Teta's Lebanese Restaurant In Belsize Park - Highlights and Low toilet

Teta's restaurant in Belsize Village, Belsize Park, London, UK. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Teta's restaurant is in a quiet location, an easy, uphill walk away from the bustle and traffic around Finchley Road station. We had booked a table for ten, a family reunion, on the recommendation of a relative who is a regular diner there. 

The owner or manager immediately met us, quick to pull out the tables to give us access to the banquette at the back. We had a selection of dishes all tasty, with lots of vegetables, which is important to us as we are health conscious.

Our starters included hummus. I wanted to try the potato starter and the moussaka. But our food was chosen for the whole table by one of the group.

The toilet is down a steep flight of stairs. There is only one toilet. On the plus side, the soap dispenser and moisturiser were a good brand. You won't run out of toilet paper because they have spare rolls on the shelves.

We had kebabs of lamb and chicken. The pieces of meat were large. I am glad I ordered the chicken because the lamb was tough, so tough that I did not eat it.

Drinks

I was pleased to have Prosecco. The lemonade in a bottle, ordered for children aged 7 and 9, did not impress me. I would have liked to try the Turkish coffee.

Best of all? The desserts we bought to take home. We took two of each of the three types. I was not so fond of the little dome shaped pastry, rather hard, with a nutty centre. The moist syrupy cube was my favourite.

Leftovers

We had enough leftovers for two meals. They gave us takeaway boxes, and, when I asked, a paper carrier bag.

Useful Websites

https://tetaslebanese.co.uk/

tel: 0203 903 7010

Sunday to Saturday 12 noon to 10 pm.

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Deepavali Celebrated In Singapore at Braddell Heights with lights and Haldiram brand Ladoo sweets

Deepavali banners include this one outside Braddell Heights Community Club.

Upstairs, at the Braddell Heights II Toastmasters Speakers' Club, a meeting was held which started with the President's talk about Diwali.

At the breaktime, three candles were lit in containers shaped like a traditional lamp. 

Sweets

The food included sweet balls made of chickpeas.The box said, 

Haldiram's

Motichoor

Ladoo

'made from saffron infused chickpea flour'.

Haldiram's has businesses in Delhi and Calcutta including restaurants. They produce more than 100 products including drinks, sweets and savouries and post goods worldwide.

I asked an Indian Singaporean where I could by Ladoo. He told me, "Any Indian sweet shop. Go to Little India and you will find loads of sweet shops selling ladoo."

Useful Websites

www.haldirams.com

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haldiram

http://www.haldiram.com/restaurant-locator

SINGAPORE

visitsingapore.com

singaporeair.com

INDIA

www.incredibleindia-tourism.org/India‎

https://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/Restaurant_Review-g304551-d7282437-Reviews-Haldiram_s_Connaught_Place-New_Delhi_National_Capital_Territory_of_Delhi.html

Author, Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Eat Out At National University Hospital

Problem
After a day in A and E, I went back to the ENT department for some checkups, as well as an X-ray. You are in the hospital during lunch hour. Where do you eat?

Hospital Location
National University Hospital is very convenient. It is right next to Kent Ridge MRT station.
The skyscraper building has a food court where the staff and the patients can eat, just like any other shopping mall.

Food Break
Your choice of food is varied. When I was there stalls were offering all kinds of chicken and meat and egg dishes, seafood, Chinese and Asian food, Japanese food, Indian and Malay food, Halal food, vegetarian food, a fruit and fruit juice stall, plus tea and coffee.

Choice Of Food
As usual, my husband and I differed completely on our views of the food. He had shellfish. I'm allergic to it. I had a durian dessert. He won't go near anything durian. (I kept the contents secret until I had finished.

My first thought was to go for my favourite, chicken rice, but I eat that a lot at home, so I opted for a novelty. I wanted masala dosai. However the dosai was unavailable.  Instead I had another Indian bread pancake, with two side dishes, one of which was chickpeas.

I could not try my husband's shellfish.

However, he was happy to try the Indian bread and chickpeas. he said it was good. I thought the bread was dry and so-so.

Durian Dessert
The durian was in generous amounts, but bland. It may not be the right time of year, because the McDonalds McFlurry durian promotion has just ended (October). I must say the McDonald durian was better.

This is all I got in A and E. A bread and jam sandwich and water.

What was good about the place?

Seats and Tables
Seats with backs. Very big and busy yet still no trouble getting a table.

Menus And Healthy Options
The menus showing dishes were marked with coloured ticks showing the healthiest and least healthy options.

Toilets
What was best of all? The toilets have built-in bidets. Turn a knob on the side, and you get a wash. That is much better than the old fashioned hose which sends water all over the floor and seat.

All in all, very good because it kept my escort happy.

Useful Addresses and Websites
National University Hospital
5 Lower Kent Ridge Road
Singapore 1199074
tel:(65) 5555

Hospital website
www.nuh.com.sg

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Woodlands for Wonderful Indian Food In Singapore

Problem
Where can we eat an Indian meal with Indian friends in Singapore. We had planned to go to India Spice but discovered after phoning at the last minute that it was closed.

Where next?

Answer
We opted for an old favourite, Woodlands. Where? A short walk from Little India MRT station. A short walk along Buffalo Road and down a typical old Singapore shaded 'five foot way', famously planned to shelter shoppers and pedestrians from sun and rain by Sir Stamford Raffles.

Thalis
We saw a Thali at another table and decided for maximum variety and speed to order a Thali. We had a choice of several.

A thali is a platter or tray with several small dishes. In typical Singapore style your food is placed on a green banana leaf, with the rice in the middle. The side dishes at this restaurant are all in small metal bowls.

My Thali
I ordered a simple Thali. Others opted for the 'VIP' Thali (their name for it on the menu). My Thali came with a generous portion of rice.

VIP Thali

The VIP Thali had a small rice and bread. I would have preferred the VIP Thali with the bread. The VIP Thali included chickpeas.

If I'd started by sipping every dish I would have discovered not only that the rice dish was a slightly sweetened dessert, but also that a thin soup could be a starter or tipped over the rice to moisten it.

Drinks
Choices include lime juice or a very satisfying mango lassi, both served in tall metal cups. I would have said metal glasses, to convey the shape, but 'metal glasses' sounds like an oxymoron (meaning a contradiction).

Decor
The tables are plastic-topped. It's not a grand venue, but prices reflect this, about S$10. But if you want a tasty lunch, this is the place. The walls have Indian decoration, which adds an authentic feel.

MRT
It's easy to remember the nearest MRT station - Little India.

Watch out for the MRT exits. We surfaced at exit E which had an upwards escalator. When we returned I saw there was no downwards escalator. At least three flights of stairs. We walked back to another exit in order to use the escalator.

Madras New Woodlands Restaurant
12/14, Upper Dickson Road
Singapore 207474
Tel: 6297 1594.
Opening hours: 7.30 am to 10.30 pm, seven days a week.
Other branches in Malaysia, India and Australia.

Limonia - a great Greek restaurant in the Primrose Hill area near Chalk Farm Station

Problem
We wanted a reasonably priced restaurant near Chalk Farm station for a family gathering (two in the centre of London, two travelling into London from the suburbs.

Answer
We found two restaurants in the area, an Italian, a bit dearer, and this one. Our relatives opted for this one. A great choice.

Story
We printed off the map, left our car at Edgware Station car park (as described in a previous post) and travelled to Chalk Farm station on the Northern Line.

Up the hill and there it is on the corner, an a grand old building, all white and green. The name livonia means lemon and their symbol on the business card is a lemon tree. The husband and wife on the counter facing you as you walk in are the Cypriot Greek owners.

I looked around at the plants separating the main front room from a raised side area and a back room with ceiling windows. I asked the waiter, 'Where's the lemon tree?"

He grinned, "In Greece!"

Our waiter was Albanian. So we had a jolly chat about how British comedian Norman Wisdom had been popular in Albania.

The slate board on the wall had the daily specials. We opted for the cheapest of three set meals, only £11.90 for a there course menu. You could have dessert or coffee. We opted for the dessert and ordered Greek coffee as an extra.

My starter was a chickpeas in tomato sauce - or chickpeas in soup, hard to tell which. Very good. Full of flavour and filling - which applied to all three courses. My main course was chicken and okra (also commonly known as ladies fingers). We did sharing plates (sometimes called Jewish ping pong). So I got to taste the casserole with aubergines, stuffed peppers with a centre filled with rice. Very nice. No potatoes. You can't have everything.

Desserts were only a choice of two, rice pudding or yogurt with honey, so we had one of each. As usual the dollop of Greek yogurt, which stood up by itself yet was 'liquid' not set, proved very more-ish. Both desserts had a raspberry in the centre to provide decorative colour and extra flavour and to add to the feeling that we were eating healthy fruit and vegetables.

I had had a glass of prosecco as my wine. (The others chose to share retsina, which was milder than the rough retsina I remembered drinking years ago at the La Plaka wine district uphill in Athen,s Greece.)

I could have had a dessert wine of sweet red or white. Unfortunately no room. Next time.

Tips
Have the chickpea starter.
Choose the front room if you like a street view, the back room for more privacy.

Afterwards
Look around the shops and restaurants and look for the three blue plaques. (See my previous post on Primrose Hill.)

Address:
Lemonia Restaurant
89 Regents Park Road, London NW1 8UY,
tel:020 7586 7454.
info@ameraproperties.com
Open for lunch and dinner.
(photos to be added shortly)
Nearby station: Chalk Farm on the Northern line.

Photos of Limonia Restaurant by Angela Lansbury.
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
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