Five Things Meme

Patrick General

Late in the blog tagging rounds… here’s five things you may or may not know about me (courtesy of Mike Roberts):

  1. I speak more Japanese (which is not that much) than I can either Tagalog/Filipino (where I was born) or Chinese (my ancestry).
  2. I have really flat feet and a podiatrist in Brisbane told me I’d never win a marathon. I like to think that these help me swim at least.
  3. If I didn’t become a software developer and agile coach, I probably would have been an accountant. Did you know that there is such a thing as forensic accounting?
  4. I’m only in my second professional job ever.
  5. I’ve had long hair for four years now.

And so I pass this strange token to the following people: Stickfly, Gerrod, Christine, Dan North, and newcomer to the blogosphere… Oikos.

Ginger

Patrick Bayswater, Food, Restaurants, UK Life

Ginger is an Indian restaurant easily located on Westbourne Grove. It serves a few typical Indian dishes but by far, the highlight of their menu are the bangladeshi styled dishes served in a much more fancy dining experience than many of the other Indian restaurants around London. Everything in this restaurant is branded beyond belief, from the dishes and table clothes down to the cigarette tray that everyone around us seemed to be using. It’s a very spacious restaurant although I think it was a little too dimly lit for my tastes. Large wine glasses line the white tablecloth as you enter, and although it looks like a very fine restaurant it wasn’t as busy as I thought it would have been on a Saturday night.

Food is priced on the higher side for Indian food, with naan and rice starting from £2 and mains averaging around £10-£12. Ginger certainly offers a wide range of very unique dishes, although many of them had meats or seafood, but even some of the vegetable based dishes were quite unique. Food portions are at least reasonably sized except for the rice and the naan both a little overpriced for what you get.

The three staff gave pretty terrible service all night, such that we almost had to seat ourselves from the start, and ask for most things like a top up of water, and the second naan bread that disappeared. The staff generally had to be flagged down to be asked for something and took their time producing the bill which we were most eager to pay.

Details: Ginger
Found on: 115 Westbourne Grove, LONDON, W2 4UP
Contactable on: +1 8713 320 878
Highlights: Different offerings for Indian cuisine presented in a nicely decorated restaurant.
Room for improvement:Prices are slightly excessive for the sides you would normally have, and the service was downright awful when we went.
The Kua Rating: 6 out of 10

Another Conran Restaurant – Sauterelle

Patrick Food, Restaurants, UK Life

SauterelleA few weeks ago, Lastminute had a fantastic 48 hour Conran sale where you could book a meal at any of the Conran restaurants at the very reasonable prices of £14.99 for a two course, or £19.99 for a three course meal. I thought it was a great way to sample the top notch quality food and enjoy the atmosphere each restaurant offers. Deciding to take up the offer, on Monday my sister and I ate at the French restaurant Sauterelle located in the heart of the stunning Royal Exchange building. Although the restaurant itself is very modern, I think the highlight was most definitely the interior and centre courtyard of the Royal Exchange, so we were fortunate to be placed at a table looking inwards.

Out waitress who was extremely polite throughout the evening talked us through the various menu options on offer since this deal came with its own tasting menu. Each course offered three different options and although only one main was vegetarian friendly, at least I could choose from two of the three starters and all desserts.

CroustadeI started off with the pea soup that was then followed by a croustade of spinach, mushrooms and quails eggs topped with hollandaise sauce. The pea soup arrived in a large white bowl that deepened in the centre and held a creamy bright green liquid. The soup itself was extremely light but held lots of flavour. It didn’t need any additional seasoning and certainly didn’t need any bread or croutons to help it along. The croustade (think of a flaky pastry shell) had the three layers (spinach, then mushrooms and quails eggs) before the top was put to the side. The quails eggs had been perfectly soft boiled, with the delicately cooked whites holding a perfectly runny yolk mixing in with the mushrooms and spinach. Overall the croustade was a strange dinner item but had been very well presented and perfectly cooked. It was light but rich enough to be filling for a main.

Sauterelle benefits from its great location inside the Royal Exchange Hall. It’s a beautiful building and the fineness of the dining room compliments the interior without being overwhelming. Tables are sparse helping add a sense of roominess and privacy and we found service excellent all throughout. The dishes were well prepared and obviously made with high quality ingredients.

Details: Sauterelle
Found on: Royal Exchange, London
Contactable on: +1 212 332 7620
Highlights: Well spaced out dining rooms with elegant decor matching the Royal Exchange interior. Great service with simple foods prepared in a quality manner. Tables looking inwards are most spectacular.
Room for improvement:Expect to pay proportionate prices for the experience if paying regular menu prices.
The Kua Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Going Vegetarian: Week 1

Patrick UK Life

So one week has passed since becoming vegetarian and I’m glad to report that I’ve at least kept to the goal, whilst keeping my lifestyle as normal as possible. I’ve had some great support from friends, with hints and tips galore about what I should try and what things I should avoid. I’ve learned that vegetarians who allow themselves to eat seafood are actually pescatarian (which makes the name of the restaurant Pescatore a whole lot more sense). I’ve also learned that gelatin is derived from animals, and some forms of rennet (used in some cheeses) is also derived from animals.

I’ve gone to dim sum with some friends, missing out on a whole heap of normal dishes I would very much enjoy, and even went to dinner at the Argentinian Steakhouse, Buen Ayre (whose grilled pesto mushroom dish is fantastic). At a Vietnamese restaurant I went to during the week I missed out on the free appetiser (it had meat) and I could only order one main meal on the meal, aptly name ‘The Vegetarian Dish’.

I’m not missing meat as much as I thought I would and I’m finding a whole heap of new food combinations to eat. Grocery shopping is certainly different as many of the prepared or semi prepared parts of a meal all contain some sort of meat. I’m also not as tired as I thought I would be. In a way I actually feel a little bit better.

Bring on week two!

Rock Center Cafe

Patrick Food, New York, Restaurants, Travel

MadelinesOur uncle, who I was staying with over Christmas, highly recommended tracking down some pretty fancy french toast somewhere around the Rockefeller centre for breakfast. He told us that they apparently soaked brioche overnight in the egg mixture for the next morning and they were somewhat unique. After a bit of trial and error (note that the Sea Grill do not do breakfast), we found the french toast dish served at the Rock Center Cafe, an extremely popular place overlooking onto the scenic ice skating rink and Adonis statue.

Prices at the cafe are overpriced for breakfast with coffees around USD4 but I can understand this given the popularity of the ice skating rink and the cafe’s prime location looking onto the centre of the rink. When seated a waitress served us a shot of a strawberry smoothie and some madelines (surprisingly we didn’t get charged for either), and then some water almost immediately. Throughout the meal service was pretty consistent and it was just about right – not too much in your face but someone around to ask for something.

French toast at the Rock Center CafeSince we came here for one dish alone, we decided to both get it and a side of bacon (for its salty contrast). As you can tell from the picture in this post (click on it to get a larger version), the four slices of bread was absolutely massive, covered in berries and icing sugar. So the verdict… Perhaps its an American thing but I thought that everything was far too sweet and I found myself constantly reaching for anything to counteract it including my coffee, water and the bacon. Other than that, the bread was nice and soft and eggy and the berries extremely fresh (and just as sweet). The bread was a touch dry but I think that’s the nature of brioche and the maple syrup that accompanies the toast can help counteract that. It was a delicious treat that certainly got you going for the day, and a great experience to sit next to the ice skating rink.

Details: Rock Center Cafe (Breakfast only from 7am to 10am)
Found on: 20 W 50th Street, New York, NY, 10020
Contactable on: +1 212 332 7620
Highlights: Lovely location next to ice skating rink with decent food and decent service.
Room for improvement:The french toast was excessively sweet and prices a little bit excessive for the food.
The Kua Rating: 7.5 out of 10