elsie – Page 123 – Elsie Hui

November 29, 2011April 4, 2012

Days Hotel London – Waterloo

During our stay in London, we stayed in a small hotel called Days Hotel London – Waterloo which didn’t matter as we were only there for the bed – for a few hours! We were actually expecting the room to look more like a cabin on a cruise ship, so when we checked-in, the hotel met and exceeded our expectations!

The bathroom was extremely small, as you’re staring at yourself in the reflection of the mirror on top of the sink while you’re on the toilet. There was no bathtub, just a tiny stand-up shower. There was plenty of space in the hotel suite itself, and comes with complimentary coffees and teas. The star rating for this hotel is a 3 Star hotel, which is fine of a rating. I may have rated it 2.5 stars, but that’s my opinion.

A few neat things about this hotel though, it’s got no air conditioning, and just offers a fan. It was fine when we went (in September) as it was cool and rainy for a few days. We actually turned on the heat at nights too. A good thing about this hotel, the windows do open for fresh air, and it’s 100% smoke free. I never would’ve thought that would be possible in England as it seems like everyone smokes.

The best thing about this hotel would be the location – being a few minutes walk from Lambeth North station makes it really convenient. For the big Tube station, the Waterloo station is about a 10 minute walk away. On the same street as the hotel – going towards the station, there are little grocery/convenient stores that seemed to be opened a lot and was great for us to pick things up like water and snacks.

It was lovely, and from our window, we were able to see the top of London Eye as we were staying at the Southbank.

Days Hotel London- Waterloo

54 Kennington Road, London, SE1 7BJ GB
Phone: 44-2079-221331

November 29, 2011May 11, 2019

Fernandez & Wells – London, England

While we were in London, we really wanted lunch, and had absolutely no idea what we were wanting to eat – but knowing we had to eat! We just happen to be walking down Lexington Street, and we saw 3 cured legs at the window, and we knew this was the place where we wanted to eat! This lovely location is called Fernandez & Wells which seemed perfect!

This store front is wonderful! It’s small, warm, cozy, and the smell of freshly roasted and cured meats fills the air! When we got to the counter to see what we wanted to eat, there was a pile high of sandwiches on a selection of ciabatta buns or ‘bocadillos’ (crusty flutes) – and they get grilled after you order them.

I ordered the Grilled Chorizo Sandwich which is made of their fresh chorizo, and lined with some roasted red peppers and rocket leaves. After this sandwich was grilled, it was delicious and it was kind of spicy and super tasty!

We also ordered Rare Topside of Beef Sandwich which was a sandwich packed with roast beef and some horseradish. The roast beef was perfectly roasted and it wasn’t tough at all! It was tender and full of intense beef flavour which was very nice! I personally think they put a tad too much horseradish on the sandwich, as it cleared my sinuses and made my eyes water! I ended up scooping off some of the horseradish before finishing up my half of the sandwich.

Fernandez & Wells really keeps things simple. When we asked what there is to drink, they looked at us funny and said “wine or water”, so we opt’d for wine, as it looks like the thing to do! We don’t ever drink wine, so it was kind of funny as we had a nice buzz from it! 🙂 We ordered the Alpha Zeta Chardonnay which was quite light already. I can’t say if it was good or not as I do not know how chardonnay is suppose to taste, or the difference between any wines. But, it was crisp and light – and actually a bit refreshing!

This was one of the best sandwich lunch places we’ve had in a long time! Things are kept basic, simple and rustic and that made for a delicious place to eat! We even went at an odd time, and there wasn’t seating left. Most of their customers take away, or they’re sitting there enjoying cheese and wine or something like that! It was just nice to step out of the busy streets of London and step into their restaurant and we were able to relax and watch the world pass by. This location is truly a hidden gem for us!

Fernandez & Wells

43 Lexington St
Soho, UK
(020) 7734 1546

November 28, 2011June 2, 2019

Giraffe – Waterloo London

During our trip to England, we had to visit London. Our first night in London, we met up with my cousin there and she brought us to Giraffe which was located on the Southbank near Waterloo. It was a beautiful location as it was right off the river, and a great place to stop in for a bite to eat as it was just beginning to pour that day.

I ordered a Smoothie as I wanted something sweet and fun! I tried the Mango Mama which was a smoothie made with mango, strawberry, banana, orange, apple juice. I ordered mine without the banana, since I’m allergic to bananas, so it wasn’t as thick and creamy. It was still a delicious drink though, full of fruit flavours! The best thing about this drink I must say was the awesome giraffe stir-stick standing in my smoothie! The giraffe was just tall enough so it’s head would stick out of the drink! My little nephew loved these giraffe stir-sticks too!

I wasn’t too sure what to try – the menu was massive, so I just picked something I thought I would enjoy instead of venturing off and trying something new. I ordered the Rodeo Chicken Burger which was a huge burger of grilled chicken breast with melted cheddar, fried mushrooms, BBQ sauce and onion ring. It had the usual condiment suspects such as lettuce, tomato and mayo. It was weird, as I’m not normally a fan of chicken breast – they’re normally kind of over cooked and dry, but this chicken breast burger was actually juicy, mouth-watering good! With the crunch from the onion ring, and the extra sauce from the BBQ sauce, it was a delight to eat this burger!

I split my meal with my husband, and he ordered Grilled Mojito Chicken which was something completely different from what we’ve ever ordered or tried to make at home. This was half chicken marinated in mint, lime and rum. Served with sin on fries and a home made poppy seed celery slaw. This half a chicken was really unique as it was infused with mint and lime flavour. It’s like no other roasted chicken, but it was extremely enjoyable.

My cousin enjoyed a Szechuan Sesame Noodles which was basically fried vegetables and egg noodles in a Szechuan pepper sauce with ginger, garlic, fresh mango and fried shallots. It was definitely Asian style and it must’ve tasted good as she almost finished the entire bowl. This bowl of noodles was the best smelling dish, and it looked really good as well!

My little nephew ordered a kids Pasta Pomodoro fresh penne pasta with pomodoro sauce, and of course he had fun eating this plate of food! He actually enjoyed it so much, he ended up eating it with his hands instead of his utensils! The little kid finished everything, and had some of our french fries as well!

Overall, this was an amazing place to eat! The atmosphere was fun, the prices was reasonable – especially considering the location of the restaurant! Best of all, the food was great, and the service was fine. Our favourite course from the evening would for sure be the Grilled Mojito Chicken, and we would order that again!

Giraffe

Southbank Centre
Waterloo
Belvedere Rd
London, UK

November 27, 2011November 27, 2011

Jean-Philippe Pâtisserie Bellagio

From last time I went to Vegas, I discovered Jean Philippe Patisserie, and I knew I had to go back. I went back everyday this time, and I don’t regret the extra sugar at all! It’s a wonderful place to go to get delicious baked goods and sweets! This time, I even went to the Jean Philippe at Bellagio, where there is the tallest chocolate fountain, and it was amazing!

After reading some reviews when I got home last time, someone told me that the Jean Philippe Crepes was a must try item, so I had to try it this time. It was a fun experience as they make it in front of you after you order. I ordered a Dulce de Leche Crepe which was a crepe with dulce de Leche caramel sauce, and then topped with chocolate shavings and whipped cream! I didn’t eat it there, I brought it back to my hotel room to enjoy, so it fell apart a little by the time I got it back. But, it tasted wonderful!

The crepe for the most part was in good condition, all except the whipped cream that started to slide off and was half melted as the crepes was hot when I got it. It was good that it was quite cool outside in Vegas so it didn’t do any further damage.

Once I got my fork through the crepe, I knew I was going to love this dessert! The texture of the crepe was warm, soft and chewy with a very subtle sweetness to the crepe itself. I’ve had crepes where it was hard and just not very pleasant, but this one alone was decadent! The batter was perfection and with the Dulce de Leche Caramel Sauce inside, it was really good!

I believe if I ate this on location, the warm caramel sauce would have oozed out a bit and made it even more wonderful – but this is a good excuse to go back next time! 🙂 From this Bellagio location, I bought also a Cinnamon Bun and saved it for breakfast the next morning. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it as I love cinnamon buns.

Jean-Philippe Pâtisserie

3600 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas
(702) 693-8788

November 26, 2011May 11, 2019

Fiamma Trattoria – Las Vegas, Nevada

We were staying at the MGM Grand Resort & Casino, and didn’t want to venture out too far one evening. We actually wanted to try Nobhill by Michael Mina, but they were closed, along with Seablue by Michael Mina. So, we opted for Fiamma Trattoria on Studio Walk inside the MGM Grand.

Fiamma is an Italian restaurant, and in the past, they have been a 4 Diamond AAA Recipient from 2006 – 2010. This restaurant does feature a delicious and large selection of items on the menu. I ordered the Grilled Atlantic Salmon and it was cooked to a perfect medium as requested. The salmon wasn’t tough or fishy but it was tender and flaky. A large piece of salmon portion was on the plate, and it was sitting on a bed of vegetables which was sauteed zucchini and peppers. On the side, there was a dipping sauce that was a parsley and chive sauce with lots of lemon juice in it! The acidity was really nice to balance out the salmon, and the fresh vegetables. This dish was absolutely fine and I would order it again!

Our table also had the Roasted Petaluma Chicken which came on a large plate with chicken stacked up to sky high! There were 2 large pieces of roasted chicken, roasted to perfection as it was super tender and juicy and fall off the bone goodness. These pieces of chicken rested on a tall bed of sauteed swiss chard, roasted fingerling potato – cut up into smaller pieces. This entire plate was then drizzled with the sauce from roasting the chicken and was really a great home cooked meal masterpiece!

Finally, we ordered a plate of Fettuccine, and custom ordered our to use Alfredo Sauce instead of the Basil Pesto sauce that is stated on the menu. It was delicoius and this bowl of pasta had Santa Barbara Spotted Prawns, which were extremely large prawns, sweet, crispy, fresh and awesome!

The food from Fiamma was really good, portion sizes was large, service was excellent and the prices was very reasonable! It’s a place I wouldn’t mind going back to and even taking family and friends. They’re only opened for dinner, so be sure to book a dinner here one day!

Fiamma Trattoria

3799 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV
(702) 891-1111