The Ivy, West Street, London

One of the restaurants to try out in London is The Ivy. It is so famous that it has become an institution due to its famous patrons..mainly celebrities like Posh and Becks. All dolled up and ready to have a good Sunday lunch. Bear in mind, there is dress code that you need to comply- no microskirts, shorts or singlets. Me likey the dress code.

Outside the Ivy, on West Street. With Candy Ma

Table all set for the guests

Starter- buffalo mozzarella, slow cooked tomato and rosemary bread

Fillet of sea trout with creamed fennel & brown shrimp vinaigrette

Blackcurrant mousse with lemon short bread

milk ice-cream with peaches, raspberries and almond tuile

The walls decorated with the famous Englishmen

Verdict- give it a go! The value lunch for GBP35 per person. It is gourmet food served with class. Despite not seeing any celebrities (they have private room upstairs), but another gourmet experience is highly valued.

Swan Lake ballet- Alexandrinsky Theatre, Russia

Russia is famous for a few things in the world and one of it is the Russian ballet. There are so many world famous ballerinas born in this part of the world and ballet compositions originates from here. Since we are doing our Russian travel we would want to watch a ballet show, not to be missed.

The first option is to watch in the Bolshoi but there was no show at the moment. So our next option was Alexandrinsky Theatre. This is one of the oldest theatre in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1756. So few choices of ballet repertoire that is world famous, but the choice is clear- Swan Lake.

As soon as the show starts we were mesmerized. It was an epic love story between the prince and the swan. This is fashioned from Russian folk tales and tells the story of  Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse.

The show lasted for 3 hours with a 30 min internal, just like any other ballet performance. We truly enjoyed the experience and this is the best performance I have seen compared to The Nutcracker and Cinderella..

Our tickets, yay!! It cost is GBP20 per person, a price you could never get in London

 

The ornate chandelier

 

Taking a seat

The exclusive box in the theatre

It was beautiful, to beautiful tale of love between the prince and the swan

The seats for all the patrons

 

Little Kitchen- Ketam Masak Lemak Nenas

Little Kitchen is about my hosting and cooking activities. The inspiration to host came about from living in the UK as it has got an art to itself. Little Kitchen will be about good food, good company all wrap up in a cosy environment, the comfort of my small kitchen.

This time instead of thinking what to cook, my guest had a special request. He wants me to cook crab. I was a bit sceptical as I have never cook crab before but nevertheless rising up to the challenge is what I have in mind. Going through internet to find the recipe is not that difficult..

So after looking at a few recipe, I manage to cook one with the following:-

Ingredients to blend:-

Tumeric
Onion
Garlic
Ginger
Bird eye's chili (depending on how spicy you want it to be)

Other ingredients
Crab- I bought 2 crabs from Tesco which has been cleaned up. I find it daunting to do it myself.
Serai
Salt to taste
Coconut milk
Pineapple- cut into small pieces
Oil- few spoons

So blend all the items above. Then put into it into the pot. Then put in the coconut milk.
Wait until it all boils before putting the crabs and the pineapple slices.

Need to cut the fresh pineapple

The finish product, voila!!

It is not that difficult to make this dish. I would definitely incorporate this in one of my future menu in Little Kitchen.

 

Point in the future,need to put in more chili in the dish. The spicier the better!

 

City Space Bar, Moscow

One of the best things about travelling is the opportunity to check out the best places to eat or drink. As we were in Moscow, one of the recommended places to check out is the City Space Bar, Swissotel. We took the metro to go to the Swissotel. It was a long walk there as we missed the station and ended up walking almost 1.5km to the hotel. Asking around was not easy as not many Russians speak English..

So, to be honest it took us almost an hour to get there. Luckily there is one nice lady who shows us the right direction. When we got there, it blow up my mind...

The panoramic City Space Bar is a cocktail bar certainly worth visiting, even if only once in a lifetime, thanks to its stunning views of the city. Located on the 34th floor of Swissôtel Krasnye
Holmy, City Space literally soars over the city at a height of 140 meters. Inside, the bar is like a classic flying saucer with a 360-degree view.

A word of caution, a drink in this bar is not cheap. Again, you will be getting more that what you paid for as it offers an awesome view of Moscow..

Sunset is coming..



Smiling as always when I am on top of the world, this time in Moscow

 

The choice is obvious, Transiberian express

The view of Moscow from the Cityspace Bar

It offers 360 degree view of Moscow

The bartender working hard

The cosy corner

It is a steep price on the menu.. once in a lifetime experience..