Belated Birthday Treats from Tanglin Club Discounts - Fetch Or Have Delivered

Delicious duck from the Tanglin club. Ordered in. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

We started with melt in the mouth duck. My husband said that he can cook chicken, but duck is more complicated so we ordered in the duck.

We also had chicken kebab which came with cubed pressed white rice and cucumber. 

Caesar salad, a starter.  Great tangy ham.

Caesar salad started in the USA, depending on which website you read, invented at Caesar's Palace hotel restaurant or by a waiter called Caesar. (At any rate not by the Roman Caesar.) The original and authentic version was supposed to have anchovies. I am not keen on anchovies. The Tanglin offered several versions with different meats. 

We added mango to the sugary macaroons. The raspberry was sold out. The lemon was tongue-tingling. The passion fruit seemed to be tasteless jam, until I licked the filling separately and found a teeny slice of fruit. However, my husband found none so we reckon next time we will pass on the passion fruit but we loved the lemon.

My Birthday Treat 

I had had a birthday discount voucher from the Tanglin club. We had used most of my discount voucher on a meal in the Churchill Room. However, I still had a small number of dollars to use up. The club sent a handy reminder that the last date to use the voucher was approaching.

Do you belong to a club which you cannot visit? Do you have friends who have invited you to a club? 

The Tanglin Club in Singapore sends us three kinds of discount vouchers:

You could order the Tanglin food for yourself as a member, or to serve at home to a visitor to your home. (Providing they are willing to leave their home and visit yours. Unfortunately, my favourite friend, a fellow author, has been asked by her family to stay home during the current situation - whatever the level of lockdown. They are sending her food.

Meanwhile, what is the Tanglin doing for us as members? Sending vouchers. As usual:

Birthday Vouchers - Every Year

One birthday voucher for my husband who is a full member (with voting rights at the AGM).

One birthday voucher for me, an associate member.

Discount Vouchers - During Covid-19 Restrictions

One discount voucher for full members only, during the current Covid-19 phase which prevents us eating at the Tanglin Club.

Why do they do this? If they made no profit at least it would keep the staff busy, keeping up morale, and in practice. That applies to those cooking, serving, operating the website and phone queries.

It would also keep the food suppliers in business. And keep up the relationship.

They presumably hope to make some profit. On each order they could make extra profit if you order wine. If you pay for delivery. If you get in the habit of ordering, you like the food, and re-order. You might not order now. But by looking at the menu, you have it in mind for later.

If you were thinking of selling your membership because it is no use to you during Covid, you might feel that something is of use.

The birthday vouchers are issued the first day of your birthday month and last for three months. That is generous. Since many members travel, that is good. You might well have had a family meal at home for a birthday, or at some special unusual new place and not want a meal out at the club in the same week. For my birthday I went to a smart gourmet restaurant with a wine offer for mother's day. My husband said he did not want a double credit card bill and calorie count in one week = or even one month.

What We Ordered

From the Tanglin tea room I wanted macaroons. We opted to have just two. One per person. Different flavours. Cut in half, we each got to try two.

Amazingly, next day my weight had not gone down but had not gone up either. Hurray.

Websites

https://www.facebook.com/tanglinclub/

https://www.tanglinclub.org.sg/

About Angela The Author

The Author - Quick Quotations

Angela Lansbury B A Hons  is the author of ten books by regular publishers plus another ten self-published books. 

About Angela The Speaker & Trainer

Angela Lansbury is a teacher of English and other languages to Toastmasters clubs and businesses.

Braddell Heights Advanced Toastmasters Speakers Vice President  Public Relations, Immediate Past President.

Former Area Director S3. Club Coach for Nee Soon South Toastmasters Club.

Also Member of: TCA Toastmasters Club; Singapore Online Dynamic; Harrovians UK

Garen Tee on using story telling in business, on bha.learncool.sg . 

Recent meetings of BHA included an educational session on using Powerpoint for posters.

Next BHA meetings, always first Wednesday evening, 7 pm Singapore time. Next meetings 1st Wednesday evening is Wednesday June 2nd at 7pm; and third Saturday afternoon, June 19th 2pm Singapore time.  

Angela The Blogger 

Angela has several blogs speeches, comedy and song writing and organizing, writing intermittently, but writes almost daily on these three:

travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com

dressofthedayangela.blogspot.com

translateforfun.blogspot.com

See next post on sculptor Tom Harvey.

Please share links to your favourite posts. 

The Don restaurant's Delicious Food and Delightful Drinks

Three dessert wines, matched with desserts, at The Don restaurant in the City of London, England. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Problem
What to drink and eat at The Don restaurant which has a new chef?

Answers
The menu of the day, two courses or three for a set price or a la carte? With a new chef and a new menu we chose different items from the a la carte menu.

Water
Water? Whilst waiting for an old friend (old in both senses, he is in his eighties), we asked for tap water. The jug came up immediately.

Waiters And Service Charges
I would have liked what I got when I lived in America years ago, (in the nineteen eighties) a jug of water with lemon already on the table. Also menus immediately. Wine and food menus. Why do I have to wait or negotiate? Menus should be either on the table or transported with us by a waiter.

In the good old days in America and England a waiter would pull out your chair, The folded napkin would be unfolded with a flourish. The waiter then drops the linen serviette into your lap.

The waiter would set the conversation rolling by asking, "Have you come far today?" That would allow you to speak neutrally about the traffic and transport, or reveal every detail of your home and work and holidays, family and friends.

Wine
With not just Great Britain's standard ten per cent service charge but twelve and a half per cent added for service (at The Don restaurant) I expect somebody to smile, given me lemon slices and menus, another big smile, and listen to my life story. Also tell me I've made a great choice of food. And explain the ingredients of the food and the label of the wine bottle. Plus guide me on my life's journey, telling me everything to see in this restaurant, the street, the city, his or her home town, and the world.

But I am the only woman in the room. I think at these menu prices all the business men in the room are more interested in important matters they are discussing. I suspect they are doing deals with each other, not as keen as I am to exchange banter with a well-trained waiter or two who glide silently and almost invisibly and discreetly out of earshot until we signal, that we want service, with a slow royal wave.

The men are discussing red wine, or white - depending on the food menu.

I make a lengthy search for a modestly priced Prosecco, which I cannot find. The menu has bottles of champagne at prices which would be rejected by a credit card, would require checking my bank balance and getting a divorce. Not uncommon nowadays on restaurant menus.

However, I locate three sweet wines under ten pounds on the dessert menu. But, of course, small sizes. I ask for the dessert menu and see that those wines are matched with the desserts so I shall wait. Back to the main menu.

Then I spot an English rose wine, a brand I have never heard of and never tried. Original. A new experience. The latest novelty, the latest development, news to us in England and most people worldwide, is English wine. English wine is also suitable because and I am sitting in an Olde English restaurant. The price is pleasingly modest.  Nearer five pounds then ten. Wonderful! And the result is perfect. Pleasantly pink. The taste? Not over dry. Just right.

FOOD
Bread
Two sorts of bread. Great. I choose the white with pieces of olive. The olive is perfect. It adds visual interest and flavour. The taste is not overpowering.

The butter is salty. (My companion, Mr anti-salt, objects.) I love salty butter. So flavoursome. Livens up the bread. Gets you salivating before you start eating. We have water as well as wine. No problem.

Oddly, the butter is melting in the dish, but the bread rolls are not hot. Why not?

Never mind. That's the mark of a good place. Whatever is not quite right you forgive them because everything else is so tip top perfect. The so-so is eclipsed by the stunning. If you had a balance, the see saw would tip down on the side of bad but the other side would rise up and hit the good bell.

Starters
My starter of salmon with contrasting orange with the green avoid was the most visually appealing.

However, I recommend the duck starter for top taste. Oh I must have more, must have that next time.

Main Courses
I liked my dish of chicken. Very tasty. Somebody else thought it was too salty. I thought it was just right.

However, I recommend the belly of pork with with scallop. Although I'm allergic to shellfish the sections seemed separate on the plate. So I risked trying part of this delicious dish. Um. Yum! Worth a special trip, or return visit to try it.


Dessert Drinks
The dessert drinks came up before the desserts. I thought that was odd. However, it turned out to suit me well. I found that the sweet drinks tasted sweet, deliciously sweet, before the desserts appeared. It was also good to see the three drinks together on the tray and appreciate the contrasting colours. The palest was the sauterne.

Dessert matched with Sauterne. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

My darker red was just right for me.

To my surprise, I should have anticipated, the sweet wines were not so sweet when tasted alongside the sweet desserts.

Desserts
I chose the chocolate and cherry dessert which had great flavour. The matching of the cherries and the bed wine was also a delight for the eye.

Chocolate and cherry dessert with matching wine. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

My fellow diners had two different desserts, both of which I tried. All good.

But if I had to choose or recommend one, it was the mango and passionfruit. Worth a special trip to try it.

Mango and passion fruit dessert, with matched wine. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Espresso coffee cup at The Don. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Finally, Free Sweet Tastes.
One person ordered espresso coffee which came up in a pretty cup.

Sweets at The Don. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

The free sweets at the end were matched to the number of diners, the people paying the final bill, not those who had ordered coffee. We received one square of 'marzipan' each. I thought it was more like fudge, sugary, smooth with hardly any taste of almond. Please add more almond next time. However, we universally agreed the 'marzipan' - did they make a mistake - it was fudge - was just right.

The teeny coconut cake, in a boat shape was also just right. Not overwhelming good but just right. I ate it first and finished with my 'fudge'.

We'd been emailed a prior notice about the new chef, Brixton born Frederick Forster, which we printed. He won the Roux scholarship for young chefs. So I recognised a familiar face when I saw him.

I asked, "Are you the chef?" He replied, "one of the chefs". From what I've read before, sometimes a big restaurant has an overall chef, a specialist in starters, and a specialist in desserts.

Special Summer Offer For 2017
Note to myself and you. Our fifty per cent offer was for the a la carte food, not the set meal nor the wine. The offer I received was for the summer menu and began July 4th and ends August 31st 2017. If you are hoping to get it, make sure you ask and tell them when booking.

Regular Wine Dinners and Tastings
Their next wine dinner is Tuesday July 11, 2017, today! Featuring Domaine Ott.

For reservations call 020 7626 2606.

Get on their mailing list for invitations to future events.

Verdict
Great restaurant for enjoying food, drink history and sitting with friends, for business, entertaining, events and special occasions.

Location
The restaurant is indoors on a day when it is raining, overcast, or too hot. But if you want to walk off the calories, see the outdoors, see more of London, after your meal go back down the lane, cross the road and you can see the river Thames at the end of the street with bridges such as Tower Bridge. (See next post.)

The Don restaurant
The Courtyard
20 St Swithins Lane
EC4N 8AD
Tel: 020 7626 606
www.thedonrestaurant.com
www.thesignofthedon.com

TOURIST INFORMATION
USEFUL WEBSITES
https://tfl.gov.uk
https://art.tfl.gov.uk/projects/permanent-commission-by-daniel-buren/
www.visitlondon.com
www.londonpass.com
www.visitbritain.org

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. If you need a write, speaker, or teacher of languages please contact me. If not, simply read on. I have more posts on The Don and London restaurants and restaurants and attractions worldwide, everywhere from London to Cambodia and Romania.
Please share links to your favourite posts.

Delicious Desserts in Singapore: Passion Fruit Flavour Macaroons

If you have a dinner party or buffet and don't want a hot dessert but something cold you can serve to match with wine, here are some suggestions for macaroons:

Macaroons

Vanilla
White. Good enough.

Rose
Pink. Flavour? Even better than vanilla.

Passion Fruit
Multi-coloured, pink one side and yellow the other, with a knockout fruit taste
Looks like jam (what the Americans call jelly - what the British call jelly the Americans know by the brand name Jello).

In London at the BBC Good Food fair in London, I went to a cookery class where we learned how to make macaroons. If I remember rightly, they suggested every variety you might fancy, from coconut to blueberry to fresh fruit such as raspberries to tinned fruit such as plums or prunes to chocolate.

Waitrose supermarket in London has Waitrose Weekend magazine which published a recipe for pistachio and lemon macaroons. (See waitress.com 25 Feb 2016).

Where can you buy them in Singapore?

Bonheur Patisserie, Grandstand, Bukit Timah Road, Singapore. (The old race course before they built the new one at Woodlands.)

bonheurpatisserie.com.sg
You could serve your macaroons with a very sweet dessert wine such as a Beerenauslese, meaning very late picked berries. For another delicious cold dessert, see next post.

ANGELA LANSBURY, travel writer and photographer, specialising in food and wine, museums and culture and hotels, everything you need dawn to dusk on your holiday or business trip or expat stay.