Sunday 30 November 2008

Not So Many This Week At 388,

but we still had a good time,
firstly for us it was over to Foodland to order the rolls,
we were the only customers in Valentino's for lunch today,
Diana is served with our ice coffee, spaghetti for Diana and garlic bread for me,
later Mas called in to do the cooking for the girls food in the evening,
Diana helping Mas with the chicken,
Jeff brought over a bottle of Jacob's Creek,
and a bottle of Lazo,
Jeff with the Lazo,
Geff pouring the wine,
Mick having a bite to eat, it was about this time that Micks wife Mas came upstairs and tried the Lazo wine, a couple of seconds later she said "Chile" we were all dumbfounded! she had not seen the bottle, but that was where it came from, Chile, it took a second visit upstairs for Mick realised what she meant was the Lazo wine tasted of chili!
Big Jim,
Mr. Tony with wine and a roll,
Mike with his trade mark Leo,
the girls doing the cooking, Diana, Mas, Da and Riza,
Diana found a bottle of champagne in the fridge, so the cooks had to have a drink!
all set to pop!
and the glass is full,
Riza spent hours making spring rolls, some with beef and some with pork filings, they were delicious,
Satu brought over some sausages from the UK for Mr. Tony, very spicy with a Japanese mustard sauce,
then it was time for Jeff's birthday cake,
complete with candles,
one big blow and out they went,
Mas cut the cake,
and it was enjoyed by all,
then Booie called to pick up Mr. Tony and Satu,
Just as Joe turn up with some Turkey sandwiches he made for me as my tooth was wobbling about and I did not want to risk losing it on another ham roll!
Satu popped upstairs to say bye to everyone, I can not remember much about what we talked about, wine and vodka sodas tend to make me forgetful, but as always we are all looking forward to next week, Cheers!

Michael Stephenson 'Regulatory Services Manager' at Norwich City Council

has threaten to have hairdressers sent to six months in jail and a £20,000 fine if caught giving away a glass of free mulled wine to customers in the run-up to Christmas, it is a long time tradition in the UK that instead of hairdressers offering a cup of tea or coffee to customers in the run up to Christmas a glass of wine is offered as an alternative to help people get in to the festive spirit, but not any more in Norwich, in a letter sent to 104 salons the authority warned: ‘To address this issue enforcement action, including the use of undercover officers, may be undertaken in the near future.’ The council declared that anyone found guilty of unlawfully supplying alcohol could face a maximum of six months in jail, a maximum fine of £20,000 or both, all I can say is that I have never heard of a more mean spirited organisation than Norwich City Council, especially as times are getting tough and every business is trying it's best to keep their customers coming back.

Saturday 29 November 2008

A Return Visit To A Super Find,

it is the Cafe des Amis, situated behind the large Persian styled building on the hill going from Pattaya to Jomtien it is easy to find if you go down soi 9,11 or 13, we were all so impressed the last time we went there we had to call back in,
I popped around to make our reservations,
a map of how to get there, it is well worth calling in if you like good food, a relaxing atmosphere and nice surroundings,
this is the Egyptian style building near the restaurant,

Diana all dressed up and ready to go,

Riza and Mike, ready for the off,
Jeff and Da, as stunning as ever,
and of course yours truly and Diana,
and the girls all looked stunning,
Mike brought two bottles of Stephante from Chateau la Foret which was pronounced as an excellent choice,
complementary starter of salmon mousse',
first course will be here soon, the service left nothing to be desired,
for the guys the room temperature was just right, but the girls were a little chilly, quick as a flash Blue the owner had given the girls some shawls to wear, very thoughtful indeed, but Da still had to keep her hands warm!
Diana had a shawl as well,
as I have mentioned before the restaurant is very tastefully decked out, fresh orchids every where,
now on to the good stuff, the food, for Diana crispy duck, I tried some, perfection!
my favourite from last time for Da, crispy lettuce wrapped salmon,
for Jeff cheese and tomato flan,
fresh smoked salmon for Mike,
and a prawn cocktail for Riza,
and steamed mussels for myself,
between courses Da makes like an Egyptian!
first course was excellent, cheers!
then for the main course Diana had blacken salmon,
Riza had salmon Wellington, the same as beef Wellington but with salmon, delicious!
Mike and Jeff had lamb shank, again my favourite from last time,
I had lamb chops with sauteed potatoes,
after finishing Mikes wine we had this Jacobs Creek kindly supplied by Jeff,
for desert cream brulee for me,
kiwi and mango tart for Mike,
apple pie with ice cream for Jeff and Da,
then time for a nightcap at 388, but it all got a bit much for Jeff, so Mr. Sleep paid a visit!
unknown at the time to us it was Jeff's birthday, so the girls went to the local 7-11 and bought him a cake and candles,
a rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday!" woke Jeff up,
and it was time to blow out the candles,
the cake was nice,
and Jeff enjoyed his, another excellent evening at the Cafe des Amis, if you like good food then this is the place for you thoughly recomended by all of us, the cost was 2,200 per couple including a round of drinks before the meal, Cheers!