A Week in the UK
Last week I spent a week in the UK with my husband and daughter to celebrate both of their birthdays. We had planned on all meeting up on the 6th so that we could have a weekend together before Tash left for 8 weeks in Malaysia and Mark got too busy with clients at the Farnborough Air show. We had reservations at Petrus, a Gordon Ramsey restaurant we always visit but as you know, the best laid plans in our family get tossed out the window.
Tash had planned to arrive in London around 2pm but due to all the rain and flooding in the Midlands, instead of taking 2 hours it took 5 hours with tunnel delays and multiple train changes. Mark was flying in from Toronto but business delayed him 2 days. Tash and I ended up going to Petrus on our own but I will fill you in on that experience in one of my future blogs.
Saturday, Tash and I spent the day shopping. We hopped the Tube and came out at Piccadilly right into the Gay Pride Parade. My only other experience with the GPP was in Berlin 8 years ago, a fairly large gathering but not overwhelming. Tash was in Toronto last year for it’s GGP and said it was one of the biggest in North America. The London one, although colourful did not seem very large or pull in huge crowds. I guess it’s a sign of the times that gay pride has become a normalpart of our culture.
Chelsea is an interesting area with lots of boutiques and interesting restaurants. On that we visited twice was aplace called Lots Road Bar. On our first visit, we were waited on by a lovely looking young man whooffered us a tasting of the appetizers as an amuse bouche, a beetroot soup that reminded me of my grandma’s borscht, deep fried squid and chicken roulade with celery root salad. The main course special of roasted duck breast salad was fabulous. The breast was rendered perfectly and the shin was nice and crispy. The salad itself had a combination of mixed greens and herbs in a wonderfuldressing. The best part thought was the amazing sticky toffee pudding with honey comb ice cream. On our second visit my main was lamb steak but I couldn’t resist the sticky toffee pudding again.
Mark finally arrived just in time to celebrate his birthday at L’Etrangeon Grovner. This restaurant is an asian fusion restaurant with a very extensive wine list. I had a starter of the asian version of a caprese salad. The flavours were so clear and intense that I really wanted to order a second portion. My main was a perfectly cook miso cod with sushi rice roll. We all shared a large platter of a chocolate story, nine small chocolate desserts with variety in taste and texture.
Every time I return to the UK, I find a new and fascinating restaurants to try. I can’t wait for my return in August.
A Week in the UK
