WINE & DINE WITH ANGELA LANSBURY

  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 ...

De Rada Brasserie restaurant in Mill Hill. Outdoor seating. Photo by Angela Lansbury. I have family in Mill Hill who know all the restaurants in Mill Hill. The family had enjoyed lunch here previously and suggested this place for a family dinner so I checked it out online.. The restaurant serves Italian favourites, Prosecco, Pizza and pasta. Not cheap - is anywhere nowadays, mybe some pubs at lunch time. De Rada is open all day until 10 pm for breakfast, lunch (sandwiches) and a la carte for dinner. First I looked at the drinks. Two kinds of Prosecco by the glass. One is extra brut which is extra dry so I made a note that I wanted the other. Both the same price. 7.25 (pounds sterling). My husband is a wine educator and was not over excited by the red wines, but conceded he might give one a try. However, I also liked the green reviver smoothie at five pounds. Maybe the smoothie as a starter. Their appetizers include olives with ham, and chicken liver parfait.  Olives. Photo by Angel...

  A-Z of of Names of Grapes To Eat and Drink Here's a handy alphabetical checklist of wine grapes and their meanings.  Auxerrois - from Alsace (the old name for Alsace) Champagne - from the Champagne region of France, north, river Loire region, near Paris Colombard - white from colombe, French for dove (white birds) Fer - French for wild (grape) like feral Glera - the new name for Prosecco grapes to distinguish them from the style of wine more widespread Madeira - strong alcohol, Portuguese island in the Atlantic, whose wine was transformed in long hot journeys stored for ages by ship in the olden days, storage conditions to enhance flavour and other qualities, now imitated on the island without the sea journey Mavro - Greek for black (name used in Cyprus) Merlot - from French for blackbird. Grapes used in France for wine and eating Monastrell - Spanish wine which came from the monastery (Latin monasteriu for monastery) Mourv è dre - French  from the Latin monasteriu mean...