Nandos - perfect for chicken and children

Four of us, three adults and a five year old child, went to Nandos for lunch. Nandos is a family favourite restaurant and a known quality. 

Chicken, corn and mashed potato and butter at Nandos, Stanmore. Photo by Angela Lansbury. copyright.

Parking in Stanmore

In Stanmore you can park outside if you are lucky. Other car parks are around the back, a public car park. 

Behind Sainsbury's we thought had public parking. It seemed to be mostly for customers. The criss- crossed markings on the spaces were reserved for local businesses, but only for Monday to Friday. 

Many Tables

Inside is a huge place with loads of tables. We had no need to book on a Saturday late lunch time July 25th 2026. We chose one of half a dozen alcoves with benches which suited mother and child, and granny with a big bag containing a pop-up reading book.

Children's Menu And Colouring

As soon as we arrived, we were given the family menus and children's menu. Also a jar of crayons and pages for children to colour. 

Pre-paying

The most active of our group went to order for us all from the counter. Pay in advance, like at the smaller fast food places with smaller menus. The advantage of pre-paying for the customer is that you can leave instantly when your car park reminder goes off on your phone. The driver can run off to collect the car, and then pull up outside to load up your passengers who don't need to walk back to the car park.

Albanian easy to remember 55 words, 40 revised - how many words can you recognize!

 

After returning from Albania, I've looked back at the words to remember. to my list of 40 words which I found before I went to Albania, I have added a few more.  The easiest word was 

1 TUALET for toilet. You walk to the back and to the left or right of the bar you see this word. Again and again.

Here is my original list, with a few extra memory aids.

Arriving by plane or car, in Tirana, the capital, at Mother Teresa airport, you see the name of the airport, and the name mother Teresa on the statue on the roundabout 

2 Nënë Tereza - mother Teresa

The second e with the double dot is prounced the same as the two later letters er in the word mother.

You might make your first stop the museum cafe, Komiteti Kafe Muzeum. Not a cafe turned into a museum, but a collector who opened a cafe to attract people to see his collection. Items from all eras include embroidered felt dresses. 

However, the good news from a linguistic point of view is that the word 

3 Komiteti means committee. 

4 Kafe is coffee and 

5 muzeum is museum. 

They say you can see Tirana in a day. Which means a two night stay. (I couldn't.) After that, it's off to the wineries.

 Albania has lots of wineries, all over the country. 

Useful words for maps and street signs

The double dot is like the German unlaut

I copied it once, then used paste to put it in all the words where I needed it in the dictionary or glossary list

Albanian - English

6 rruga - street (like the French word rue)

Similar words, 

7 hotel, 

8 menu, 

9 tualet (toilet) 

10 restaurat (restaurant) 

Kafe is coffee

11 coffee bar is coffee bar

12 kafene is cafe, like caffeine

13 snack bar - snack bar

14 delicious food - delicatessen (meaning delicious food literally provisions of delicious)

15 food is food, food is food

English - Albanian

1-10

16 alcohol - alcohol

17 bay - gjiri (pronounced jeery - forget the first letter, memory aid - a bay like the letter Jay) 

18 beach - the beach 

20 bill - fature (my memory aid, I'd rather pay this bill in the future, after the meal and coffee)

21 breakfast - mëngjes (like manger, French for eat)

22 bridge - gji (masculine)

23 castle - what is it?ë (looks like castle, or the Italian castello, e with the double dot is er; kala (feminine)  Kalaja 

24 cheap - i lirë (memory aid just one lira!)

25 closed - closed

26 dinner - darkë (dinner time, after dark)

11-20

drink - drinks

entrance - hyrje /exit - dalje (here we are, entrance, don't dally, leave)

expensive - shtrenjtë (shocked at the price! - but you can bargain in Albania, Turkish bazaar influence, so asking price in a family business can be high to allow for you to bid lower, and you might be given a souvenir such as a magnet which means either you paid too much, or thank you for your custom, come back) 

no entry -ndalohet hyrje (no don't let anyone in here, you)

hill - kodër (up and over this hill)

hotel - hotel

house - ispi (step up to this house)

left - majtas  - right - djathtas  (starts with a d, like right in French is droit)

straight (ahead)/to drejt (starts with the letter d, later letters re, and ends with t, like the English word direct, or the romance languages, toute droit)

lunch  - drekë (Dinner, that is lunch, but not late night dinner which is  darkë (dinner time, after dark)

main street/high street - main street. ruga e lart ë (rruga like the French word for street, rue, krysore, is this street an eysore, we saw in in the street, larte pronounced later like larger street)

21-30

menu - menu

mountain - mali (both words start with m and have the vowels a then i, but in Albanian you add the l like hill)

museum - museum

new - i ri  

north - the north

old - l years oldr (like the French for old, vielle)

open - hapur (Happy to be open)

park - park

parking (lot, or car park) - parking

please - ju lutem (you let him - please!)

31-40

restaurant - restorant

right

road/path - rrugë (as in the French for street, rue)

sea/salt water - deti (dirty water, with salt or sewage)

south - jug (yes, let's jog south from the UK to Spain or the USA to S America or from Albania to Greece, letter U in south and jug )

square - katrore (like quarter, four sides)

street / path  (or spell it ruga )

thank you - faleminderit 

toilet - tualet

breakfast/lunch/tea/dinner - morning meal, drink and dine at lunch, cha tea time, dark so dinner)

yes - po (yes, it's possible)

no - jo (yo, yo,yo, no, no, no!)

Address

Fatmir Haxhiu Street, Tirana, Albania

Useful Websites

Museum Cafe In Tirana

https://thebalkanista.com/2018/02/28/komiteti-kafe-museum-one-favourite-spots-tirana/

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g294446-d7912633-Reviews-Komiteti_Kafe_Muzeum-Tirana_Tirana_County.html

Find the e to copy into Albanian words in the right size here in Wikipedia from German or from the word reëntry under the side heading English"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%8B

Please share links to your favourite post

Muslim Fasting - From My New Friend

I said to a new friend in Singapore, as we talked during a lunc time break at a contest, "Don't let me keep you. I have a packed lunch. Do you want to go and get your lunch?"

"No, thank you," she said. "I'm fasting, so I'm happy to stay here talking to you. But you eat your packed lunch, if you want to."

I should have remembered. She was wearing a bright colourful, red, head covering.

I asked, "Does it bother you, seeing others eat when you are fasting?"

"Not at all," she said. "I have my timetable. They have theirs. I know other poeple, especially in other countries, are bothered, but I am not."

"You mean Malaysia?"

"Yes, some parts of Malaysia are very strict, about what they let you do in public, and private."

"What if you can't fast? Who is exempted?"

"Women are exempted when they are menstruating. You make up the missed days later."

"What if you can't do that? If you have a long-term illness?"

"Then you give money to the poor and hungry instead."

"Thank you so much for explaining that to me."

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

New Underwater restaurant in Norway and Underwater Views Everywhere

Under is the name of the new underwater restaurant in NORWAY.  In Norwegian under means under and wonder.  It's Norway so in Europe it is relatively nearby. Depending where you are in Europe.
the largest in the world.

Underwater sightseeing is not new.

VIEWING UNDERWATER
AQUARIUMS


Underwater Aquarium - Australia
I took a bus from Sydney to Manly to enjoy the beach, but round myself by the aquarium. I walked through the underwater tunnel seeing fish and other sea creatures nad wafting plants overhead, beside me and all around in Manly Bay, Sydney, Australia. I was impressed by the size of the great white shark swimming towards me. I just hoped it would not bang on the glass and break it, showing me with water. I have a vivid imagination.



UK
A popular day out from London is to the seaside south at Brighton. The main attraction is the exotic The Royal Pavilion. However, for families the Aquarium is another attraction.
Another underwater tunnel is in the UK in Bristol Aquarium.

BY BOAT
Boats
You can see underwater in glass bottomed boats. In the USA they are in California , Texas and Miami.



Underwater Views - Israel
Go down to a viewing platform underwater in Israel - yes it's real.

EAT AND SLEEP WATCHING FISH OR SWIMMERS
Lunch beside a glass panel - USA
Sit having lunch in an underwater restaurant in Disney, Florida.

Description	English: Inside Ithaa restaurant
Date	1 July 2007 (original upload date)
Source	Taken by Alexey Potov - Noblige
Author	Alexey Potov - Noblige

Underwater Hotel On An Island - the Maldives
Sleep in an underwater restaurant on an island beginning with M, the Maldives. Watch others creatures dive whilst you dive into your food on the Maldives

Underwater Hotel Planned - Dubai
Another, first underwater hotel, Hydropolis, has been planned for Dubai, (See Wikipedia.)

Just in case you get muddled up, as I do, between the Maldives, Mozambique which just (sun 28 April 2019) got in the news because of bad weather, and Madagasgar, here is a quick guide to what is where.
MALDIVES - underwater restaurants
The place with the underwater restaurants is the Maldives, in the Indian Ocean, south of India.
MOZAMBIQUE - E Africa
Mozambique, hit by bad weather, is on the East coast of Africa, down south, far south of the Maldives.
MADAGASCAR
A big island of the coast, offshore from Mozambique, again, far south of the Maldives.

The Maldives, food features fish, see Wikivoyage. Great if you like eating fish and coconuts. Yummy. Ideal destination if you are Muslim or against alcohol and eating pork. To be sure of complying with local laws and being up to date on safety, check out the descriptions of what you can and cannot do in Wikitravel and Wikivoyage and your country's foreign office travel advice.

WATCHING HUMANS SWIMMING

JAPAN'S FAKE POOL
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-3393808/Don-t-worry-not-drowning-fake-swimming-pool-creates-illusion-visitors-submersed-nine-feet-water.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_Pool,_Houston

See also infinity pools.

Useful Websites
NORWAY Under Underwater Restaurant
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_(restaurant)
www.under.no
In websites the ending no stands for Norway.
https://www.visitnorway.com/

AUSTRALIA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manly_Sea_Life_Sanctuary
australia.com

UK
https://www.bristolaquarium.co.uk/displays/amazing-underwater-tunnel/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Aquaria_in_England
http://www.brightontourist.com/Brighton_Sea_Life.html
visitbritain.com

USA
https://www.aquariumrestaurants.com/aquariumNashville/dining
visittheusea.co.uk

MALDIVES
https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Maldives
https://wikitravel.org/en/Maldives

DUBAI
Al Mahera underwater restaurant, Burj Al Arab hotel complex, Dubai, UAE.

Dubai's Projected Hydropolis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydropolis

Reviews and Roundups
mentalfloss.com/article92880/9/-amazing-underwater

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer author and speaker. Please save, bookmark, and send links to favourite posts to your favourite friends, family and colleagues.

Valentine's Day Surprises

Feb 14 every year means a flurry of fun ideas and festive offerings. I love Champagne or Prosecco or any bubbly drink any time, but why not on Valentine's Day, lunch, tea, or evening dinner. If you plan a weekend away at a hotel, being overnight ready for Valentine's day, you might find you have Champagne for breakfast. Many hotels serve bubbly for breakfast. 

They often keep quiet about it. You could be onto your third day in a hotel before you discover it by accident.

A glass of bubbly. Photo by and of Angela Lansbury.

I went to visit a family in London who had guests who were kosher. I did not know what to take but decided it was safer to take flowers rather than food or drink. I was right. The guests brought home made cakes and fruit as a gift. The hostess out of consideration for hosts had a bottle of kosher Prosecco.

If you are planing  surprise weekend away, tell your beloved to block the dates for a surprise activity, otherwise they might think you have forgotten valentine's Day and plan something else.

The usual ideas are: chocolates in heart shape boxes, red roses.


Anything pink or red is good - such as underwear from Rigby and Peller (make sure you know the favourite size and style and check if goods can be exchanged, wine, dinner out.

Others are an Indian restaurant for Valentine's Day.

The Eiffel Tower, Paris.

Travel To Paris
Paris is a favourite romantic destination.

Or a weekend away, dinner on a moving vehicle or attraction such as a Gondola or a Big Wheel such as the London Eye or Singapore Flyer.

Halong Bat, Vietnam. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Vietnam
How about a cruise ship to Halong Bay in Vietnam. Our cruise ship put out the red carpet for a honeymoon couple and scattered pink rose petals on the stairs, petals falling from above like a rain of rose petals.

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

The River Walk Indian Restaurant On The Singapore River

Problem
Where can we eat an Indian meal, for a set price (no surprises from the management or a fellow guest who eats double).

Answer
An Indian buffet lunch. We chose the River Walk Tandoor restaurant. A tandoor is an oven, traditionally clay. tandoori, means tandoori style food. Restaurants in the UK are frequently called  (X... X... ) tandoori restaurant.  Here in Singapore in theory you have a choice of outdoor and indoor seating.

We went for a Sunday lunch and were told to eat outside. In theory you can't make a reservation for an individual or small group. There's no reservation number. However, a large party had booked the whole of the inside so they could be together - or maybe the restaurant kept them together for ease of  counting the number of them dining and ease of payment.

Luckily we took our main course just before they arrived.

What was good, bad, or indifferent?

Good
You can wash your hands in a basin below a mirror near the eating area without going out to the toilets.
Service was smiling and obliging.
Fruit for our health conscious family member and a diabetic family friend.

Bad / Indifferent / mixed
Toilets
The toilet seems to be part of the restaurant at the end of a corridor - then I wondered whether it was communal to the building's occupants. It has, as the popular saying goes, 'seen better days'. Beautiful blue tiles. If you concentrate on the tiles, you will be happy. If you frown at the state of peeling and dirty paint on the back of the cubicle door you will be less happy.

Best of All
A little aquarium by the door to the outside seating.
Gulub jamun - my family's favourite
Proper chairs - no problem with chairs being high backless bar stools nor backless low stools. (I have sat in gourmet restaurants in London paying high prices to perch on a high stool several miles away from my handbag which was on the dirty floor, bag kicked by passers-by, with hankies and business cards out of reach.)

A board

Bob's book of recipes

Bob wo wrote the book is on the left, Angela Lansbury on the right. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

I was rushing along the crowded corridor of ProWine Asia in Singapore when somebody stepped in front of me and asked, "Do you want a free signed recipe book?" Three magic words, no four magic words, free, signed, recipe and book. I stopped.

So here I am with Bob, who has a tradtional peaked cap, a beards, a nice white tee-shirt, a red sleeveless jacket in red, matching the title Red Mill, and a book for me.

Bob's Red Mill lunches.

The brand features oatmeal. The brand also includes gluten free, quinoa and many more products.

https://www.facebook.com/bobsredmillSG/

https://sg.iherb.com/c/bob-s-red-mill

Author

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and phtographer, author and speaker.

Handy Portuguese Words For Restaurants When Ordering

Problem
How to order?

ORDERING
Do you have a menu?
We’d like some drinks.
We’d like some food.
I am ready to order.
Is it fresh? It is fresh fruit?

Do you have fresh fruit?
Do you have freshly squeezed juice?
I am allergic to shellfish.
Do you have sugar-free - somebody is diabetic
Can you ask, please?

No, thank you.
May we pay?
How much is the bill?
Do you have an address card?
The food was terrific.

Yes, please.
I’ll have this.
for my wife, husband, //friend, guest,// the lady, the gentleman - the child, the boss
Do you take credit cards?
Is service included?

Keep the change.
Are you open for lunch /dinner?

ENCOMENDA
Você tem um menu?
Nós gostaríamos de algumas bebidas.
Gostaríamos de algum alimento.
Estou pronto para encomendar.
Está fresco? É fruta fresca?

Você tem frutas frescas?
Você tem suco recém-espremido?
Eu sou alérgico ao marisco.
Você não tem açúcar - alguém é diabético
Você pode perguntar, por favor?

Não, obrigado.
Podemos pagar?
Quanto é a conta?
Você tem um cartão de endereço?
A comida foi fantástica.

Sim, por favor. (Sim, like si, means yes.)
Vou querer isto.
para minha esposa, marido, // amigo, convidado, // a senhora, o cavalheiro - a criança, o chefe
Vocês aceitam cartões de crédito?
O serviço está incluído?

Fique com o troco.
Você está aberto para almoço / jantar?

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

Mother's Day March 10-11th; order cards or book meals and holidays

Mother's Day Squircle cake from Mrs Fields, photo in Flickr by Gareth Simpson from Wikipedia

Problem
What shall we do for mother's day? When is it?

Answer
In the UK, Mother's day this year, 2018 is the weekend of March 10th-11th.

However, Mothering Sunday in the USA is the second Sunday in May. By travelling to another country you can celebrate twice!

(Or anybody without a mother could avoid it altogether.)

If you forget mother's day in the UK, or you and mother are in different countries, you could take a trip to the USA and celebrate Mothering Sunday there in May.

If you wish to celebrate, consider:

Cards - from supermarkets or online incorporating your family photo
Flowers
A pot plant
A cake - for personalised cakes check how long in advance you must order
Breakfast
Lunch
Tea
Dinner
Day out - eg spa break
Weekend away

An email.

Look at your local restaurants to see their offers.

Useful Websites:
https://www.facebook.com/bonnemamanuk/ Competition (and breakfast idea)
https://www.facebook.com/vintageinns Mothers Day meals at venues
https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/uk/mothering-sunday
https://www.cardfactory.co.uk/cards/mothers-day-cards
https://www.notonthehighstreet.com
https://www.virginexperiencedays.co.uk/mothers-day-gifts
https://www.mrsfields.com/gifts/Round-Personalized-Cookie-Cake
https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/shop/browse/entertaining/cakes_and_biscuits/personalised_cakes?
https://www.spabreaks.com/categories/mothers-day

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.

How to eat at a club in Singapore

The Tanglin Club, Singapore.

How To Eat At A Club In Singapore
If you belong to a club, such as a country club, or an international club with links to a club, find out if you can have a meal. You will need a letter of introduction from your own club. Just email your club and they will email back atn introduction.

Tanglin Club
For example, the Tanglin Club in Singapore has links with several London clubs and others throughout the world. If you work for a big company, sometimes they give you membership of a club as part of your transfer package, or the company might arrange for group membership, or your colleague or boss in another country might have membership of a club specifically for entertaining. The Tanglin Club used to be very British, but it is increasing its local Chinese membership.

American Club
Across the road from the Tanglin club is the American Club. Large numbers of American expats in Singapore belong to this and will be happy to take you in. Other clubs for expats are the Canadian Club, the British Club, the Japanese Club, the French Club, the Dutch Club.

London Clubs
As members of the Tanglin Club, we were able to visit several clubs in London. The RAF club. A Commonwealth club.

A friend of mine belongs to a Foreign Correspondents club in Hong Kong. She can visit clubs in other countries.

You might belong to other kinds of clubs which don't have premises but which meet in hotels. For example. Toastmasters International. MeetUp will enable you to join a group or start one.

There are various ways of recprocating if a local person invites you to a meal at their club or a restaurant. You can invite them to a meal at a restaurant at your hotel or antoher restaurant. You can take a wrapped gift, as you would if going to a dinner party for a special occasion at somebody's home. At a club you cannot split the bill because the person who is a member is sent a bill at the end of the month and no money changes hands at the club. The members signs. If they are poor, or you cannot reciprocate any other way or you hardly know them, you might just offer to pay your half of the bill in cash (surreptitiously).

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

Portuguese Daily Words to learn for trips to Portugal, Madeira and Brazil

Problem
How do I remember Portuguese words?

Answer
Look for links. Look for linking letters. Keep repeating them.

Portuguese - English
almoço - lunch (both words contain the letters l and c)
bolo - cake (made in a mixing bowl - oh! delicious)
cenoura - carrot (both words start with c and contain the letters a r and o)
cerveza - beer (both words contain letter e twice, letter r and b for beer is followed by c for cerveza)
garrafa - bottle - (like carafe)
lata - tin (both words contain the letter t)
manteiga - butter (both words contain the letters te)
pão - bread (turn the letter p upside down and you will see the letter b, then two vowels)
pimenta - pepper (both words start with p, include an e, and end with an er sound)
queijo - cheese (how do I remember if it's ei or ie in the middle. Think of que - ijo)

English - Portuguese
beer - cerveza
bottle - garrafa
bread - pão
butter - manteiga
cake - bolo
carrot - cenoura
cheese - queijo
lunch - almoço
pepper - pimenta
tin - lata

Where can I use my Portuguese? In Portugal, Madeira and Brazil

Handy Websites

visitportugal.com

visitbrasil.com

http://www.visitmadeira.pt/en-gb/homepage

duolingo.com

earwormslearning.com

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, teacher of English and other languages.

Remembering Indonesian greetings for times of the day

Problem
They all look similar. Nothing like English words.
How do you remember it's s e l a m a t and not s a l a a m which is the Arabic for peace / greeting.

Answer
Here they are in order
Selamat page - good morning
Selamat s i a n g between 11 and 3 pm (like a long French lunch hour)
Selamat sore - good afternoon - until sunset
Selamat madam - good evening /night?

Story
I have made up my own memory aids.
Selamat s a l a a m AT Malaysia and Indonesia.

PAgi - start of the dAy. P A y if you go to work.

SIANG - swings from morning to afternoon.

SoRE - sore we close at sunset.

M A L A M - until midnight.

After finishing the greetings taster "first lesson free', I was invited to sign up at this cost:
One month for US$12.95, charges every month.
Their best seller, they say, is the 3 months commitment, US$8.95 charges US$26.85 charged every 3 months; 6 months for $US 7.45, charges US$44.70 every 6 months; and the 'best price' US$6.95 a month, charged at US$83.40 renewing every 12 months.
If you need this for work, can get an employer to pay, are self-employed and can offset this against tax, are staying at home by choice, or stuck at home and want amusement, are thinking of moving overseas, have a boy/girl relationship and need a language, then it may be worth your while.
If you are short of cash, or can't commit, try DuoLingo.
You might even try both.

Angela Lansbury, teacher of English and languages. Author. Speaker.
Please like and share my posts.
Also on Facebook, TinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram.Books on Amazon and Lulu.

Top Restaurants in Singapore - Try the Tippling Club

The Tippling  Club in Tiong Bahru was listed as one of the top 50 restaurants in Asia and one of the top ten in Singapore, a friend told us when we needed a place for a business meeting. Afterwards we went back for a lunch with family and friends. The price was 46 Singaporean dollars for two courses, 60 for three, plus 21 Singapore dollars or more for a long or short cocktail, and extra for coffee. But that included three appetisers and there teeny sweetmeats per person with the coffee.

It would be hard to describe the food because nothing was recognisable from any other menu I've had elsewhere. I am allergic to shellfish to my first free appetiser was swiftly changed to what looked like a prawn cracker, but it was not shellfish although it was salty.

Then on a different shaped plate is what looks like blackened pepper, but succulent with a thick sauce like a cross between tomato sauce and soy sauce. Delicious.

Along came a tiny flat shaped glass with what appeared to be a thimble ful of tomato juice. The serving person added what seemed to be oil and the result was a very tasty yet refreshing little drink.

My starter course was a kind of fish soup. It looked like a potato soup with lots of cubes of colour and flavours.

The main course was equally odd shaped, odd coloured and a mix of ingredients.

The sweetmeats were behind cute. Cutissimo.

My coffee was served on a metal saucer which I liked so much I asked for the supplier. The brown sugar oblong was placed over the white sugar oblong, so simple yet so visually effective. Lovely presentation.

Service was solicitous. When I stood up a lady stepped forward to escort me all the way to the door of the toilets. The two toilet cubicle doors reached the floor fro maximum privacy. The washbasin was in what looked like a tall vase. At the bottom of the base was inserted a conventional rise and fall plug.

Bar stools with a view of the kitchen were supplied with solid looking backs.

They seem to be open Monday to Friday for lunch, Saturday evening for a la carte dinner only, closed on Sunday. If you are looking a good value midweek lunch, this is the place.

The street is full of restaurants and bars. Duxton Hill for years has been famous for some of the few remaining historic shophouses,  two or three storey buildings, with shops and ground level, connected by a covered 'five foot way' named after the width, installed by Raffles when he founded the city's layout and architecture (in the days before air conditioned shopping malls). Not just a delightful restaurant, but a detour into old Singapore.

Tippling Club
38 Tanjong Pagar Road
Singapore 088461
teL +65 6475 2217
enquiries@tipplingclub.com
www.tipplingclub.com


Glossary
Bahru is Malay for new as in Johor Bahru in Malaysia.
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Spanish for breakfast, lunch and dinner, dressed in silk

In Spain we were desperate for breakfast. But couldn't find the word for breakfast. The word was desayuno.

breakfast - desayuno
lunch - almuerzo (z pronounced th) al-moo-er-tho
dinner - cena

My Spanish is not too good, nor is my memory. I might have to skip lunch (almuertho) and wait for dinner - cena.

Dinner is easier to remember. Imagine it is spelled dina, then turn d into c - c e n a . My spellcheck on this site turns the Sanish word for dinner into cent, as in century.

Dinner is pronounced kay - na. Hard c.

What shall I wear for dinner?
seda - silk
silk - seda.

I said seda, silk.

Angela Lansbury, author, travel writer, photographer, English teacher.

Simple Spanish for travellers

I remember coming down to breakfast in a spanish hotel and not knowing the word for breakfast. I had to go back to the bedroom and hunt for my Spanish-English, English-Spanish dictionary. Desayuno. (How to remember it - you wake up desperate, des, aye-yes, for one, uno, mouthful.)

Hello - hola
Goodbye - adios
Please - por favor
tomorrow - mañana
Do you have -
Thanks - gracias
Thank you very much/ thanks a lot - mutes gracias
Not at all / you're welcome/literally of/for nothing (response to thank you) - de nada
Where is
What time
Do you speak English -habla used Ingles?
I don't speak spanish - no halo epsilon
sorry lo siento
excuse me
breakfast - desayuno
lunch
bedroom
double bed
dictionary
I would like - quasar
I want to buy -
buy - comparer
what's this/that - que es so
this is - este es
May - mayo
Jun - junio
calor - hot
frio - cold
what time - que hora
july - Julio
lunch - la c o m i d a (la sounds like lunch, then notice the letters l and c in both lunch and la c o m i d a, and mid sounds like mid-day)
dinner - la vena
coffee - cafe
tea
 the pronounced tay
where is - donde esta
toilet - aseo (where you sit down and park your ass, to use an Americanism)

More resources:
1 G o o g le translate (the spellchecker wants to change this to goggle)

2 Spanish visual phrase book by DK
It cost £4.99 when I bought it.

3 Earworms Spanish
Disc and booklet from Berlitz. Listen to the repetition.


Useful resources:
google translate

Birthday Lunch At Hawtrey's Restaurant in the Barn Hotel, Ruislip, London

Hawtreys has always been one of my two top favourite restaurants for food and historic atmosphere. The Barn hotel has a log fire burning in the central lounge under beams.

Starter
    The set menu changes daily. I am allergic to shellfish and did not feel like mushroom soup so I opted for the egg. I knew the chef would do something special. My egg appeared with a crunchy outside. Deep fried? the bacon was turned into a triangular sail. Hardly healthy. But very tasty.

Main Course
  My main course of lamb was perfect. I didn't really notice the potato. The beans were satisfying. Under the lamb I discovered asparagus.

Dessert
   I had phoned to ask for Happy Birthday to be written on my plate. The Happy Birthday was a delight. The chocolate and sorbet were not overwhelming in flavour, a slight disappointment.

The coffee was not impressive.

But all in all the near-perfect lunch. At a reasonable price.

Ladies
   The ladies toilet is always a delight. Lovely mirrors. Paper tissues as well as paper towels. Gel soap and hand conditioner. Elegant and colourful. You emerge feeling elegant, pampered and pleased. 

Patisserie Valerie

I always wondered about the origin of the name of this patisserie. Then I had lunch and read the back of their menu. It says: 'The original Patisserie Valerie first opened its doors in 1926, in Frith Street, when Belgian born Madam Valerie decided to introduce a taste of the continent to the English.
Patisserie and Valerie have a great rhyming sound and rhythm, don't they!
They have a great range of cakes/tarts as well as chocolate wedding cakes.
www.patisserie-valerie.co.uk