Dancing In High Heels

Running two weeks behind, but better late than never!

After many little lunches at Parlour, I finally booked the Chef's Table at Parlour for my birthday lunch celebration.
I first had a taste of Chef Jesse's food back in 2013 during the collaboration with Urban Woot Four Fridays - time sure has flown by...
Parlour has so far been my solo lunch spot, and I thought that it was time to bring along some friends to share the experience.

Chef Jesse did pre-warn us not to eat anything beforehand, so that we could 'prepare' our stomachs for the feast that lay ahead...
Viv and I did have an early breakfast before checking out at the Royal Horseguards Hotel, their complimentary breakfast buffet was too tempting to miss out on.
Good thing that we Malaysians have big appetites!

We kicked off our lunch with a bottle of prosecco, opened with a machete, as you do.

One of Chef Jesse's many talents.

We also had wine and some specially made mocktails to go round the table.

First up was McTucky's popcorn chicken nuggets - which unlike KFC's version, this had actual popcorn in it!
The chestnut hummus was very much a favourite for many of us, served with rosemary pitta bread. A step-up from your regular chickpea hummus.
Another yummy dipping dish was the taramasalata, topped with black olives.

Then came the 'Back Door' Smoked Salmon with crispy salmon skin served on a wooden plank, and THAT soda bread, which is one of my favourite breads. Another favourite (of many favourites) amongst the table was the duck liver pate with cold toast aka. 'yesterday's bread'. I've only just recently started liking pate, and this was definitely up my street, topped with crunchy bits of duck scratchings. Apparently the first dish that he cooked for his wife, where she then decided that he was definitely a keeper.
Maybe that's where I've been going wrong with my dating life - I'm going to make sure that cooking becomes a mandatory requirement on their dating CV.

Ever wondered whether the chicken or egg came first? Well, it doesn't really matter in this case, because the chicken (legs/lollies) and the egg came together in this case, and yes they were both very tasty.
We kept them safe in our bellys so that they didn't have to 'walk the plank'.
Oh, was that a bit too corny? Maybe you should spend more time in Neverland, I heard that it's good for the soul.

Another familiar dish was the Raw Vegetable 'Ravioli' with Goat's Cheese. A clever alternative if you happen to have missed out pasta on your shopping list. Unless of course you're about to serve a whole table of pasta lovers, then you're probably screwed.

If you love goat's cheese as much as me, then you will probably love this. And for the skinny gym bunnies, well, vegetables are healthy, so it pretty much balances out the calories of the cheese...right?

The pork croquettes had a nice, golden coating, and was really tender and juicy on the inside. I eyed the dish hoping to swipe another one after my first.

Actually, I MAY have had a second helping...I eat so fast, sometimes I don't remember what I put into my mouth...

Next up, was some stilton custard and hazelnut praline served in an egg shell with a pretzel stick on the side. Proper Clarence Court eggs, because Chef Jesse likes keeping things classy - it's how things work in the West.

Ran out of serving dishes? Well, as we all know, there's always an alternative...

Just don't turn the lever.

A lot of chefs are very much into Instagram these days, and that includes Chef Ryan, snapping those sexy duck legs.

And then it was eventually time for the main courses - each of us were served a different dish. And being the birthday girl, I was of course served the humungous Cow Pie.

I was already quite stuffed by that time, and wanting to save space for dessert (I knew what was coming...), I had a few nibbles and passed the rest round the table.

Andrew did the honours of polishing off the last bits - those situations when it's always good to have men at the table!

A good and hearty pie, though I'm still not quite convinced that it was better than Dandy's Cow Pie...

Maybe we need a battle of the Cow Pies.

There's my smiley face.

My grumpy face...

And then there's JESSE's face...

This is why bloggers should be more cautious when handing your cameras to chefs...

SELFIE!

And then it was time for the Grand Finale...everyone put on your headphones!
Because everyone needs a bit of Mary Poppins and Willy Wonka in their lives.

Chef Jesse rolled out his art canvas made from (errr) kitchen foil, and started assembling our platter of desserts before us.

Saves on the washing up - less water wastage, and saving the planet a day at a time...

Some special effects going on here - it looks like Jesse is 'AT ONE WITH THE MIST'...

Jesse does take his work very seriously...

And no dessert would be complete without a blowtorch, and a...drill? You can tell that I'm not much of a DIY person.

Did I mention that I LOVE blowing candles..?
I'm hoping that this will increase my chances of my wish(es) coming true.

The Aftermath...

Four hours...I don't think I've ever dined for this long before!
I would definitely recommend it to those of you looking for a fun, quirky dining experience.
Chef Jesse will be waiting for you.
With his machete.

The Cheekster, a year older, and hopefully wiser, signing out x

Checking into a hotel in London is always a bit strange for me, considering that I live here.
I do enjoy staying in hotels every now and again, and once again luck has been on my side to allow me to enjoy a bit of luxury for my birthday weekend. My cousin had also made a special visit from Edinburgh, so that was a nice little getaway for the both of us to catch up. I had the day off so I had time to pack for our stay - my overnight bag seemed a bit bulkier than I was expecting...I blame it on the heels.

The first time I visited the hotel was for Sunday afternoon tea with my mum, and it was a rather pleasant and memorable experience.

We arrived at reception, and despite the slight confusion over booking details, we were soon shown up to our room by the friendly manager, Mr Sasanke. It was a Deluxe Double bedroom with a pretty view of the River Thames and London Eye. There was a little balcony but it was inaccessible due to health and safety reasons.

The size of the room was pretty decent, with all the basic facilities provided. The bathroom was a bit smaller than average, but good enough for its purpose. There was also a TV on the wall by the shower should you not want to miss a TV show that was on at any time...

And on the table was laid a sweet tray of treats wishing me Happy Birthday, which was really sweet of them.

We had a reservation at Alyn Williams at The Westbury that evening, but we popped downstairs a bit earlier to have a drink at the Equus Bar. Mr Sasanke was kind enough to give us a 2-for-1 drinks voucher. Viv ordered The Cavalry Cocktail, which was created by TV Mixologist Andy Pearson for the Royal Horseguards Hotel Help for Heroes campaign. Made with ruby port, Cognac, Grand Marnier and red Burgundy, it was maybe a bit of a strong choice for her...probably best as a post-dinner drink. My Chocolate & Hazelnut Martini was surprisingly quite strong as well, and not quite as chocolatey as I was expecting. I think we were both felt a bit tipsy as we got up to leave, but then again, it was the weekend after all.

When we returned to our room after dinner, a foot mat with bedroom slippers were laid by our bedsides, with a piece of chocolate each on our pillows.

The next morning, we had an early breakfast downstairs at the restaurant. They had a good selection of breakfast options to choose from - hot food, bread and pastries, cheese and cold meats/fish, and a cereal and fruit bar. We made sure not to have anything too heavy as I had a birthday lunch booked at the Chef's Table at Parlour (post to follow soon), and Chef Jesse did warn us not to eat anything beforehand...