Despite almost three decades of living in the west, my preference for breakfast is noodles! The man and Bear know me well and from time to time encourage me to have Maggi noodles if I’m feeling homesick.
Whilst back in Asia, I have been enjoying my favourite noodles – not all for breakfast though!
Char Kuey TeowChee cheong funWat tan hor Asam laksa
I also managed to eat some roti canai.
McDonald’s also serve congee which I ordered for dinner one night.
It will take some getting used to having toast and porridge oats for breakfast once I hm back in London.
It is now Sunday evening and I am catching up on Celebrity Masterchef Australia episodes from last week. The Bear and I are big fans of the show and we’re pleasantly surprised to see the celebrity version start on telly here in the UK recently.
I woke up on Saturday morning after a restful sleep and asked the Bear if she wanted to skip swimming in favour of the theatre as I managed to get us tickets to Matilda. A big yes from the Bear. We got tennis out of the way and made our way to the West End via the tube. Piccadilly Circus was busy as usual and we walked over to Seven Dials for a quick recce of the theatre before sorting out lunch. The Bear excitedly pointed out Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at a theatre on route – it is on her list (Parts 1 and 2!)
I threw caution to the wind by not pre-booking lunch and the Bear liked the look of the Monmouth Kitchen. The menu was a combination of Peruvian and Italian and we ordered a few dishes from both cuisines. Service was attentive and the food delicious.
Matilda was brilliant. The casts were amazing and I was in awe of how talented the kids were!
After the theatre, we walked to Green Park station as Piccadilly was congested. We spotted Waterstones en route and popped in for a browse. It had been years since I went in there – the last time was for Bill Granger’s book launch and food demo. We’re talking at least a decade ago! The Bear and I picked up a book each, though mine is one I’m hoping she would read too.
Today, Sunday is Father’s Day. The Bear went for her park run and scored a personal best! The Hubby didn’t fancy dining out, so I cooked up a few Asian dishes.
Tom Yum, omelette, greens from the garden, spicy grilled chicken, basmati rice
A fantastic weekend had and here’s to a great week ahead.
Any long time reader here would know that I credit my kitchen prowess to Bill Granger. I am a proud collector of his cookbooks and have enjoyed cooking many of his recipes over the years which are perfect for weeknight family meals.
I have been to a few of Bill’s Granger &Co restaurants in London (plus the Surry Hills one in Sydney). My favourite is the Clerkenwell branch as one is able to book a table and I’ve enjoyed many meals there with old co-workers.
Hubby suggested a trip to NottingHill today – it was a beautiful day, the sun was shining after an awful downpour last night and frankly we were in need of new perspective.
Don’t you love the colours on the building? The Bear calls them PlayDoh houses!
We headed over to Granger & Co, registered our booking and were told it was a 30 minute wait. We decided to wait it out in the car, playing ‘I spy’ with the Bear who was frankly unimpressed at being dragged out of the house on a Sunday!
I received a text message from Granger & Co that our table was ready and we were seated at a nice table upon entering. The restaurant seemed very full and I mentally wished Bill resilience and success in keeping his business going in such difficult times.
A shoutout to Bill. There was no kids menu. If you’ve read his cookbooks or watched his cooking shows, you’ll know he isn’t a fan of kids menu. Bill is a believer in giving kids the same food what grown ups eat and has suggested in his books that any good restaurant would offer some kids options if you were to ask. Well ask we did, and the Bear has a choice of a small sized beef burger, chicken schnitzel or plain pasta. She opted for the burger which was a generous portion of beef burger in delicious brioche bun, lettuce, tomatoes and skinny fries. Success!
The Hubby had the grown up portion of the beef burger whilst I had soft shell crab with kimchi fried rice. I asked for chorizo and poached egg to be omitted from the dish which they happily obliged. It came with smashed pickled cucumber instead which was yummy.
I couldn’t leave without dessert and we ordered pavlova and choc fudge to share, plus a flat white for the Hubby.
This was seriously delicious.
The ambience in the restaurant was great. Staff were attentive and friendly. I’ve got my eye on Bill’s new book, Australian Food. Perhaps I’ll put it on my list for Christmas but in the meantime I’ll dust off some of his old cookbooks.
It appears that everyone has been to The Ned. A few people I work with are also private members of said establishment. Having read good reviews of its Sunday brunch offering, a few friends and I booked a table months in advance for their 12pm seating. Sunday Brunch is offered on two hourly slots, starting at 12pm with the last table at 8pm.
We arrived 10 minutes early and were told to wait. We decided to perch on stools leading into Millie’s, where brunch was served. It was a bit poorly organised truth be told. At 12pm a queue started forming at the desk. We asked a waitress and she said we should just join the queue as we’d have to check in at the desk again for our table.
It was only a matter of minutes and we were seated close to the savoury food area. Our waitress explained that our £48 brunch included bottomless food plus one drink but extra drinks were on top.
There were lobsters, oysters, crevettes, salads, meats, Sunday roast and trimmings. A queue quickly formed for Sunday roast and people were fairly territorial. It was interesting to observe human behaviour and there was very little difference in general buffet decorum between this fancy establishment and my local all you can eat Chinese buffet! Sad but true.
My friends and were happy to leave the connoisseurs of Sunday roast behind and helped ourselves to lobsters, crevettes and oysters. There was plenty of interesting salads.
There was a lull in the queue and we sampled some of the Sunday roast offerings. No photos but there was a good selection of Yorkshire pudding, cheesy cauliflower, roasted root vegetables, roast potatoes, roast beef/pork/chicken.
The two hours were almost up and our waitress politely reminded us of time and ushered us towards the dessert area which offered a good selection of cheese and cakes. I opted for the latter, followed by a cup of coffee.
Food was very tasty and generous therefore I couldn’t understand why some patrons got a bit territorial. I might try their 6pm seating next time.
The Bear is on half term break this week. I can’t believe how quickly the last few weeks have gone by. They’ve certainly managed to squeeze in a lot of learning and activities since the new school year began in September and there is no doubt that the children are looking forward to a bit of a break.
Just for a change from our usual Sunday routine, we ventured out for a drive and it wasn’t long before our thoughts turned to food. The Hubby suggested a little Japanese cafe he’s seen driving past the area recently. Umami, it was called.
We walked in to find a really small establishment – a table for two, another for four and a larger table for six, all taken. They also had ‘bar seating’, though not on high stools so it was perfect for us and the Bear.
Prawn and vegetable udon Chicken katsu curryVegetable tempura
Service was friendly, courteous and quick. The Bear and Hubby shared the chicken katsu curry. I had a taste and it was lovely. The udon dish was for me and it was very hearty and filling. The Hubby enjoyed the vegetable tempura though there was no doubt we over ordered!
They were ever so kind to the Bear and gave her a complimentary dish of cucumber hosomaki which she gave thumbs up to.
All in all, really tasty food, friendly service and definitely worth a visit.
Chronicles of a CookBookWorm Too 