Here are a few stories of memorable (for many reasons) meals we have had during our many years of travelling to places all over the world, celebrating birthdays and other occasions. This week we went to the Leaping Hare at Wyken Vineyards (wykenvineyards.co.uk) for Ed’s birthday lunch. It is a beautiful Barn with a magnificent vaulted roof, set in 1200 acres of land, including a 7 acre vineyard, producing excellent wines.

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We started the meal with venison carpaccio with shavings of parmesan, crispy pig’s head (pulled pork) and smoked trout with beetroot and cream cheese. Main courses were wild rabbit with Parma ham, steak frites with pepper sauce and a trout and salmon fish cake with spicy sauce. The staff are efficient, friendly and helpful and do a great job in these challenging times.

More memorable meals come to mind when we visited China. We were living in Jeddah and were due for our Christmas leave. We decided to go to Hong Kong as my brother Joe was stationed there in Kowloon with the army. We boarded the Cathay Pacific flight out of Doha (where we stopped off to see my parents) and settled into very comfortable seats.

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As soon as we took off and left Saudi airspace, the air stewards started to serve drinks. They were beautiful girls in stunning costumes and after several gin and tonics, Ed decided to join them up in the galley. By the end of the flight, Ed had promised them all jobs on British airways (why? – no idea!). Unfortunately he enjoyed himself so much, he fell asleep and missed the spectacular landing in Hong Kong.

Joe and Jan are wonderful hosts and the thrill of seeing Hong Kong at night all lit up and sipping Bloody Marys in the bar at the top of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, was something we will never forget. (See Ed’s recipe for Bloody Marys in CHALABRE BLOG 25th April 2020). The meal at the Mandarin was amazing with each diner having their own waiter. As soon as anyone put their glass down, it was topped up – what a night.

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One evening we decided to try a restaurant recommended by a friend. It was on Hong Kong Island, tucked away at the top of several flights of stairs in the central district. The place was run by the owner and his wife so instead of a waiter each, we had the owner looking after all the customers. When the meal arrived it was incredible. We had ordered six different dishes, not realising that each dish came with four accompanying plates – the table was covered with food. One of the dishes was called Horses Head. We awaited to see what it was. It turned out to be the biggest prawns we had ever seen. The first dish to arrive was a huge bowl of steaming soup into which we put the prawns, vegetables and meat. Amazing and so reasonable too.

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When I went to the loo at the end of the evening, I was amused to see a washing line hanging up across the sink with various items of clothing hanging out to dry. It wasn’t the Mandarin but nevertheless, the food was delicious 😋😋😋

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