Day 1 in London
I've posted this picture taken at night. This one is taken during the day. And it is sunny! We are back in London at the Shangri-la Hotel. Starting to feel like home.
I did manage to grab 4 hours of sleep on the plane from Miami to London, which is good, for me. Not a plane sleeper. We land at Heathrow only 15 minutes or so behind schedule, which is great, since we had a 1.5 hour delay taking off! Border control, however, is a mess. Fortunately British Airways gave us each a “Fast Track” pass which probably saved us an hour of our lives. Our bags are almost the first ones off and a car is waiting to whisk us to the hotel. Sweet! And then, London traffic. Ugh. 1.5 hours later we are at the hotel. Still feeling pretty upbeat, thinking of skipping the nap and heading right out to see the town! Except I don’t. We unpack a little, I order a smoothie, check the computer and before you know it, it is nap time. Just a quick hour, and then down to lunch. Bob has already run four miles, showered and is in the middle of a meeting. Whatever. Again, we are at the Hotel Shangri-La, so I head to their restaurant Ting. I am looking for the Hainanaese Chicken Rice. I find it. Simply delicious, and just the thing for a weary traveler. Chicken rice is a traditional Asian dish, and it is typically rice cooked in chicken broth, a little chicken fat and ginger, with simply poached chicken. The sauces make the difference. This one has a sweet soy glaze, pureed ginger and red pepper chili sauce on the side. The sauce is not hot, but it is flavorful, exspecially when mixed with the ginger. The rice has a mild ginger flavor, too. There is a lovely chicken broth with shaved scallion, and steamed bok choy on the side. Way too much food, but I eat what I want and leave the rest. Here is a peek at the Ting Restaurant menus for breakfast, lunch, a la carte, and dinner. There are separate three and five course dinner menus, and I hear their afternoon tea is to die for.
The Hainanaese Chicken Rice at Ting Restaurant on the 35th floor of the Shangri-la Hotel, London.
After lunch, Bob joins me for a quick walk around town. He wants to buy a portable digital camera, as his is pretty bulky, with interchangeable lenses, and I forgot my small camera at home. We head to the Royal Exchange Shops where there is a Leica camera store. We get a little portable one. It’s pretty slick. Time to head back to the hotel, as he has another meeting. I go back to the room to do a bit more writing. Dinner is at 6:00 at La Petit Maison.
Shop for just about anything at the Royal Exchange, London. Not too shabby for a mall.
Bob gets back to the room from his meeting at 5:30 and is exhausted. Finally! He wants to power nap but no time for that. We get ready and call his other two business companions. We pile in the car at 5:50. We are going to be late so I call the restaurant. They will save our table. The Uber driver weaves masterfully through and around London traffic, but it is still 6:30 when we get there. The restaurant looks charming. There is a pub next door called “The Iron Duke” and it is happening! Lots of professsionals standing outside drinking beer. The guys look longingly at it but I shepard them inside our little restaurant.
La Petit Maison, London. One of the best meals any of us have ever had. Locations in London, Nice, Dubai and Miami. Yes, the United States of America. Find it.
The interior of La Petit Maison is bright and has a French feel. Their original location is in Nice, so the menu has a Mediterranean flair. There are tomatoes, lemons and a knife in the center of the table, so we assume these are not just decorative. We order cocktails and Bob orders a bottle of wine. The waitstaff is hustling and bustling. It looks like there are 50 staffers in the front of the house alone, but we learn there are 23 - hostesses, waiters, expediters, managers, bartenders and one person that just constantly doles out their amazing homemade French bread. All for about 35 tables. We start with French bread and olive oil. Someone slices one of the tomatoes. Next arrives some roasted peppers and roasted beets. The restaurant takes your order and brings it when ready, puts it in the center of the table and encourages us all to share. So we do. Next arrives three kinds of tuna - yellowtail crudo, some other kind of crudo and a tartare with a spoonful of caviar and a quail egg on top. It is all amazing. Next is the dinner order. I order Turbot with Artichokes, Chorizo, White Wine and Olive Oil, Dean gets Slow Cooked Duck Legs with Orange Glaze, Jens gets Grilled Lamb Chops with Smoked Aubergine, and Bob gets Roast Baby Chicken Marinated in Lemon and a side of Risotto with Morel Mushrooms and Wild Garlic for all to share. It is all amazing! Off the charts. Dean even comments that it is the best food he has ever eaten in London! Time for dessert. We order a warm chocolate mousse with malt ice cream and a thin crust apple tart with vanilla ice cream. Both are of the highest quality. It has been an exceptional meal!
Scenes from a French restaurant. Click along the right hand side to advance the slide show.
Most people operating on low levels of sleep would go to bed now, but we decide to stop at the 52nd floor of the Shangri-la and visit their lounge, Gong, to end the day. When it is clear that there will be shop talk, I decide to call it a night. There will be sightseeing tomorrow and Saturday morning we rise at 4am to catch an 8:00am flight to Milan, Italy.
Gong Lounge, floor 52 of the Shangri-La London offers breathtaking views of the city in 360 degrees. Sushi and light snacks and cocktails that will blow your mind. Champagne bar and Euro-techno music (unfortunately).