Holiday - Day 3 & 4 (Part 2)

Today I went to Laem Singh beach, roughly 10k north of Patong. It's a lovely little beach that usually doesn't get too busy.
Before getting to Laem Singh, I stopped off for a quick spot of lunch at one of these road stalls that you can see in Pic 4 & 5. The Ivy it ain't... but who cares when the food is so good and cheap.
On Laem Singh, there is Ali's restaurant - Ali is a great bloke and always has a smile for everyone. His business got literally wiped away when the infamous tsunami hit Phuket a few years ago. Luckily none of his family and staff lost their lives on that tragic day. He was able to re-build his little restaurant, that serves amazingly fresh seafood, within very few months.

Made In Italy

Last Wednesday I went out for dinner with 8 of my colleagues. It was my turn to organise the team dinner so I thought we could do much worse than having some decent affordable Italian food.
I have never had a bad meal at Made In Italy on Kings Road and Wednesday was no exception. The main criticism that this restaurant gets on websites like londoneating.co.uk is about the rudeness of waiters/waitresses. In all fairness though I have to say that I have never been treated badly there. However I am also pretty sure that if I wasn’t Italian and didn’t speak the lingo it would be a completely different matter... but that’s another story.
We managed to leave work quite early so had time for a drink or two in the Cadogan Arms, also on Kings Road. This pub had been renovated quite recently and looks like an upmarket boozer, definitely fitting in in this affluent part of London.
My choice of starter consisted of melanzane alla parmigiana, that would probably score a 7.5 out of 10 on the tasteometer. Maybe just not as good as my mum makes but, still a pretty damn good imitation. Probably the best choice (in terms of starters) was Tom’s who went for a huge, yummy plate of mussels (‘cozze’).
For mains I had some sausage and pepper pizza, which was delicious and deserved a good 8 out of 10. I like pizza here at Made In Italy as it’s just like they... make it in Italy (funnily enough). It’s the real stuff, not the rubbish that’s served in most (fake??) Italian restaurants in London, where they can’t even spell dishes correctly on the menu.
Considering that this restaurant is in the heart of Chelsea, prices are rather reasonable. Also due to the fact that none of us had alcohol, we managed to get change out of £20 each, which is a right result.

Tamarai

Went out for a nice meal with my colleagues after work yesterday. The restaurant in question was Tamarai, a kind of Pan-Asian eaterie on Drury Lane.
Before dinner we met up in a pub just opposite the restaurant, called The Sun. Decent selection of beers and friendly service. On the wall they have a board, enlisting Oliver Reed among the Sun's famous patrons. Thinking about it, probably there aren't many London pubs whose doorstep hasn't been darkened by this famous drinker-cum-actor.
When we finally got to the restaurant I feared the worst for my wallet. The eating area is in a basement - dimmed lights, lounge music.... the warning signs were all there and screaming at me. I thought it was going to be one of those places where you pay a small fortune, only to get a gigantic plate put in fron of you with very little food right in the middle.
I was already resigned to getting a falafel wrap at Waterloo on the way home to subside my hunger, however I was pleasantly surprised. Portions were averagely sized and the food was well-above average.
For starters, I shared with Eva some hoisin duck spring rolls which were delicious - light and crispy pastry filled with incredibly tasty meat. For main course I opted for a vegetable red curry with a side order of garlic fried rice. Very succulent indeed. The curry was well spicy but you could still taste the coconut milk, of which there was plenty!
The fact that we were on a 50% off your food bill deal helped matters of course so the damage was limited to £20 each. The service was very courteous and professional. Between starter and main course, they serve you a fruit sorbet (nice touch) and before the starter gets served they also give you a little crouton with a tiny bit of warm duck liver on it.