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].

 

 

 

 

 

‘Tasting China’ Restaurant – Canberra – ACT – Australia – November 2016

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ACT, Australia, canberra, Chinese food, dinner, Tasting China Restaurant

Contemporary Chinese Cuisine in Canberra

For my regular followers, you know I love all things China and definitely love Chinese food, so when my friend Jen asked me to catch up for dinner at a new Chinese restaurant in Canberra, I immediately said ‘yes’…

I knew the location of this restaurant as it previously was home to one of Canberra’s fine dining institutions which has now moved to the other side of town (another great Chinese restaurant called Chairman & Yip).  On this occasion, I drove into town and walked a short distance to the restaurant, which only opened up this year and is known to have a fabulous interior. Wow…when I walked inside… it really is fabulous!!

Amazing cartoon portraits of Chinese princesses and pinups cover the walls.  The roof lights are contained in bamboo cases and bankers lamps hang from the walls.

The room is adorned with Chinese replica furniture and porcelain..(I know it’s replica because the owner told me after I admired some of the pieces)

(last photo above from: http://www.foodpornjournal.com)

After about half an hour of catching up, my friend and I ordered our dishes.  The menu is extensive and like the restaurant; rather glamorous.

Inside the menu there is a great saying:

one cannot think well, sleep well, love well
if one has not dined well

I ordered the lotus roots and mixed greens with macadamia nuts and cashew nuts..this was an incredibly fresh and delicious dish…I loved it!!

Mr friend ordered the beef with green vegetables and onion which she said was very tasty.

The bar offers a range of wine and spirits but instead my friend and I enjoyed a lovely pot of fragrant Jasmine tea…beautiful!!

The service was excellent and I started talking to the owner who was extremely friendly.   I spoke a little Chinese and she gave me her business card.  As I was giving mine I saw a group of three Chinese at the next booth, all with gaping mouths…one male said they couldn’t believe I was speaking Chinese (and really it was just basic conversation)…they kept starting at me whilst I continued chatting to the owner.  Of course they gave me the usual phrase when a Chinese hears a non-Chinese speaking Chinese ‘Nǐ shuō dé hěn hǎo’ (you speak very well)…I knew I hadn’t really but decided to take the compliment and thanked them. It was very sweet of them to compliment me.  My dear friend was also suitable impressed with my Chinese but really I am not sure why as over the past ten years or so she has learnt to speak fluent French (very clever).

My final question to the waitress was to ask if they would make the spicy hotpot eggplant dish without pork and was advised that the chef would definitely do it for me (next time).

I loved this restaurant so much that I have organised a group of friends to celebrate the upcoming festive season in early December.  Can’t wait to try the eggplant dish.

 

Ginseng Restaurant – Manuka – ACT – Australia – September 2016

Tags

ACT, Australia, canberra, Chinese food, dinner, Ginsing Restaurant, Manuka

Another Chinese restaurant in Canberra

Married friends of mine have been going to Ginseng Asian restaurant for years and often enjoy a bowl of soup on a Sunday for lunch.  I had never been, so took a look at the menu on-line and saw there were many vegetarian options so I arranged a dinner outing with a few of my lovely friends; all I worked with in China during 2011-14.

It’s a very understated little restaurant which has been named Canberra’s best Chinese every year between 2004 and 2008.  It is quite small but does have an upstairs for dining.  We sat downstairs and ran into other friends of mine who also joined us for dinner.  Canberra is a small place so it’s often that you are out and about and will see people you know.

I ordered separately as my friends wanted to share meat dishes for both entree and main courses.  I ordered the vegetarian spring rolls with sweet chilli sauce which were ok…nothing special really; but still enjoyable!!

My five friends ordered the duck pancakes which came out ready made on individual plates and then another huge platter with more ingredients to make pancakes.

For main course, my friends ordered the prawn and duck fried rice with Thai chilli paste…

and the five spice prawns dish and BBQ pork.

They also shared the Shantung lamb with sweet soy sauce and Asian spices and the satay chicken and broccoli.

As I mentioned I had the choice of many vegetarian dishes so I decided on the five spice tempura eggplant and tofu, which was plentiful and a dish I did enjoy.

It was such a lovely casual evening and I enjoyed the ambience, service and the incredibly fresh food -enough to return again sometime.  Next time I intend to order the tofu and eggplant hotpot (yes… eggplant again – I think I could live on it).