Tonight was proof that I’ll use any excuse to go out for dinner. Tomorrow Pauline, James, D and I are going to Royal Ascot so on that basis I suggested it would be a good idea to have a pow-wow dinner to sort out our plan for the day and also to get any food supplies (picnic food basically.) Heh heh.

We ended up at Bodean’s at Fulham Broadway where we all elected for the Beat The Clock BBQ sampler special. Great bargain! I think, sadly, the girls actually out-ate the boys. I like though how in the above photo James appears to be getting ready with his fork to spear D’s food!

It was probably a good move to have dinner first and then shop when we weren’t hungry … that way we weren’t tempted to go overboard with throwing things into our shopping basket that we didn’t need.

I caught up with Rofel this evening at the very funky, extremely busy and popular Mango Tree. Even though we changed our booking time a number of times we were pleased that when we arrived at the restaurant, despite the obvious number of people sitting around waiting for tables, that we were immediately seated.

It was very clear that the waiters were under a lot of pressure to clear the tables as quickly as possible if the fact we were asked about 3 times in the first 10 minutes whether we were ready to order was any indication. Finally those around us got the hint and left us alone until we signalled the waiter for attention. The menu at Mango Tree is extensive (both drinks and food) and, aside from the fact we were busy chatting and catching up, just working out way through the menu took us quite some time (food came very quickly once we did order though.)

Rofel, despite being a skinny little thing (heh heh), had quite an appetite and decided we should have three starters to share before both selecting a main. She’s a pescatorian so we were a little more limited in our options (a good thing in light of the extensive selections I think!) – we ended up trying the mixed seafood skewers, grilled tofu skewers and prawn spring rolls. All were decent selections though I think with the skewers the peanut sauce won it for me and the prawn spring rolls were especially delicous.

For mains I had no idea what to go for but I decided to go for the duck curry purely because it was served in a pineapple boat! Trust me to go for the gimmicky thing. Rofel went with the king prawn pad thai. Both were equally delicious and presented beautifully.

Once they’d cleared our main dishes (thankfully they didn’t try to hurry us to finish our meals) the maitre’d, Tat, brought over the dessert menus. Literally 30 seconds later he came back very apologetic and asked if we’d mind going to the bar for some complimentary tea/coffee whilst we decided on a dessert and to have our dessert there. He said there’d been a mix up with tables and he really needed our table. We had already decided by then that we were way too full for any dessert and told him we were happy just to take the bill. He was quite insistent though and before we knew it we were standing at the very crowded bar. Unbelievably at 9.30 the restaurant was still heaving.

We really were full though and decided to try and sneak our way into paying the bill. The maitre’d caught us though and after giving us free Mango Tree branded chopsticks somehow managed to shuffle us back to the bar with a complimentary glass of wine in our hands without us even realising! Quite funny.

Mango Tree was a very pleasant experience. Service, apart from the sort of rushed start, was fantastic, friendly and from Tat quite over the top (personally I think he had a crush on Rofel!). Food was top notch and cocktails, including a nice array of non-alcoholic ones, were very tasty. The only drawback was the price -the £15.50 a curry without rice gives you an indication – quite highly-priced for Thai food. You can capitalise on deals though top table though which tive you 50% which brings the price back to something a bit more value for money.

Last time I went to Rainforest Cafe it was in Paris at EuroDisney and I came away with this flashing cocktail glass which could make you sick just from looking at it (its pretty cool really.) For something a little different Mirela, Sabrina and I decided to check out the London venue tucked away just behind Piccadilly Cirucs for a meal.

Honestly I was expecting to walk in and find the place filled with kids but strangely enough it was pretty balanced between the kids and the adults (and not in the same party either!) The Rainforest Cafes are pretty similar it seems across the chain – animatronic animals which are fairly realistic and come to life every 15 minutes or so, giant wicked lightening and thunder which also crackles every now and then, rain effects (sound only) and the waterfall type display thing. The only drawback to this atmospheric restaurant is that where we were sitting it was a little noisy and difficult to hear each other.

There is a wide range of options on the menu from pasta to grilled dishes to barbecue dishes to salads and sandwiches and burgers. Prices are a little on the expensive side though. I think where the restaurant shines is in their cocktails and desserts (actually, the mojo bones are pretty darn good too!) For something a little different check out Rainforest Cafe. I’m also looking forward to checking out the restaurant on a Friday and Saturday evening when apparently it turns into an R&B club!

This is the third time I’ve been to the Big Easy .. the first time I pigged out with my brother, the second time with Sandra and my brother with a Monday evening all you can eat ribs and bbq chicken and tonight it was with the girls to take advantage of the Lobster Festival. For £14.95 you get half a 1kg Maine Lobster, Fries, Salad and the biggest Frozen Margarita I’ve ever seen! Even though I’m allergic to alcohol I just had to have the margarita and boy it was really good. (Slightest regret with the after-effects of downing the alcohol though!)

Pauline wasn’t really feeling the lobster so she went with fajitas instead. The portion of fajitas was gigantic and looked very tasty. It came with a fair chunk of chicken plus lots of sides including guac which is always a good sign.

As for the lobsters – they come either grilled, steamed or bar-b-q’d and respective sauces on the side. Both Jenny and I went for the grilled version and Catherine the bar-b-q’d version though to be honest I couldn’t tell the difference except we got different sauces. I absolutely adore shellfish and lobster has to be up there at the top as one of my favourites. It is a little hard work though so its definitely not a date meal! ha ha. I think Pauline was definitely having a good time laughing at Jenny, Catherine and I as we tackled the little monsters on our plates!

Here are the lobster girls:

The lobster was surprisingly filling, or it could be all the delicious fries that came with it. Typical me I barely left anything on my plate – I reckon my lobster was very well cleaned out!

The Lobster Festival seems to be avaiable during Spring and Summer (makes sense I guess) so you’ve got about a month to go to take advantage. The Lobster deal at Big Easy is a pretty good one. You’ll have a good time at the Big Easy … even if it is to enjoy the kitch decoration and the surprisingly down-to-earth restaurant in the posh surrounds.

Taking advantage of another Top Table offer of 50% off a set menu Pauline, Sandra, Jenny and I decided to sample the delights of Gilgamesh Restaurant Lounge – a restuaurant serving Pan Asian cuisine.

The resturant is a visually striking venue from the moment you climb the escalator (most nights you will be met with at least two bouncers) and up into the vaulted and impressive restaurant and bar. The style is Babylonian with plenty of carved furniture and pictures and bronzed panels (which apparently tell the story of Gilgamesh – an epic poem which is among the earliest known works of literary fictrion.)

There seems to be many different areas including a lounge area, a private table that can seat about 15 people and for which you can get your own chef and even out in the restaurant the tables are not uniform with some tables being bar style (tall seats and tables) and some being banquet style and some being round and elevated higher than all the other tables. All are made of wood and inlaid with gold-paint impressions. The chairs are particularly cool (if not practical for moving about the tables) and beautifully carved.

The question was whether the food would live up to the decor?

Gilgamesh has two set menus – one for meat eaters and vegetarian. If we’d been savy about it two of us should have gone the vegetarian meal and the other two meat but instead we all went for meat. The current selections (it appears the set menu changes every month or so because the last time Jenny came she said they had a totally different menu) were:

– Shanghai Dumpling
– Thai Beef Salad with Red Nahm Jim Dressing
– Salmon Sashimi, Shiso dressing with Daikon

for starters.

A choice of Chinese Roast Duck & Lychee Red Thai Curry or Breaded Chicken & Japanese Wheat Noodles with Onion Vinegar Dressing for mains with sides of Stir Fried Asian Greens and Steamed Jasmine Rice.

And finally we finished with Green Tea Brulee with Jasmine & White Peach Sorbet.

The food was simply divine – great attention to detail was paid to the preparation so what we got was nicely presented and quite delicious. I didn’t think that what was on the menu would be filling but as they gave us plenty of time between our starters, mains and desserts this allowed the food to settle somewhat and allow us to leave fairly stuffed. I’m not sure any one dish stood out in particular but the Shanghai Dumplings were quite tasty and dessert was superb.

From a value for money perspective I can certainly say I wouldn’t pay the full asking price of £40 for this meal but at £20 it is good value for me. Actually, I’m starting to wonder, after taking advantage of all these deals, whether the 50% offers are genuine or a cheeky way of trying to trick customers into thinking they are getting good value for money. (Though having looked at the menu online just now maybe the £40 was genuine pricing after all – £5.50 for a dim sum dish of har gau (steamed prawn) – yowch!)

But saying all this doesn’t take away from the food quality at all – it was very good. Like Jenny I wanted to see the full menu – both to see the other offerings and to check out the pricings. Of particular interest was one dish that seemed quite popular – some sort of selection of sashimi served on a base of some sort of liquid nitrogen – which was very theatrical.

From a service perspective I would say it was fairly good. There were only two aspects which I didn’t like – the way the girl tried to trick me into changing my booking from 7pm to 6pm (as if I wouldn’t keep a record of my booking!) and the fact that I felt the wait staff were hovering over our table constantly all night. Not that they were trying to get us to move on or anything but I think there were so many staff that many just seemed to stand around for most of the night.

Finally, from an environmental perspective, there were two other negatives – the use of disposable chopsticks and providing FIJI water!!

Overall I can see the appeal of Gilgamesh. It is a very cool restaurant (one of the drawbacks being the chance of attracting posers!) and for once the food actually matches the reputation of the place. It is a touch on the pricey side but take advantage of any “offers” and I’m sure you’ll have an enjoyable night. Or else blow £75 for private dining at the chef’s table for a total Gilgamesh experience.

A couple of months ago Catherine expressed a desire to try dim sum so of course I said I’d be up for it. She did the round robin email to check who’d be interested in going but surprisingly only D said he’d be up for it! Maybe it was probably the thought of eating chicken feet that turned most people off – ha ha.

I suggested a couple of venues to try out but Pearl Liang was number one on my list as it has
been on my To Eat list for some time now. I can’t even remember who recommended it to me it was that long ago. To my surprise we discoverd that it was located just behind Paddington Railway Station. This demonstrates just how little I know of my own neighbourhood!

Its kind of strangely located in a new plaza as part of Paddington Central. The area was strangely desserted but the restaurant itself was fairly busy. Pearl Liang has a wow impact factor when you walk in reminiscent a bit of Ping Pong style of decor but I think just a little bit classier (not that Ping Pong is un-classy by any stretch of the imagination.) The giant wooden abacus is amusing and at the entrance is a fountain and fish pond. The chairs are very un-restaurant like – pink and … I don’t know how to describe them really! The toilets are hidden in plain sight so to speak behind a giant door that has been made a feature in the restaurant. Quite opulent.

But, as my brother would say – I don’t care about the decor – what about the food! I left it up to D and Catherine to make some choices on the menu. Pearl Liang have opted, as have so many other yum-cha restaurants, for the tick what you want style of ordering. Interestingly we weren’t provided with any menus which was quite strange!

We ended up ordering 13 dishes and 1 dessert dish with choices including more traditional offerings of Steamed Pork Bun, Prawn and Fried Dough Cheung Fun and the less traditional offerings of Zucchini Prawn Dumpling, Wasabi Prawn Dumpling (some bite but not as much as expected) and Octopus cake. Somehow we also ended up with about 4 differing versions of fried spring roll with the Crispy Duck Roll being the clear favourite.

Good sports Catherine and D also tried their hand at the tripe and chicken feet. Though neither of them were big fans of the chicken feet I think they did enjoy the flavour but found it too much hard work. D really got into the tripe – which, admittedly for me is not something I have at every outing, came in a surprisingly tasty ginger sauce.

I could find no fault with the food. It was all superbly cooked, very fresh, very tasty and definitely high quality ingredients. The menu had a few unusual combinations on it, which is nice to see, though I think they could have provided a few more options. The price is pretty spot on – including the 12.5% service charge we paid £15 each (which also included a £1 charge for tea each) so was it was not astronomical. If there is any where they can improve it is with the service – friendly when we got it but at times strangely slow or non-existent. For example when our tea had finished we did the universal sign for “please top up with hot water” (placing the lid on the handle) and not only did it take a very long time for it to be noticed when the waitress took it away to top up she never came back with it. Further, when I asked for water for the three of us the water never came and it took Catherine going to the bar to ask for it again. Otherwise food was efficiently ordered and delivered.

Overall a nice dining experience. I’ve read many reviews where it has been let down only by its service. To be fair it won’t be the first or last Chinese restaurant to have that charge levied at it! Still, considering it is good in all the other areas I can’t see why it can’t just deliver on customer service.

A couple of hours ago Mirela and I decided we were starving and that we were both craving sushi – at 9pm though we weren’t sure how we could satisfy this craving. Ah ha I thought – we have a Feng Sushi near us. Feng Sushi is a chain of restaurant that specialises in take Away & delivery sushi and its Notting Hill location is literally 200-300 metres from our front door.

This is so embarrassing to admit but we called them up and actually got them to deliver our sushi to our front door! I know – how lazy! But what could I say – neither of us were particularly fussed about getting out of our pyjamas to go pick up the food.

What’s worse is that when the food came we were like animals, practically inhaling the sushi – which was very impressively fresh and tasty. Mmmm …. it was sooooo good! I’m making myself hungry all over again …