Showing posts with label United Kingdom Restaurant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label United Kingdom Restaurant. Show all posts

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Play: Journey down memory lane (Day 5 - 15 March 2015)

Day 5

Today again we woke up at about 7am. We showered and by 8am, we are ready. Church only starts at 10.30am and I wanted to go to the Downs again as i didn't manage to stroll through the downs yesterday due to the windy weather. We parked at Rutland Hall and I spend sometime taking in the scenery at the downs, reminiscing the time I walked to school daily in the past. It is still pretty windy today so I only walked halfway and went back to the car.

Flower started to spring out...
Hubby also took sometime to visit Coates and Tower Building where most of his classes were held when he is studying. 
Coates Building
Faculty of Engineering


Tower Building

After which we drove to the new site which houses Cornerstone Church. They have moved since we left. The church used to hold their weekly service in one of the primary school but now they have their own building at castle boulevard. We even pass by the Nottingham Castle, but didn't have time to visit it this time round.

This new building is much bigger now with modern design. We were seated at somewhere at the middle and the back as we have to leave before the services end to make our way down to London.

Attending service at Cornerstone Church, Nottingham
Though the "look" have changed, but the church's soul pretty much remains. The band is still as nice and most of the church members are still around, nice to see familiar faces!

The band

Colin Webster, one of the church speaker which leaves an impression  when we attended service in the past
We left at about 11.15am and makes our way down to London. We takeaway KFC  and starbucks halfway on the motorway for our lunch (sharing one sets for the two of us). 

We reached Hilton Tower of London Hotel close to 3pm due to the traffic. The hotel is strategically situated next to Tower Bridge and Tower of London (within walking distance). 

However, the view from the room is pretty disappointing. We were hoping to catch a glimpse of the Tower Bridge but.... 

Oh well, we were glad that the room is quite comfortable. Bed and quilt is comfy, MacBook as computer and TV, water pressure in shower is good but no bath tub. 

Room is pretty chilly despite tuning to the highest temperature and the hotel staff kindly help us rectify the issues.

Oh and did I mention that the rates in Hilton is surprisingly cheap at SGD 240 per night on Sunday and it is only on Sunday. Other days rates can be as high as SGD 400 plus. So for those travelling to UK, do check out Hilton if you will be staying in London on Sunday, it is pretty worth it for the rates :)

View from room
Wardrobe and tea/coffee facilities

Computer which doubles as TV
MacBook in each room
Comfortable bed and quilt
Toilet
Shower area
General look of the room
Each of us got a complimentary cookies from the check in counter and it seems like a tradition in UK as we got cookies in our room in Salisbury and Nottingham as well. I didn't seem to see the trend until we were given cookies in our third stay in UK. Must have some significance I think.
Complimentary cookies
We rest for a bit and we are on our way to return our rented car. The car return station is pretty near to where we stay, it is actually a car park lot at Q Park near the tower bridge. There are few designated parking lots for Sixt Car Rental and we just need to park the car there, inform the security on duty as the Sixt Car rental booth is closed on Sunday and place a time stamp on the car to show the time we return and that is it! We took picture as back up but everything is in place :)

Meet this cute vacuum cleaner we passed by in Hilton... Took pic cause this looks exactly like the one i used while studying. Memories memories....
After returning the car, we strolled along the Tower Bridge and the view is still as great as ever. The tower bridge does look as good as always each time I passed by this area.... really one of the nicer sights in London. We then catch a cab to Soho for our dinner at Burger and Lobster. It is about 14 pounds for the cab fare...

Strolling along Tower Bridge
I have seen many wonderful review of Burger and Lobster thus would not miss the chance to taste the food myself ... they do not take reservation unless you are in a party of 6-10 people. So, when we reach, we put our name down at the waiting list and wait patiently at the mini round high table which is provided for our turn. We were there at 4.30pm just before the dinner peak hour and we waited for about 30 minutes and the wait is definitely worth it!

Opening hours and Menu
Interior seatings at Burger and Lobster
The menu here is really simple. You either get the Lobster (steamed or grilled), the lobster wrap or the burger. Everything is at 20 pounds and you get a selection of drinks from their drink list. Each set comes with fries and a salad.
Their very simple menu
There are a few huge lobster available and that is at a different price depending on the lobster's weight which is written on one black board. Once the particular lobster is ordered, it is strike off. We were satisfied with their normal menu so we go with their usual menu. Both hubby and me ordered the steamed and finished with grilled lobster with lemon and garlic sauce. The lobster is amazing! The exterior is grilled with salt i think and it complements the lobster meat very well... and the lobster is pretty big i must say, not the mini type so it is totally worth it. Lemon and garlic sauce on the other hand did not fare too well, it is still good to go with the fries but i wouldn't waste dipping my lobster in it as the lobster is too good on its own already.
Finger licking good!
Yummy!
We left the place happy and satisfied with our meal. Took a stroll through Chinatown, Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square. Then we took a cab again back to our hotel (We initially wanted to take tube but it is 9 pounds for the two of us plus lots of change in tube line, we figure taxi's fare is not much difference plus we get directly send to our hotel door step so we just hop on a taxi and on our way back)

Back to the room and showered, we watch TV for a bit and went up to the 12th storey sky bar to enjoy the night view of Tower Bridge.

TV time
View from 12th storey
We slept early as we have to catch an early flight to Basel, Switzerland tomorrow  for the second leg of our trip! Good night!

Travelling to Wengen, a charming town in Switzerland : http://eatplaycook22.blogspot.sg/2015/04/journey-down-memory-lane-day-6-16-march.html

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Journey down memory lane (Day 3 - 13 March 2015)


Day 3

Today we woke up at 3.30am again, but we decided to went back to sleep so sleep again from 5am to 7.30am. Looks like we are beginning to adapt to the time zone in UK.

Today is going to be a travel on the road day as we will be travelling to London for a fine dining experience at Gordon Ramsey Restaurant in Chelsea and after that we will be returning to Nottingham to our university which is the highlight of the trip (for us of course since Nottingham is not one of the tourist first few choices of town to visit but it does hold significant meaning to both of us and those who had studied there before). 

So, we had a hearty breakfast ( i ate quite a fair bit of toast plus some home cooked eggs, bacon and my favourite mushrooms by our host), we showered and we enjoyed the scenery from our window once again before departing at about 10.15am.
Having breakfast, reading magazine with a view!
Today i ordered egg, bacon and my favourite mushrooms!
Getting ready for my first dining experience at Three Michelin Star Restaurant!
After 2 hours drive (including horrendous traffic in London), we reached Gordon Ramsey!
We reached!
We were first greeted with a warm welcome by the waiter at the reception area and our coat were taken for safe keeping. We were lucky that we manage to get a reservation for this restaurant. Initially, reservations are full when we tried to book it online via their online reservation system. Thus, I emailed the restaurant to request to be put on waiting list and few days later, we manage to secure a table! 

For those who wanted to dine here, do book your tables early once your holiday plan is firmed. Do note that the restaurant would require a credit card to secure the booking and in the event of no show, a particular amount would be deducted, do check out their website for more information. Oh ya, and they are quite particular about dress code, thus no sneakers, T-shirt, jeans are allowed. If you are travelling and would love to dine here, do bring an extra sets of formal clothes :)


After our coats were taken, we were brought to a cosy small dining area with about 10-15 tables. All tables are well set with white and silver tableware and we were seated at the side of the restaurant, facing the middle of the restaurant. We do note that all the chairs are placed in such a manner that the diners faced the middle of the restaurant, probably so that the waiter could easily explained the courses for us which they did for all the food that we ordered and served. 

Nice plating that greets us at the table
For detailed review of this wonderful lunch: http://eatplaycook22.blogspot.sg/2015/03/eat-gordon-ramsey-restaurant-chelsea.html

A picture before we tucked in our starter
Nice environment while we fine dine our starter!
Me and my rabbit meat dish
All in all, I think Gordon Ramsey Restaurant does give it's diner the whole package-from the quality of the food, the presentation of the food and the wonderful service rendered. For a £55 per person for lunch (which includes 2 specials), I think it is pretty worth it to experience at least once in a lifetime this perfect dining experience at this Three Michelin Star Establishment in London. No wonder they have hold tight to their Michelin Star since 2001. Am really glad to have enjoyed this wonderful perfect lunch! We did spend almost 2.5 hours for our lunch which is the longest lunch we had I must say, worth every seconds :)

We left for Nottingham at about 3pm and we only manage to reach at 6.30pm due to the congestion as there are road works being done. First entrance into University of Nottingham via the entrance near Pharmacy Building. Driving pass the Trent Building, the lakeside, Portland Building and so much memories just came flooded back. All the routes that we take on our way to school years back that we took for granted, and now we travelled 10,000 km just to have a peek at our university, walk on its pathway and grass. Indeed, studying abroad is a once in a lifetime experiences, away from our family and learning the road to independence. Am really glad to be able to experience that :)

We manage to book a room in one of the catering halls in the university (not the one that I stayed before though) just to experience our stay in university in the past. For a double bed en-suite room, it costs £55 pounds per night which includes a breakfast on weekday/brunch on weekend. For more information, check out the university website.

Timing for check in is very flexible as there is Hall Manager, Porter and Security on-site 24 hours (on rotation basis) so we manage to check in with the porter when we arrived. Paid the accommodation fees in cash and we were shown to our room with access card for key and for breakfast. 

Parking is additional charges but we did arrived on Friday after 5pm and will be leaving before 8am on Monday morning so complimentary parking for us :)

Our room 
Private shower
Wash basin and heater

Table with portable kettle, and complimentary tea/coffee and biscuit
Complimentary tea/coffee and snacks
Had a quick shower and changed into something more comfy, we drove to Beeston to have our dinner at Yod Siam , one of the Thai Restaurant we dine before when studying. I must say that either their standard had dropped from the last i dine in probably 10 years ago or my taste bud had become more picky, the Pad Thai definitely taste so much nicer in the past. Tom yam soup that we had is still nice and warm our stomach especially in the cold weather in Nottingham (3-7 degrees) with winds...brrr....

Familiar places
Pad Thai
Went to Sainsbury to do mini groceries shopping but mainly just to reminiscence our memories of groceries shopping there almost every weekend to enjoy the "reduced to clear" item...I still remembering us walking out in the cold so that we can get the "reduced to clear" doughnut... great memories!

Finishing the day but having a Muller, one of our favourite yogurt when studying and it still tastes as great as ever!

Yummy!
Got this off the shelf at Sainsbury as well for our dear daughter who is a super Elsa fans!
Next up- best day of the trip as we savour memories from our university days... also the main reason of our trip! 

Read it here.

Eat: My First Three Michelin Star Experience @ Gordon Ramsey Restaurant, Chelsea, London

During our recent trip to United Kingdom, we manage to secure a reservation at Gordon Ramsey and it is definitely one of the best meal we ever had!

We drove in from Salisbury to London and manage to reach in 2 hours (after the horrendous traffic in London)
We reached!
We were first greeted with a warm welcome by the waiter at the reception area and our coat were taken for safe keeping. We were lucky that we manage to get a reservation for this restaurant. Initially, reservations are full when we tried to book it online via their online reservation system. Thus, I emailed the restaurant to request to be put on waiting list and few days later, we manage to secure a table! 

For those who wanted to dine here, do book your tables early once your holiday plan is firmed. Do note that the restaurant would require a credit card to secure the booking and in the event of no show, a particular amount would be deducted, do check out their website for more information. Oh ya, and they are quite particular about dress code, thus no sneakers, T-shirt, jeans are allowed. If you are travelling and would love to dine here, do bring an extra sets of formal clothes :)


After our coats were taken, we were brought to a cosy small dining area with about 10-15 tables. All tables are well set with white and silver tableware and we were seated at the side of the restaurant, facing the middle of the restaurant. We do note that all the chairs are placed in such a manner that the diners faced the middle of the restaurant, probably so that the waiter could easily explained the courses for us which they did for all the food that we ordered and served. 

Nice plating that greets us at the table
Service is slow and steady. We were first asked if we would like to start with a drink. I had  Moscato d’Asti ‘Bricco Quaglia’, La Spinetta, Piedmont which is a sweet wine that was recommended and it is fantastic! Hubby had Diet Coke and we both shared a bottle of still water as well. I would say that their drinks are priced reasonably for their establishment. 

A bottle of Evian Still Water (probably 750ml-1L) is priced at £ 4.50 and my wine cost £8. I think it is quite reasonable considering the restaurant standard. 

We were then presented with their menu and we decided to go for their lunch menu which is priced at £55 per person for a 3 courses meal. 

One can choose between 3 choices for each course (Starter, Main Course and Desserts). 


Bread were served throughout the meal until we finish our main courses and they do have quite a selection of bread. I started with an onion bread and tried a few other types as well.
Onion Bread
We were presented with a surprise before our starter is served. It is an egg mousse well presented in an egg shell, topped with black truffle. It is amazing, soft and creamy egg mousse. It does goes very well with the black truffle. What a great way to start our meal!
First special served-egg mousse with black truffle
Our starter is served and it smells amazing. I had roasted pumpkin agnolotti which is served warm. Soft pumpkin wrapped pasta with crunchy amaretti biscuit. It is wonderfully presented on my palate. Loving this dish.
Roasted pumpkin agnolotti with guanciale, sage and amaretti biscuit
Hubby's starter is salt baked beetroot salad wonderfully presented with  smoked mackerel, buttermilk. horseradish and pink grapefruit. Sound like a weird combination but when tasted together, they blended it so well with one another. This is served chilled.
Salt baked beetroot salad with smoked mackerel, buttermilk, horseradish and pink grapefruit 
Nice environment while we fine dine our starter!
We finished our starter until the last bit, thoroughly enjoying every moment. We slowly savour our starter and had some drinks while waiting for our main courses. 

Main courses are roasted rabbit loin and plaice fish fillet. There are quite a few of exotic terms which we didnt understand in the ingredients but we ordered anyway.... (to name a few- plaice, lovage, taramasalata and beurre noisette)

We were not disappointed. Hubby extremely satisfied with his fillets of plaice. The fish is well marinated and it goes very well with its accompanied items. Hubby couldn't resist but to just place mouthful and mouthful of his fish into his mouth. It is really good.

As for mine, this dishes changes my mind about rabbit meal. I remembered trying one rabbit dish when i was in New Zealand and the meat is hard and difficult to chew but this time round, the meat is soft and wonderfully wrapped in Bayonne ham which give the plain rabbit meat a salty component. The sauce that was served is well marinated as well. Thumbs up! This dish is rather large as well, which is good as it definitely filled my stomach :)

Roasted rabbit loin with Bayonne ham, baked turnips, toasted hazelnuts and pickled mustard seed 
Fillets of plaice with razor clams, lovage, taramasalata, and beurre noisette
Lastly for dessert, we tried the non-cheese item as we are not a big fan of assorted cheese. Hubby had this custard tart with blood orange, lemon balm and mascarpone sorbet. It totally blown both of us away. The creamy filling in the tart is totally refreshing, very fine and extremely creamy. Each mouthful is satisfying and it is prettily presented as well.
Custard tart with blood orange, lemon balm and mascarpone sorbet
I had Yorkshire rhubarb with vanilla parfait, lemon balm and olive oil. I was quite skeptical at first, wondering how does olive oil fit in a dessert course, and how well can rhubarb taste. Although I was not blown away when I tasted this dessert but it does give me a new perspective of rhubarb and the use of olive oil in a dessert. I must say this is a wonderful creation and pretty too!

Poached Yorkshire rhubarb with Tahitian vanilla parfait, lemon balm and olive oil 
To end, we were given another set of surprises. This time, it is a three item dessert which is wonderfully presented. The passion fruit sorbet in white chocolate is served with dry ice which gives the "dreamy feel".
Three item surprise to finish

Up-close for the three items...We have the passion fruit sorbet covered with white chocolate. Very chilly when put into mouth, a bit into the white chocolate revealed the passion fruit sorbet. Very nice indeed and refreshing too.
Passion fruit sorbet in white chocolate
Turkish delight didn't have the "wow" but it definitely taste so much better than the usual turkish delight that i have ever tasted.
Turkish delight
This chocolate with peanut butter filling is well paired with the pieces of dark/bitter chocolate. Perfect combination. I keep scooping the dark/bitter chocolate pieces to goes along with the chunk of chocolate. 
Chocolate with peanut butter filling
All in all, I think Gordon Ramsey Restaurant does give it's diner the whole package-from the quality of the food, the presentation of the food and the wonderful service rendered. For a £55 per person for lunch (which includes 2 specials), I think it is pretty worth it to experience at least once in a lifetime this perfect dining experience at this Three Michelin Star Establishment in London. No wonder they have hold tight to their Michelin Star since 2001. Am really glad to have enjoyed this wonderful perfect lunch! We did spend almost 2.5 hours for our lunch which is the longest lunch we had I must say, worth every seconds :)