Indian and Chinese meals
In the UK and worldwide look for Chinese and Indian restaurants which often have set meals including coffee or tea. Before ordering or booking a buffet at an Indian restaurant or hotel buffet, check whether dessert and coffee are included. Look in free newspapers and magazines.
In NW London Optima is delivered to suburban homes. Optima runs a one page restaurant review and usually a page with four or advertisements often offering season deals.
Christmas
Christmas set menus are popular - often at higher prices than previous months. If you are on a budget look for deals in the carveries and budget pub chains.
Free Champagne For New Year
Premium prices are for Christmas Day and Christmas eve. New Year's Eve meal deals often include once glass of Champagne.
Central London and suburban restaurants are so popular and often fully booked. In fact many often have two sittings, especially for New Year's Even. You may get a glass of champagne on arrival for the first sitting, or if you arrive early in the evening. They hope you'll order a second glass or a bottle to go with your meal. Then maybe more champagne after midnight.
After Midnight
The railway station had such a crush one year at midnight near Traveller Square, with the street outside packed with people wall to wall. Everybody was in concertina queues (Americans would say line-ups) behind ropes like a queue at Disney World. It was time wasting and claustrophobic. We went back to the restaurant and our leftover food and wine had been thrown away so we had to order more.
The second sitting often gets free glass of champagne at midnight. However, again the restaurant hopes you will order more wine during the meal.
January
Bargains start in January to fill up restaurants after everybody has spent on Christmas and is dieting, staying in, or on a budget. Some people stay home on Christmas and New Year and then eat out in the first week of January. Restaurants are getting wise to this ploy. Some are starting their bargain meals not on January 1st but a week later.
Buffet Deals
In Singapore you can find many offers of Sunday lunch buffets including either a glass of Champagne or sparkling wine, sometimes free flow sparkling wine. Look in the newspapers.
Lunch Time Bargains
In the UK many restaurants off a lunch time or evening deal of a one course, two courses, or three courses, at an apparently low offer on a chalk board outside the restaurant on the pavement. (Americans call the pavement the sidewalk). When you add on the price of a drink with the meal, dessert and tea or coffee, plus a service charge of ten per cent or twelve and a half per cent, the price of your meal doubles.
French Set Meals
In France it is a legal requirement to offer a set meal which includes everything, usually including one glass of wine or tea or coffee. This is usually a daily special.
Any problems with the set meal? We found this limited choice of set meals might not suit everybody,or both of you. You might find you have to go a la carte for one person which brings up the total cost on your joint bill. For example, if you are in a group and one of the courses is shellfish, or brains.
However, it's a great idea to protect the consumer and I wish the EU would make it standard and the Uk government would follow suit.
UK Newspapers and magazines
You can pick up copies of Metro and Evening Standard at the entrances to stations in London, England. Another free newspaper is City am.
Singapore Newspapers and magazines
In Singapore, Today newspaper is delivered to homes and in boxes in the central stations such as Orchard MRT. It's easier to find ads for meal deals in the paper version than on line.
Finally, if you are stuck at home, can't get a babysitter, Gousto can deliver a recipe and the ingredients.
https://www.gousto.co.uk
http://www.optimamagazine.co.uk
https://www.tobycarvery.co.uk/restaurants/east-of-england/aldenhamwatford/offers/christmas
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
No comments:
Post a Comment