Virundhu Restaurant, Eastcote, serving Sri Lankan Food

After trying Sri Lankan food at Pradha in South Harrow, I was interested in trying other Sri Lankan restaurants. My family found Virundhu in Eastcote. The restaurant's name is Tamil for feast.

I went on their website and saw they had lassi. Not just mango lassi. Rose lassi. Carrot drink.

I had found a restaurant I must try. You can sit indoors, or outdoors on the pavement.

Did they have Prosecco? Yes, at £9 for 20 cl. That would be for me, if I had not seen the lassi. Rose lassi.

Maybe both.

On arrival we asked for water, just plain tap water. It was served from attractive copper coloured jug.

The table lights were mechanical, not candles. Good. I think candles are dangerous and a nuisance because every now and then they set fire to something small like a table napkin. I prefer everything clean.  So far, the restaurant has several plus points. To read the menu, we were a foursome, we took a second light from another table.

I also liked the strings of flags.

Rose Lassi

The rose lassi was thick. Served in a copper colour metal container, with a thin straw. 

The Food

Starter Hopper

I ordered a hopper with egg. That was a novelty for all of us. Within the bowl an edible bowl made of crispy rice for the central egg which looked like poached egg. A contrast in textures. Soft boiled egg with a crispy outside.

My main course choices were 

chicken, 

potatoes.

 And a rice item. A thick white disc 

Two members of staff  asked if the food was okay. We all smiled and nodded. Although, my husband said we didn't have much in the way of vegetables. I found the chicken and potatoes too spicey and didn't want to fill up on rice to counteract the spiciness. Next time I shall order at least one vegetable dish. And ask for a less spicy option.

Desserts

Only two of the desserts were available.  In any case we were full. We wanted the leftovers wrapped up to go. This was done efficiently and promptly.

With the bill came a small glass of ginger tea, on the house. I really liked the ginger tea. Sweet, satisfying, refreshing, lovely ginger flavour.

As Shakespeare said in the title of is play, all's well that ends well

Website for Virundhu Restaurant Menu 

https://virundhurestaurant.com/DrinksMenu.pdf

https://virundhurestaurant.com/pdf/dessert-menu

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More Portuguese Words For Supermarket Shopping - with my memory aids to help you

 

Flag of Portugal

Portuguese - English

batata - potato

especial - special

fresca - fresh

gelado - ice

leite - milk

marca - brand

maio - May (no need to capitalise the initials of months in Portuguese)

meses - months

o - the

ovos - eggs (like the English word ovary)

pastel - pastry

queijo - cheese

queijos - cheeses

rustico - country style (lik ethe English word rustic)

sal - salt

soja - soy

vinho - wine (like the English word vine)

UK flag

English - Portuguese

brand - marca

cheese - queijo

cheeses - queijos

Country style - rustico

eggs - ovos

fresh - fresca (the first four letters are the same)

ice (cream) - gelado (the Italians have gelato)

May (the month) - maio

milk - leite (like the French word lait)

months - meses

pastry - pastel

potato - batata (tat in the middle of both words)

salt - sal (the same word was English without the t)

soy - soja

special -  especial (add e before s like the Spanish name for their country Espana)

wine - vinho

Useful Websites

duolingo

Wikivoyage Portugal phrasebooks

https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Portuguese_phrasebook

https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Brazilian_Portuguese_phrasebook

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Donuts To Celebrate Hanukah, the Festival of Lights, Celebrated By Jesus In the Second Temple

What to expect - the lighting of the Hanukiah, eating donuts, or chocolate coins covered in gold foil, and hearing Hanukah songs and kletzmer music. I checked when sunset was in London and it was 3.55 pm. (Dark so early!) Thank goodness the shortest day is soon, Wednesday December 21st.

Where can you join in celebrations? Jewish museums and restaurants. 

Expect to see hanukiahs (nine branched candlesticks) in London, Scotland, Berlin, New York and Jerusalem.

The nine branches are for a candle for each of the eight days, plus the physically higher candle which is the servant candle lighting the others.

Tomorrow, Monday, December 19th 2022, is the second night of the eight day festival of Hanukah, or Festival of Lights. First, let's just recall the second temple.

The first temple was built by Solomon. 

The Babylonians in about 500 years BC destroyed the temple and carried a large number of the Jews from the north off to Babylon (now roughly Iraq). Remember operas and modern songs based on bible stories like 'the rivers of Babylon' where "we wept, when we remembered Zion'. Psalm 137 recalled the rivers of Babylon, which inspired Verdi's opera Nabucco (Italian for Nebuchadnezzar).

Jews were later allowed to return under the Greeks, and to worship in a new, bigger, better second temple. 

Then a new ruler, Greek Antiochus, reversed the policy. He banned the Jews from entering the temple, dedicated it to Roman gods. he banned circumcision and, to make sure the temple was definitely off limits to Jews, he ordered it to be deliberately desecrated with sacrificed pigs.  

A civil war ensued. The traditionalist rebels were led by the Maccabees, whose name means hammer. They eventually re-captured Jerusalem and restored the temple. 

The dedication included installing the light using oil. Uncontaminated oil, mythology says, was only enough for one night - but miraculously lasted 8 days!

 Jesus was with his fellow Jews in Jerusalem, in the Second Temple, at the Festival of Lights (New Testament book of John 10). this festival celebrated the re-dedication of the Second Temple.  

According to John, Jesus said, during the ceremony, I am the light. This metaphor echoes various other biblical metaphors about light.

The Festival was also described as the Festival of Lights, at least about 50 years later, by first century Roman Josephus. (He was a former Jewish army leader who notoriously and, disastrously, for the Jews, switched sides, handing victory to the Romans). Josephus wrote the history of the Jews from the point of view of the conquering Romans.

Now, a couple of thousand years later, these events are commemorated by oil based foods such as potato latkes (grated potato which is friend in oil) and donuts which contain more and more flavours, every year. No longer just red jam, but like ice cream is not longer vanilla strawberry and chocolate, as many flavours as the cooks can create and the restaurants, delis and supermarkets can sell.

Did it happen the way I describe it, or the way the bible and ancient texts describe it? I shall not let doubts about the truth get in the way of a good story, pretty lights and eating donuts. The story might not be a hundred per cent truthful, and the donuts may not be a hundred per cent healthy, but it is dark and cold outside so let there be light and filling food.

Useful Websites

https://london.eater.com/2022/12/18/23512657/where-to-celebrate-hanukkah-london

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B & K, Brilliant food & Kind staff - warmly welcomed a baby and a Ukrainian

B & K interior, Hatch End.

 

Service

Two girls serving, the one with the ponytail is Romanian, could not have been more welcoming. All smiles for the baby. The baby smiled back, then threw food on the floor, and accidentally dropped bits of scrambled egg they had cooked for her on request. I apologized. 

'Not to worry,' said the server and promptly swept it up.

The mixed hors d'oevres was enough for four with some left over which they wrapped up for me to take home.

I had salt beef on rye bread with one latke. (Latke is grated potato.)

Our Ukrainian visitor who was being treated to lunch spoke good English but did not recognize the word turkey. The server gave the visitor a free taste of salt beef and a meatball. Then the visitor chose turkey from the display at the deli counter.

It would help to have photos of the dishes for the occasional visitor who does not understand English and Jewish style menus. 

Borscht - Beetroot Soup

Borscht, a Jewish favourite, as well as a popular Polish dish, I learned on a trip to Warsaw and Krakow, is apparently also considered a Ukrainian national dish. Interesting, as borsht is what I remember from my childhood in London. My great grandfather was Ukrainian from Lemberg as it was known then, now known as Lvov or Lviv.

At B & K the most traditional dishes would be lokshen pudding (noodle pudding). Or apple strudel. 

Salt beef and latke which we took home on a previous recent occasion.  Photo by Angela Lansbury.

In the picture, that's my poppy plate, not the restaurant's. In the restaurant you can't see the plate for food!

Dessert

However, my American relative by marriage wanted that American favourite, pecan pie. We ended with a shared pecan tart between two of us, which was served on what looked like a pattern of chocolate sauce.

Chocolate

We received a chocolate mint each when the bill was presented. Wrapped toothpicks were another thoughtful touch.

The restaurant menu is extensive, and will delight Jews who are not strictly kosher, or those who are strictly kosher but are happy to stick to fish, as well as non-Jews and people from European countries such as as Ukraine, Poland, Russian and Belorussia, who will recognize many dishes on the menu.

The family running B & K has another branch in Edgware. 

Useful Websites

https://www.bksaltbeefbar.com/

Singaporean Savoury Pasty

Singaporean pasty. Photo by Angela Lansbury, copyright.

Often served at meetings of Toastmasters International Clubs. Singaporean savoury pasty. These are covered in pastry, pinched together. They contained potato and another filling. Sometimes curried mincemeat.

Satisfying if you are looking for something filling for lunch or dinner or a snack. Watch out for the paper bag or pasty with the red dot. Your pasty contains chili, red hot chili! The Singaporeans mostly prefer spicy food and will gladly swap a plain pasty for one with chili.

Singapore is a great stopover between Russia or Europe and Australia. 

Travel Tips

travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com

australia.com

visitbritain.com

visitbritain.shop.com

visitbritain.org

visittheusa.co.uk

visitsingapore.com

Singapore Airlines: 

singaporeair.com

Author

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

https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2018/12/secret-travellers-seen-on-newton-station.html

https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2019/01/cute-musicians-in-cartoons-on-toilet.html

See also my posts on Waterloo Street, The National Gallery, and Singapore's big attractions.

Table at 7, Singapore's East West upmarket special occasion restaurant

Problem
Guaranteed good food? Both Western and Eastern?

Answer
Table at 7, run by chief directors Karl Dobler (who does the Western cooking) and Eugenia Ong (wo does the Eastern cooking.

We were given

Bread and oil.

Starters
My companions went for the shellfish. I am allergic to shellfish and opted for a juice. We shared a half bottle of sparkling wine - Champagne.

Main courses
One of my companions, who does not eat red meat for health reasons, as advised by a doctor, chose had the cod from down under, different from the cod we get in England which is heavier. Excellent.

I like poultry but I had eaten chicken rice at lunch time. (Not a grammatical error, although it does indeed mean chicken and rice, the dish is known as Chicken Rice.)

I chose the meat which came with potato. A reasonably-sized portion which left room for dessert.

Dessert, crumble and coconut ice cream. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Dessert
Delicious.

Coffee and Chocolate
Coffee looked rather dull. No chocolate?

Ah - the chocolate appeared after the coffee, to sweeten the bill.
One chocolate for each person, three or us, three chocolates. Just right.

You would think that would be obvious. It is to you and me and the directors of this restaurant. But on many occasions I have had two chocolates for three diners, or four or five chocolates for three diners.

In hotels on several occasion I have had one chocolate on a double bed with a hotel booking for two persons and two lots of clothes for a man and a woman - you'd think they might notice two of us and two toothbrushes. I once phoned down and said, Please send up a second chocolate within five minutes. Alternatively send the police after ten minutes because the person who didn't get the chocolate is going to murder the person who ate the chocolate. There was a silence. I don't think their English was up to the translation and the British humour. I repeated, Please send another chocolate. We have one chocolate. Two people need two chocolates.

Two of the dishes were unavailable. As compensation they offered a free juice drink to the other two diners.

Bill - a whopping 300 plus Singapore dollars for three, actually less in pounds sterling. Glad I was not paying.

Unless you have a big budget, I would describe this as a special occasion place.

What can they do for you for a special occasion?

Birthdays
Another table had a birthday dinner. the birthday boy (a middle aged man with friends) received a dessert with a candle and happy birthday written in chocolate on the plate and the recording and/or staff and guests singing happy birthday which alerted me to look.

Again, full marks. (I went to an Italian restaurant in Singapore and asked what they can do for a birthday. They looked at me warily as if I had asked them to poison the emperor. Obviously too busy and not in need of business nor happy birthday customers.)

Washroom
The washroom at the back on ground level, convenient for everybody, able bodied or not, drunk or sober but tired, no time wasting up and down stairs. Soothing candle in the cubicle.

Decor
Black and white with a few pictures. Subtle. Nothing distracting. Understated. I'm a colourful person and like Las Vegas. If you are like me, you might be disappointed. If you prefer subtle, you will be relieved. Your eyes are on your companions and your food.

WEBSITE & ADDRESS
Karl Dobler
+65 9660 9480
KARL@TABLEAT7.COM

ENGENIA ONG
Tel:+65 9666 4241

Salut Private Dining Pte Ltd
7 Mohamed Sultan Rd
S'pore 238957
WWW.TABLE@7.COM

(65 is the code for Singapore if you are ringing from overseas)
Facebook TABLEAT7

Writers, Singers and Actors at Swanwick Writers Summer school

Potatoes. The way to my heart is through potatoes. A restaurant, hotel or conference centre can do no wrong, in my eyes, if they serve potatoes.




Chocolate cake. Alas, they say, a moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips.

However, I have my moment with the man in the kilt.

He does look better with a girl his height. 

On the last night people dress up in their finery - or national costumes, in this case on the right, Scottish tartan complete with sporran. 

Geoff Parkes told us how to sell niche books. 

Then he taught us grammar, to be sure we had books which deserved to be sold. His books on grammar were sold in the Book Room.

All pictures by photographer Angela Lansbury, taken at Swanwick writers Summer School. For details of next year's event and more photos and information, see previous posts.

Author

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

How to remember some simple Portuguese words for food, plurals

Portugal

Portuguese flag

Brazil

Problem
The Portuguese is similar to English - but different. How do I remember?

Answer
Note the differecet or similarity. Practise noticing the difference or similarity. You only need to say it or see it about three times for it to stick. The exercises in Duolingo will usually show you each word three times.

English - Portuguese
meat - carne (as in the English words carnivore and carnivorous)
pepper - pimenta (almost pimento, but ends in the sound a which is similar to the end of pepper)
pork - porco
potato - batata
rice - arroz (think of a round of rice, double r, o for a circle, when the rice is served in a mound) ice and oz sound similar, s-z
salad - salada (letter a three times, like three tomatoes)
sandwich - sanduiche
soup - sopa
strawberry - o morango
tomato - tomate

the strawberry - o morango (o is masculine the) the word looks like orange. A strawberry is orange shape. The M at the start is like the W in strawberry turned upside down. Repeat the o from the beginning of the word at the end. o morango.

Portuguese - English
arroz - rice
batata - potato
carne - meat
o morango - the strawberry (for the plural add an s like in English: os morangos)
pimenta - pepper
porco - pork
salada - salad
sanduiche - sandwich
sopa - soup
tomate - tomato

So now you can look at a menu and find a snack of a sandwich and salad including tomato, check if it is meat or pork, ask for soup, meat and potatoes, or rice, and finish with strawberries.


Useful Websites
Free internet learning for Portuguese and other languages
https://www.duolingo.com

A disc I bought from Earworms to play in the car. You can also download it onto a laptop. I bought volume 1 and then volume 2.

http://www.earwormslearning.com

Travel websites
https://www.visitportugal.com/en

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

visitbrasil.com (NB They spell it with an s!)

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. I have several other posts on learning Portuguese and other languages, and sites to visit. Please save and share links to your favourite posts.

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.

Food photos to show your waiter or server or restaurant manager.

Problem
How do you order food when you don't speak the language?

Answer
Show photos. (More in previous post.)

Bread.

Coffee. Coffee with decoration.

German marzipan centre stollen cake.

Chocolate cake with nuts and vanilla ice cream.

Bread with nuts and fruit to accompany coffee.

Plate and cutlery.

Champagne bottle, rosé wine, jug of water. 

Meat with mushrooms, sauté potatoes and green beans.

Toilet and washbasin with toilet paper and soap.

Fruit bowl: green apples, red apples, oranges, pear (right).

Cake with fruit - orange slices on top.

Cheesecake with fruit topping and jug of cream. Background chocolate cake.

Pub lunch of baked potato in its jacket with butter, cheese, tomato, mushroom, peas. Napkin and fork.

All photos by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Author

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