Author Archives: Grace

Burn the Floor

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Burn the Floor is literally what the performers do in this show – they are so hot and quick and energetic in their movements that I’m surprised the stage didn’t go up in flames! There is no real story line to Burn the Floor except that you should expect to see every form of ballroom dance you know showcased on stage.

Mainly professional dancers in the cast, there is also Ali Bastian, from Hollyoaks, who was apparently known for hooking up in real life with professional Brian Fortuna during a season of dancing together on Strictly Come Dancing. They perform in a few acts together though the fact Ali isn’t a professional (the couples in the cast actually come from all over the world, including Australia!) unfortunately comes through when contrasted with the other professionals.

Overall an entertaining evening.

Benares

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Its not often that you’ll get a Michelin-rated restaurant on offer but Benares always seems to have some sort of offer around which actually is good bang for buck, or pound as the case may be. Tonight’s offering was 3-courses and a Pear and Cumin Bellini (or a non-alcoholic cocktail for someone with an “allergy” like mine) for £19, with the third course for an extra £6. This deal also included tea or coffee and petit fours. A great offer for dinner.

Atul Kochhar, owner of Benares, is not without his qualification. As head chef at Tamarind he became the first Indian chef to be awarded a Michelin star with Benares achieving its star just three and a half years ago. Of course he has been around on the scene for a while but he was brought to my attention thanks to the BBC’s TV series Great British Menu, which really I think has been partly responsible for raising the profile of British chefs in the greater public arena.

Atul is best-known for bringing that modern spin to Indian cooking and I was pleased to find that his high standards of quality really comes across in his food. Because we were dining on an offer our options were fairly limited with basically a choice of three for each of our courses (generally, veg, fish and meat for the first two.) Having said, based on what we actually ate, I suspect that I would have been happy with any of the starters or mains on offer. (Unlike some restaurants where normally there is one standout dish …)

After these accompanied by I think goosebury, pineapple and tomato salsas

we were on to our starters of Lemon Thyme Salmon Cakes with Greek Feta Salad for Jenny and Pan Seared Chicken Fillets with Pickled Red Cabbage

They weren’t the most giant portions in the world however the taste and delicacy and tenderness (of my chicken at least) couldn’t not be faulted. I really wanted more Atul Kochhar!

Next up was the Tandoor Cooked Grey Mullet, South Indian Style Mash Potato and Mango Sauce, the description of which was irresistible to both Jenny and I.

The portion was quite reasonable for the main this time but the taste was equal to the starter. Gorgeously flavoured and a very well-balanced dish. Sauce was exactly right and the fish was cooked to perfection. Atul Kochhar you cook a mean meal!

After a wipe of our hands

it was on to the disappointment of the evening – the dessert! I’ve never really had a truly successful Indian dessert so whilst Jenny enjoyed her (not very Indian) Raspberry Éclair and Ginger Basil Sorbet, I was less impressed by the Mango Fool with Rum and Vanilla Panacotta. There was nothing too exciting about my dessert … maybe it was the size that got to me – it was tiny!

Petit fours included a cardammon ganache, sesame seed crisp and the most delicious thing I’ve ever tasted – some sort of yoghurt and pistachio concoction (the balls in the shot glass).

Service was pretty good though sometimes a little off-putting (e.g. when our side plates and our popodoms were taken away without checking if we were finished, and with the petit fours not having enough to have one each, and at the end almost being rushed out the front of the restaurant by the bouncer – though I’m sure that was not intentional.) On the plus service was friendly and courteous to the extent that on the way out one of the waiters saw how we were enthralled with the décor and showed us the table with a view of the kitchen and the private dining table situated in the wine room. Benares is definitely one of the prettier restaurants I’ve been to with lots of interesting different spaces for dining. Good atmosphere and filled with many posh Indians!

Overall the food definitely met my seal of approval and we ended on a high with the petit fours. As an added bonus we had a minor celeb spot with TV’s Bionic Woman’s Michelle Ryan (also formerly of EastEnders) who briefly sat next to us before she was joined by more people than the table could fit and she was moved. Honestly, it wasn’t us who made her move!

Step Up 3D

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Step Up 3D is not going to win any critical awards, for either the story-line or the acting, but it certainly was an entertaining movie and will have its fans amongst those of us who love dance and good music. The fantastic thing about these new breed of musical is that like the other movies in the franchise, Step Up and Step Up 2: The Streets, it opens up opportunities for the kids in dance and for choreographers to really show their stuff.

In Step Up 3D we are brought to New York. This alone would have probably had me walking in the door. I love New York and I love nothing better than going into a movie and recognising where aspects of the movie were shot. It’s the underground street dance scene and, staying true to the formula, there are dance battles, showdowns and romance. The good guys of course end up on top. My favourite character had to have been Moose, as played by Adam Sevani, as a totally adorable hip nerd!

Just like the other dance movie I saw just a couple of months ago (Streetdance 3D) visually the movie is a feast to the eyes and accompanied by bangin’ soundtrack I could watch this movie over and over again without getting bored. As an aside the 3D aspect of the movie wasn’t totally necessary though it did add that bit of flair or spark for the huge dance mashes.

Bring on Step Up 4Ever!!

Museum of Childhood

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Since we were in the area, after brunch we dropped in to the Museum of Childhood. Part of the V&A, the Musesum of Childhood is, well, a museum of stuff from our childhood!

Its not only a place for the young ‘uns as you could spend an age looking at the dollhouses, puppets, teddy bears, games etc. in the collection – we certainly had fun identifying all the stuff we used to own!

I could think of worse ways to spend an hour or two.

Bistrotheque

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Laney and I walked past this alleyway several times before realising that our brunch venue, Bistrotheque, lay within. Located in an ex-factory building in amongst business and residential buildings you would think this an odd spot for a dining, drinks and show venue. Perhaps that is the charm of the place!

Brunch fare at Bistrotheque includes the usual breakfast suspects (porridge, pancakes, egg dishes) with the addition of more lunch-time dishes like burgers, roast (Sundays only), puddings and cocktails! We resisted the cocktails though, opting for a more traditional breakfast. I had the eggs benedict with a side of sauted potatoes. Both were good without being exceptional.

But we weren’t at Bistrotheque for the food – we were there to listen to the piano man – who was pretty awesome playing a range of pieces from more classical to the more modern pop stuff. The coolest part was I don’t think he was even looking at sheet music!

When we walked in at about 11 today the Bistrotheque was fairly quiet with only a few other tables occupied though it steadily filled up over our brunch. However, I kind of liked this – there was none of that too busy feel that you get at a lot of other brunch places. The vibe was very relaxed and with the piano man tinkering away in the background it was a very pleasant way to spend the morning.

If you have time, check the toilets out. Really reminded me of being back in school again!

Croatia Trip Reunion – Just an excuse to eat Cath’s Lasagne

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So when we were in Croatia Cath made a pretty big claim .. that she makes the best lasagne in the world! I of course immediately demanded that she must make it for us. Heh heh. It was a good excuse as any to get together and have a reunion for our Croatia trip which, even now, seems so long ago when really we only came back last week. Gotta love those summer holidays.

Except for Daryl, we all made it over to Cath’s and Nige’s place. They have a gorgeous apartment kind of overlooking the Thames.

Location is a bit far away from underground transport for my comfort but the apartment itself is gorgeous – modern and spacious and great views. They even count Andy Murray as one of their neighbours (I think) and also some cricket guy whose name escapes me …

Much fun was had reminiscing tonight about our trip (mainly at the expense of Daryl who was too busy to come because of “work” – ha ha) and more importantly much lasagne was eaten! Cath wasn’t too far wrong – her lasagna was pretty awesome. She even went to the trouble of making a vegetarian version. There was some leftover (to my surprise) and if it wouldn’t have looked so greedy I would have snatched it all up to take with me! LOL!

The Ledbury

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For a special treat Sandra, we’ve known each other five years now!, we decided to check out The Ledbury, a 2-michelin starred restaurant in Notting Hill.

The Ledbury couldn’t come from a better pedigree with stable-mates including Chez Bruce, La Trompette and The Square. As an added plus there’s an Aussie at the helm in the kitchen, Brett Graham!

The first sign that our meal tonight was going to be special was the fact that The Ledbury provided us ladies with a table hook for our handbags and (excuse me gentlemen) provided us with some womanly products in the toilets. Now I know, what’s all this got to do with the price of fish – well I think it’s a sign that someone was clearly thinking of the little details in putting this restaurant together. Oh, wait, and get this – to purify the tap water they serve The Ledbury uses charcoal! How green! I most definitely approve!

But on to the main event… here is a round-up of our food.

As we were perusing the menu we had a potato crisp upon which was a line of smoked cod roe. Interesting. This was followed by a selection of bread including a bacon and onion brioche, white sour-dough and malt bread. I skipped the sour-dough but tried both the brioche and malt bread. Warm and delish.

Next was our amuse bouche which started with a marinated salmon and frozen horseradish sitting in a bowl which was then covered by a chilled courgette soup with parmesan cream and seaweed oil. So much going on, so much detail! This was the theme of the night – really intense flavours with incredible focus on the detail.

I’m not really one for chilled soups but this one was lovely and refreshing.

If I said to you our first course for the evening was a tomato and goat curd dish it would sound pretty boring right? Well, this is what the Heritage Tomatoes with Green Tomato Juice, Goat’s Curd and Herbs looked like:

Wow. If I do say so myself one of my favourite dishes of the night.

Next up was the Flame Grilled Mackerel with Cucumber, Celtic Mustard and Shiso. An interesting way to showcase the cucumber is all I can say.

The Saute of Chicken Wings with Milk Skin, Girolles and White Asparagus which was our next course sure sounded interesting on the menu. The plate looked like a total mess but the dish was cooked pretty spot on with the chicken being extremely tender and juicy with the texture being provided by the crunch of the skin and the asparagus and a gorgeous nearly fruity flavour of the girolles.

Back to fish for our next dish with the Roast Turbot with Truffle Puree, Cauliflower, Parmesan Gnocchi and Sea Vegetables. How much do I love truffle! The puree really complimented the meatiness of the turbot. I’m also loving how the cauliflower is being seen more often on our plates.

My other favourite dish of the night was the Crisp Pressed Suckling Pig with a Croustillant of Grilled Celeriac and Walnuts which was next. Okay – if I’m honest, anything with suckling pig in it is always going to be a favourite of mine. But I loved how this dish was presented. The only negative – that there wasn’t more of the stuff! Ha!

However, it was probably a good thing there wasn’t more because by this time Sandra and I were getting pretty full which I think is an indication that the portion sizes were just about right. We still had dessert to go!

A pre-dessert first of an olive oil pannacotta (who would have thought this would work!), peach jelly and peach sorbet.

Before moving on to the main event – the Creme Caramel with Apricot and Jasmine Ice Cream. Yummo! As delicious as it looks lovely!

Even though we were well stuffed at this stage we couldn’t resist ordering some tea which, as in all good restaurants, was accompanied by some petit fours. In this case we could choose from a selection including Raspberry Jelly, Marshmallow, Macaroon, Eucalyptus Ganache, Almond and White Chocolate.

Service was excellent and friendly but not too much in your face. Staff were happy to chat, for example, when I went to the lav the waiter came over to keep Sandra company, so we felt at home. The restaurant has quite a relaxed atmosphere so it doesn’t feel overly pretentious. Price-wise I felt it was decent value for money (£75 for the tasting menu before the 12.5% service) for how full we felt and the quality of the food we got – though at that price its probably a good restaurant for a special occasion.

Last Words? The Ledbury earned its second Michelin star at the beginning of this year and I think its very well deserved.

Trafalgar Square Maze

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I love the way they use Trafalgar Square to do all funny things such as the latest Trafalgar Square Maze. Too bad Sandra and I were headed off to dinner … otherwise we would have gone down to join in on the fun too!

D’s Leaving Do

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In what is probably a blow to our workforce we see one of the key members of our staff departing to head over to Deloitte. I guess its not an unnatural step to see relatively newly-qualified staff start to look at their career to see where their next step up the ladder lies. In honesty our organisation is starting to look quite top-heavy and there isn’t a lot of room for progression so fair play to D!

A good night was had by all especially D, and especially after Laurence started the celebrations with a nice bottle of champagne. I think there was tequila featuring in the night at some stage too! Someone’s going to hav e asore head tomorrow!