Glenfinnan House Hotel Restaurant, Isle of Skye

Glenfinnan House Hotel Restaurant, isle of Skye, Scotland

Chaaya Lagoon, Hakuraa Huraa, Maldives

Chaaya Lagoon Hakuraa Huraa, Maldives

Went to the Maldives in 2011. Just realised that I did not post the review of the place. its been saved in my draft folder all this time!

Food

Very average. The local Indian / Maldivian fare was very tasty but their attempts at western style food was poor. The roast was burnt and dry daily, pasta soggy, and salad dry. The Resturant and waiter staff were however lovely and very friendly. If you like tuna, you will love it! There is only 1 restaurant on the island.

Service

The front desk staff were superficially friendly, but were terribly unhelpful when there were any problems.

I emailed them ahead as it was our honeymoon (you apparently received a fruit basket and a bottle of wine), got a confirmation from them, and when we arrived, they forgot about it!

Location

the location and the reefs of the resort is lovely but most of the resorts in the Maldives are quite similar. The beach is absolutely gorgeous and the water clear and warm!

Facilities

It has the basic diving school and excursions to the local islands. The snorkelling equipment is free but time limited and everything has to be paid for.  The warer sport centre is also not available all the time. There is a spa on site, but it was so expensive that it is actually cheaper for me to get the same massage in London at a cheaper price.

There is no swimming pool or any other indoor facilities except a table tennis table, so if it rains, there is very little to do except wait for the rain to stop.

The water bungalows were lovely, with a nice hot shower, aircon, tea coffee making facilities and a lovely private area of coral beach to yourself.

There is also a lounge by the beach, which has a nice sitting area and nightly entertainment.

 The beach

 Our water bungalow 

Our bedroom

Communications

The wireless Internet was not free and was charged at £1 per hour. Do not expect to do anything with it except check your email and go to a few websites as it was extremely slow at all times of the day. The time based charging is also highly flexible and variable. There is GSM mobile phone reception throughout the island.

Conclusion

Overall, the place is overpriced, with average facilities and average customer service. I would consider returning here again if the prices were lower, otherwise, I think there are better value places in the Maldives.

Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley

Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley.

What can I say about this 2 Michelin starred restaurant? Absolutely wonderful! I think its one of the best UK restaurants I have been to so far in the last 15 years I have lived in England. The service was excellent and food was absolutely superb. We had the tasting menu, which really highlighted the kitchen's skill and the dishes all complemented each other. The cherry on the already great menu was the kitchen tour which I really enjoyed. The restaurant was suitably dimly lit, so most of the photos I took with my camera phone did not come out well. The better pics are below. I would highly recommend this place for special occasions. And no, Marcus Wareing did not pay me to say this...

Score? 9.5 out of 10!

Starters - deep fried escargots and goat cheese on crackers

a hugh hunk of foie gras!

The kitchen tour!

some chocolate to take home!

Dinner by Heston

Dinner by Heston, London is Heston Blumenthal's new restaurant in Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Knightsbridge, London. Service was quite poor for Saturday lunch and it wasn't particularly busy. Lots of waiting staff, but little coordination. Our waiter was quite surly and unfriendly. The food was good, but not more than 1 Michelin star standard. The menu was interesting, based on Heston's historical food TV shows. I would return, but the service really needs to be improved. I would recommend the steaks and the desserts such as the nitrogen ice cream (just the novelty) or the tipsy cake.


7/10 score overall.

Roasted bone marrow with escargots.

Sweet breads pie

chocolate ganache

tipsy cake - roasted pineapple and brioche

 

 

My ribeye steak

Etsu Japanese Restaurant, Liverpool

Etsu Japanese Restaurant | Liverpool

www.etsu-restaurant.co.uk
25 The Strand
Liverpool, Merseyside L2 0XJ

Very authentic Japanese restaurant. The sushi chef is direct from Japan who prepares the very fresh tasting sashimi and sushi.

Etsu is probably one of the most authentic Japanese restaurant outside London.

4/5 rating.

Ban Di Bul

Terrible tasteless food. Go to Koreana instead. Cheaper, better service and much more authentic food in Koreana.

Telephone: 0161 236 9733
Email: yanji828@hotmail.com
Address: 77 Princess Street, Manchester M2 4EG

Nobu, London

A one Michelin star Japanese restaurant in London. Very nice! Love the decor and food was excellent.

Typical Japanese salad with soy sauce and sesame oil.

Sushi platter. Very fresh and tasty.

Tempura. Sorry, it looked so good I ate some before this pic was taken.

beef teriyaki. Steak was just a little chewy but the sauce was good.

Cold soba. Again, very good.