Udon Love

Clam chowder udon at Koya in London.  

The udon is freshly made and the chowder is rich, but not too creamy, and absolutely delicious.  It's Udon heaven, one of the best bowls of udon I've had for a long time.  

Sun, sea and sand

For the past years, it has become customary for Golf Boy and I to escape the January blues and spend the month far east.  We would stop over in HK to catch up with the family and spend a couple of weeks on various little adventures in neighbouring countries.  The superb travels, fascinating cultures and amazing food aside, I cannot deny how smug and satisfying it is to have an 'I don't do January' out-of-office reply on your work email.  However, this year, there is a change of plan; we're not heading east till the summer.  If you're thinking that spending summer in Asia is an odd choice, you'll be right.  Hot and humid comes to mind, and having grown up in HK, I should know better.  Well, I do know better, but an upcoming work trip to Japan in July has created an opportunity for Golf Boy and I to visit one of the most expensive countries in the world 'subsidised'; it is hard to resist.  So, watch this space for tales from the land of the rising sun.

In the meantime, Golf Boy and I decided to go for a modest of 'sun, sea and sand' trip for some quiet distractions.  Having ruled out Tunisia and Sharm el Sheikh (this is prior to the political unrest in the Middle East, which is unlike us considering the timing of our previous trips to Morocco and India...), we settled on Lanzarote.  This is supposed to be one of the less developed islands of the Canaries with fascinating geology, decent beaches, warm weather and a decent wine production; we were keen to experience all this and not those that earned this island the unfortunately nicknamed "Lanzagrotty".

Miserable Golf Boy with food poisoning

Not really ones to lie on the beach, we pretty much saw the whole island in the five days we spent there (edited photo highlights here).  The geology is extraordinary, and we were most impressed with the National Park and the volcanic caves.  The places of interest and tourist hot-spots on the island are a collection of Cesar Manrique's artistic and architectural outputs.  He was truly a man with vision.  This is all good, but Lanzarote is surprisingly expensive when it comes to eating out.  It may be that we were staying at quite a remote village, away from the resorts where there are more competition, but we definitely didn't feel we got value for money.  In the end, uninspiring and expensive food, a severe tropical storm and food poisoning (of the delicate Golf Boy) really led us to feel a little disappointed with the trip.

We weren't "wowed" by Lanzarote, but I don't think it was supposed to do so.  All in all, we did enjoy our short break on the island, and I would like to stand up for this little island - Lanzarote certainly does not deserve its nickname.

The White Rabbit

This may be the Year of the Metal Rabbit, but my year so far seems to have taken a cue from the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland.  2011 has started with a pathetic few days in bed with the flu, a mad dash to Manchester, stop-over in Liverpool, a treat in London and a wee adventure in Lanzarote.  Hmm... all a bit manic I thought, perhaps I should 'restart' my year at Chinese New Year.  So here we are, 11 days into the Rabbit Year, I'm finally getting a restful Sunday at home, though not before a week of adrenaline overdose in Rjukan and a work trip to Paris.  All a bit fast and furious, but certainly not all work and no play and I'm certainly not complaining.  There has been many highlights, which I will blog in the coming days.  Here's a start:

Dinner at the Savoy Grill

Kicking off 2011 with a trip to the Savoy Grill was quite a treat.  Having followed the TV documentary on the Savoy Hotel's three-year refurbishment, I simply couldn't resist suggesting the Savoy Grill for dinner with my American boss who happened to be passing London during one of my regular London trips.  Despite a Gordon Ramsay establishment, I was not disappointed.  Stepping into the Savoy Grill was indeed stepping into Agatha Christie world.  There was none of the 'Professor Plum being murdered with a candlestick in the library' type of excitement (well, fair enough, that's more Cluedo than Miss Marple), but the menu and the food definitely made up for it.  Everything on the menu was enticing (erm..  for non-vegetarians) and the food was really good.

We were really tempted by their charcoal grill (seems to be their speciality), but in the end, we went for the braised beef shoulder and roasted fillet and the special lamb saddle instead.  They do a lot of table side preparation, which is fun to watch.  To much of the stress of the young waiting staff (who were extra attentive but still have this rabbits caught in the headlight look about them), the lamb saddle (and the millefeuille!) were presented and carved on the trolley beside the table; I think they also do the lunch trolley everyday.  I recently heard Michel Roux talked of the theatre of dinning, I think I'm sold!

So if you happen to be in the neighbourhood, I would recommend lunch at the Savoy Grill.