Month: February 2009

Thai Al Fresco Dining

The above picture shows the amazing Suan Nun Night Bazaar’s central dining and entertainment area. There must have been 1000 people, just in the dining area. On each side of the tables section were small fountains with lights, and outside these were food and drink stalls, the majority of...

Room-service

My room in Bangkok was at the FuramaXclusive Hotel, just off Silom 3 (which is just off Silom Road). It was thoroughly luxurious, and not the heady prices you might expect for such a business-class hotel. I was delighted to discover that a room-service Long Island Iced Tea was...

Jet Airways

The image above rather resembles business-class on many an aircraft. It is, however, the economy-class section of a 777-300ER, which took me on the long part of the route to Thailand, from London Heathrow to Mumbai International (and back again a few days later). The screen in front of...

Pub snack

In fact it was a pub lunch when I wasn’t very hungry.  My lunch companions tucked into red pepper burgers, salmon and brie fish-cakes, chicken burgers, and a ploughman’s with mackerel and red Leicester cheese.  The specials included a roast beef and a nice-looking piece of lamb, but everyone...

Cherry tart

I thought this one up, though it’s a variation on a familiar theme.  I started by rolling a circle of puff pastry and scoring a border three-quarters of an inch in.  Inside it was pricked, outside it was brushed with beaten egg. I made a paste with a spoon...

Multilingual charcuterie

I thought it would make a nice starter course.  There were Polish kabanos sausages, Italian pepperoni, and French saucisson.  I added Greek olives and feta cheese, and five types of mustard.  At top Scottish wholegrain, then clockwise honey mustard, Dijon, English, and apple mustard with cider.  It went down...

M&S St. Valentine’s Evening

Having elected to spend St. Valentine’s evening at home I pondered what I could cook to make for a romantic dinner that would not require me spending half a day in the kitchen. Marks and Spencers came to the rescue. They had a fantastic offer for the day of...

New dish at Cascade

Cascade is a rather pleasant brasserie along the seafront on Nice’s Promenade des Anglais.  I went there for lunch on a pleasantly warm day.  After sitting in the sun reading about snowstorms in the UK, I ordered a dish I’d not seen before, a cassoulet des poissons.  It was...

Trattoria

I tried several other places in streets off Rue de France, but quickly established how it works.  There are lots of places that in the off season are completely deserted – not a good sign.  There are a few which look comparatively lively, though not overflowing.  I tried three...

Resto Wine Notes

I said I’d come back to eat here after I’d sampled wine and music on a previous trip.  It’s in the heart of the rabbit warren of narrow streets and alleys that is Nice’s Old Town.    I began with the pumpkin cream soup with truffle oil.  It was...