Notting Hill – London -England – July 2017

Tags

Brasserie, England, Les Miserables, London, Notting Hill, risotto

Lunch and an afternoon walking around Notting Hill

There was something I had on my ‘to do’ list whilst in London and it was to take a walk around the streets of Notting Hill.  So one day when my brother and nephew went to Chelsea Football Stadium {never had any plans to go with them!!}, I walked from our Airbnb apartment in Kensington to Notting Hill which is about a fifteen minute walk, strolling along beautiful streets and wonderful homes; all white and black!

It was lovely summer weather in London; around the low 20’s [degrees celsius] so good walking weather.  Strolling past lovely homes with gorgeous little gardens and pot plants something I just loved around the London area.  And then peering into little cobblestone streets, past wrought iron gates to brightly painted doors.Then after about an hour I was feeling a little hungry so stopped off at a lovely little brasserie.Once inside I ordered my usual drinks; sparkling mineral water and glass of white wine…and then found out there was free wifi – yay because the cost of international roaming on the phone is way too expensive.  Seeing the London red double-decker bus go past was ‘so London’…lovely!I ordered the asparagus and pea risotto and a plate of fresh tomatoes with olive oil and onion.  The risotto was absolutely delicious but way too much so only ate half of that.  The sourdough bread and the fresh tomatoes were incredible and it’s a shame I was too full to eat more of both, but I certainly ate my share.I sat for a while and just enjoyed the atmosphere then it was time to leave as that evening I was going to the West End to see Les Miserables, my absolute favourite musical which I have now seen five times; once on Broadway, twice in Sydney, once in Melbourne and this time at West End…probably enough shows for a while as it’s got to the stage where I am crying even before Fantene passes away!!

I did manage to take a photo of the stage before the show started which was a huge illustration of a troubled looking young girl (Fantene’s daughter Cosette) used to market Les Miserables all around the world.  

Dumpling House – Dickson – Canberra – ACT – Australia – 2010 – 2017

Tags

Chinese food, Dickson Dumpling House, Dumplings, Eggplant, Yu xiang qiezi

My absolute favourite Chinese restaurant

There is a small Chinese restaurant in Canberra (Dickson Dumpling House) about a thirty minute walk from my home that I absolutely love!  I eat there at least once a fortnight and always take visitors there as for me it reminds me so much of the food in Beijing especially the dumplings; vegetable for me and pork for my friends who also order the xiao long bao (Shanghai dumplings containing soup).

Every friend I have taken there loves the authentic Chinese dishes and always asks to reserve a table when they return to visit me; I am actually going there this Sunday night with a friend who is visiting from Cambodia. We usually also order the chive pancakes to start with – a little bit oily but delicious with Chinese vinegar.

The dried green bean dish with chilli is fabulous as, I am told, is the kung pao chicken which is regularly ordered by my friends.

The decor is basic but the service is great.  I have made friends with one of the waiters [Peter] and I practice my Chinese with him and develops his English with me – he is pretty good anyway as he goes to uni here in Canberra.  He recently returned to his home town in Sichaun Province and brought me back some lovely tea.   A very sweet young man who has now invited me and my friend Jon to his home for eggplant as he says he makes it really well and knows I order it always..looking forward to that!

So on the subject of my most favourite dish –  yu xiang qiezi (fish fragrant eggplant).  Ordered every single visit without fail but without the pork on the top and without the fish sauce.  Even my brother has changed his mind about eggplant now because of this dish.

And there are desserts but it’s rare that we order them…but last time my Goddaughter and her partner came to visit we did…very big dishes and oh so sweet!!

So there you have it…my most favourite Chinese restaurant – no MSG either!!

Hobart – Tasmania – Australia – May 2017

Tags

Australia, city sights, Fisherman's Dock, H Jones & Co, Hobart, Jam Factory, Tasmania, waterfront

An early morning walk around Hobart, Tasmania’s capital

Whilst in Hobart for work, I stayed at a lovely heritage hotel in the city which was only a short walk to the water.  The hotel was originally built by convict labour in 1834 and is said to be one of the oldest boutique hotels in Australia. It was such a lovely and elegant hotel with period furniture and the rooms with high ceilings and an old fashioned bed and cupboards but with modern touches like wifi and coffee and tea making facilities.

We arrived very late in the evening after a day working in Melbourne so I went straight to bed but the next morning I got up quite early and head out towards the water to Fisherman’s Dock.  This took about ten minutes and on the way I saw some lovely historic buildings which are very typical Hobart.

At Fisherman’s Dock, it was lovely to see boats surrounded by old buildings and views out to sea.

Really lovely views so early in the morning! I walked past two big warehouses on the waterfront referred to as the Jam Factories…so I decided to do a bit of research to find out about their history…

Summary from Wikepedia:

Henry Jones IXL was a company primarily known as a manufacturer of jams, conserves and sauces in Australia, established by Henry Jones in 1891. The brand is now owned and manufactured by SPC Ardmona, which has itself been owned by Coca-Cola Amatil since February 2005.    The IXL brand – ‘I excel in everything I do’ was Henry Jones’s personal motto.

The building is now a dedicated art hotel after it was abandoned and languishing in neglect, until in 2004 architects revived the site which is now a five-star hotel.

I then walked around the dock for about forty-minutes taking in the views of the mountains with fog below, following which I returned to my hotel to get ready for my meetings in Hobart; walking past churches and more buildings. A capital city I really must come back to – so much to do and see!!

 

 

 

The Wolseley Hotel & The Ritz Hotel – Mayfair – London – England – July 2017

Tags

dinner, expensive wine, Friends, London, Mayfair, The Ritz, The Wolseley Hotel, UK

Dinner with an Aussie and a Brit in London

I met two great expat girls in Beijing [one British and the other a New Zealander]; we hit it off and spent a lot of time together; travelling, eating out and drinking white wine! So when I found out I was travelling to London for holidays I contacted Annie my UK expat friend.  I also wanted to catch up with an Aussie friend Linda who is working in London and as they also knew each other we all decided to go out for dinner.

Annie booked the restaurant as she knew I was vegetarian and chose The Wolseley which has a very good vegetarian menu.  As soon as I walked in the front door I knew I had already been there –  for afternoon tea back in 2010 with my friend Sandy when we met in London to visit some friends.

We were seated at a small table near the front door; not ideal but the atmosphere is so lovely that I immediately forgot we didn’t have the best seats in the restaurant.

The table settings are lovely with old fashioned wine and champagne glasses and service throughout was very good.

We ordered an entree each and mine was eggs benedict; rather unimpressive I must say as the spinach was cold and the muffin very wet – love the crockery though!  For some reason I forgot to take photos of my friend’s dishes and now can’t recall what they were!

But I have photos of our main courses.  Annie’s was the schnitzel which was huge on the plate.

And Linda ordered the poached salmon…

Bread sticks were complimentary and we ordered a few sides; fries, baby carrots and peas and a broccolini gratin dish.

I do love how the lemon arrived in netting to catch the pips.

For my main meal I ordered a bun-less vegetarian burger which came out looking pretty good with some salad greens and tomato with a pesto type sauce.  It was ok.

Whilst I didn’t think the meals were that great, the restaurant is lovely and definitely worth a visit.  And if you want to spend up big, Beluga caviar is on the menu for around $500 AUD – for 50 grams.

We then left the restaurant and Annie asked if we wanted to drop into the Ritz Hotel, which was next door, for a glass of wine.  I hadn’t been there before so off we went and was rather excited.  We walked into a beautiful entrance draped with the British flag and a stunning hallway!

We were seated in a little bar area along the side of the hallway with a view of the dining area where we were able to listen to a quartet playing.

After we ordered our drinks, I took a walk along the hallway and saw the lift to the rooms; wow this was so beautiful inside I just had to take a photo.  Unlike any I have ever seen.

Then the bill arrived; yes it was certainly ‘Ritz’ prices – approximately $37 for a glass of wine…ah well I enjoyed the experience and so glad to have had the experience [if only once].

 

 

 

 

 

Kensington Gardens/Palace and Hyde Park – London – England – July 2017

Tags

Airbnb, Big Bus Tours, England, Kensington, Kensington Palace, London

Five days in KensingtonAfter our stopover in Abu Dhabi, my brother, nephew and I made our way to London where I had booked an Airbnb opposite Kensington Gardens and Kensington Palace.The lower ground floor apartment where we stayed was recently renovated and spacious; great for a five day stay which meant every morning (before 5am due to me being awake early from jet lag) I would be out jogging either in Hyde Park or Kensington Gardens.  My first day was Hyde Park and it was lovely jogging along the well trodden pathway and just loving the fact I was in London.It was so lovely to see the English flowers, trees, ponds and cottages within the park…

There was also a little Rolls Royce car used for selling drinks, snacks and ice cream – very cute and to me – typically English.And something I remember growing up as a child in Wales; the deck chairs on the grass for either relaxing and/or sun baking …. unfortunately on this summer day in London it was not really warm enough for sun baking so not a person in sight.My usual routine at Kensington Gardens was to jog up past the carousel, around the pond and then head up to the Palace.Kensington Palace gardens are beautifully manicured and maintained and there was a special flower planted for the twentieth anniversary of Princess Diana’s passing.

 

There were also many flowers, birthday cards and poems left on the gates to the Palace for her birthday…I would then continue on with my jog and go past the lovely restaurant in the Palace grounds called The Orangery – I did return one day for afternoon tea but as I had not made a reservation I was only able to sit outside [without shade] and this day it was extremely hot in London [29 degrees] so I declined.Jogging then continues through the tunnels of trees and the gravel pathways past the Palace…And continuing along different pathways, along the river and under the bridge back home… What a way to start the day!!

 

Madame Shanghai Restaurant – Sydney – New South Wales – Australia – June 2017

Tags

Australia, Chinese fine dining, Madame Shanghai Restaurant, NSW, Sydney

A work function followed by dinner with friends

A new Chinese restaurant has opened near Hyde Park in Sydney and as I had to travel to Sydney (with my friend/colleague Jane) for a work function, I decided to catch up with two other friends for a late dinner at Madame Shanghai restaurant.  Well what a fabulous find!!

We walked in and had a drink at the cocktail area overlooking Hyde Park which is said to be reminiscent of a Shanghai garden with lush greenery.  It is also decorated with beautiful lamps and really lovely ceiling fans.

The whole area is stylishly decorated in blues and pinks emulating 1930’s Shanghai.  It’s actually pretty spectacular.

We then moved to the dining area.  The whole restaurant is dimly lit in a sophisticated way and initially we were seated at a round table near the door and with the door open it was too noisy, so we asked to be moved and were accommodated straight away.  Our table had a little lamp to allow us to read the menu and the table setting was lovely.

 

My friends Paul and Kay started off with a cocktail each and Jane and I ordered our usual white wine and a bottle of sparkling mineral water.  Paul ordered the Spontaneous Combustion which is made with rum, Gunpowder gin, fassionola, guava, citrus and  beachcomber bitters – along with lots of ice – so delicious, he had another, but I forget what Kay ordered.

The menu is extensive and meant to be shared and has several vegetarian options.

My friends decided to share their meals and I ordered my own vegetarian dishes.  The dishes I ordered were the open top dumplings (four to a serve) and the pumpkin and brocolini dish with hazelnuts and tamari as well as some cauliflower with chilli and balsamic sauce – absolutely delicious!!

My friends started off with the scallop and snow pea dumplings and the duck pancakes with hoisin sauce.

They then ordered the beef short ribs with fish sauce, chilli and fresh herbs which comes with a large bone on the plate which is more decorative rather than edible.

The next dish they tried was the soft shell crab with tomato chilli sauce and grilled milk bread.  I used one finger of the milk bread to mop up some of my chilli and balsamic sauce.  The colours in this dish were so vibrant.

The restaurant also has an outdoors area for dining but too cold on this particular night.  It’s covered with bamboo trees and soft lighting throughout and on the way to the bathrooms you can see fabulous prints of Shanghai women adorning the walls.  I have some of these at my home in Canberra as when I departed Beijing, my lovely language teacher gave me six as a gift which I then had framed.

The chef is Shanghai born and emigrated to Australia in 1996 and it is said his passion for food is inspired by his grandmother’s home cooking and uses the  ‘less is more’ approach.  I like this style.

Final dish ordered by my friends was the octopus with chilli and heirloom sauce and at that time Kay was ready to have one more cocktail – same as before with the dried apple on the top.

Then it was time for dessert; those who know me know I very rarely eat dessert during the week and this time was no different even though they looked and sounded incredible.  Jane is not a big dessert eater but indulged a little this evening.

There are three desserts on the menu and all three were ordered. The first was the white miso cheesecake with passionfruit and cassis – beautifully displayed.

Second was a mango pudding with mango (of course), milk foam and finger lime decorated beautifully with little edible flowers.

And finally Madame’s Gold – a gold glazed chocolate mousse with peanut ganache and rum caramel which is designed to look like a gold bullion.

Pastry chef, Tiffany Jones describes the dessert:

 “Madame’s Gold is symbolic of Madame’s love of the high life and indulgence of the finer things in life…she’s an independent woman who uses her gold bullion to sustain her lavish lifestyle”.

 

 

Stopover in Abu Dhabi – UAE – and arrival in London – UK – June/July 2017

Tags

Abu Dhabi, England, Etihad Airways, London, UAE, UK

The commencement of a two week UK holiday

My brother, nephew and I have been planning a trip to the UK to return to our birthplace in South Wales for just on a year and finally the day arrived for us to depart Sydney.  We took a fourteen hour Etihad flight to Abu Dhabi and decided to stay overnight before our second leg of five hours to London.

Our flight was very good; nice food, good service and a flat bed (most important) which allowed me to sleep for over nine hours [there are five different amenity packs and each one contains a small Luxe tourist book but mine was on Rome; strange really as there are books on Abu Dhabi which clearly would have been more suitable], but anyway there was some face cream and hand cream which I will use.

(source: Google images)

The seat configuration is 1-2-1 and when my flight was booked I went on-line to see where I was seated and found that Etihad also has seats that face to the back of the plane; for me that would be like travelling on a train facing backwards [which I cannot do] so I changed to a forward facing seat.  My brother and nephew sat together so they could chat before eating and also falling asleep.

We arrived in Abu Dhabi around midnight and were picked up by a courtesy car and taken to the Intercontinental Hotel.  But wow…that heat hit us when we walked from the terminal to the carpark – it was so incredibly hot and more so for me having come from minus temperatures in Canberra!!

After a quick shower I hopped into a very luxurious bed – but as I had already slept for many hours I was soon awake so thought I would take the opportunity and visit the gym and go for a run.  To access the gym you have to walk outside on the 3rd floor and past the pool; again that heat was incredible…but I did have the opportunity to see some lovely views of the skyline.

The view of the Marina from the gym was also lovely.  Some nice boats there!!

And then the sun came up and I had a lovely view whilst walking back to the main building.

I met my brother and nephew at the restaurant where I ate a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast with a side of mushrooms.  My nephew also had a big breakfast and then was offered pancakes or waffles [or both as the waiter said] but decided on waffles with chocolate sauce – he always eats very well which is great.  The dress standards at the hotel are interesting with some western tourists wearing tiny shorts/short skirts and singlet tops alongside middle eastern women wearing the abaya and the hijab and the men wearing the dishdash (the long white robe) and the keffiyeh (headscarf). Such different cultures.

 

(lighthearted humour from the net)

Then back out to the airport to board our flight; this time on the A380 which seemed to be more spacious but with the same seating configuration..another nice flight.  Fortunately for me (as I had eaten way too much) the airline didn’t have my vegetarian meal so I watched a bit of TV then fell asleep.

Arriving at Heathrow the temperature was very pleasant.  We were met by a driver I had organised on-line which made life so much easier in the chaos of the airport and within minutes we were on our way to London.  We arrived at our Airbnb across from Kensington Park. It is exactly like the photos; modern two bedroom, two bathroom and location is perfect.  Again I was up at 3am so decided to hit the streets a little while later.  Not much around this early so whilst jogging I was able to check out the lovely buildings.

Then a quick breakfast at a local restaurant which had great service before heading to visit some friends.  My nephew was ravenous and after one serve of bacon/sausage and poached eggs – he ordered another – in total four eggs, two sausages and four pieces of bacon – not too bad for a fourteen year old!!