Lounge Lover - Going to Shoreditch

Lounge Lover is a beautifully designed, with very eccentric taste, 

lounge bar hidden in a little street in Shoreditch. 

Known as the 'little brother' of the restaurant Les Trois Garcons, 

it was opened by the same owners to give a place to their customers 

to go for drinks before and after their meal at Les Trois Garcons.

To keep up with their style, Lounge Lover is as charming as Les Trois Garcons 

with big chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and very random eccentric deco 

such as Anatomy posters on one wall and hanging wooden horses on the side. 

A visit is needed to understand what I mean ...  

We were seated right in the middle of it all and it was pretty cool!

To be noted that Lounge Lover is not only a bar. 

It also serves food in the Japanese Tapas style and we headed there 

to try out their Winter Tasting Menu on a very cold Winter evening.

We started with a Cocktail and some Edamame served with rock salt and chilli ...

Then came the Winter Taster Menu Experience ...

Sushi Selection : Prawn & Salmon Nigiri, Loungelover Roll and Vegetable Roll

Lounge Lover Platter: Miso marinated fois gras, Duck Salad and Beef Tartare

The Beef tartare was a Winner for me! So pretty!

Beef Tartare 

Salmon Teriyaki : Pan fried salmon fillet with bok choi & Plum wine Teriyaki sauce

Rib Eye Steak : Grilled Rib eye steak served with wafu sauce and crispy sweet potato and pea shoots 

And finally ... Dessert ...

Creme Brulee Fondant and mixed berries

If you are looking for a funky place to hang out for cool cocktails and light food 

then I would definitely suggest that Lounge Lover makes it on the list ... 

but if you want to have a proper dinner with similar ambiance and atmosphere, 

then maybe Les Trois Garcons will fit better 

Portions are small here but they did warn us that it would be tapas style after all!

LOUNGE LOVER

No. 1 Whitby Street

London, E1 6JU

L'Autre Pied - Relaxed, Contemporary fine dining

During the Spring this year, I bought a Groupon Voucher for a 

7 Course Tasting Menu which was really worth it!

It was at L'Autre Pied, a Michelin Star Restaurant in Marylebone.

Although a nice experience, if not for the voucher, I would not be visiting ...  

Normal prices were through the roof and it wasn't my kinda place.

The Chef is undoubtedly talented and thanks to Groupon, we enjoyed a very tasty 

7 courses 'Tasting Menu' at a bargain price  :)

Here is our Tasting Menu :

Amuse- Bouche Surprise 

Carrot and Lime marinated pollock ceviche, fennel and ginger jelly, crushed Kohlrabi and dill oil

Pan fried cod, broccoli puree, pickled cauliflower, Ruby Grapefruit, Brioche and Black Onion Seeds

Haunch of Sika Deer, Crapaudine beetroot, Apple Puree, Tapioca and Walnuts

Farm House Cheese with Sesame Lavoche and Caramelised Figs 

Ile Flottante with Rhubarb 

And Finally ...

Baked Vanilla Cheesecake, caramelised Banana and Passion Fruit Mousse

L'AUTRE PIED

5-7 Blandford Street 

London W1U 3DB

ORA - Passion for Thai Cuisine

ORA.  I have not heard of this restaurant until this visit with some friends.
Set off Regent Street on Little Portland Street, away from the constant hustle and bustle of
Oxford Street, ORA says it brings authentic Thai Food to London...

As we entered Ora, it had a very contemporary feel and I was very excited to try their dishes.
Since we had a group booking through Toptable, we had a set menu to choose our courses from.
I was impressed that they offered a good variety of dishes to choose from for each course although
I was pretty surprised that some of the dishes were not really Thai!

Once, we made our choice, while waiting for the food to arrive, I sipped through my cute little
jug of Thai Ice Milk Tea, beautifully presented and enjoyed a good catching up session with
my friends.

ORA Thai Ice Tea 

Soon after, our starters arrived. The popular choices were the crispy king prawn tempura
and the Deep Fried Baby Squid. Quite disappointing I thought as a start to our meal ...

The Prawn Tempura was not a real tempura with the batter being rather thick to my taste.
It was more like a Fried King Prawns in batter! The portion served was big though for a starter
and could not complain about the texture of the prawns which were nice to the taste.

The other starter, the crispy squid was reasonable I guess with an innovative sauce which had chopped herbs.

Not the best crispy squid I've had ...

As the time came for our mains to arrive, it all looked very tasty. 

As I had a closer look at the dishes as they were being served to us individually, 

I will have to admit that my expectations were not met.

The Duck Breast served with tamarind sauce looked nice. As well as the curry.

I had ordered the Sirloin Beef in oyster sauce and mange-tout. 

(Not very Thai I thought ... but still decided to give it a chance.) ... Shouldn't have! 

The dish was served in a square plate trying to make it look stylish and modern 

but as soon as I saw my dish ... it had failed my standards ... 

not boasting but I definitely make better beef in oyster sauce in my own kitchen!

Another chosen Main dish was the Pork in Sweet Pineapple, lychee and vegetable in sauce.

The Lychee ingredient was the interesting one which had to be tried. 

This dish was different but at the same time, it was very close to the regular sweet 

and sour available in Chinese Take away shops ... again not very impressed ...

Last but not least, we had dessert which was just ok. 

The Chocolate Cheesecake proved to be the most popular.

The Pineapple Pie served with custard was not too bad to the taste either.

Overall, the experience was saved by good company ... but on the food side ... 

I won't be running back soon to be honest!!  

It was not an unpleasant food experience but it definitely did not give me any hint of the 

Passion for Thai Cuisine.

I eventually learned that the chef's background was from Busaba Eathai, and 

the manager was the former manager at Mango Tree. I guess the professionalism of the 

waiting staff came from the standards brought from Mango Tree, while for the Chef ... 

what happened?? ...  but I would rather go to Busaba Eathai!!

If you want to try ORA, the best is to book through Toptable for this Restaurant where instead 

of the set menu, I would recommend to go for the 50% off food where you will

 still be able to choose from the a la carte menu where the true Thai Cuisine is.

ORA Restaurant 

6 Little Portland Street 

Fitzgrovia, London W1W 7JE

Royal China - Queensway

I usually am not too keen on travelling all the way to Queensway for Chinese food but for 

a special visit from abroad, I was glad I did.

Royal China has a great reputation for serving one of the best dim sum in London and

 I must say that even for dinner, the food was pretty good. 

Set in a stylish and contemporary decor, Royal China was as asual, busy that night!

For starters, we had my favourite: the seafood wrap served with lettuce.

This is how it's served:

FIRST : The Seafood Mix 

Wrap it up on a leaf of Lettuce and yummmm !!! 

Our second starter was the salt and chilli baby squid.

Crispy Golden Squid 

For Mains, to ensure everyone would be happy with the choices, we had a great variety coming to us!
Just speaking about it makes me hungry as the dishes were all so delicious!

Beautiful Crispy Roast Duck

Fukien Rice 

Chilli Glazed Prawns 

Sirloin Beef with Bamboo Shoot & Oyster Sauce 

Mapo Tofu with minced beef 

Pork and Preserved Vegetable Hot Pot 

My oh my, that was a beautiful meal! 

The Mapo Tofu was my favourite of all. 

The Tofu was so soft and the sauce with it really tasty. 

The flavour of the fried minced beef, the vegetables and the spicy sauce 

was just perfect with the tofu.

If you're looking for an alternative to the regular Chinese Restaurant in Chinatown, 

definitely think of Royal China. It might be a little dearer on the cost side 

but you will be satisfied with the quality of the food.

ROYAL CHINA - Bayswater 

13 Queensway 

London W2 4QJ

    

Masala Zone - Covent Garden

If you fancy modern Indian Cuisine and want to stay away from the traditional Indian
'take-away' type atmosphere (and menu) ... step into Masala Zone (Covent Garden)
and you will be pleasantly welcomed into a colourful and vibrant restaurant where
you can relax and enjoy a different style of Indian Cuisine.

Their menu is well organised and offers a section of 'Street Food' which 

I would highly recommend as they are very tasty!

Tonight my girlfriend Ms. V and I entered the ' Masala Zone' 

for a catching up session and had a lovely time! 

After the waitress kindly explained how the menu worked to us, we  decided to go for 

their dinner set meal (£9.20) of two courses. 

For starters we selected the vegetarian cold dish - Dahi Puri.

It came as a couple on the dish  ^.^ and the waiter quickly advised: 

'do not break the shell', you have to put it all in your mouth to enjoy it as it should be ...

Dahi Puri - Puffed hollow biscuits filled with chickpeas & splashed with yogurt and chutney 

At first it does come to mind that it may be a bit big to take it as a mouthful, but just obey :)

As the crispy biscuit shell exploded inside my mouth, all the flavours just burst 

and it was deliciously tasty! 

The cold yogurt mixed with the texture of the chickpea and the sweet 

taste of the chutney. A delicious combination!

For mains, we both took the Chicken Thali which offered little bowls of different dishes. 

All you need to choose is the Curry type you wanted with the set.

Regular Chicken Thali 

I chose mine with the Chicken Korma and Ms. V with the Malabar Green Chicken Curry. 

As seen on the pic above, the Thali came accompanied with Rice,

 (you can choose to have it with Chapatti instead of rice), two sides of vegetables, lentils, 

a piece of poppadum and chutneys. Lovely! A simple meal but with great variety!

Masala Zone is a great place for an alternative to the usual Indian Place and 

I will definitely be going back!

MASALA ZONE

Covent Garden

48 Floral Street

London WC2E 9DA

Let's Lounge @ Mamounia Lounge Knightsbridge

After a first visit to Mamounia Lounge Mayfair a few months ago, this weekend Mr. A and I had a really amazing evening at their new branch recently opened in Knightsbridge.

Located just a few metres away from iconic Harrods, Mamounia Lounge Knightsbridge is a hidden gem offering a Fusion of Moroccan and Libanese Cuisine.  Although it looked
quite small from the outside, as we went in, it offered a pretty good organised space for a Restaurant with a lovely décor inside. We were politely greeted by the host and escorted to the bar where we started our evening.

I had heard that they made excellent cocktails and had to try one! 

We were given an extensive drinks menu to choose from 

{which I'm sure would cater to everyone's need!} 

and I was very happy to see that they also offered an interesting 

non-alcoholic cocktails section in addition to the usual fruit juices available.

Being a fan of mojitos, we tried the classic virgin Mojito as well as the Strawberry Mojito.

Beautifully Presented Strawberry Mojito 

Once our drinks were ready, we were keen to sit down for dinner. 

The front part of the restaurant was already buzzing with customers while at the back 

it seemed to offer a much more quiet and private space, which looked more inviting to us. 

As we walked further to our table, I was pleasantly pleased by the beautiful interior 

which gave a very cosy and stylish feeling as we were seated.

Next comes the food section ...

Dinner @ Mango Tree - Belgravia

Mango Tree in Belgravia - This is a restaurant I have heard so much about for their
great thai dishes and has been one I wanted to visit for a long time.

Finally, I had a reservation and would finally have a taste of what all the talks are about!

Upon arrival, the staff was extremely friendly and polite. 

We were escorted to our table and seated very comfortably in their quite big dining room. 

As we were going through their menu, we could see that their cocktails were very 

popular as the waiting staff were going back and forth with wonderfully 

presented drinks on their tray.  So we had one! It was fun and fruitilicious!! :)

We chose one made of lychee, passion fruit juice and grenadine - 

named the Director's Choice Cocktail.

The starters arrived and looked absolutely amazing. 

The Mixed Skewers (Chicken, beef and lamb) were well marinated and nicely flavoured.  

My favourite one was the delicious chicken skewer dipped in freshly made satay sauce, 

and then the lamb. The Beef was slightly tough to take off the skewer and a bit chewy 

(not recommended). Then of course, typically Thai, we had to have the
Tom Yum Goong Soup. Full of flavour, with big fresh prawns and with just
the right amount of spice I loved it!

However for the price on the menu, it was a very small portion!

One not to be missed as a starter is the Green Papaya Salad which was exquisite! 

I never would have believed  that it would be so good as I am usually 

not a big fan of green papaya...  Now definitely a favourite!

Next, the Mains :

LEFT - Grilled Duck in sweet and tangy tamarind sauce

RIGHT - Chicken in Spicy Green Curry

Served with Jasmine White Rice

Excellent combination for mains although again, I found the portions extremely small! 

Luckily Mr. A and I are not big eaters and with the starters, it was just enough for us two. 

The Duck was very nice served on some greens and the green curry was irreproachable. 

Right amount of spice (despite the big chillies used as garnish), soft and juicy pieces 

of chicken and I just love the thai aubergine in the curry sauce!

Lastly, dessert time! Cannot leave without trying out their dessert! 

A Sweet Lychee and Ginger Cheesecake served with lychee jelly. 

The cheesecake was simply wonderful. Light and springy cheesecake 

as should be with a crumbly layer of biscuit base - Oh so Yummm!!!

Overall, the experience was not disappointing. 

The atmosphere was nice although I do not recall any music playing ... 

Maybe I was just too busy chit chatting with Mr. A  - (^.^) -

The Staff were very smartly presented, polite and very attentive. 

Also what caught my attention is the impressive teamwork of the waiting staff. 

It is always nice to see this as it has become quite rare!

Definitely worth a visit but be ready to be spending quite a bit! 

A bit pricey to my liking but book through toptable  

and it'll be a bit more reasonable.

Mango Tree

46, Grosvenor Place, Belgravia 

London SW1X 7EQ