WINE & DINE WITH ANGELA LANSBURY

  Don't be afraid of long menus Or young waiters, arrive early Ask for their help, make them feel good They'll smile, chat, show teeth pearly To those used to using chopsticks Knives and forks are confusing cutlery  Everyday layouts won't confuse the Brits But silver service is a mystery Each country has its own good rule But it needs communication To diners and new waiters To avoid lots of confusion  Let's talk about a knife and fork The knife is on the right The fork is on the left The soup spoon's first, far right Why is the knife on the right? Easy to understand Before forks were invented Knives were gripped by your cutting, (fighting!) hand Soup Course And Plate The British eat warming soup first (The Chinese eat soup last) Soup spilt in laps mishaps the worst Tilt plate away, danger is passed Knife & Fork Position You start from the outside. Placed A-shape on plates is silent talk Still eating, paused, might finish soon. Next, the soup spoon and the tea sp...

  Vasco & Piero's Pavilion Italian Restaurant has been our family's favourite in Central London for a long time. It's always a delightful surprise because the menu changes twice daily. The restaurant is clean, white bright and fresh with white linen table cloths. We went there again in November 2024. You can sit at small square tables for two, oblong tables for four, large round tables, or bar stools, or in a private room behind glass walls at the back. My companions chose a glass of red chianti to match the colour and intensity of their red meat dishes. I opted for Prosecco, sparkling white as a starter and to go with my white meat main course, chicken. Good enough. My husband, who is a wine educator, approved of the label credentials, the region and grape variety, and the taste. The restaurant has Umbrian items.  A member of our family from overseas wanted soup, which was not on the menu. They immediately offered to make one specially for her, a 'simple' mixed...

  Bonoo Indian Restaurant, flower-filled frontage. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright. Bonoo Hampstead restaurant, in the Hampstead area of Northwest London, has an amusing and amazing  flower-covered exterior, plus inside walls and ceiling to match.  A touch of class, elegance, romance. What does the name mean? It is not the owner, but a word evoking an Indian chef's  philosophy, an instinct for natural harmonising flavours. Their website explains. A bit abstract, and I don't know if it is Sanskrit or Hindi, so to remember the restaurant's name I think bon, which is french for good, and OO - amazingly different. We saw a chef wearing a white hat. This restaurant is a favourite of other members of  our family because the restaurant staff are willing to discuss the spiciness of the dishes and get food made up less spicy which is what most of us want. My favourite dish was the potato starter, Aloo tikki chaat. I also liked the Crunchy mango salad. , and the flat ...

  I went to a wine tasting, a Monastrell Masterclass and walk-around Tasting on 14th October 2024 at a  Asia House in London. The Monastrell Grape Masterclass Growing vines to make wine in Spain dates back many years. The name monastrell probably comes from the Latin for monastery.   The monastrell grape grows in the sunny south-east of Spain. During the masterclass I learned that wines can thrive in hot climates without irrigation, (sending their roots deep down).  Uprooting old vines to replace them with orchards might seem a good idea short term. However, orchards need water.  If the climate change results in less water, as predicted, those areas which saved their vineyards might be glad of their old vines in years to come. Food to Match Monstrell Wine Other fascinating facts. A popular saying is that what grows together goes together. What kind of food goes with Monastrell wines? Anything unusual? Distinctive? A local speciality? Yes.  For those se...

 Tarte Tatin is named after the Tatin sisters who ran a hotel with a restaurant in France. The hotel is still there. You can stay in the hotel. Eat Tart Tatin.  A side trip from Paris.  You can read a book about the Tatin sisters. And find dozens of variations of the supposed recipe, which they never wrote down. My family tried out a version. You make pastry and add apples and flavours. Oddly, you don't use cooking apples Home cooked Tarte Tatin by Trevor Sharot. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.  because they disintegrate into a mush. The apples to use are eating apples which hold their shape.  Useful Links https://www.ipreferparis.net/2021/08/maison-tatin-.html Please share links to your favourite posts.

  Zufa Lebanese restaurant, beside Kyoto Korean and Izgara Turkish, all in bustling Hatch End, beside the crossing. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright. Restaurant location   Zufa Lebanese restaurant in north west London has branches in both Hatch End and Northwood. The Restaurant Name  The name Zufa is a girl's name meaning elegant. It is elegant and understated.  Zufa at night. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright. Website Menu I looked up the restaurant menu in advance so I knew what I wanted to order. The date drink. The mixed starter or mezze. The duck wrap for my main course. Baklava for dessert. Seating Greeting We had made an evening dinner reservation for four, two couples. We were immediately greeted by Diana who offered us a choice of tables. I normally like to sit away from the window. However, our guests seemed intent on sitting under the glass canopy with a view onto the street. Whether Window Seats? Fortunately for me, the two tables immediately ne...