My 35th Birthday

Ever after I turned 30 I honestly don't remember what birthday I celebrate each year...sad,  I know...but I was once told that things go down hill for women after turning 30! I don't agree with that as I only started to really get to know myself after 30 and I certainly feel my life before Rayray almost seemed futile!

So this year I celebrated my 35th at The Goring.

I think Rayray was staring at the cake! lol

Photo session before food arrived

I loved the ambiance and food. (we were busy chatting and taking photos and drinking, I completely forgot to take the photos!) It was airy, bright, and very spacious which is absolutely essential for us now with a baby in tow. I thought the service was impeccable. The kept the drinks flowing and even got Rayray a soft toy! 

My personal photographer 

Tao was busy taking photos and looking after Rayray (yes since I was the birthday girl, I was allowed to relax and drink!) that we didn't get to take a photo together as a family!!!

Mr Superstar

Yummy Russian cake from Joce!

Sadly Jocelyn had to work that day so she couldn't join us. Though I was really touched that she got a cake for me and it was the current favourite in the Vale! (as we live in Crosslet Vale) I don't even know how to describe the size of the cake! It was massive! It must have been 10cm thick and a size of a MacBook Pro! (actually I would say a bit wider than the notebook) Basically it is a honey torte with LAYERS of honey sponge cake soaked in luscious caramel creamy filling. I have only tasted from Harrods so I don't know what others taste like but this is soooo good that we actually finished the whole cake!

It was such a glorious day and I felt truly blessed! I might be a year older but I certainly feel a year better! 

Maze by Gordan Ramsay

Another long overdue post as W and I had a lunch date back in the beginning of January and it's almost the end of the month! We went to Maze by Gordon Ramsay and here are the dish we had:

warm delicious bread sticks

Starter - arctic king crab, octopus carpaccio

Main - Dumpling of lobster, tiger prawns and salmon in lemongrass broth

Dessert - can't remember what it was!!! 

Initially we were disappointed with the portion of the food and the waitress did recommend us ordering three courses each. Surprisingly, we both felt we had 'just right' amount of food when we finished our mains so we shared a dessert. We thoroughly enjoyed our starter and main (we had the exactly same dish) but wasn't so sure about the dessert hence I can't even remember what we had!

Post lunch tipples - watermellonllini, and royale mojito

After sharing a bottle of bubbles at lunch, we decided to go to Claridge's for one more cocktail!

It was such a pleasant afternoon Wan! Thank you!

Apsleys - Mao's birthday bash

This year we celebrated Doc's birthday at Apsley's at The Lansborough.

We wore the same coats but in different colours

Love the chandeliers

Simple yet elegant decor

Amuse buche - roast pigeon with parsnip puree - simply delicious

Starter No. 1 - Spaghetti with lime marinated langoustine

Starter No. 2 - Risotto with tuna, smoked aubergine and pickled ginger

Starter No. 3 - Lobster Salad

Starter No.4 - Tempura prawns with red peppers couscous and courgettes

After few glasses of bubbles and food in us, it was pressie time!!!

Baby cashmere jumper

A set of lever corkscrew, spiral and 'primary wine aromas' for a keen wine enthusiast

Spa treatment

Perfume

Last but not least - a limited edition H bangle!

Main courses:

This is what I had - Veal, sage and artichoke puree

Fillet of beef in red wine

Pigeon with crispy polenta, figs and cauliflower

Sea bass in salt crust with saffron potatoes

Dover sole and vegetables

We all enjoyed the food and the service was impeccable but I thought the portion was on the small side and the fact that we had to order some sides as there were none on the menu was a bit unusual. 

We all HAD to have desserts as a result of small portions! lol

Chef's special - lime cheesecake with banana sorbet

Tao's very impressive five arrays milk-based dessert

Orange jelly with bergamot ice cream - it was the best one in my opinion

My Mochaccino Magnum - a bit of a let-down to be honest

Birthday cake! I have to say, it was soooo tasty!!!

My kind of heaven

I should have stuck to my first instinct i.e. cheese board!

All in all, friendly staff, impeccable service, impressive ambiance, lovely food bar a few desserts. I really enjoyed that day and I hope my dearest Mao did too!!!

Osteria by Angie

I promised that I'd take photos of the food here after my first visit. And how I remember my first visit here so vividly with Joyce and James on a Saturday as I gave birth to Rayray the following Monday!

Since then, I've gone back a couple of times and I enjoyed on every occasion. We took Rayray there for lunch on Christmas eve and since it was only two days after I checked out of confinement centre, both T and I were still very new to the whole taking-baby-for-an-outing business so when she cried in the middle of our lunch, we panicked as we didn't want to get funny looks from people around us. As a parent now, I became absolutely aware about keeping baby quiet in public because I get paranoid thinking people would stare at us if I have a crying baby. Anyway, so I decided to feed baby even though it wasn't her feeding time yet. The restaurant staff were ever so kind and understanding that they told me to use their dining area on first floor and they would draw all the curtains so that we wouldn't get disturbed! We were so impressed as I thought customer service didn't exactly exist in Taiwan.

Freshly baked bread

Cold cuts and cheese platter with a glass of my long lost friend - vino

My Main - Home made tagliolini with vegetables, black truffle and parmigiano

T's main - squid, mozzarella cheese, cherry tomato, black and garlic pizza

Finishing off with coffee, yoghurt, and lemon sorbet - simply divine

Oh and we also ordered their delicious avocado and walnuts salad but was busy eating so forgot taking the photo! hehe

CNY Feast I

We had been eating out everyday during CNY apart from new year's eve. We had lunch at 龍少爺海鮮, a Cantonese seafood restaurant on the second day of new year and we were very impressed with the food. Ingredients were fresh with good flavour apart from the crispy prawns which turned out not so crispy and it tasted rather sweet for our liking.

Braised chicken feet and peanuts - this doesn't look too appetising but the flavour was excellent

Seafood Salad as a starter

Stir fried glutinous rice with chopped sausage - this was delish

Lobster in curry sauce, with deep fried buns on the side. I have always been a big fan of fried buns and the combination of that with this curry sauce is divine

Black bean on dusky grouper - I have to admit that I am not a big fan of groupers but this was cooked to perfection! The meat was tender and juicy

Spring onion and ginger crab - delicious but I can never be bothered with all the shells and all that hard work ending up with tiny bit of meat.

Salt and Pepper Abalone - again, I don't really like abalone but good seasoning. 

Crispy Prawns

Chicken Soup 

Fruit Platter