Gordon Ramsay's Savoy Grill Review

I made a visit to Gordon Ramsay's Savoy Grill back in February (If you read my previous posts, you would know that I am a massive fan of Gordon Ramsay's restaurants!!) wanting to try the set lunch menu. However, the items on the set lunch menu looks rather ordinary, and since the name of the restaurant is Savoy Grill afterall... I decided to go for the grilled food items in the ala carte menu instead.

Since the ala carte menu was pricier than we budgeted for the meal, we decided to skip desserts (after browsing through the dessert menu we decided that desserts are probably not a specialty of the restaurant) and go for the starters and the mains.

Mediocre bread and butter

Orkney diver scallops with Jerusalem artichoke, hazelnut and langoustine butter

I love the scallops - huge, sweet, and juicy. But I do find it a tad pricey since it costs 22.50 pounds for 3 scallops. Scallops taste so good on their own that I feel like the improvement on a scallop dish by a really good chef is marginal. But that's just my opinion and many people still choose to order this particular dish when they're at Savoy Grill.

Mixed grill

The highlight of my meal! The Mixed grill consisted of lamb, beef, sausage, pork belly and liver. This was very nicely done (grilled over a wood charcoal oven) and the meat were so tender and flavorful. I was deciding between the different types of meat (mainly lamb and beef) and when I couldn't choose, I thought a plate of various types of meat would be amazing. Boy am I glad I made that decision! This way I get to savor the different dishes on offer without having to order so many dishes! As someone who likes variety in her food, ordering this dish is ideal. If you're just like me, do consider ordering the Mixed Grill too :)

Complimentary mini desserts

Usually I don't write about the tiny mini desserts served at the end of the meal but I feel like these deserves a special mention. I really like the banana cake in particular. So moist and yummy I wish they sell it in a larger portion!

Restaurant Gordon Ramsay Review

To celebrate the completion of 2 consecutive exam papers (although I have 3 consecutive papers to come...), I decided to do a quick review of my visit to Restaurant Gordon Ramsay!

This is one of my biggest splurges on food so far and of all the Michelin restaurants I've been to, Gordon Ramsay's restaurants still remain at the top of my list. The prices of Restaurant Gordon Ramsay is on the high side and if you would like to try his restaurants without burning a hole in your bank account, consider going to Petrus instead. The quality of food at all of his restaurants are top-notch and the lunch time set menus are *relatively* affordable versus dinner time.

Onion and bacon brioche

Let's begin with the bread - I cannot emphasize more how much I love the onion & bacon brioche. Soft, fluffy and flavorful with generous bacon bits. I had to ask for seconds when the bread basket came around...

Amuse-Bouche

The Amuse Bouche was a bit too "raw" for my liking as it contains bits of a variety of raw vegetables, but my friends found it to be very refreshing and perfect for cleansing one's palate before the meal.

Smoked potato and poached hen’s egg ravioli with
peas, broad beans, roast chicken jus and leek velouté

Somehow I am always more fond of starters than mains, and this dish was no different. I don't quite know how to describe the flavor of the dish except to say that everything blended together really nicely and the green alien-like sauce was so amazing.

Spiced free range Devon duck with Swiss chard, beetroot and grilled onions

I requested my duck to be well-done although the style was meant to be half-cooked thanks to a bad experience I had with half-cooked quails. I'm glad to say that although it was well-done, the duck breast was still very tender and soft, with the right amount of crispy skin at the edges. One thing to point out would be that it tastes suspiciously like the english version of chinese roast duck. I have no idea why but the sauce and the way the duck was cooked seemed strangely oriental to me!

Banana parfait, peanut butter mousse and bitter chocolate sandwich with caramelised bananas

Yummy yum. I loved the peanut butter mousse - it was like eating peanut butter! Smooth, creamy, but not too sweet. It went really well with the banana parfait (which came along with ice cream) and the amalgamation of all the tastes and textures was perfect!

Post-desserts dessert

Post-desserts dessert

Just the right bite-sized dessert at the end of a very satisfying meal :D (isn't the shot of the white chocolate-coated vanilla ice cream with the pale pink roses a very "artistic shot" hehe)

Well... back to trying to study for exams. Till next time!

Princess of Wales (Primose Hill) High Tea Review

I wouldn't have thought of coming to this place for high tea if not for a LivingSocials deal that I bought. It isn't the most accessible or convenient location and we did get a bit lost while trying to find the place :x

What I do like about this high tea was the really rich and flavourful brownies (which my friend found to be too sweet for her liking). Everything else was quite normal and standard and I probably wouldn't return or have gone for this without a half price deal.

The Rubens At The Palace Hotel High Tea Review

One of the most value high teas around especially with the one-for-one deal on afternoontea.co.uk!

The service was really good as the waitress serving us was really friendly and chatty while not being too intrusive! They also regularly came over to see if we needed our teas topped up, or if we needed extra clotted cream etc. The environment was also really nice because there was barely anyone there  so we sat there for a good 5 hours and we didn't feel like they were trying to get us to leave at any point in time!

This was the only high tea that came with a "starter" (a decent mushroom pastry) and a "post-high tea dessert" (hot chocolate with chilli - sounds weird but tastes pretty good hehe). I was not impressed with the sandwiches but the scones and cakes made up for it. They were of a good quality and the variety of desserts was wide without being overly sweet. I also loved the cutlery/teapots/plates they used as it was in a pink vintage floral print which looks lovely and is simply a delight to use! :)

Kingsway Hotel High Tea Review

This is one of the more basic affordable high teas available and the quality is quite good especially since I went with a 25% discount. The only drawback of the place is the ambiance compared to other high tea locations but it is a simple fuss-free affordable afternoon tea if you're on a budget!

Sandwiches were standard - moist and freshly made. Scones were good and they even accommodated our request for more scones without charging us an extra penny! What I really liked was the selection of desserts. They were high quality especially in light of the price, and the selection was very varied. We had walnut cake, lemon cheesecake, macaroon, fruit tart, chocolate eclair, coffee cheesecake etc.
 

Hilton Park Lane Chocolate High Tea Review

How can one go wrong with a chocoholic afternoon tea? You can't. It was a delightful afternoon spent devouring way too much chocolates and sugar for our own good, but it is a sinful trip worth experiencing once in your life? xD

The sandwiches came first and were plated really nicely and came in the typical flavours you would expect. They were as good as sandwiches could get I suppose, but the highlight of this afternoon tea would be the desserts. As a huge fan of scones, you cannot imagine my happiness when it came together with tons of chocolate chips and a chocolate praline spread! I also really enjoyed the cupcakes, chocolate cake and cheesecake. Everything looked really pretty and it even came with a massive slab of dark chocolate which we couldn't stomach by the end of everything (you could request for takeaway but we just couldn't take anymore chocolates for the day). Service was attentive without being intrusive as well.

I bought this when it was on sale on LivingSocial deals and you might want to check if such a deal might happen again! (one-for-one deal makes this super duper worth it)

Mad Hatters High Tea at Sanderson Hotel Review

One of the most unique themed high teas you can find in London, the Mad Hatters High Tea tries to replicate the experience of being in the world of Alice in Wonderland, and to great effect! I really enjoyed my time here and would recommend this high tea for a splurge.

We were shown to an "outdoor" area which was heated and the environment looked very clean, modern and stunning. You are immediately greeted with a riddle like Alice did in Alice in Wonderland (which we took turns trying to solve while waiting for our high tea to arrive!) and a intricate musical box which was used to contain sugar cubes - I felt that these were nice touches to enhance the themed afternoon tea experience. Although service was good, we did felt a bit rushed as they repeatedly asked us if we wanted the bill... But nonetheless we sat there for a good 3 hours and they didn't chase us away explicitly.

The sandwiches were so tasty and you can have unlimited servings of it which is awesome! This is also the only high tea which served salty scones (with bits of olive and a chives & butter spread) and it was a refreshing change from the usual scones (which was included as well of course!). I would say that I loved all tiers of the high tea set as much because the desserts were amazing. The cheesecake, green tea mousse in a dark chocolate cup, and Victorian sponge cake were all crafted so delicately to replicate different elements of the story and I almost couldn't bear to eat them! They taste as good as they looked and everyone agreed that the entire experience was quite worth the 40 odd pounds we paid for it!