we worked our way around.
It’s soooo easy, soooo simple, and takes away the effort of having to explain that you want no freakin mayo to some scowling deli maiden!

MYO promises no queues, value for money, an easy to use system and most importantly, choice!
For how many of us out there is the good old chicken fillet roll the default option? Grey lettuce, some watered down mayo, a slab of butter big enough
to give an elephant a heart attack, lukewarm chicken and perhaps a little bit
of water dripping tomato. Come on now, raise your hand.

Well, a slap on the wrists for you sir/madam, we’ve far more than that in Dublin’s dining scene, for far better value, and MYO IFSC is the epitome of
that!
Healthy food, high quality filling, detailed nutritional info if you want it, and
most of all, fast efficient service (as long as you’re a fast and efficient
person!). It’s all too easy!

Give it a go if you’re IFSC lunch centered and haven’t nipped in yet. We give it the official mylunch.ie seal of approval!

Plus, you can also get 2 for 1 on any of their delicious pies with our exclusive offer!


Related Tags: IFSC Lunch, IFSC, IFSC Restaurants, IFSC Lunch deals, Dublin 1 lunch
lunch
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mylunch.ie Blog 2011-01-31 18:50:00

Something (healthy) for the weekend?


Something healthy for the weekend
(Date:28 January 2011)


Something (healty) for the weekend seems to have taken on cult status amongst all you health mongers, recipe lovers and general foodies out there, so we’re going to be continuing it for the forseeable future! If there are any recipes you’d like to see, then please get in touch through hungry@mylunch.ie!

This week, we’ve got an online exclusive, and a delicious easy and healthy dish to round off January, from the lovely Domini Kemp’s recent cookbook.

An Itsa co-founder with her sister Peaches, (check their new offer if you want more healthy goodness!), Domini is a respected food writer and chef, and through all that, still finds time to appear each week on RTE’s Four Live!

Now, you may be thinking that there’s something fishy about this blog post, and there is, cos this week, we’re doing super-healthy salmon and tuna fishcakes! Perfect for a main (serves two) or starter (serves four), this recipe is sure to be a hit if you’re entertaining this weekend, or even if you’ve someone special to impress. Ah heck , who are we kidding, why not just make a batch for yourself!


Anyway, here goes, I’ll let Domini take over from here!

“Don’t stress out if you cant get lime leaves or anything else off the list.  Just add more of everything else.  Also, if you ever do come across lime leaves, buy a bunch of them, wrap them up well in cling film and freeze them.  The same goes for the lemongrass – its not idea, but it works OK as they can be hard to find when you need them.

You wil need
2 red onions, diced, 2 red chillies, deseeded and diced, 2 lime leaves, 1 stalk lemongrass, Juice of 2 limes, 1 small bunch coriander, 1 small bunch basil, a knob of ginger, peeled, 2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce, 1 tsp fish sauce, a splash of sesame oil, 200g fresh salmon fillet, skin removed and roughly chopped, 200g fresh tuna fillet, skin removed and roughly chopped, a handful of sesame seeds, sweet chilli sauce to serve

How to prepare:

1.      Preheat the oven to 200c. Line a baking tray with parchment paper
2.      Whizz all the ingredients except the fish and sesame seeds together in a food processor until smooth.  Add the fish and pulse so that it’s processed and not mushy baby food.  Shape the fish into balls and place on the baking tray.  If you can, chill for 10 minutes.
3.      Sprinkle with sesame seeds, then bake for 10 to 12 minutes.  If you can, gently turn them over halfway through so they can brown on both sides.  They do cook quite quickly, and you may like to serve them a bit rare inside.  Let them settle for a minute before removing from the paper (they are quite delicate, as there is no egg to bind them), then serve with sweet chilli sauce.

Sounds very tasty and zesty eh? Have fun making them, and be sure to let us know on Twitter or Facebook how you got on!

Related Tags:
lunch, lunch in Dublin, lunch Dublin, lunch menus, restaurant deals, restaurant offers, lunch options Dublin, lunch deals, lunch offers, lunch deals Dublin, lunch offers Dublin, cheap lunch, lunch value Dublin, lunch value Cork, lunch Cork, lunch in Cork, lunch deals Cork, lunch offers Cork, coeliac lunch, coeliac lunch options, Itsa, Itsa Bagels, Itsa Bagel,

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mylunch.ie Blog 2011-01-31 18:48:00

Eat Magazine


Eat Magazine
(Date:31 January 2011)


There’s a new kid on the blog! EatMagazine, an Irish based food focused new zine has been launched, and 20,000 print copies are currently available around Dublin! The mag focuses on all things foodie, with restaurant reviews, guest columnists, recipes and lots lots more!

Eat concentrates on local restaurants, chefs, food producers and designers, a positive look at eating and dining out, and also celebrates the good things to be found in our wonderful Dublin city. Founded in response to both consumer and industry demand for a reliable local publication that focuses on the local culinary scene, readers can expect a features section that gives home to some of Irelands most passionate food and wine writers, and regular columns to keep you informed about new products, as well as info on food and drink events!

Produced by Phonic (so you know it’s good!) there’s also an online version if you want to have a look.
See here for stockists if you prefer the smell of ink and having a print version in your hand!

You can also follow Eat on Twitter here, for food related tweets!

Oh, and by the way, mylunch (and mygoodself specifically) will be featured in February’s issue two, along with loads and loads of other cool stuff, so it’s even more of a reason to pick up a copy!

Related Tags: lunch, lunch in Dublin, lunch Dublin, lunch menus, restaurant deals, restaurant offers, lunch options Dublin, lunch deals, lunch offers, lunch deals Dublin, lunch offers Dublin, cheap lunch, lunch value Dublin, lunch value Cork, lunch Cork, lunch in Cork, lunch deals Cork, lunch offers Cork, coeliac lunch, coeliac lunch options, Eat Magazine

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mylunch.ie Blog 2011-01-26 12:32:00

Clonakilty by Candlelight


Clonakilty by Candlelight
(Date:25 January 2011)


 

Here at mylunch, we love anything different, cool or unusual! I guess you could say we’re hipster lunch lovers!

Some of you may remember the mylunch supported Tefal Greaseless Spoon project, which brought free healthy lunch, to Dublin last November, or the again mylunch supported Streetfeast project which held a flash feast in front of City Hall last Summer.

Well, flash dining is back in Dublin with a bang this February! Clonakilty Blackpudding, Ireland’s famous leading pudding purveyor (which is presumeably being sent all over the world currently to homesick es-pats!) is about to launch Ireland’s first ever “flash restaurant”, “Clonakilty by Candlelight” in Dublin city centre from 3rd-12th Feb.

Around since 1800, the Clonakilty brand is one which is steeped in Irish heritage, (check the full story here) and now they are giving you a chance to get together with your pals for an evening of chats, delish food and something a little bit different, but intriguingly, like the Clonakilty recipe, the location is a secret!

“Clonakilty By Candlelight”, will open for six special nights only, and deliver a fabulous food feast with an intimate dinner party vibe. Guests will be served culinary delights made from the full Clonakilty Blackpudding Co.’s range of delicious products, with Bridgestone recommended Ted Berner of Wildside catering in the kitchen.

If you want to attend, you can check out all the info on the Facebook page here, and spaces are filling up very fast, so get in this evening or tomorrow if you’d like to go!
Dinner will be served on Feb 3rd, 4th, 5th, 10th, 11th and 12th, and there will be a distinct theatrical theme, so a fun night is guaranteed! How often are you guaranteed a fun, free dinner out??

Related Tags: lunch, lunch deals, lunch vouchers, lunch offers, lunch deals Dublin, lunch deals Cork, lunch value Dublin, lunch value Cork, lunch offers, flash dining, flash restaurant, Clonakilty by Candlelight,

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mylunch.ie Blog 2011-01-26 12:31:00

Itsa…kind of magic


Itsa kind of magic
(Date:26 January 2011)


Itsa is the bagel store with more! Since 1999 when they established their first bagel bar in Dublin City centre they’ve  been serving freshly made bagels, coffees & goodies everyday to our customers for lunch!

But Itsa’s menu is not your ordinary! If you’ve ever been in, or indeed been to any of the numerous Itsa eateries around Dublin, you’ll have seen it’s perfectly tailored to give our customers healthier choices including low fat, vegetarian & coeliac friendly options.   

The stated mission to help customers enjoy their food but also enable them to make healthier choices is most welcome, and when choosing any of the signature bagels you can opt to ask for no butter, lighter sauce or substitute for low fat cream cheese. Itsa also have a huge coeliac offering, with a selectionn of bagels, treats and ingredients, all gluten friendly, and all prepared seperately.

One of the directors is well know cookbook author & chef, Domini Kemp, who is 100% behind the campaign to get people eating more healthily. In fact, she is currently appearing on 4Live (RTE 1 4pm) each Wednesday afternoon in the coming weeks to share her tips on how to include 3 portions out of your daily 5 veg & fruit requirements each week, so watch out for that!

If you’re looking to continue your January health boost, Itsa’s smoothies contain yoghurt, honey & plenty of fruit to go towards your 5 a day, while you can ncrease your intake of vegetables by trying one of their deliciously wholesome soups.  All are made in house by Itsa’s own chefswith top quality Marigold Vegan stock and no un-necessary additives, and you can add a low GI bagel for a really healthy tasty lunch.

Even their goodies are better for you and baked daily in Itsa’s own production kitchen!

You can enter our competition this week for a “Power Lunch” for two here, or simply drop into the Fitz Lane store to get your Power Lunch pack for only €8, or a delicious healthy bagel!
Thnk about it, greasy mayo full chicken roll for a fiver, or a tasty, healthy bagel and a hot drink for only €6?!



Related Tags: lunch, lunch in Dublin, lunch Dublin, lunch menus, restaurant deals, restaurant offers, lunch options Dublin, lunch deals, lunch offers, lunch deals Dublin, lunch offers Dublin, cheap lunch, lunch value Dublin, lunch value Cork, lunch Cork, lunch in Cork, lunch deals Cork, lunch offers Cork,  Itsa, Itsa Bagels, Itsa Bagel, coeliac lunch, coeliac lunch options,

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mylunch.ie Blog 2011-01-25 15:58:00

Meateasy
(Date:25 January 2011)


For years, the streets of London have been home to street food traders. From Afro Carribbean chicken, to Indian spice, the old city has always had a certain flavour about her, and that has not been lost.
Dreamt up by 35 year old half Greek half Londoner Yiannis Papoutsis, “The Meatwagon” was a legendary burger van, which popped up in various locations in South East London, and is said to have warranted fabled hour long queues, impromptu street parties, and much much foodie love for it’s delicious burgers. Yiannis makes regular visits to the states to bring back daring and delicious recipes.
However, all was not well in Burger Heaven. Back in early December, the legendary Meat Wagon, which had been chased far and wide by burger loving folks across the UK for so long, was stolen.
Having heard about the commotion, and the ensuing Twitter bid to find the truck, Capital Pub Group decided to give Yiannis a space above a pub on New Cross Road in the SE London area, and thus, #MEATEASY was born!
An eating experience like no other, #MEATEASY is so called “guerilla dining”. It’s located “out the back” of the pub, and ordering is kept at bay by providing each guest with a numbered peg that allows them, once their number is called to order 4 items from the menu – which is written in chalk on the wall! Queues are said to be 2 hours long on big nights, and Yianni and his 10-strong team work “insane 22-hour shifts” with everything cooked everything from scratch.
Menu choices for the three-month project start at £6 and include the famous juicy cheeseburger, the slightly spicier chilli cheeseburger, hot dogs and buffalo wings as well as the Dead Hippy, “basically a take on a Big Mac inspired by the Californian Double-Double (double meat/double cheese) from In-N-Out and with a slight homage to the big Mac too” and all are revered!
Cash only is taken, and no bookings are allowed, except for one table, which is reserved for #MEATEASY volunteers!
For more, see this review in The London Evening Standard the Meateasy website, the supposed street eating authority of Britain’s website, this Timeout review or alternatiely simply search Twitter which is ablaze with news on the project.
So the big question is, would this work in Ireland, and who has the cojones to take it on?!

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mylunch.ie Blog 2011-01-25 15:57:00

Watercooler Moments
(Date:24 January 2011)


After a brief hiatus last week, your favourite smalltalk blog post of the week is back! You need not fear for small talk this week, as we’ve got the stories of the weekend wrapped up into a neat little package!
This week we’ve got blatant sexism, a destroyed country, and Trinners on the piste!
Sexy Rugby and Sexist Analysts!
The final weekend of rygby’s Heineken Cup was played out over the weekend, and with most group winners already decided, it was simply a matter of who would play who in the quarter finals. With things going to plan for all three Irish provinces (including Munster who still had a Challenge Cup spot to play for), all three won with a four try bonus point, and got favourable draws for their respective quarter finals.
Ulster will now play Northampton away, Leinster will be at home in the Aviva to Leicester, and Munster will travel to France to play Brive in their Amlin Challenge Cup Quarter Final. The draw for the semis was also made, and again the draw was a good un’ for the Irish provinces, who will all be at home.
Meanwhile, there was controversy in a different code over the weekend, when Sky Sports analysts Andy Gray and Richard Keys had a bit of an off air moment, while still very much on air! The two decided to slate female lineswomen, and females in general, while also making light of sexist issues in football. The full audio can be hear here, but be warned, this may not be safe for work. (unless you have headphones of course!)
A broken country?
I’m sure you’re sick of it at this stage, but this weekend was a momentous one for Irish politics!At Saturday lunchtime, you had the resignation of the esteemed leader from his party leader position, but not from the country leader position.
Nominations were made puclic for the Fianna Fail leadership battle, which are set to close this afternoon, and of course amid all of this, the Green Party quietly made their way out of government, (perhaps never to be seen again?)
They probably couldn’t afford cigarette papers, what’s the big deal?
Finally, with the country going to hell in a handbasket, the Indo over the weekend carried the charming, if possibly fabricated story of Trinity college students causing mayhem on a French ski trip earlier this month.
According to sources from the respective colleges, students “burned and smoked €50 notes” in and outside one of the town’s Alpine nightclubs to demonstrate their wealth. and “painted swastikas on to walls of the accommodation ensured the gendarmes were called”.
As a former Apprentice contestant  famously said, “Daddy can’t buy you cop on in Trinity college”, but it seems he can afford his “credit card being used to buy massive rounds of drinks”.
In an unlikely  twist to the story this morning, ocal cigarette paper manufacturers denied that their product was overtly expensive…
So there you have it, the three big stories making the news in your office this morning! We would advise that before you raise them, you check if the resident sexist Fianna Fail supporter and Trinity graduate is in today!

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mylunch.ie Blog 2011-01-25 15:57:00

Monday Deals Overload
(Date:24 January 2011)

Burritos and Blues

We know you mylunchies are an all consuming lunch bunch, always wanting more deals, more exclusive offers and more value for money, and frankly, that’s why we love you!
Well, to get the week off to a great start, we’ve news of two new deals ongoing on the site at the moment.
First of all, the much loved Burritos and Blues on Wexford St. have a brand spanking newbie:
A burrito bowl is a burrito without the shell basically, and it is deeeelicious, but as well as that, you get scrumptious cheese fries for FREE!
*Homer Simpson drooling moment*
This is an exclusive mylunch deal which you won’t find anywhere else on the web. Stick with us kid, we’ll look after ya!
Also this week, for all those Dublin 8ers out there, Just Off Francis have another great new offer. From 2-3pm every day, you can get two lunch mains for only €10. Now that’s not €10 each, that’s in total!
Click here for their menu. That’s a prefect deal if you want to treat a friend, or even if you’re simply famished!
Oh and I probably shouldn’t be telling you this, but we’ve possibly got a deadly new 2 for 1 coming on next week. Think religious and Dublin 1, but keep on the QT….

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mylunch.ie Blog 2011-01-21 16:31:00

Savvy Lunch Spending


Savvy Lunch Spending
(Date:21 January 2011)


mylunch is becoming quite the celeb in recent days, and we’ve also got a lovely mention from Sale Savvy!
Sale Savvy is a deadly value blog for the savvy spender, and has news on deals from fashion to beauty to entertainment and everything in between, including lunch.


They seem to have taken a shine to our Salon Des Saveurs blog, and why not, it’s quite a deal!
To have a look at what they had to say about us, click here.

Oh, and Happy Friday!!

Related Tags: lunch, lunch in Dublin, lunch in Cork, lunch value, lunch deals, lunch offers, lunch specials, lunch deals Dublin, lunch deals Cork, mylunch.ie Sale Savvy

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mylunch.ie Blog 2011-01-20 18:20:00

Lolly and Cooks New Salad Bar
(Date:21 January 2011)


What fantastic timing!
The gang at Lolly + Cooks have gone and made Healthy Eating Month a lot, lot easier for you lunch lovers!
Famed for their delicious cupcakes and gourmet stews, as well as a merry band of cheery staff, the stall, located at the back of George’s Street Arcade, is now home to a lovely new gourmet salad bar since yesterday! 

With the whole site (and the whole office!) in healthy eating mode, this is a very welcome turn of events!
The new delicious range is made fresh each day, and can be purchased as salad boxes or as part of new meal deals.

For a medium poriton (16oz) you pay only €4.50, while if you really want to catch up on your greens, go for the large, which is €6 and will really satisfy any salad lover!

Oh, and by the way, don’t tell em that we told you, but we’ve heard on the grapevine that if you become a member of the Lolly + Cooks group on Facebook, and mention that you are a member when ordering, you can and get a medium salad box for only €3 until Special offer for until 22nd Jan!
And of course eating salad for your main course means that you can devour one of their cupcakes for dessert guilt free! (Not that the healthy eating regieme in the mylunch office allows for that ;)

Related Tags: lunch, lunch in Dublin, lunch in Cork, lunch value, lunch deals, lunch offers, lunch specials, lunch deals Dublin, lunch deals Cork, mylunch.ie

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mylunch.ie Blog 2011-01-20 18:18:00

and you thought there was no such thing…
(Date:20 January 2011)

Free Lunch mylunch.ie

Feck that dinner for two malarky!
We know what you want and we’ve listened to your feedback, which is why, from this week on, Ireland’s best (and only!) lunch offers website is givivng you the chance to win FREE LUNCH (it needs caps lock!) every freakin day!

You can enter every day, and as many times as you want (just not too many, our servers are overworked as it is!) and each evening, the mylunch random number machine will choose one of the days entrants at random to be our winner.

So set your alarm, stick a post-it on your computer screen, get your secretary to remind you daily, or even hire a secretary to remind you daily, but for God’s sake, remember to enter that comp!

This weeks competition is sponsored by Urban Picnic, and you have the chance to win a three course (soup, main and one of there patented desserts) for two people. So that’s two FREE LUNCHES you can win! (did I mention it deserves caps lock?)

Oh, and if you want to, you can go here to bookmark the competition page.

Related Tags: lunch, lunch in Dublin, lunch in Cork, lunch value, lunch deals, lunch offers, lunch specials, lunch deals Dublin, lunch deals Cork, mylunch.ie

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mylunch.ie Blog 2011-01-20 18:17:00

We’re now Eddie Hobbs approved
(Date:20 January 2011)

Eddie Hobbs

The maestro of money in Ireland has given us his seal of approval!

Check out this link on Eddie Hobbs’ “You and Your Money” site, giving Ireland’s best lunch site the seal of approval!

Related Tags: lunch, lunch in Dublin, lunch in Cork, lunch value, lunch deals, lunch offers, lunch specials, lunch deals Dublin, lunch deals Cork, mylunch.ie

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mylunch.ie Blog 2011-01-19 11:24:00

Deals Deals Deals
(Date:19 January 2011)

Euro mylunch.ie

On Monday, our first ever weekly deals email was sent to you lovely users! We reckon that you by using the site every say, you can save on average €5.13 on your daily lunch spend, and we’d like to prove that! So here’s your lunch week sorted!
If you’re not yet reg’d, then what you waitin for? Click here, and simply wait for four lunch bulletin to arrive in your inbox…
Here’s a shneaky peak at the newsletter as a taster!

 
Deals of the Week on mylunch.ie
 mylunch.ie logo
Hi Subscriber,

It being supposedly the bluest day of the year (Blue Monday), we thought you might need a little bit of cheering up today, so here are our best deals of the week, all exclusive to mylunch.ie…

 

 
Monday 17th Jan
2 for 1 on any main at Bloom Brasserie (order before 12.30)
2 for 1 on any main at The Beacon Hotel
 
Tuesday 18th Jan
Soup and any main for €15 (usually €20) at Bang

2 for 1 on all mains at The Baggot Inn (order before 12.30)
 
Wednesday 19th Jan
Buy one lunch main, get a second for €5 at Brasserie Sixty6

2 for 1 on all mains from the Cafe Carlo lunch menu
 
Thursday 20th Jan
Free Soup with any Sandwich at The Wooden Spoon
2 for 1 on all coffees from West Coast Coffee
 
Friday 21st Jan
2 for 1 on all lunch mains at Camden Court Hotel (order before 12.30)
Host goes free for groups of 4 or more at Bleu Bistro
 
 
And remember, there are loads more lunch deals available on site, with more added almost every day! You can see them all here. 
 
No offers in your area?? 
Then tell a friend about us! The more users we get in an area, the more deals we can get!
Alternatively, if there are loads of deals you like on the site, we’d be delira if you could spread the word about them!
To tell a friend, you can…
Oh, and to say thanks for being such a swell person, we’ve a brand new
Urban Picnic competition
, through which you can win a three course lunch for two people, every day this week!
That’s a FREE LUNCH for two every day!
 
 
 
 
 

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mylunch.ie Blog 2011-01-18 10:37:00

Something (healthy) for the weekend
(Date:14 January 2011)


 

Wagamama is officially one of the mylunch offices favourite lunch treats! We make the pilgrimage to the South King St. venue at least once a week, and we’re practically known by name in there now!


Waga is also a firm favourite with singing celebs and Irish rugby players, and the main reason for this, (besides the delicious food obviously) is that it’s also a healthy option!
With a stated aim ‘to combine great, fresh and nutritious food in an sleek yet simple setting with helpful, friendly service and value for money’, Waga really is a great option for the savvy lunch eater, and for those of us who have pledged to eat healthily for the New Year
Now we gave away two Wagamama cookbooks on the blog just before Christmas, but if you didn’t manage to win one of those, well we’ve a treat for you, an exclusive recipe!
Chicken Ramen is a classic favourite on the menu, and personally, I would eat it for every meal if I could! So if you fancy something healthy, but very very tasty to make this weekend, then read on, because we’re about to tell you how! Plus, you could apply for a job as a Waga chef if things go well!

You will need

  • 12 pieces menma (canned bamboo shoots), drained
  • 2 pak choi, trimmed and roughly chopped (or 2 handfuls of baby spinach leaves)
  • 1 litre of chicken or vegetable stock
  • 250g (9oz) ramen noodles
  • Vegetable oil
  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 4 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced

Instructions
Preheat the grill, and while waiting, lightly oil and season the chicken breasts. Grill these for 4 minutes on each side (or until cooked through) and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
When cooled, slice on the diagonal and set aside

Now on to the noodles! In a large pan of boiling water boil the noodles for 2-3 minutes, until just tender.
Drain, refresh under cold running water and divide between two bowls.
Next heat the chicken or vegetable stock until boiling. put the pak choi on top of the noodles and ladle in the stock.
Finally, top with the sliced chicken, menma and spring onions, and serve with a garnish of garlic!
It’s so easy, but yet so so tasty, and healthy too!

On the other hand if you want to take the lazy option, then you can drop into one of the three Wagamama venues in Dublin + Cork, and have a delicious bowl of Ramen served up to you, washed down with a vitiman packed juice!
Oh and by the way, if you’re a signed up member of Wagamama online, you can get this recipe and many many more. See here for all the info, and sign up is quick and easy.

You can also befriend Waga on Facebook, where you can avail of an exclusive monthly deal through their offers tab!

Related Tags: mylunch.ie, lunch, Asian, value lunch, lunch deals, Wagamama, Wagamama Cork, Wagamama Blanchardstown, Wagamama Dublin 2, noodles, cookbook, recipe, Wagamama,
 

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mylunch.ie Blog 2011-01-18 10:36:00

Feck Blue Monday…


Feck Blue Monday…
(Date:17 January 2011)

Happy Horse

The third Monday in January is supposedly the most depressing day of the year, but as a great man once said: Don’t worry, be happy!
There’s lots of good news emanating from the mylunch camp, and it’s a beautiful crisp January day, so what’s to be blue about?

Firstly, we’ve changed our competition format. Instead of having one winner per week, we’re now going to give away 5 FREE LUNCHES every week on the site! That’s a chance for you to win FREE LUNCH every day! (Oh, by the way did we mention FREE LUNCH?!)

Be sure to enter daily on the comp page, and check our Facebook every eve for details of the winner. As the saying goes, It could be you!

This week’s comp is kindly sponsored by Urban Picnic, who have given us an amazing daily prize of a three course lunch for two people!

Having been mentioned in the Irish Times before Christmas as one of the best desert  purveyors in the city, we thought we’d let you off the Healthy Eating leash a little bit, but remember, their lunch menu is also choc full of healthy eating choices too! If you haven’t sampled yet, do pop in to Vinny and the team and their lovely premises, just inside the George’s Street entrance of the George’s Street Arcade.

We also launched our weekly deals email this morning, which is kept short and sweet, and gives you a day by day rundown of all best deals!

We’ve got your full week sorted, so check your inbox now, and if you haven’t signed up, well, are you mad?! It may save you over €5.13 per day, and we’ve done the maths…

Oh and by the way, Watercooler Moments will return next week, our regular nosy newsperson had a busy morning, so forgive us if you got stuck for conversation this lunchtime!
Stand by for another week of fun, frolics and feckin’ great lunch deals!

Related Tags: lunch, lunch deals, Watercooler Moments, lunch offers, lunch value, Urban Picnic, FREE LUNCH, , lunch competition, lunch in Cork, lunch in Dublin, lunch deals Dublin, lunch in Cork.

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Fair or Fowl?

There was a time when this was acceptable. When people were eating foie gras for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and nothing was thought of it when a diner dropped €1,000 on a bottle of wine.
There was a time when we expected to be paying what’s now seen as stratospheric prices for a good meal, and when city centre landlords knew their tenants were raking it in, and shur, weren’t all renters almost expecting their rent to go up in these times?

Those times are long gone.


With the closure of the much loved “Mermaid” restaurant on Dame Street, and the almost cult cafe “Gruel”, which adjoined it (it’s said their roast rolls were a thing of beauty!) came both a public outcry, but also a gushing of anger and almost resigned frustration that one has become accustomed to with modern Ireland.
You see, it has since came to light that these two premises, on the periphery of Dublin city centre’s shopping district, much loved small Irish businesses, had been situated in a building whose rent was valued at €190,000 per annum.

As the Irish Times states, “The award-winning Mermaid and its more casual sister restaurant Gruel ceased trading on December 23rd, having managed to secure only a “tiny” reduction in rent from its landlady. The company behind them is now in liquidation, with the loss of 30 jobs. Mr Harrell (a former owner) said “part of the fabric of Temple Bar” was now gone.”

This corner of Dublin, the axis of South George’s Street and Dame Street, which should be one of the chicest jewels in the urban crown of our fair city, is now home to, by my estimation, at least 10 unmanned stores.

With economic turmoil, adverse weather, water shortages, unseasonably poor trading conditions, margin cuts and threat from large multinational chains, this is by no means an isolated incident. In fact, respected RAI chief Adrian Cummins said last year that one restaurant per day is closing in this country.
Due to high input costs, high excise costs, high wages and of course high rent, are we looking at the generification of our restaurant  industry, which employs 64,000 people (1 in 4 in the tourism industry) and contributes €2 billion to the economy each year?

Granted, some might say that the industry is behind the times, and some within it running out dated Celtic Tiger business models, with old fashioned ideals, but there is no doubt that indies like Gruel and Mermaid deserve to be applauded for their attempts to be forward thinking, and be aided in this battle to keep jobs, tax revenue and above all creativity alive.

One thing’s for sure, if restaurants continue to be bombarded with tax and rent hikes, that one closure per day will soon be higher, until, akin to Grafton St. and it’s countless mobile phone shops and convenience stores, all that’s left is the faceless big guy.

The following poignant line from the Times piece about the closure is sure to stick in the craw of many within the industry, and indeed anyone who has ever enjoyed a meal in either of the two premises in question:

“The combined rent on the two restaurants at 68 and 69 Dame Street was €190,000. When Mr Harrell and Mr Gorman opened the Mermaid, at number 69, in 1996, the rent was £15,000.”

Note: Neither Gruel or Mermaid were or have ever been listed on, or involved with mylunch.ie.

Related Tags: lunch, lunch deals, lunch offers, lunch value, Urban Picnic, FREE LUNCH, lunch competition, lunch in Cork, lunch in Dublin, lunch deals Dublin, lunch in Cork.

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Sharing is Caring

Sharing is Caring….


Help Us Help You!
(Date:12 January 2011)

Share Bear

You good people of mylunch, being the upstanding citizens that you are, you’re probably asking, what can you do for us in return for the great offers on site?

Well it goes without saying that the more of you there are visiting the site daily, the bigger and better deals, comps and exclusive freebies we can get you. So today, we’re asking you to spread the mylunch gospel!
We’d be much obliged if you could help take us to the masses, and in the process win some brownie points with your friends, because after all, sharing is caring!

How to share with the new site?

Since we’ve grown up in 2010, there are loads and loads of ways to be social with the site. You’ve got share buttons on every retailer page, invite a friend to lunch options, and even the opportunity to pass on vouchers to your Facebook friends if you want!
In fact, if we the new mylunch.ie were a type of Care Bear, we’d be Share Bear!
So if you’re a regular user of the site, like our deals and plan to use us to save a few bob this year, you’ve won a free lunch with us, or you simply fancy one of our crew members (David is a hottie alright, swit swoo!), then why not

G’wan, we’ll be your special fwend if you do!

Related Tags: lunch, lunch in Dublin, sharing is caring, lunch offers, lunch deals, lunch in Cork, special offers, food deals, restaurant deals, Share,

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And the winners are…

Originally Posted: http://www.mylunch.ie/layout/Content_Details.cfm/ck/58/ctk/35/k/1582

And so the time has come!

We’ve had begging, cajoling and even threatening. There’s been tears, drama, sob stories and tugging at heart strings, and we’ve been overloaded with emails asking for information.

But enough about the mylunch Xmas party, we’ve also had hundreds of entries in a bid to win a bundle of four tickets to 7UP Christmas on Ice this week!

There’s been Blades of Glory jokes, bad puns, descriptions of special ice skating moves and no shortage of memories of childhood skates, and Dad trying to fit into that spandex suit one last time (these ones have been passed on the our resident psychologist!)

For the past 2-3 weeks, you’ve been practising and practising, skating around on the natural ice, and now that the thaw has hit us, all of that practice is about to come to fruition on artificial ice!

The winners of bundles of four tickets for 7UP Christmas on Ice are…

RDS : Hilary Weldon, Karen Hill, Laura Elliot, Ciaran O Farrell, Sheenagh Rogers

Arnotts: Aaron Chalke, Andrew Comerford, Claire Young, Denise Moakler, Belinda Meaghan

The tickets can be used any time from now unitl 9th of January, and the winners will be contacted by email early on Monday.

Congrats to all who were lucky enough to come out of the hat!

For those who were unlucky enough not to be picked by the resident office database monkey, don’t worry, we’ve a brand new competition every week, and some of our lunch deals feel like you’ve won the lotto anyway, so console yourself with those!

Oh and if you had you’re heart set on doing an old 180 twist on the ice, well you can still book on the 7UP site, for both the RDS and Arnotts (and it is a magical experience!)

Happy weekend and check back on Monday for even more lunch deals!

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Mylunch Newsletter 8th December

mylunch.ie news 8/12/10
Welcome to the world of tomorrow… The new and vastly improved mylunch.ie is now live, so do come take a look at our new baby!

We’ve made a huge overhaul, making our site much easier for you to navigate, and very simple to find lunch value!
We’ve added features like a vastly improved search area (including keyword box), specific categories for you to find exactly what you want, info for vegetarians, coeliacs etc.  and a new news area, called “The Lunchbox“, as well as adding more and more Special Lunch Offers!

Of course we’d love to hear what what you think good or bad! The best feedback will win a free lunch on us!


To help launch and wet the head of the new site, 7UP have kindly given us 40 (YES 40!) tickets to 7UP on Ice to give away this week. (20 for RDS and 20 for Arnotts). So if you fancy getting your skates on, and practicing your new found ice balancing skills, simply mail 7UP@mylunch.ie with your preferred venue and name, or see here for all the details!
What’s the news on site this week?
Cafe en Seine on Dawson St has a 2 for 1 mylunch offer on their new lunch menu! This must end on December 15th, so get printing now. The new menu sounds delicious, and what better way to beat the budget eh?? Oh and see below for our Cafe en Seine competition this week…
Beshoffs on O Connell Street also have a new 2 for 1 on mylunch.ie, we’re racking them up! You can get two for one on all main dishes on Mon-Wed. A vinegar soaked fish and chips sounds quite good!
The ever cheery Hugo at Cafe Azteca has given us another special voucher. His hugely popular cookery classes are tremendous fun, and teach you to cook the Mexican way. So, to cheer us all up, when you buy any burrito, and present our voucher, you can avail of these classes for free, starting in January. All the details can be found on The Lunchbox here.
Finally, brand new on site, The Grafton Lounge have a new offer: Buy any main course from their delicious lunch menu, and get a second for half price! Tasty!

Brand New Competition!
Cafe en SeineFor the first comp on our new site, Cafe en Seine is celebrating their brand new lunch menu.

With a new 2 for 1 on site, we’d love for you to drop down to Dawson Street, and take the menu for a trial run. With a European flavour, and dishes ranging from Antipasti to their patented steak sandwich, you’d be mad not to!

The prize this week is a meal for two and bottle of house wine for Cafe en Seine,
so go to our new comp page now to enter, and watch out for those database monkeys!

The Lunchbox Latest
As you’ll see on the new site, we’ve added a new blog area called “The Lunchbox” where we shall be posting all our news on deals, offers, comps and anything else which tickles our fancy, including small furry animals. Here’s the latest posts this week:

Learn how to lunch Mexican style
In which we curse the budget, link to a Spice Girls song, give you free cooking lessons, and explain how Munchies Drumcondra workers love bodily contact.

Our Beautiful New Baby
In which we give away our favourite Simpsons character, reveal which of our team is the worst speller, and tell you how you can win free lunch by simply telling us where you like to eat!

Dancing on Ice, a topical subject!
In which we talk about your Dad in spandex, ice skating on a roof, and South Dublin Winter Olympic Champion mating rituals.

So, does any of this interest you? Well then, dive into the Lunchbox!

2-For-1 Lunch Quick Links
Check out the great 2-For-1 lunch offers available now in the following venues:

Cafe en Seine (Dawson Street)

Sweeneys (Dame Street)
West Coast Coffee (Various)
Beshoff (O Connell Street)

Two for One logoGourmet Burger Kitchen (Various)
Millers Restaurant (Baggot St Upper)
The Beacon (Sandyford)

Pacino’s (Suffolk St)
Oil Can Harrys (Lr Mount St)
The Ocean Bar (Grand Canal Quay)

The Iveagh Restaurant at The Camden Court Hotel
Dandelion (St. Stephens Green)
Gourmet Burger Co. (Ranelagh)

Sign Up To Our Newsletter
If one of your friends was thoughtful enough to send you on this newsletter, then why not sign up yourself and stay up to date on all the latest offers and info from mylunch.ie.

To sign up, just click
here


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Feck off Budget!!

Though we’re solely apolitical here in the mylunch office (yeah right!), on days like today, we like to crusade for the plight of the common lunch eater.

So to tell Cowen and Lenihan where to go, and beat the “Budget Blues” today, the ever cheery Hugo at Cafe Azteca has given us the offer of “Buy any burrito, and you can sign up for our cookery classes FOR FREE!”
The classes run weekly, and will start again in January, so why not make it your New Years resolution to learn to cook the Mexican way, and spice up your life. (I dare you to click that link!)

You can check out the happy faces from previous cookery classes on the Azteca Facebook, and take it from me, Hugo will have you cooking with a smile!

Ingredients (which Hugo purchases for you) are generally around €15, depending on what is being cooked, and you will be left with a fantastic dish, which you can be very proud of.
See the Azteca page for the voucher, and check their menus out too!

On a more immediate Budget bashing note, Munchies Baggot St. and Munchies Drumcondra are both offering 2 for 1 on all coffees, all day today (Tuesday).

The Drumcondra branch has also promised free hugs to all who avail of the offer, in a bid to cheer us up, so be sure to ask for yours!

Oh and of course, we have a great 2 for 1 on West Coast Coffee on site too.

Now put that in your Current Account Deficit and smoke it Fianna Fail!

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Our Beautiful New Baby!!

As you will have probably noticed by now (cos you’re here!), our shiny new site is now live. So, like proud mothers, we thought we might as well show off our new baby!

There’s a whole host of new features on the new improved mylunch, and throughout this week and next, we’ll be talking you through some of them.


Search
The main feature we’ve improved with our re-incarnation, and the first thing you will see when you hit our homepage, is our search function. You can now find what you’re looking for really easily, by searching for keyword (eg Burger for Gourmet Burger Kitchen), by County (Louth, Cork, Dublin 1 etc.), by Area (South King Street, Dublin 16 etc.) or by category. Choose as many, or as little of these options as you want, to quickly and easily find the perfect lunch, or choose your area, and then hit Random to leave your fate up to our simian controlled database!

Recommend a Retailer
Apart from the inexplicable inability of one of our team to spell recommend (*cough* Shane *cough*), the new recommend a retailer process was a no brainer for us! We strive to bring you the best lunch deals and lunch specials we can, and users telling us what they want on site makes our job a whole lot easier! But the big clincher is; if you recommend us somewhere you love to lunch, and they come on site as a result of that, we’ll give you free lunch in this premises! Tis win, win, so get recommending, because we’ve enrolled Shane in a spelling class, and might as well get our money’s worth!


Ssssssslider!
Finally for this post, is our new slider. A magic flash box full of wonderful offers, comps and other juicy stuff, this can be changed with the arrows on either side, and is clickable, so if you see something you fancy, give it a click!
(OK so the slider process didn’t take much explaining, but just thought we’d mention it!)

So you’re homework for our next lesson is to revise these new features, and familiarise yourself with them. Watch out, there may be a pop quiz!
If you’ve any queries or suggestions about anything on the new site please use the magic of electronic mail or talk to us on Facebook and Twitter.

Oh, and you can also share this post on your chosen social medium using the thingys in the top right corner! Gwan, let your friends know how bad a speller our Shane is!

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Mylunch, too sexy for it’s shirt!

You may have noticed recently that the Cork area of our site is becoming increasingly populated. Well that’s because Ireland’s only lunch value site is moving to the fair rebel county! So enlighten all your fair country friends and colleagues that we are coming, and their lunchtime habits will never be the same again!
We’ve already added new exclusive vouchers for Wagamama Cork (2 for 1!) and Capt. Americas (free starter!) and there is lots more where that came from…

To celebrate our move to Cork, we’ve teamed up with Ernst and Young Cork, to help with their E+Y Charity Fashion event! On tonight (Friday 12th), in the lovely Clarion Hotel Cork city, the event aims to raise much needed funds for Cork Simon Community and The Saoirse Foundation

By showing that accountants aren’t all grey suits and calculators, the team hopes to help out those who are feeling even more marginalised by the current economic climate, and, as E+Y Cork managing partner John Higgins states, “We have a fantastic show lined up and will certainly dispel any myths that accountants are dull and boring!”

The fashions will be provided by local Cork retailers, and included in the models strutting their stuff will be Cork hurling star Tom Kenny and former Miss Cork Caroline Crowley, both employees of Ernst + Young. Other guests will include Irish soap stars, and perhaps even a certain few of Bill Cullen’s Apprentices will be along. Rumours that they will be hunting for an E+Y position are as yet unfounded!

We at mylunch are proud to help out with the event, and amongst other things, there will be raffle prizes from some of our new Cork retailers, as well as some of our Cork exclusive vouchers and other goodies available this evening.

Oh and if you do have any country cousins or friends who you know would love to save on delicious lunches, please tell them about mylunch.ie, or ask them to recommend a retailer! Lunch in Cork will never be the same!

(Soon to be seen in Treaty and Tribe cities too, but don’t say we told you…!)

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Free Lunch! There is such a thing!

A phrase we often like to use is: “There may be no such thing as free lunch, but we’ve got the next best alternative”.

However, no more shall this old chestnut be in play, because we can indeed promise you a free lunch this week!
The Tefal Greaseless Spoon Cafe (great name huh?!) pops up this week at 39 South William Street, and is offering FREE LUNCH AND BREAKFAST for three days only (2nd-4th December)
Serving up dishes such as a traditional Irish fry up (with 70% less fat!), chilli con carne and spicy chicken wings, Tefal wants to show you that you can still enjoy all your favourite meals but can cook them in a much healthier way. And isn’t that what we all want? The holy trinity of convenient, healthy and tasty food is now a possibility!

By using Tefal innovations such as the revolutionary Actifry, a fryer unlike no other (1 spoonful of oil is enough for 1 kg of delicious homemade chips) and the Vita Cuisine, which has three steaming compartments to allow healthy steamed meals full of flavour be made all in one go, the Tefal chefs will whip up lunch or breakfast for you!
Having already run very successfully in London (how would free healthy food not be successful?!), The Greaseless Spoon is now open for bookings!

All you have to do is send an email to greaselessspoondublin@gmail.com including your preferred date, time and the number of people in your party, and if it’s available, hey presto! But get in early because space is filling up very, very quickly.

Oh and be sure to become a fan of their Facebook and Twitter pages for all the info and some cool comps over the coming week!

We shall have two free lunch sittings for four to give away on our Facebook during the week, along with another huge Tefal prize in our newsletter on Wednesday.

Now don’t ever say those awful words again, because there is such a thing as a free lunch with mylunch.ie and The Tefal Greaseless Spoon Cafe this week!

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Looking for lunch, in your neighbourhood? Who you gonna call?

Ah Halloween! As the old Andy Williams song goes, it’s the most spookiful time, of the year! (Ok maybe not but you get the idea!)
We here at mylunch.ie love it so much that we’ve even changed our logo this week to this little beauty!

Our retailers seem to be getting into the spirit too, and they’ve embraced this most scariest of seasons heartily.
Firstly, on Facebook today, we will be giving away a €20 lunch voucher for whoever gives us the best costume idea.

Competition is stiff, with one of the best so far being dressing up three toddlers as Tic Tacs, so beat that if you can!
You can tell us here.

Burritos and Blues are always ones to rise to an occasion, and on Saturday, they are giving away free Salsa Fries (usually €3.50 and really delish!) to anyone who comes in wearing a costume.
So if you’re in town doing a bit of shopping on Sat, be sure to wear that sexy policewoman/fireman uniform for a free lunch, it’s like trick or treating for adults!

Munchies on Sir John Rogersons Quay and in Millenium Walk are joining in the festivities by offering their “Pumpkin Potion and Monster Munchie” (Pumpkin Soup and a Monster Munchie toasted sandwich) for €6.50 today, and Munchies Central Park offer the same!

In fact all the Munchies, as well as The Vaults, have delicious hearty pumpkin soup on today, so stop in for a sup eh?

While Gourmet Burger Co. (now home of Kobe beef in Dublin!) have a special spooky burger for only €9.95 which sounds both seasonal and delicious: “8oz organic beef burger smothered with suicidal sauce and pumpkin relish”!
Nyom Nyom Nyom!

Oh and don’t forget that Movember starts on Monday so get donating! The mylunch office has taken Burritos and Blues cue and donated their lips to the cause so give anything you can here.

Now if only the mylunch mankinis which the office males are wearing this weekend would arrive…

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Grinches Beware!!

Oh come all ye mylunch faithful and let us guide you through the maze of Christmas party bookings!
We know that many of you guys, our lovely lunch users, are currently looking to book a place for your Christmas party. 
We know that the social pressure associated with making the right choice is huge.
We know that there isn’t the same budget there for the annual office shindig that there was in years gone by.
And we know that the thoughts of eating luke warm turkey while wearing a shiny hat and listening to an Abba cover band being drowned out by that guy from Accountings drunken ramblings is enough to ruin anyone’s Christmas!

So let us come to your rescue this year, because though we are the lunch in Dublin kingpins, a lot of you are asking about our retailers Christmas offerings, and who are we to refuse you information eh?!

We’ve been beavering away collecting all the info on party packages and here is the fruits of our labour in all it’s glory, behold:
Oh by the way we’ve also secured discounts for anyone mentioning mylunch when booking from lots of these guys, including Cafe en Seine and The Beacon Hotel for example.
You can also check our new tab on Facebook which gives you a direct link to the Christmas Brochure.
There’s something for everyone, from cocktails and Asian in KOH, to dancing in Dandelion, and you can even get free transport from Roganstown House and Country Club if you so wish.
So have a look, mention us while booking and let mylunch and our retailers take the stress out of Christmas office planning! Now all you’ve got to do is sort out the seating plan…!

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