FUTURE CINEMA: SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER!

As you may have realized, most of my posts these days involve a lot of 'experiences'. 

A recent follower of Secret Cinema (click here for my post on Secret Cinema 020), I went on to attend Future Cinema's production of Saturday Night Fever.

This was my second time at the Troxy - my first time was when they had Footloose on as a complimentary gesture for the cancellations of Secret Cinema 020 on opening weekend due to unforeseen circumstances.

Got my dancing shoes on! Not quite 70's, but I look pretty awesome don't you think?!

I obviously don't have blue eyes...

Arriving early (as usual), we hung around outside as more guest dressed in 70's disco outfits turned up. As the opening time drew nearer, gang leaders started 'rounding up' fellow gang members. I belonged to the Jackson Heights Wanderers, but I think I got a bit lost and couldn't quite figure out where I was supposed to go, so I just followed the crowd...

 

Tony's bedroom!

 

 

Guests were invited to 'warm-up' and strut their moves on the dance floor in preparation for the 2001 Odyssey dance-off! The dance floor was a bit small so we just danced at the sides most of the time...

There were 3 rounds and those who got tapped on the shoulder supposedly 'progressed' on to the next round.The finalists were obviously the actors/actresses playing the role of the characters from the movie.

 

After the announcement of the Odyssey 2001 winner, the movie screen was finally revealed and everyone took their seats at the tables.
Scenes from the movies were played out in between as part of the interactive experience.

At the end of the movie, the tables and chairs were cleared away and turned into a dance floor as special guests started performing on stage - Horse Meat Disco, Kym Mazelle, Emma Prior, Trisha Savva.








We left just before 11pm as it was getting a bit late, considering it would take me almost an hour to get home on the tube...
Overall a pretty good night, and will probably be checking out their future productions.

Time to prepare for another work week, just did 3.5 hours of back-back dance classes today - really pushed myself to the limit!

Have a great week everyone x

FOODIE POST: PICTURE RESTAURANT

Being the rather overly enthusiastic foodie that I am, I made an early lunch booking at Picture Restaurant, recently launched and run by former Arbutus Group employees -  restaurant manager Tom Slegg, and chefs Alan Christie and Colin Kelly.

 

 

 

 

We were the first customers to turn up that day - me and my OCD about punctuality! Plus we were also due to catch Man of Steel at BFI IMAX in a couple of hours time...

We were warmly greeted and were sat at the back of the restaurant beneath the ceiling window - good lighting for my foodie photos to follow...

 

Freshly made lemonade and ginger beer

The menu had quite a variety of tapas-like dishes, and we made a selection from the few recommendations that we were given...

The lamb bites were the first to be served - crisp on the outside and succulent tender meat on the inside, was tempted to order another portion!...or maybe two. Eying the last bite in the bowl, we cut it into half to share in a civilized manner...

 

We each ordered individual portions of the slow poached egg with mushroom marmalade - not just because it would be a bit awkward sharing an egg, but after taking the first mouthful of delicious gooey-ness, you wouldn't want to be sharing it with anyone else...

 

The soused silver darlings tasted as fresh and tasty as it looks in the picture, with a slight sour taste from the pickled marinade. I used to hate the skin on fish when I was younger, but nowadays I pretty much eat anything!

The Lebanese fried chicken came with yoghurt and sumac, similar to Southern fried chicken but with a slight spicy twist to it. Anything that's spicy is always a winner with me - I am after all Malaysian.

 

I don't think I've ever tried meatloaf, so this would pretty much be my first taste of it - which was a good one. Amazing taste of the spices in every bite, which went well with the tomato and white peaches.

 As for our veggie dish, we ordered the tenderstem broccoli with golden sultanas and pine nuts. Well-cooked, and I really liked the little juicy sultanas.

 Last but not least, no meal is complete without dessert... 

 

Tarts are often on of my favourites for desserts. We ordered the raspberry and almond tart which came with a dollop of yoghurt ice cream - cut in equal halves to prevent any food fights! Melt-in-your-mouth buttery goodness, mmm...

 

 The chocolate mousse, cherries and honeycomb was also good. Nice smooth silky texture, but as much as I love chocolate, the tart was the better of the two for me. 

Good food = Happy smiles

 Reasonably priced as well! Centrally located on Great Portland Street and so close to my shopping haunt...I'll definitely be dropping in again to try out the other dishes - fellow foodies welcomed to join! 

A very relaxed and informal dining environment, with just a few minutes walk away from the hustle and bustle of Oxford Street.

Off to get my outfit ready for Saturday Night Fever tonight...

Will try to remember to take some photos when I'm not busy busting some moves on the dance floor!

Watch this space for more foodie adventures. 

And not forgetting to wish Happy Father's Day to my dad and all other fathers around the world! 

The Cheekster, signing off x

FOODIE POST: IMLI STREET + ST MORITZ

Before anyone makes any assumptions, the answer is No, I didn't eat at both places in the same day...

Though with my love for food and insatiable appetite, I think I could easily manage it if I wanted to...

So let's start off with Imli Street, recently reopened following a full redesign and refurbishment, bringing the taste of Indian street food in a modern environment.

Coastal Mix - squid, fish and prawns

The Coastal Mix had a nice little variety of seafood to sample. The prawns were really fresh and springy, probably the best out of the platter, followed by the fish and the squid rings. 

Boti Kabab - tandoori lamb chunks

I did like the flavour of the Boti Kabab, but would have enjoyed it more if the texture wasn't quite as tough...

Veg Khorma - mixed vegetables

Can't say I was a fan of the Veg Khorma - pretty blend and rather ordinary...

Puri Bhaji - puffed bread and potato curry

I was quite intrigued by the Puri Bhaji, something that I've never tried before. Having said that, it was a bit tricky filling the puffed bread with the curry as it was really thin and flimsy, and the curry quite watery...
Be prepared to get your hands dirty...and a bib ready to catch any dribbles...

Chocolate Pataka - lonavala chikki, sizzling walbut brownie, dark chocolate sauce

Aam Ras - mango soup, coconut ice cream, basil sago

The desserts were probably my favourite dishes - I picked the two that were recommended by the waitress, and was not disappointed!
The brownie was very rich and moist with little crunchy bits - the chikki I presume. For those who don't know what chikki is, it's a traditional ready-to-eat Indian and Pakistani sweet made from groundnuts and jaggery. And yes, I had to google this... - good 'ol Wikipedia!

The Aam Ras, in contrast, was very sweet and refreshing, and went really well with the creamy coconut ice cream. Though I still have rather mixed feelings about the basil sago...



Overall service was quite prompt, and the waitress was really friendly and polite in helping to recommend dishes to us. Food was served to us pretty fast as well, but would have been better if they were served a bit warmer.

Now moving down the block to St Moritz...London's oldest Swiss restaurant.

 Lili and I have been eying this place for a while...
It was a Saturday evening and we didn't have a reservation, but thankfully there was a table available for a couple of hours before 8.30pm. Good thing we arrived a few minutes earlier before other people walked in and were turned away because they were fully booked.





For the starter, we ordered Ragout de champignons sauvages - a selection of wild mushrooms sauteed with shallots. The sauce was so good, that we kept it aside to dip with the bread later on!








We ordered the Fondue moitie-moitie (half-half), which consisted of melted Gruyere and Vacherin Fribourgeois cheese from Switzerland served with new potatoes and bread.
We could taste the white wine and garlic in it as well, which was absolutely delicious...
So highly calorific, yet so good...




The cheese was really filling, but it was so hard to resist the gooey bubbling pot of sinful yumminess...we finished about 3/4 of it!
A fat and carb-filled evening...hard work this week!



 Service on the whole prompt and efficient, and we were even given some recipe menus before we left. Not that I'm thinking of attempting to make cheese fondue at home anytime soon, but then again who knows...

Off for dance class now!

 
For some, haha.

Happy Monday people x