Skip to main content

Birthday Weekend(s)

I didn't expect this year's birthday to have any fanfare, particularly I've been feeling so tired lately, mainly running after and keeping up with Isabelle.  K has also been very busy at work, working long hours, so I have very full on days with Isabelle with no respite.  Honestly, if I could wish for something for this year's birthday, it would be to have a breather for myself.  I would wish from the depths of my heart that she can sleep and nap better, and that she can play on her own and I can leave her to her own devices.  Really, this child is so active and sleep is last on her list.

Anyway, K texted me one day saying he made a lunch reservation at the same restaurant which he proposed at 7 years ago for my birthday.  He planned to bring Isabelle into town too.  However as it was quite a fancy restaurant, I wasn't sure how other diners would react with a toddler running around their tables or fussing about.  Instead I suggested getting a babysitter for that afternoon.  We had no trains running that day either, so going into Central London was gonna be a bit tricky.

Rachel surprised me by taking half a day off the day prior to my birthday and suggested meeting me for lunch.  I've always wanted to dine at the very Instagrammable restaurant, Dalloway Terrace, which is part of the Bloomsbury Hotel.  They have just changed their decor to suit the autumnal season so we were sat in front of a wall of brown maple leaves and acorns.  Rachel was pleasantly surprised when she walked in to the scene.  Food and service were both excellent, and I was glad it wasn't just a pretty spot.  For our 3rd course which was dessert, we asked if we could adjourn to the Coral Room next door, which was more of a lounge with comfy sofas and a big fireplace.  They kindly acceded to our request.  That was one long, enjoyable lunch.  We haven't really caught up with each other since my long SG trip, so that afternoon was spent just doing that.  With so many friends slowly moving back home, it is nice to have another kindred spirit here in London, and she is like an older sis that I haven't had.

With our desserts and a complimentary birthday slice of red velvet cake in the pretty Coral Room


With my massive starter, Caesar salad as my first course

The next day was our lunch at Clos Maggiore in Covent Garden.  Because of engineering works, we had no choice but to drive into Central London.  K had to spend some time finding suitable parking (ie not too expensive!) prior to us setting off.  We finally decided on parking near Chancery Lane tube station.  With the added time needed for parking research, as well as traffic conditions, we were almost 30min late for our lunch reservation!  Thankfully they had not released our table.  In a similar fashion to Dalloway Terrace's flower wall, Clos Maggiore is a French restaurant famous for being one of the most romantic restaurants in London, thanks to their beautiful indoor conservatory with foliage and flowers hanging from the ceiling.  Naturally tables in the conservatory are always fully booked, and so this time round we were seated upstairs, which also had a bit of the foliage decor.  It was nice too.

See the white flowers hanging from the ceiling


Having our starter

I ordered the crab salad which was very good

My main was halibut fish with Spanish octopus in a chorizo sauce

My dessert was a coconut parfait with yuzu sorbet

The meal was delicious and actually pretty decent pricing for a set lunch menu.  We asked ourselves why we had not returned sooner.  7 years is a bit too long!

As usual, Covent Garden was teeming with tourists and we decided to leave after our long lunch.  But not before getting our fave 'green cake' from Paul round the corner to blow candles with that evening with Isabelle.  This green cake is called Fraisier and is now a tradition for any of our birthdays.  Yes, both K and I love it that much, even Isabelle was asking for "more, more!"


We had cake before dinner because it was Isabelle's bedtime

And finally, to wrap up all things birthday related, I met up with some girl friends for a birthday breakfast/ brunch at Ham Yard Hotel a week later.  These days, it is so hard to meet up with everyone's busy schedules and I think the last time we all met up was for my birthday last year!



And with that, I'm a year older and hopefully wiser!


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jubilee Weekend | Afternoon Tea Party

http://www.thediamondjubilee.org/ Today is the end of the Jubilee celebrations and how better to end it off than to have an afternoon tea party in the company of friends, while watching the celebrations on our TV.  It has been quite an emotional afternoon, in the good sense of course.  I don't think I've ever seen Queen Elizabeth on TV (and heard the national anthem God Save the Queen) more than these 3 days combined, but this Jubilee weekend has made me grew to love and admire this lady.  She is 86 and reminds me so much of my own granny, and her strength is amazing.  Imagine being sworn in as queen at the age of 26.  (I mean, what was I doing when I was 26?)  On Sunday when she and Prince Philip went onboard the Spirit of Chartwell boat to watch the River Pageant, it was cold and windy but they stood throughout the 3 hours event.  It was said she was offered some hot tea and a seat, which she both said no to.  I love my grandma but I have to say I don't think
2 comments
I wanna read more!

Sleep, baby sleep

I had an idea to blog about Isabelle's sleep behaviour the other day.  Before having Isabelle, I had not the slightest idea how big the sleep topic is for a baby, and now a toddler.  I merely assumed that babies will sleep, no matter what, right?  Because they are tired right?  No, of course not.  Isabelle showed me how much she could and can fight sleep even when she is tired.  As a new mum, I did not know how to read her sleepy signs, and more often than not, she would be overtired by the time I catch her signs and by then she is cranky and crying.  Oh the tears.  From Isabelle and mummy. The early months Sleep has always been an issue for me when Isabelle was born.  She cried non stop every evening for hours on end, and we had no idea what to do with her.  Colic was the word most used on such babies, and everyone comforted us that this difficult phase would be over within 3 months.  I still remembered uttering "3 months?!" under my breath.  Not 3 weeks?  
2 comments
I wanna read more!

Murder Mystery Dinner Party

Two Saturdays ago we were invited to the Kim's for a themed dinner, specifically a Murder Mystery dinner party.  What is that, you might ask.  It was our first time attending such a dinner too, and so how it works is: a group of people attend a dinner party.  Each is assigned a role and will be given a script to read that night.  The aim of the party is to identify a murderer in the midst of us by the end of the night.  The hosts would work off a dinner game set (they got it off Amazon) and it comes with proper invites, setting/ scene, table name cards, scripts and even a suggested menu.  Clearly RX is an Agatha Christie fan. Two weeks beforehand, we received our invites in the postbox, telling us what roles we each have been assigned and the suggested attire (and props if necessary).  Interesting yes? The dinner was to start at 7pm and we were to have 8 people that night.  It's all very mysterious… Our invitation cards assigned K the role of Monsieur Bertrand, a f
Post a Comment
I wanna read more!