The Waldorf Hilton (London, UNITED KINGDOM)

Jelloman has followed me around the world for a lot of my business trips so it was time for me to return the favor. She will be spending the next 4 days in London for a conference so I thought I could spare some of my annual leave to accompany her on this trip.



Her conference is at The Waldorf Hilton, a century-old hotel in London's West End just a stone's throw away from the Royal Opera House. My first impression of the hotel when I first saw the lobby was "old" (not sure about century-old). Really old.



It looks like they have touched up the rooms to add some modern touches to the otherwise plain and traditional European setting.



For a hotel in central London, this is considered pretty spacious, though I thought the beds could have been a little bigger.



The bathroom, however, is due for a facelift.



From a functional standpoint, there's nothing wrong with it but you never want to see a worn-out toilet cuz that will give you a sense of uncleanliness.



Early next morning, when Jelloman was already off for work, some squeaky noise got me up a couple of times. I started my own investigation and finally realized that the noise came from the century-old wooden floor just outside the door. Whenever someone walked through the corridor, the squeaky noises came back! In fact, it was so bothersome that I decided it was time to wake up for breakfast.



This has been one of the most amazing breakfast hall I had the pleasure of having breakfast in. Photo time!



Of course, they have the fine selection of food to match the venue.



After breakfast, I took some time to check out Jelloman's conference venue. Lookd like everyone has enjoyed a nice cocktail and moved into the conference room.



The Waldorf Hilton is situated in the heart of London's theatre scene with a number of nice theatres just around the corner.



What should have been a pretty comfortable stay was largely ruined by the squeaky wooden floor from a century ago.




Rating: ❤❤❤
Price: £££
Address: Aldwych, Westminster Borough, London, United Kingdom
Closest Tube Station: Covent Garden / Temple
Tel: +44 20 7836-2400
Website: Link

Café Novo (Dublin, IRELAND) ★☆☆☆☆

We had some pretty decent meals on this trip to Dublin, Ireland but this last dinner at Café Novo before we headed to London was a major disappointment. Located on the ground floor of the Westbury Hotel, Café Novo is considered as a place for good comfort food. Unfortunately, we didn't get the comfort as expected.



If it's any consolation, I really liked the contemporary decor of this café. The designer chairs, the lovely dinner lamps.....there were a few elements I loved to take and incorporate into my apartment. But that's about the only positive from this dinner.



The food here was awful. Crab cake was our first starter but without much crab meat, it tasted more like a potato cake with tartar sauce.  



Linguini with prawns tossed in a light chili tomato sauce. The sauce was super sour.



We thought dessert could spark things up a bit. Wrong again.

The orange and white chocolate mousse cake had almost no taste to it. If I hadn't read the menu, I probably won't know orange was one of the ingredients there.

Food Rating: 3/10

Price: €€

Address: The Westbury Hotel, Harry Street, Dublin 2, Republic of Ireland

Website: www.doylecollection.com/restaurants/caf%c3%a9_novo.aspx



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Marco Pierre White Steakhouse & Grill (Dublin, IRELAND) ★★★☆☆

There are two things we have come to know about Chef Marco Pierre White over the years - (1) he used to mentor a young Gordon Ramsay and (2) the two had a rather stormy relationship. But what we may have overlooked is that, Marco Pierre White is a pretty talented chef himself. He was once the youngest chef to garner 3 Michelin stars while never formally attended any French cooking training.

After Chef White's official retirement in 1999, he continued his career as a restaurateur and his "Marco Pierre White Steakhouse & Grill" concept can now be found outside of UK, in Dublin and Dubai. I decided to check out their Dublin branch on this Sunday afternoon.



The steakhouse was 70% full by the time we arrived at noon time. Any early lunch after church perhaps?



Pictures of a young Marco Pierre White can be found everywhere in the restaurant.

A 2-course lunch set starts at around €16.5. That represents the best value for money.

Chef White only uses top-quality ingredients from the market and this dish of jambon was definitely of top-notch quality.



The asparagus with hollandaise sauce was absolutely divine.



Our main courses were slightly less successful than our starters. Roasted chicken leg with yam puree, fried potatoes and cabbage won with both quality and quantity.



The beef stew with mashed potatoes was another enjoyable dish.

Food Rating: 5.5/10

Price: €€

Address: 51 Dawson Street, Dublin, Ireland
Tel: +353 1 677-1155

Website: marcopierrewhite.ie

The Exchequer Gastro Bar (Dublin, IRELAND) ★★★☆☆

We were supposed to have another big meal tonight but after the fabulous French lunch at two-Michelin-starred Patrick Guilbaud, it was time to take a U-turn for something lighter and less fancy tonight. Opened in 2009, The Exchequer Gastro Bar, on the corner of trendy Exchequer Street and South Great George's Street, is an award-winning gastropub specializes in serving comfort food with a modern twist. It looks like the perfect venue for a quiet dinner following our visit to the nearby Dublin Castle.



We had to wait a bit for our table since we didn't have advance booking. But no problem there since I had the company of this home brewed beer.

Irish seafood chowder – Creamy and hearty dish to start the meal with. Similar to the New England chowder I grew up with back in North America but this was not as thick and gluey.

Cockles and mussels with sourdough bread – A trip to Dublin isn't complete without trying some of their local cockles and mussels. A classic dish available in a lot of the local gastropubs, this definitely didn't disappoint. A simple tossed with white wine already did the trick.

Rabbit pate and garden green – The pate made with rabbit meat was served in little jar along with a small salad and toast topped with pear.

Baked pastry with veal, parsnip purée and vegetables – Our server warned us about the preparation time of this dish but since it came highly recommended, we decided it's worth the waiting time.

To be brutal honest, I didn't like the pastry at all. It was thick and chewy but the veal (cheek) stuffed in the middle was fairly juicy and tender. 

Once again, we ordered way too much food leaving ourselves no room for dessert. So, we decided to quickly settle the bill and take a slow walk back to our room. Hopefully, we can walk our tummy flat before bed time.

Food Rating: 5/10

Price: €€€

Address: 3-5 Exchequer St, Dublin 2, Ireland

Tel: +353 1 670-6787

Website: www.theexchequer.ie

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 11:00pm daily

Patrick Guilbaud (Dublin, IRELAND) ★★★★☆

When I first told one of my colleagues that I would be visiting Dublin, his first reaction - "bring an umbrella!". Perhaps I should trust him more since he is from UK after all.

After a few rainy days in a roll, our mood was at an all-time low and what better way to boost our morale by visiting the most award-winning restaurant in Ireland and the only one with two Michelin stars.

Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud is often labeled as the best restaurant in Ireland. Located in the charming Merrion Hotel on Upper Merrion Street, it has the perfect setting to be one of the best fine dining destinations in Europe.

We were running a little late with our 2pm reservation but much to our surprise, the dining room was almost empty the moment we arrived. But soon after we settled down, the dining room started to fill out and by 2:30pm, it was totally packed.

I guess the locals like to eat late?

Our amuse bouche was a mille feuille with mango, crab meat and avocado cream on top. I must admit they have made quite a strong impression on us with this dish. The taste of each ingredient was very well-balanced and though not as sophisticated as some amuse bouche you might see in other Michelin starred eateries, you could tell this was a well thought course that came from a talented kitchen.

My starter came next and it was a silky smooth langoustine bisque with a crispy prawn spring roll.

Ham hock terrine was another fairly impressive dish and that said a lot coming from someone who's not keen on terrines. The garnish with a red onion confit and toasted sour dough was also a pretty wise choice.

For main course, I picked their loin of veal which was nicely wrapped in a thin slice of pancetta. The sauce was finished with a mixture of salsify, spinach, cep and jus tranche.

The overall technique in preparing this dish was almost flawless although marks have been significantly deducted on the texture of the veal.

Our other main course, roasted breast of wild pigeon, was also less impressive comparing to the starters. While we liked the idea of serving the pigeon with almond milk, sweet potato and cherry jus, the pigeon did look a little overcooked.

Onto dessert we went and it was a nice sweet-and-sour finish. The coconut and peach verrine provided contrasting flavors to our palates, which were refreshing and savory.

Definitely the best meal we had on this Ireland trip hands down!

Food Rating: 7/10

Price: €€€€

Address: 21 Upper Merrion Street, Dublin 2, Ireland

Tel: +353 1 676-4192

Website: www.restaurantpatrickguilbaud.ie/

Bewley's Oriental Café (Dublin, IRELAND) ★★★☆☆

Bewley's Oriental Café, the oldest café in Dublin (since 1835), is an institution both in the tourist circuit as well as among the locals. Located in the busy Grafton Street in the heart of Dublin, this flagship restaurant estimated to serve almost a million customers on a yearly basis.



We arrived before 8am thinking that it would be easy to get a table but only to find that the place's already packed with customers.



After a long and painful wait, we finally got a table by the famous stained windows (more on that later). I had their famed "full Irish breakfast" which was a handful. Potato farl, grilled bacon, sausage, tomato, pudding, mushroom, poached egg, famous home made relish and two slices of toasts...



And if that was not enough for breakfast, perhaps the addition of some sweet pancakes would do the trick.



Bewley's Oriental Café has been a great part of Dublin's tradition. The building's original design inspiration largely came from the great European cafes of Paris and Vienna. Nowadays, the café still retains much of the art deco setting highlighted by the six beautiful stained glass windows by Dublin artist Harry Clark.

To be able to sit here and admire this remarkable piece of history up close, it's truly an amazing feeling.

Food Rating: 4/10

Price: €€€

Address: 79 Grafton Street, Dublin 2, Ireland
Tel: +353 1 672 7720

Website: www.bewleys.com




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Tea Room (Dublin, IRELAND) ★★★☆☆

The Clarence is a four-star hotel located by the River Liffey in Dublin, Ireland. Situated in the famous Temple Bar area, it was first built in 1850's before being bought by Bono, the lead singer from U2 and later converted into the hotel that it is today.

Apart from the rich history, the Clarence is also home of one of the oldest tea rooms in Ireland. Today, this tea room, coincidentally called Tea Room, is no longer just serving afternoon tea and comfort food, it has slowly evolved into a casual dining restaurant serving excellent contemporary European cuisine. 

French-born Head Chef Mathieu Melin, considered Ireland’s youngest and most talented Executive Chefs, started his culinary career in 1997 at the tender age of 15. His experience is highlighted by his work at the Michelin starred restaurant, La Roche Le Roy, in France.

Chef Melin is best known for his devotion to the use of best locally sourced produce and his strongest repertoire is his own brand of modern European cuisine with an Irish twist.



Our first starter was a salmon gravalax. Never thought we would run into Scandinavian style cooking here in Dublin. That was surprisingly good (6/10).



Next up was pan seared scallops with squid-ink angel hair. Angel hair as an appetizer? Why not?

Unfortunately the angel hair was a little overcooked leaving the texture a bit too soaky to my liking (4/10).



I had their roasted organic chicken with cauliflower puree and peas next. Was a little surprised how well the chicken and cauliflower worked together. The chicken was excellent - very tender (6.5/10).



But our next main course, a beef tenderloin was less impressive to say the least (3/10).



Panna cotta with a little bit of strawberry jelly on top. Fairly refreshing end to an interesting dinner here (5/10). All in all, I thought this meal exceeded our expectation.



Finished dinner by 7:30pm so we still got tons of time to hang around the Temple Bar area.







Food Rating: 5.5/10
Price: €€
Address: The Clarence G/F, 6-8 Wellington Quay, Dublin 2, Ireland
Website: www.theclarence.ie/tearoom-restaurant