Continuing on with the theme of food today (don’t know why I always seem to do this to myself!) Pauline, Sandra and I decided to check out the Chef’s Tasting Menu at Tamarai – a Pan Asian restaurant mixing Chinese, Thai, Chettinad, Malaysian, Singaporean, Vietnamese and Burmese dishes. Sounds a bit daunting so we weren’t sure what to expect!

According to its website Tamarai was launched in a “spate of glittering parties hosted by Tatler, Jimmy Choo, Sir Paul Smith and GQ, Tamarai is the latest hotspot for the beautiful people, the style gurus and fashionistas of London.” Uh huh. Actually Sandra says that dining in the restaurant tonight with us, though I didn’t see them, were a couple of celebs – Natalie Cassidy and Beth Cordingly.

Upon walking into the venue we were directed down, down and down until finally we reached the restaurant. We were surrounded by black broken up by brightly-coloured pulsing lights and here and there the reflection off jewelled lamps and candelabras. This was a former night-club after all. There were also LCDs built into the walls displaying nice visuals. Our table settings were all geometrically shaped and even the knife was very funky … if a bit scary looking even.

We came to Tamarai for the Chef Tasting menu which was on offer from Top Table for 50% off. The selections on the menu promised something interesting from we certainly got it – from the foie gras on the lotus seed root to the beautifully done soft shell crab.

How it Looked	The Dish	How it Looked	The Dish
	Reduced Soy Flavored Foie Gras on crispy lotus root		Sweet Chilli Lotus Root, chives, fresh coriander
	Smoked Salmon Thayar Satham (curd rice), tomato pickle		Hoisin Duck Spring Roll, pickled plum sauce
	Mud Crab And Pomelo, galangal, palm sugar		Soft Shell Crab, flame roast coconut, masala mayo
	Curry Leaf King Prawns, wild rice uppama		Thai Green Curry with Jasmine Rice – this was actually our main – everything that came before it was the starter!
	Roasted Sesame and White Chocolate Semi Freddo, wild berry coulis		Seasonal Fruit Satay including Dragon Fruit

As we’d already booked to get the Chef Tasting menu we didn’t really need to tell our waitress and in essence the food just kept coming and coming and coming. Dish after dish appeared on our table and I think in hindsight it would have been nice to have some sort of explanation at the beginning of how the tasting menu was going to work. Sure each dish was introduced well and explained but we didn’t know if we were having starters or mains and therefore didn’t know how to pace our eating. It almost felt like we were being rushed – though I’m sure the restaurant was just trying to make sure we got our dishes efficiently. Fair to say we finished well within the 2 hour sitting limit imposed upon us.

In the end it turned out that our starters or appetisers started with the foie gras and ended with the giant King Prawn (it was absolutely massive – Sandra thought it was overcooked but I still thought it tasted pretty nice) and separated by a sorbet palette cleanser. By the time we got the Thai Green Chicken Curry with Jasmine rice we were nearly done for! The foie gras was unexpected and actually I normally wouldn’t order (for humanity reasons) it but I thought this was probably the one time I would try it and to be honest it wasn’t what I expected at all – it was very smooth, very tender, not at all like most liver and very very rich. I can see why lots of people love it but I still don’t think I could bring myself to order it and encourage the force feeding of all those geese. But .. to each their own!

I actually enjoyed all of the dishes tonight finding them fairly tasting and challenging. My favourites had to
be the soft shell crab, the king prawn and the green curry. Tasty but by the time I got to the dessert I was nearly dying from being so full (I don’t think it helped that only a few hours earlier I’d been to the Indian buffet for lunch!)

From a value for money perspective I think we definitely got it with our 50% off offer. In actuality the Chef Tasting menu is actually fairly decently priced even without the 50% off (and good value over the a la carte dishes) though having said that the portion sizes are generally a little small (apart from the soft-shell crab), you wouldn’t probably order that much anyway and £50 is a lot to spend on just food (not to mention the extras such as the yummy-looking and extensive cocktail offers and service.) Service-wise it was pretty good though in the end it took a while for the bill to arrive. Save for a special occasion.

Good Friday – there’s no more perfect a night to get some nice fish. However, finding a nice fish restaurant at reasonable prices at short notice proved a lot harder than I thought. Eventually I settled on a place just about 5 minutes walk from my house – very convenient for me, a litte less convenient for Sandra and Jules!

Geales is a fish and chip restaurant. It first opened in 1939 and has apparently been quite a success since. Being located in Notting Hill you know this isn’t an ordinary chippie – it is an elegant white-tablecloth type of fish and chips shop and though this came with a price to match the decor the food we received was fresh and perfectly cooked. The place was buzzing when we got inside (though thankfully not noisy) yet the darker lighting, smaller ceiling and candles provided diners with quite an intimate feel.

We all opted for starters and mains – my starter of a deep-fried soft-shell crab was delicious as I think was the bucket of prawns and smoked salmon that Jules and Sandra went for. For our mains we all of course had to go battered fish (cod) and side of chips. The batter was perfectly light on the fish and the portion decently sized. The chips too were fabulous – thickly-cut they were crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. To say we were stuffed afterwards was an understatement – it was just as well both Sandra and Jules were abstaining from dessert for Lent otherwise we would have gone for desserts anyway and been seriously ill!

Overall Geales is a great fish and chip restaurant friendly and attentive service. If there’s a downside it was that the food is on the expensive side.

Blue Elephant is a well-known chain of Thai restaurants known for sumptious decorations. As their own website espouses your senses will be dazzled as soon as you walk into the Blue Elephant where you are greeted by around 8 waitresses, and as you make your journey to your table you are confronted by nice big green plants, gorgeous fountains and a flowing river. It feels just like you’re in a jungle.

We thought that to make the most of our visit to Blue Elephant we would try out their Sunday Buffet. With 2-hour sittings (not too strictly enforced it seems) this gives you a decent amount of time to soak up the atmosphere and also to eat as much, or as little from the buffet choices as you want.

Whilst waiting for Elvira and Andrew to arrive I also partook in one of the signature drinks – a (non-alcoholic) cocktail delivered in a coconut shell. Very cute if a little on the expensive side.

There are three food sections for the buffet – an amazingly diverse starters section where some food is cooked fresh and where there is also a noodle bar, a “mains” section and an extensive dessert section. Most of the people who have been to Blue Elephant give to the food, if not a thumbs down, at least a just so-so rating and sadly enough I would have to agree. That is not to say that it was completely horrible but it wasn’t anything spectacular considering how much everything else in
the restaurant was picture-perfect (service, decoration, presentation of food, uniforms of the staff.)

The starters were mainly deep-fried and were my preference over the mains. Disappointingly the mains buffet didn’t even feature a popular Thai Curry (I would have expected at least a Thai Green or something to turn up.) The desserts were pretty good – the fresh fruit was deliciously fresh and the puddings were very traditional. So maybe from that you could deduce
the meal started well and ended well but the middle wasn’t so crash-hot.

I would definitely recommend Blue Elephant as a restaurant that you have to experience at least once even if it is on the pricey side and the food isn’t the greatest (looks fantastic however!) How can you not be charmed by the girl plucking her khim or the man spinning intricate lollipops with sugar?

Pauline returned to London after about a three month absence so Sandra thought it would be a nice idea to have an intimate little catch up with a few of the girls. We started off at a favourite bar of Pauline’s, Dirty Martini, before moving on to Volt Lounge Bar Restaurant.

Volt is a pretty swanky looking restaurant in Belgravia, near Victoria. Its neighbours are the infamous Mango Tree and Volt’s sister restaurant Noura. With its good looks you would expect it to be a little on the side of pretentious and full of itself but to my surprise it wasn’t. The service is very good (despite some communication problems with our main waiter where we couldn’t understand him and he couldn’t understand us!) and from the minute you step into the door it was attentive without being too overbearing. Our table was actually supposed to be in the main room (which was long and narrow and a bit smaller than I thought) but instead we got a table in the brighter light private Crystal room with its video projections and slight music playing in the background which wasn’t too bad once it was filled with other diners (otherwise it would have felt a little isolated from the main action.) Unlike other restaurants the tables are actually fairly big so you have enough room on the table for all you food – ironically this makes the meze sharing concept a little more difficult!

Most of the reviews of this restaurant have commented on the fact that they dined at this restaurant taking advantage of the 50% off food deal from Top Table and London Eating. The deal, which we also took advantage of, gives you 50% off the Gourmet Menu which for £44.50 gives you a Chef’s Selection of
6 different Mezzes (2 Salad; 2 Antipasti; and 2 Pasta except Lobster) + a main course + a dessert/cheese + coffee/tea.) Its actually a very good bargain at the 50% off price considering the steak which we ended up ordering for mains was £18 on its own.

Tonight we were served with some bread to start, for our salad mezzes Caesar Salad and Rocket Salad (both of which were quite tasty); for our antipasti Tuna Carpaccio and Beans (tuna was surprisingly yummy) and Parma Ham and Melon; and for our Pasta mezza two small bowls of Seafood Linguini (generous serves of seafood) and a Chicken Sausage and seashell pasta (sweet but my favourite dish). The majority of us selected steak and mixed veges for our main – it was quite funny because those of us who elected for medium steaks seemed to receive a much larger size steak than Pauline who opted for well-done! By then we were all pretty stuffed and could barely fit our desserts in. Didn’t stop us trying though! My Almond and Pear tart was surprisingly good and I think the other desserts were equally nice.

Overall I was quite impressed with Volt for the quality of food, menu options, service and atmosphere in the very funky restaurant. Having said that I’m not sure I would come here without the offer which is extremely good value because once you include drinks (where they probably make their margin) it could end up being quite a pricey night. If you do go make sure to check out the interesting toilets!

Dragon Castle is a pleasant surprise in the last place you would expect a decent Chinese Restaurant – huddled in the middle of the housing estates and blocks of grimy grey cement at Elephant & Castle. The doors of Dragon Castle are red and imposing (though you actually enter via glass doors immediately to the left and right of the giant doors. Behind you will be greeted by a fountain flowing into a small pond filled with red koi fish and the coins of those who have come before you.

The restaurant itself is like a giant hall – long, narrow with an extremely tall ceiling. The decor is light and airy with giant chandeliers and red lanterns so provided a nice clean atmosphere for dining. We arrived at just after noon and were immediately taken to a table but when we departed about an hour plus later the waiting area (a nice little lounge area just inside reception) was filled with waiting diners (though it wasn’t nearly as crowded and full as the restaurants in the more central locations.)

For our dim sum dishes we went with our usual so we could compare it with other dim sum restaurants and we weren’t disappointed. Presentation-wise it was very smart – food was served on distinctive and unusual shaped dishes with nice garnishes. Taste and quality – I couldn’t fault it. Not quite up to the Princess Garden standards but considering dishes are significantly cheaper and only 10% service is charged (as opposed to Princess Garden’s “optional” 13%) it was very good indeed. Service was impeccable – as soon as dishes were finished they were whisked away and we had hardly any wait between dishes. Our tea pot was topped up almost as soon as we poured out one single serve of tea ensuring it was always hot and we never had to wait for a top-up.

Dragon Castle may take a little bit longer to get to then the plethora of dim sum restaurants in Chinatown but that extra 15 minutes effort taken is rewarded in the end. Our experience today leads me to wonder why I’ve never heard of it before today. I’ve read that the non-dim sum dishes are also pretty good so I guess that’s next on the list!

Tonight Mel celebrated her birthday at Ping Pong at Goodge Street. There were about 20 of us at the dinner and our experience tonight has proved that Ping Pong do not do group meals very well at all.

First of all chaos reigned when we couldn’t all fit on to the table and somehow Mel lost out on the game of musical chairs we had to play to work out where everyone was sitting. Then it was up to us to sort out where everyone was sitting as there were no waiters/waitresses around to help us and we ended up dragging in extra benches and chairs from surrounding tables just to accommodate the group. The cosiness actually resulted in a whole cocktail being spilt on one poor girl!

Second of all it was clear that working out how to bill the table was going to be problem and so the solution was to split the table up into three billing “areas”. Of course this caused confusion for the waiters who couldn’t work out to which “area” drinks and dishes belonged. This also caused problems at the end when it came to paying and I’m sure as a result Ping Pong failed to charge a number of drinks to us (though having said that the meal still ended up being quite pricey – for me £18 got me a couple of iced teas and two dishes. Just as well Jenny and I had a late lunch today!)

Finally service tonight was generally slow. There was no organisation or control by the staff from the beginning and as a result all night getting orders in for drinks and food was slow. Actually getting our drinks and food was also slow.

Still, despite the disaster that was Ping Pong, we all had a good night though conversation, as usual, on such a long table was difficult. Afterwards a few of us rolled into The One Tun across the road where Mel and Rach caused a bit of havoc when they tried to ring the bar man’s bell … the less said the better eh? 🙂