Chuen Cheng Ku (sp???) like a very unsmart canteen in Soho, v delicious place to pig on dim sum, nothing to look at, all metal trolleys zooming about but oh so good.
This got left off the above description...for some reason the page froze as I was editiing......
From time to time (usually at the weekend) either alone or with friends, I would catch the train to Waterloo, walk along the Embankment, go over Hungerford Bridge to Trafalgar square,visit the National & Portrait Galleries, or the ICA in Carlton House Terrace and end up in Leicester Square to catch a film or a play. Just around the corner, from there, (in Panton Street ?), is one of the Stock Pot chain, cheap but very good trad. grub,, steak n kidney pie, spotted dick, treacle pudding etc. nearly always full as it's such good value.
I made it to a couple of more up-market restaurants in London, on my lowly teachers salary, by taking advantage the periodic Evening Standard offers, so got to go to The Bluebird Restaurant on the Kings Rd . Always meant/mean to go to Bibendum....in the old Michelin building, but that's still to do.
I would love sometime to go to Le Manoir de Quatre Saisons (somewhere in Oxfordshire isn't it?)...love Raymond Blanc's TV chefferie....
As far as curries go, Khan's (somewhwere near Westbourne Grove ?) and several times to the Sree Krishna in Tooting and the Munal Tandoori in Putney,where I encountered Simon Le Bon one winter's evening (tried to shut the door behind me as he was trying to get in to order/collect his takeaway...he lives right next door),much embarrassment as I realised who he was and while my friends laughed. He took it well.
Putney now has a couple of good Japanese restaurants also.
Just remembered the other wine bar owner's name- Joe Hepworth.
I have done many jobs in Fulham, altering houses mainly. Digging out basements became the thing. Getting a quart out of a pint pot. Never liked it myself, cars everywhere as about three of four cars to every house and not enough parking spaces, tiny gardens, poor open spaces compared to Wandsworth. I did the private nursery school, in the New Kings Road, for Pippa Deakins.
No David that was another wine bar....Ninas was net to Sophisticat the shop which
sold wooden furniture...benches and such. The owner of the wine which you are referring to
bought a chateau over here and got into muddy puddle.
Ninas wine bar did not last very long.
My accountant....of yesterday is in Wandsworth Bridge Rd.
The area had lost its lustre.....or maybe I have lost my love for London.
Got it! Yes I did eat there. There was also a guy called Hepworth (connected with the gents's clothing chain of that time) who opened a wine bar in Wandsworth Bridge Road. I met him on the Nile! One of my GF's lived in a flat over the greengrocers in Fulham Road- on a corner ! Julies I remember well- including the private room with shutters. I liked that place but it was far from where I lived. The Bourne brothers (property) started in Wandsworth Bridge Road) and ended up making fortunes (one now lives in Cheyne Walk and has angered all the locals by buying and closing the Cross Keys to make a mansion.
It was in the eighties when we fell in love with a little restaurant in the
Wandsworth bridge road, Fulham. It was during the afternoon and I just walked
in and spoke to a lady and declared that I would like to speak with the owner.
'We bought the restaurant from Max Baden-Semper and months later opened
The Perfumed Conservatory with 2 other partners. Max was connected to Julies
Wine bar and restaurant and his actress sister Nina opened the wine bar next to us.
There were dramas in Fulham ....plenty of them for this is where Marco joined us...and
some very fine cooking from a chef from Liverpool.
Gordon Ramsays first restaurant was just off Fulham road.
Was anyone excited by that restaurant?
Richard Corrigan was somewhere in Fulham Road in his early days too.
Those were the days.
Ah Dirty Bertis, first real Italian restaurant in London, opposite a famous bookshop that sold second hand books at good prices. Both sadly gone. The newer Bertorelli La Toscana now has no member of the Bertorelli family involved and is actually part of an 'upmarket' chain. How the mighty have fallen. That is where I got my taste for Italian food. When the La Margherita owners, the Rocchina family, moved to Magdalene Street in Cambridge, the chef having been at Dirty Bertis for a while, they took over a good French restaurant called Jean Louis that lasted into the 1980s when the recession forced it to close and open in La Margherita in its place. By then the Queensway Berti had gone, so I was happy to have quality regional food again rather than pasta, pasta or pasta.
For Veronique- yes the Prospect of Whitby- used to row down to it from Blackfriars and back again after! Much harder return! Veeraswamy Brian yes- very smart guy saluting all the customers on the door!
Much of my life was lived around the Portobello Road area.
There was a great cheap place to eat lunch in Pembridge road just
next to Ken Russels shop which sold gowns from his films.
It was called the Gallion and was owned by Greek people.
In Queensay W,2 was Hung Toa a great place for roast duck and
rice noodles and cha soa. Also in Queensway was a very traditional
Italian restaurant which offered the simpson style service....soup
arriving in a big terrine and parmesan grated at the table. It was
called Bertorellis.
One of my customers at Chinon was CY Wong who loved bread and butter
pudding and owned a very smart Chinese restaurant in Mayfair and had a
Lariokee room.
If I could transport a restaurant from London to Libourne with one
wish it would be Royal China or The Royal China Club. The food is amazing.
But the Chinese kitchen is disciplined. The kichen at Royal china turns out thousands
and thousands of little treasures every day;dumplins, turnovers,spring type rolls beignets,
seaweed, seafood, poultry and strange things.....everything is delicious.
Who could possibly manage dessert?
But in the good old days there were at least 2 pattiseries where you could sit down and
indulge in rather decent cakes in a very crowded seating area. Even though the rents were
sky high the cakes and biscuits, bread and sundries were stacked like jewels in Aladins cave
they had to be making some money.
I am yet to find cakes which I like in my region of France they seem to by 90% sugar content
as that is all I can taste.
On Westbourne Grove was the Tiroler Hut which served Austrian style food till the early
hours, big mugs of beer and sing along with a squeeze box.
This was probably before Kareeokie.
Veeraswamy anybody? The first Indian restaurant in Europe. In the 1970s as the curry, madras, vindaloo and occasional paal brigade emerged en masse it was brilliant. Nowhere like it for setting yourself up before club time and music to finish blasting your head off!
I remember some of those places in London & going there with my parents as a child - Tante Claire, San Frediano & San Lorenzo, Montpeliano round the corner from where I lived, Meridiana, Mr Chow, the Bombay Brasserie, a nice wine bar just behind Harrod's (in Basil st) & a lovely place they made proper zabaglione but I can't remember what it was called. Out of London I loved the Manoir aux Quat'Saisons mainly because Raymond Blanc is so extremely nice & enthusiastic & fun. Oh & Trader Vic's! & a pub called Prospect of Whitby (?) - oh memory lane indeed! & I used to go to Simpson's & the Connaught with my grandfather, lovely.
No sorry not interested in cruises and such.
No it was not a Hachette it was a meat cleaver which was being aimed
at marrow bones.
Yes it was Marco Pierre White.
Hi Barbara,
Having just arrived at this post, I can see why you weren't interested in my cheap cruise/trips suggestions....
Was that MPW Marco....of famous hatchet wielding incident ?
Well before Marco came to us at Perfumed Conservatory we had an hour long discussion on how to make stocks. Well I must have passed the test as
Marco came to work for me. I made stock from every carcase and bone delivered and marco would hack at the veal bones with a heavy chopper as if ....well...who knows.
There were various moments and episodes which have been self contained
and mummified and if I let go of them well....
I should be fearless by now but alas that is not so.
Yes I could write a book about the crazy and amazing people who have come my way.
Yes I know that my grammar runs off the runway and my spelling is mad
but with every twist and turn in my life ....are the secrets and the events which a ghost writer could turn into a revealing story.
I did a few jobs for Nigel, including his own house. I did not comment on Marco you may have noted!However I have noted that he is now advertising some rather dubious looking packets of gloop for making stock with. Would he have done that 20 years ago?
Yes...The chef who was to be involved in the wandsworth restaurant bailed out at the last moment. He had parted from his wife and was rushing off to Canada to start life all over again.
A friend of mine cooked a last dinner for this chef and we were invited.I remember it so well because the meal was awful and I could not eat it...but
he did,,,how I do not know.
My very good friend Jean who still lives in UK will tell me the name of the chef.
The owner of the restaurant was Nigel Platts-Martin and he still has, as far as I
know La Trumpette in Chiswick and one in KEW and others,,,,Michelin starred
places.
Marco hmmm.
Barbara- I designed Marco's first restaurant. It was in Bellevue Rod SW17. In fact it was financed by a client of mine and Marco was not going to be the chef originally. He came in very late in the day, about two months or so before it was due to be opened to huge acclaim. My client went on to finance quite a few famous chefs. I didn't do many restaurants but did do two restaurants for Martin Caldecott in Ifield Road and Baker St.
Most of the restaurants I ate in were in the Belgravia, Kensington, Chelsea, Wandsworth, Battersea areas. Some you have mentioned. Foxtrot Oscar I knew well (Royal Hospital Rd) even before it was FO (I knew one of the owners) and was owned by two gay guys who were in a cellar in Sloane Square before. Beauchamp Place there were many. Pooh Corner. Nico Ladenis who was famous for being difficult about salt and pepper (have a good story on that). 505 Battersea Pk Rd. Bennett's.
I remember the name The Last Resort and I am sure I ate there.
Downscale were Bistro Vino and The Stockpot. Chelsea Kitchen.
Upscale places like Drone's, Browns in Roland Gardens, Waltons, St John (later) it's all coming back.
There were the clubs for after too! A favourite was Frere Jacques in Harrington Mews. The Garrison.
I must have spent a fortune! Now I think twice about treating myself to a menu ouvrier. I made the mistake of inviting a friend for lunch at Roast in the Market at London Bridge about four years ago. It cost £250 plus!
Mr Rosemont...
Sadly I will not know them all David as I was working 80 hours each week
much of the time.
I recall Marcos first restaurant in Wandsworth as there is a story attached to it....and I
did eat there in the very early days.
Tante Clare.....Pierre Koffman [ a customer at my restaurant Perfumed Conservatory
where Marco worked as my second]
Ma Cuisine....one star Michelin in Knightsbridge.
Biba Rainbow room a romantic dinner dancing enchantment
with the Pasadena Rood Orchestra. Food presented by the barbara
Haleniki kichen.
Rodney Rawlings bistros in Kings road. Were they the first.
Foxtrot Oscar in Hollyood road where my OH worked for a
while.
The last resort in Fulham Road...where I was the chef....
and left...thank goodness as my co liscencee was involved
in Operation Julie.
The cluster of everyday Italian eateries in Hillgate street
also homeland to a very famous fish and chip restaurant which was
a little bit posh.
The something kitchen in Kings road which offered simple food
at low cost to the arty crowd and the shoppers.
That truly wonderful little place which had mock grass on the floor
and the customers sat on poufees sipping tistane with honey very "GROOVY"
way before the average Londoner welcomed everyone with "HIGH"
The 606 in Kings Road which was mine until 10.30 serving vegan food cooked by
me. Served to characters like Vivien Westwood, Lord Lucan and Malcolm McClaren and became a jazz haunt serving chilli and rice through the night.
The Borcht and Tears, Taming of the Stew and the Borscht nd Cheers where I cooked
for clients and boss Bennie Taylor.....not a gourmet but a character of the seventies.
I have great memories of restaurants.
The memories are eternal.....
They will live on.
Barbara please tell me in what way I am contravening polite DP conversation.