One restaurant that we didn’t have time to try in 2012 was Strip House on 12th Street. This year we found they have a second restaurant in Mid Town, where we were staying so we decided to go there for dinner.
Exterior Strip House
Strip House Midtown is a large restaurant and bar spread over 2 floors. Rich siren red walls adorned with original Studio Manasse prints of 1930’s burlesque performers and decor that combines old world glamour with modern style and sophistication. The large crystal chandeliers are quite amazing.
Looking down to the ground floor
We decided to sit upstairs and had a great waiter named Ray. Something about him reminded me of a young Sinatra, he seriously would have fit in with the Rat Pack. Our table overlooked the ground floor so we had a great view of what was happening down there.
Some of the Studio Manasse Prints lining the walls:
Studio Manasse prints
Menu and rolls with a glass of rose champagne:
Menu, fresh rolls and a glass of Rose Champagne
I loved the little covers for the butters:
Butter covers with the Strip House logo
A shot of Gazpacho for our amuse:
Gazpacho shot
Being a fan of Surf and Turf Mr. CA4G couldn’t resist choosing it, along with Striphouse Steak Sauce. The prawn was the largest we have ever seen, almost the size of a marron, the steak was a classic fillet.
Surf and Turf
I went for the Kobe striploin with caramelised soy, yuzu and radish salad. The caramelised soy was very good, sweet and salty, the salad of radishes and yuzu really cut through that saltiness. We added a side of garlic and herb chips to go with our steaks.
Kobe striploin with caramelised soy
Of course you can’t visit New York without having a New York Cheesecake. This was a huge slice of cheesecake and we were so glad to share it. Served simply with a berry coulis.
New York cheesecake
After dinner we had to have a big walk to work off soem of the great food. We were very happy to be able to dine at Striphouse this year and look forward to going again next time we are in Manhattan.
The hotel for our week in Paris was Banke Hotel, located on Rue Lafayette, a quick walk from Les Grand Magasins – Galleries Lafayette and Printemps. It was also a short walk from the Opera Garnier, Le Louvre and many other sights.
Situated in a former bank headquarters, Hotel Banke is housed in an early twentieth-century building, designed by architects Paul Friesse and Cassien Bernard and was refurbished to become a hotel in 2009. The stately facade dominates the corner of Rue La Fayette and Rue Pillet Will with a style that revives the charms of Paris’s “Belle Époque“.
The hotel makes a statement with its spectacular mosaic floored lobby crowned with a glass cupola, and retaining many of the original bank features, teller counters, safe deposit boxes. The colours are predominantly deep red and gold, lots of gold. A décor that blends original architectural elements with contemporary design bringing a twenty-first century touch to a Haussmann-style building.
We were quite fortunate that we were able to spend time in two different rooms during our stay. Our first room was a Superior room, mid tone woods, rich burgundys and lots of designer touches. Our second room was an Executive room that was a little more spacious. Still with the mid tone woods and burgundy colours, a feature was the leather headboard and gorgeous leather lounge and leather woven rug. Stencil furniture prints were painted on the walls giving a whimsical touch to the decor. Both rooms had marble bathrooms with good sized tubs, and joy of joys the toilet was separate from the bathroom. While not the largest rooms we have stayed in, there was plenty of storage space, with great wardrobes, and drawers.
During our stay at Banke Hotel, we decided to try the hotel’s restaurant, Josefin.
The stunning glass domed lobby is home to the reception desk, restaurant and bar. On one side of the spectacular mosaic tiled floor is the restaurant and the bar is opposite.
Glamourous gold leather banquettes, dark wood and leather chairs, gold metal and crystal chandeliers with dramatic red and black highlights were the feature of both the restaurant and bar. Along the old teller counters were whimsical little vignettes, plants and flowers.
Me at Josefin Restaurant
Our amuse of salmon:
Salmon amuse
Beautiful freshly baked breads served with my favourite butter, Beurre d’Isigny
Fresh bread rolls
Unusually for us we both opted for seafood entrees. Mr CA4G ordered the tuna Tataki
Tuna Tataki
While I ordered the carpaccio of lobster, aged balsamic and Spanish extra virgin olive oil.
Lobster carpaccio
For main I had a panfried duck breast with wok fried vegetables. Quite light even though it was duck.
Duck with wok fried vegetables
Mr. CA4G had scallops with a shellfish foam and mushrooms.
Scallops with shellfish foam and mushrooms
We skipped dessert as we had a big lunch.
Banke Hotel is a great spot to drop your bags and stay in Paris, and is easy to walk to most places. Metro stations are a short walk in several directions. We walked from Banke Hotel to Le Tour Eiffel, Sacre Coeur. Both are big walks but enjoyable and you get to see a bit more of the real Paris.
A quick note the photos of the hotel are from the Banke Hotel website as we forgot to take photos, to see more of this fabulous hotel visit their website in my links.
The day before our reservation for lunch at Dinner by Heston, we decided to take a walk to Knightsbridge so we could get our bearings. We took a detour through Hyde Park, where preparations were under way for the Barclay’s Summer Festival. The day we wandered through was a sold out Rolling Stones concert. Hyde Park was a delight to walk through and the Serpentine was a lovely spot to stop and rest for a few moments.
The crowd getting ready for the Rolling Stones concertThe Serpentine, Hyde Park
After locating the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, we had a quick look through Harrod’s (see separate post). We wandered back past the Mandarin Oriental and found Bar Boulud, one of Daniel Boulud’s restaurants. Having missed dining at a Boulud restaurant in New York, we decided to have our lunch here at Bar Boulud.
Entrance to Bar Boulud, LondonMenu Bar Boulud, London
We decided to take advantage of the Prixe Fixe menu for £23.00 (approx AUD$40). Travelling overseas we find that lunch is the best time to dine out as there are some great lunch specials
Interior Bar Boulud
For his first course, Mr. CA4G had a Parfait de Volaille (chicken liver pate) topped with a layer of red wine jelly and served with lightly toasted sourdough bread, pickles and mustard.
Parfait de Volaille
As it was a hot summers day I opted for the Soupe Glacee de Tomates, a Provencale style chilled tomato soup served with ratatouille, tapenade crouton and basil oil. Perfect summer soup.
Soupe Glacee de Tomate
We had a great selection of wines by the glass to choose from. Of course nothing beats a Grand Cru Chablis on a hot day, so we ordered a glass of Domain Christian Moreau Pere & Fils Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos 2007. All the wines by the glass are poured from double magnum bottles. I felt sorry for the poor girl who had to pour our wine as the bottle was quite full, and therefore really heavy. A couple of years of age on the Chablis was a great bonus. We are really appreciating aged chardonnays, be they from Chablis or anywhere else in Burgundy ( and some exceptional Aussie Chardonnay). Fabulous choice.
Domaine Christian Moreau Pere & Fils Chablis Grand Crus
Mr. CA4G loves his fish, which I seldom get to cook at home. Personally I am not fond of cooked fish, give me sushi and sashimi any day. On the Prixe Fixe menu the fish was seared Sea Trout, red grapes, green beans, ratte potatoes and lovage sauce. Topped with some golden salmon roe. Looked great on the plate and Mr. CA4G loved it. I think he was surprised when I told him that sea trout is what we call ocean trout in Australia.
Truit de Mer
I love duck! There was a Magret de canard a l’orange so chose to have it. Although I was tempted by the third option which was a Thai flavoured sausage. My love of duck won out though. The magret de canard was an oven roasted duck breast served with brocolini, potato mouselline (a very fine potato mash), orange segments and orange tamarind sauce. Even though it was duck the dish was surprisingly light. Sometimes duck can feel a little heavy to eat.
Magret de Canard
We had yet another course to get through. We very seldom have a three course lunch, but when you are only paying around AUD$40 you just can’t pass the opportunity up.
My dessert was a variation on a typically English summer dessert, strawberries and cream. My Coupe de Fraises was a delightful bowl of Strawberries, vanilla pannacotta, strawberry-yoghurt sorbet and a sprinkle of violet crumble (yes real flowers in the crumble mix, not the chocolate bar). So light and with a great combination of flavours. A perfect summer dessert.
Coupe de Fraises
Mr. CA4G went for something neither of us has tried before, the Gateau Basque with brandied cherries, and vanilla crème anglaise. The gateau was layers of almond pastry and a rich crème patissiere filling. I want to give this one a try at home.
Gateau Basque
We had noticed a magnum of rose going around the restaurant. It looked to be quite popular so we decided to have a glass of it with our dessert. Thankfully this bottle was nearly empty so it wasn’t too heavy for our server. Chene Bleu Rose from the Rhone Valley, is a rose made from a blend of Grenache (vines 25 years and older) and Syrah (vines 40 years and older). A great choice for dessert and one we will be trying to get hold of here.
2011 Chene Bleu Rose
Bar Boulud is our second very enjoyable experience at a Daniel Boulud restaurant, the first being db Bistro Moderne at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. We will definitely be trying some more of his restaurants on our travels.
One of our most watched movies is ‘Something’s Got To Give’ starring Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton. One of our dreams while visiting Paris was to dine at the restaurant Le Grand Colbert which is shown towards the end of the movie.
After settling in to our room at Hotel Banke on Rue Lafayette, we went for the first of many looooonnngggg Parisian walks. In effect we became ‘flaneurs’, exploring the boulevards and rues of central Paris. Our first outing saw us walk to the Musee du Louvre, les Jardin des Tuileries, Place de la Concorde, across Pont de la Concorde to the Rive Gauche, along Quai d’Orsay to Pont Alexandre III, then up Avenue Winston Churchill past the Grand and Petit Palais, along the Champs Elysees where we saw them setting up all the stands for the Fete National parade. From there we walked back to Place de la Concorde, up rue Royal to Place de la Madeleine, up rue des Capucines, down Boulevarde des Capucines to Place Vendome. Wow getting exhausted writing it all down. After a walk around Place Vendome we went back up rue de la Paix to the Palais Garnier and then back to the hotel.
After all that walking we needed a break to think about where to eat dinner. Looking at the map I discovered that Le Grand Colbert was in fact not far from our hotel. In the end we ended up dining at Le Grand Colbert 4 times during our trip. As it turns out we were not the only ones who were repeat diners, apparently another Aussie couple had done the same.
On our first walk to Le Grand Colbert we happened to just turn our head and were struck by the following amazing view of Basilique du Sacre Couer. It seemed every place you looked there was something to take you breath away.
Basilique du Sacre Couer
Anyway enough of the pretty view, on to dinner.
Exterior Le Grand Colbert
Located on Rue Vivienne, Le Grand Colbert is a classic Parisian Brasserie. Mosaic floors, plaster mouldings, brass light fittings, etched glass, leather banquettes, all the traditional brasserie decor elements you could ask for. Service staff were amazingly helpful and I didn’t have to use my really bad French as they all spoke very good English.
Yours truly outside Le Grand Colbert
As you can see from the picture they are quite proud of the association with the movie ’Something’s Got To Give”. People have been known to request the exact seat where Jack and Dianne sat.
The bar Le Grand ColbertInterior Le Grand ColbertInterior Le Grand Colbert
With a menu full of classic brasserie fare, I decided on the half chicken and Mr. CA4G had the Steak Frites with sauce béarnaise. Mr. CA4G is such a lovely man he said my bearnaise is better, should I believe him?
Steak fritesHalf chicken
The wine list, while not large, has a very good selection with wines by the glass, half carafe, and bottle. On our first night we tried Delice De Prieure, a Saint- Emilion grand cru classe. Normally we don’t like merlot, but this 100% merlot was easy drinking and fantastic flavour. So good in fact we had it each time we ate at Le Grand Colbert. Before you order a bowl of crisps and olives is bought to your table.
Another visit we had the cheese plate after our meal.
Cheese plateOne of our favourite butters in the world Beurre d’Isigny
On our other dinners Mr. CA4G kept to the steak frites with béarnaise while I tried the lamb cutlets with ratatouille, melon with pata negra(prosciutto) and the French classic, Blanquette de veau was my final dinner in Paris.
Blanquette de Veau,
Desserts were amazing if huge. I had two profiteroles with hot chocolate and an ice-cream filling, Mr. CA4G had a Mont Blanc that had chestnut ice-cream, chocolate sauce, cream, almond flakes. He loved it.
Mont BlancProfiteroles with chocolate sauce, ice cream filling
One thing we love about visiting European cities in summer is the sun doesn’t go down until 10pm, allowing for a post dinner stroll. Not far from Le Grand Colbert is Le Palais Royale and then Le Louvre, nothing like a bit of grand architecture after dinner.
So have you been to a restaurant featured in a movie? Was it what you expected? Le Grand Colbert lived up to ours, and should we happen to be in Paris again in the future, we will be heading back for more great food at Le Grand Colbert.
After working out that a trip to The Fat Duck in Bray was not feasible for our one week stay in London, we decided that Heston Blumenthal’s other restaurant, Dinner By Heston, would be a lot easier to get to. Thankfully we booked well in advance (February) and were able to get a reservation. Dinner By Heston is located in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Knightsbridge.
Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Knightsbridge, London
On our visit to Dinner By Heston, the day was spectacular, sun shining, bright blue skies. Not what you expect for a British summer’s day. Our walk to Knightsbridge was very pleasant indeed.
The restaurant is located through the lobby toward the Hyde Park side of the hotel building. Large expanses of glass let in light and afford a great view of Hyde Park.
Reception for Dinner by Heston
Custom-made porcelain light fixtures modelled on antique jelly moulds are a quirky touch to the walls, vaulted ceilings enhance the height of the rooms and lots of large mirrors, wood, leather and ivory paint is used for walls and furnishings. Floor to ceiling glass separates the diners from the kitchen where the feature is the pulley system used to rotate the spit. Unfortunately I forgot to stop and take a photo of the kitchen.
Interior Dinner By Heston
Dinner By Heston has dishes inspired from historic British gastronomy. Each dish has a date indicating the period in time the original recipe was formulated.
Menus at Dinner by Heston
Mr. CA4G got a little confused and thought we had been given the dinner menu instead of the lunch menu, until I reminded him that the restaurant was named Dinner. We opted for the 3 course set lunch menu with matching wines (all up £147 approx AUD$256). As there were two choices per course it was just a matter of deciding which of us wanted what more than the other.
Yours truly
Mr CA4G loves snails so he opted for the dressed snails(c.1884), parsley, beetroot, salty fingers and red wine sauce. This was matched with a Schiopetto, 2010 Pinot Grigio from Collio in Italy.
Dressed snails
I am not in to snails( they should only be trod on when found in the garden). I chose the Salmagundy (c.1720), smoked tomato, celery, buckler sorrel and lovage. This was matched with Weingut Loimer, 2012 Gruner Veltliner ‘Lois’ from Kamptal in Austria. Amazingly tasty heirloom tomatoes enhanced with a light touch of smoke, a lovely light summer dish.
Salamagundy
For mains Mr. CA4G ordered something he hasn’t tried before, roasted ray wing & admirals sauce (c. 1826), sea aster, shallots, peas, brown butter and capers. This was matched with Ata Rangi, 2012 Sauvignon Blanc, Martinborough, New Zealand. Sea aster is a plant that grows along the coast line and has edible leaves.
Roasted Ray Wing
I opted for roast quail (c.1590) with cabbage, onion and smoked chestnut. This was delicious. The quail was taken of the bone for plating and sat high on the mound of cabbage, onion and chestnut. This was matched with a Casale Dello Sparviero, 2009 Riserva Chianti Classico from Tuscany in Italy.
Roasted quail
Desserts saw us have a little tiff over who got the Millionaire Tart (c. 1730), crystallised chocolate, with vanilla icecream (so smooth!!). This was served with Domaine de la Tour Vieille, NV Banyuls Reserve from Roussillon in France. The tart was a nice crumbly base with a rich chocolate topping with little ‘gold’ nuggets on top. Very rich and I want more!!
Millionaire Tart
Mr. CA4G lost the battle of the millionaire tart and ordered the Shrewsbury Gooseberry Tansy tart, gooseberry, rose and caraway. This was matched with La Spinetta, 2012 Moscato d’Asti Bricco Quaglia fro Piedmont in Italy. This tart was elegant, light and lovely. The crust from caramelisation was just right and the moscato was the perfect wine to go with such a light dessert.
Shrewsbury Gooseberry Tansy Tart
A post dessert was also bought out. It usually comes with the coffee but we don’t generally order coffee after a meal, so it came out any way. A little glass cup of dark chocolate ganash with a crisp wafer. Thank goodness we walked back to our hotel.
Post dessert chocolate
All in all a lovely lunch to go with a perfect English summer day.
I have noticed that Heston has a new book coming out that is based on historic recipes. Might have to put it on the Christmas list.
Our second night in London saw us meet friends at a gallery opening for Patrick Morgan in Soho. Great exhibition of many varied works by the artist. The exhibition was held at The House of St. Barnabas Club, a not for profit club that has a charity wing providing hospitality employment opportunities for homeless people.
Interior of House of St. Barnabas
After the exhibition our group went for a quick walk down Greek Street to The Union Club. The Union Club is a private members club located in a 270 year old Georgian townhouse. The decor is rich and cosy, blending antique and modern with style and wit to create an effect that is both contemporary and bohemian
Interior The Union ClubInterior The Union Club
The dining room combines wood panelling, crystal chandeliers, open fireplaces and a superb eclectic art collection to create an ambience that is a nice change from most modern minimalist restaurants. The rich glossy red walls give an old world feel.
The menu features organic and sustainably sourced products. There is a great range of old favourites and some modern combinations. Bread is baked daily in house and sometimes they need to do a second lot. Mr. CA4G and I shared an entree of seared scallops, peas and crispy prosciutto.
Scallops, peas and crispy proscuitto
I decided to have more peas, this time in the form of a pea and ricotta crespelline with girolles. Got to love having mushrooms that are hard to get in Australia.
Crespelline of peas and ricotta
Mr. CA4G loves a burger (seemed to be the most popular dish with the group). The Union burger came with homemade ketchup and rustic fries.
The Union Burger
Fries and beans were ordered for the whole table. The fries were nice fat hand cut ones served with a homemade mayo.
Beans and chips
Desserts were tempting but we decided to pass and just have a coffee.
Should a member of The Union Club invite you to dinner, jump at the chance to go. There is nothing like dining in an eclectic room.
Just a quick post without many photos, as photography inside the restaurant is banned. We headed over to the Hyatt Regency for Lunch at Locanda Locatelli as we both love pasta and enjoyed watching Giorgio Locatelli on TV.
Locanda Locatelli is part of the Hyatt Regency Churchill, located at 30 Portman Place, Seymour Street, London, yet feels separate from the hotel. A window box of wild flowers is a softening touch to the stark white and grey exterior.
Exterior Locanda Locatelli
The interior was designed by David Collins in light woods and neutral tones, offering up a relaxing atmosphere. The clientele at lunch is very much of the business brigade, but don’t let that put you off. We did walk past at night and it looked lovely with the soft lighting.
Menu Locanda Locatelli
The menu is a great selection of Italian delights. After perusing the menu, Mr. CA4G and I both went for pasta. As Mr. CA4G loves his lobster he couldn’t resist, Linguine all’astice (Linguine with lobster, tomato, garlic and chilli), I have wanted to try ‘nduja sausage for a while so my choice was Strozzapreti al pomodoro, `nduja, olive nere e ricotta (Homemade pasta with tomato, spicy salami, black olives, buffalo ricotta), nice and spicy!! I will be keeping an eye out for ‘nduja next time I trek over to the delis in Five Dock.
We did have a quick glance at the dessert menu and were very tempted by the cheese plate but decided to give our bellies a bit of a break.
Me outside Locanda Locatelli
We really enjoyed our lunch at Locanda Locatelli and were able to tick off another ‘have to visit’ restaurant. We only have a couple of hundred more to get through LOL.
Landing in Hong Kong on a Friday afternoon found us checking in to our hotel, having a quick siesta and then heading out to stretch our legs and find somewhere for dinner. We settled on a restaurant with a view, Hutong, located on the 28th floor of 1 Peking Building, just behind Heritage 1881.
The view from the second row
Since our last visit three years ago Hutong has had a change of theme, but ever so slightly. The new theme is ‘old Beijing’. Gone are the bird cages and in are little rickshaw models, along with a large rickshaw at the entrance. The dark woods and antique architectural details that we love are all still there. The lighting is still low, but this allows for greater enjoyment of the nightly light display across the harbour.
Anyone for a ride?
The menu has changed as well, which is to be expected. For entrees we ordered chili spiced bamboo clams(steeped in Chinese rose wine and chili sauce)), seared scallops topped with pomelo segments.
Chili spiced bamboo clams (steeped in Chinese rose wine and chili sauce)Scallops with pomelo segments
We then chose two mains that were quite similar in that they both came with pancakes. Double Happiness (roasted suckling pig with Pancakes) and crispy boneless duck. Both were served with traditional pancakes and accompaniments. You may notice in coming posts that we have a thing for duck. No wine this time around, we decided to go with Chinese tea.
Double happinessDeboned crispy skin duck
For the first time we also went for Chinese traditional desserts and selected Double Decker Dessert Box. Attractively served in a double bamboo steamer, the box contained: mango glutinous rice rolls coated with shredded coconut, pumpkin pudding with sticky rice, osmanthus flavored jelly with white fungus. The desserts were quite different to anything we have had before. The pumpkin pudding was nice with the flecks of sticky rice through it, the osmanthus jelly was interesting, but our favourite was the mango pudding.
Double decker dessert box
During a our dinner we had not only the light show from across the harbour but a huge storm came through as well. While most would be put off by that, the rain gave another dimension by hazing out the lights and giving a soft ethereal look to the view. The lasers lights off some of the buildings became a really spectacular sight through the rain.
It’s raining, it’s pouring, but nobody was snoring with this view
We are looking forward to visiting Hutong again next time we are in Hong Kong. If you go, book well ahead and request a window seat, as long as you don’t get vertigo LOL.
Arriving in New York this year it was, thankfully, not quite as hot as when we went last year. I was able to get my bag rather quickly of the carrousel and straight out to the cabs, where, unexpectedly there was a very short queue. 30 minutes later I arrived at the Waldorf Astoria, met Mr. CA4G, freshened up and then we hit the sidewalks. Always great to walk around a city after 20 hours in a plane.
We were decidedly peckish so really needed to find some where to eat. Our first choice, a restaurant that we went to last year in Villard Mansion, was sadly closed due to renovations to the building.
Walking through the Rockefeller Centre we discovered Brasserie Ruhlmann. Named after Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann a legendary French designer, whose concepts and craftsmanship epitomize the glamour and style of the French Art Deco era, Brasserie Ruhlmann pays homage to this early 20th-century icon and the art-and-intellectualism era of the Parisian brasserie.
Headed by respected chef Laurent Tourondel, Brasserie Ruhlmann serves modern versions of dishes that are reminiscent of his French homeland.
We settled on burgers for our dinner. For Mr. CA4G a Black Angus burger topped with gruyere cheese and for myself a lobster and shrimp roll seasoned with a curry mayo. Served simply on wooden boards with paper lined tin cups to hold the chips. Of course a good burger requires a glass of Moet.
Such a joy to be able to sit outside for dinner, especially when you have a lingering sunset and twilight. The first of many great meals during our 4 week trip around the world. Bon Apetite!
Cooking Across 4 Generations 
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