Lunch at the Petersham Nurseries

The best thing to do coming back to work after a bank holiday weekend is to go for an indulgent 3-hour lunch. In our defence, we had good reason as it was a farewell lunch cum baby shower. I'd read about Petersham Nurseries and its celebrity chef Skye Gyngell from various food magazines and blogs, so was mightily pleased that it was picked as lunch venue for the lunch party.







I love the rustic look of the place, and the fact that it's not fussy or overly done. Outside is the nursery, where you can buy overpriced pots, plants and other gardening-like accessories. I guess if you can afford to live in Richmond, you can afford to buy £10.50 chillis. Inside next to the shop is the cafe/restaurant, which seems to have a very Indian flavour, what with the numerous paintings of maharajahs and Ganesh. I also liked the colonial flavour of louvred windows on the roof and the ceiling fans. It's a pity the place doesn't open for dinner, because it would look so pretty with fairy lights on.

The clientele looks like lots of old ladies who lunch, with a sprinkling of young families.



But more importantly, moving on to the food...

For my starter, I had empanadas of scallops to go with my strawberry prosecco. I wish I could say I enjoyed the salad, but unfortunately I think one shouldn't mess with the delicate taste of a scallop by chopping up into tiny bits and putting it into pastry. I couldn't taste any scallop, and the overall dish was too salty. The prosecco, on the other hand, was delicious.


The halibut with swiss chard and aioli fared much better. Although just a teeny bit too saly, the fish tasted very fresh, and I enjoyed the crunch of the veggies. Not too keen on the beans though, so I didn't touch those.


A few people had the filet beef which was served medium-rare and at room temperature, and they declared it was lovely and tender.


There was a gorgeous chocolate mousse with jersey cream, but as I was trying to eat more healthily (ha!), I opted for the turron ice-cream for dessert. Delicious!

After washing down the meal with rose tea, we slowly barrelled our way through green fields, the river and back to the office. Petersham Nurseries is a lovely place for a meal, but I do think it's a tad overpriced. Definitely a place to go for a special occasion. Next time I'd like to go back there during tea-time and try their cakes.


Parting shot. Guess which foot is mine :)

Petersham Nurseries
Off Petersham Road
Richmond, Surrey
Tel: 020 8605 3627

ShooStories: Ballerina wannabe

#33

The Shoo: Silver Repetto
Circa: July 2008, during my trip to Paris
Where: Galleries Lafayette, Paris

The Story: It's no big secret I'm a huge fan of ballet flats, mainly because they bring back memories of my ballet school days. We were lucky enough to be in Paris during Les Soldes season, and seeing these lovely silvers at half price, I didn't think twice. I love the square toe, it reminds me of my old pointe shoes.

When I was trying them on and asked my cousin what he thought of them, like a true man, he looked at them and said, "They look exactly like the pair you're wearing." Aie, the men, they just don't geddit.

Bonus!

Love the pleating detail!

ShooStories: A.P.C. patent gladiator sandals

#32

The Shoo: Hippie Gladiator
Circa: July 2008
Where: www.totokaelo.com

The Story: I was wondering how long it would take me to fall victim to the gladiator brigade, and was just smirking to myself that I seemed to be immune to the latest shoe-trend. Apparently I smirked too soon, because my daily gander at Style Bubble introduced me to Totokaelo.com, a Seattle-based company which was screening members to browse and shop their site. While it sounds very exclusive and snooty, it's not. Well, it can't be, cos they let me in, heehee. Anyway, once I managed to sign up to their site, I browsed through and fell hard hard in lurve with these sandals.

Patent, strappy, comfortable and on sale? Sign me up, baby. The only unfortunate thing about them is the sizing. A comment on the website said they run small, and it's better to size up, but that doesn't seem to be the case for me. It's not too much of a problem since it is strappy, and does make for a very comfy width.

My only trouble now is concocting outfits to go with them. So far, I've come up with skinny jeans and dark dresses.

Bonus!
Apparently just one shot is not enough to show you the extent of their awesomeness.

Like birds of a feather

(L): the lovely Louise, (R): the just as lovely Piksi

I've always liked tiered dresses, but I think it's suited best to the gamine.

This Aug, I am into...

On my desktop now. Source: Kitsune Noir

Reading: Proverbs
Listening: Moriarty, the Latin CD compilation I picked up from Portobello
Eating: leftover steak (there is such a thing as too much meat)
Wearing: outfits that match my new A.P.C. patent gladiator sandals, vintage kimono obi belt, Blushing Cherry Blosson shower gel from Bath & Body Works, lyocell tshirts
Watching: My Sweet Seoul (with Chinese subtitles, no less)
Clicking: Cute Boys!!, Kitsune Noir wallpapers
Planning: the next holiday in Barcelona

Snippets of life: at home

View from my bedroom window

With a grey and rainy day like today, the best thing to do is stay at home and do absolutely nothing.



I was planning to catch up on some reading...


...but ended up taking a nap at 5.30pm.


My cosy corner where much surfing takes place...


...accompanied by a snack.

Now pondering options for dinner.

3.1 Phillip Lim Fall '08

When you have a long week filled with meetings and lots of work to do, it helps to rest your eyes on pretty clothes, like the Fall collection from Phillip Lim. Ah, to have a never-depleting bank account.

Laugh of the day

I haven't visited Mr Brown in a while, and it's posts like this that make me wonder why I stopped visiting. Not only is the post itself hilarious, the comments below are equally funny. I've been sitting at my desk giggling away for the past 10 minutes.

Personally, I wouldn't even bother registering with the embassy in London, because siriously, do i really want the gah-men to track my movements?? Speaking of which, I should make plans to do something tomorrow night. Maybe I'll wear red and white and eat chicken rice. :)

Ah, got to love the S'poreans. It's times like these that make me miss home. Happy birthday, Singapore!

ShooStories: Lanvin love

#31

The Shoo: Royal Flush
Circa: July 2008
Where: Harvey Nichols, Knightsbridge

The Story: Take a neverending love affair with ballet flats, a read about how comfortable Lanvin ballet flats are on I Am Fashion, a generous 50% discount, a love for the colour purple and what do you get? These beautiful satin Lanvin ballet flats which I pounced on when I saw them on the discount rack.

They really are as comfortable as have been mentioned, and while even at a discount are still rather steep, my feet are thanking me for the indulgence. My only fear is wearing them out in the rain, but they have fast become a great everyday staple - whether it's for work, shopping or a holiday.

Update (9/8/08): Another thing I love is the box the shoes came in. I don't normally keep my shoe boxes as they take up a lot of space, but the Lanvin box is definitely worth keeping.

Comptoir des Cotonniers Fall 2008

See the whole collection.

The latest season from Comptoir des Cotonniers, with the title 'Rock and Romantic' is really rocking my boat. I am seriously considering blowing my money on the black pleated dress (pictured above) and a black tulip skirt I saw in the shop.

Also, the band, Moriarty, featured on their website is fantastic. My superior web-sleuthing skills tell me that the album is called Gee Whiz But This is a Lonesome Town, released by Naive, a French independent record company. You can download a free sampler of songs, which includes one Moriarty song, if you sign up with them on their website.

Snippets of life: Portobello Market, 2nd Aug

And after that, I stopped taking pictures, as I got distracted by my nutella cupcake, a wonderfully preserved vintage Chanel 2.55 and a beautifully illustrated first edition of Alice in Wonderland. That's when the shopping got sirious.

P.S. I'm sure you've noticed that the blog header has changed. Instead of French macarons from Laduree, I am now displaying English cupcakes from Hummingbird Bakery.

Mmmm...Miu Miu

From miumiu.com

Drool drool drool