Restaurant: China-Ki

Yesterday, another trip to Limerick.. and before my flight, I thought I'd visit China-Ki again on the way out. Decided to try something different this time, for variety - so I went for the a la carte, had fillet chicken spring rolls to start, and fillet beef szechaun for main.

The rolls were nicely done, smothered in sweet chili sauce, and pre-sliced - I did find the coating a bit tough though, it's thicker than on the cheaper rolls. The szechuan - I wasn't mad about. I've had tastier - this simply tasted hot, rather than actually tasty. The fillet beef was, I guess, a bit more tender than the regular beef - but not up to the standard of An Teach China, which always had melt-in-the-mouth fillet beef. I doubt I'll have these again - still, it's nice to change it up. Service was excellent, as always, and the ice cream for dessert (again) was delicious.

With catching the flight, it ran too late last night to blog. Because of the more convenient time, I flew Aer Lingus - and wow, I love it when that happens: it's just so much more.. comfortable. I never have to carry a trolley bag, because, with Aer Lingus, it's free to check it in.. I was sat far enough forward to board via airbridge, rather than having to climb down steps and walk across the cold tarmac.. they play soft classical music as you board, and disembark.. the staff are so welcoming.. and the seats are leather, rather than plastic. The experience continues in Heathrow, with soft lighting.. although I had to check on the board which carousel to pick my bag up at, my flight wasn't listed on the carousel itself! 

The bag took forever to come.. but well, nobody is waiting for a call from me now, to say I'm home safely.. I did provide some handy customer service, when a young couple were a bit perplexed, their bag not having arrived, and one remarked that she'd heard a rumour of a carousel specifically for oversized bags - yes, I butted in, it's Belt 12! They were so grateful.. 

The escalator was out of action, so I had to wait for the lift - which, typically, took forever. But I'm loving the Elizabeth Line option - it's far and away the most comfortable way to travel to East London, and faster than the Tube, which it was a bit late to be catching anyway. Interestingly, I checked when I arrived, and found it takes about exactly the same amount of time to get from the airport as the Stansted Express..

Tonight, back - after too long - with North London Friends! We're headed to House of Games, in Hampstead Theatre. And what a tragedy it is that Ye Olde Swiss Cottage seems to have closed..! It was my go-to, there, and they served excellent food..

Tomorrow, back with London Literary Walks (LLW) for the 101 Dalmatians walk! We're meeting in The Globe - I've booked to eat there beforehand. 

On Thursday.. flamenco!! Which I love. Found a group, Flamenco Events in London, and have requested to join - no word yet, and there probably isn't going to be! Anyway, have booked for this concert in St. John's Church Hoxton. Tickets from Eventbrite - free after-show party, but I'm passing- have work next day, of course. Have booked with Schnitzel Heaven for beforehand. 

On Friday, back at Sadler's Wells with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) again, for Oona Doherty-Specky Clark. Which sounds.. curious, being an interpretation in dance of a family history involving a family of butchers and, on the other side, working in an abattoir.. Anyway, eating at The Wilmington again.

On Saturday, I was to be back with Laurence Summers and the 45+ Not Grumpies.. this time, for The Wallace Collection. But sadly, he's now postponed it till next month. Never mind, it isn't a complete loss - Helen is coming to town! We have a rough plan to have lunch at The Archduke, then follow our noses for the afternoon..

I was leaving Sunday free in case my ex-colleagues could come to a consensus to meet that day! But as it happens, Ivan can't make it that day, and with the sudden news of a cousin visiting, James isn't sure what he's doing for the whole month. So, for that day, I spotted an event from London Museums A-Z: for Gen Xers and Millennials (LoMAZ). I never heard of them before, but they seem to be zipping randomly around the alphabet.. this is T - for Tutenkhamun: The Immersive Exhibition, which apparently uses VR to put you right back in Ancient Egypt. Booked through an outlet called Fever, which I'd never heard of - also available on Eventim. Sounds interesting - and I do love VR. No problem in joining straight away, either..

On Monday, heading with my companion from the Swiss trip to a classical concert in St. John's Waterloo - booked with Eventbrite. We're eating at The Archduke beforehand.

Next Tuesday, was planning film - and gee, London Net seems to be down! Checking individual film sites - and finding there's a bit of a lack of choice - I came across Riefenstahl, a documentary about the photographer and film-maker that propagandized the Nazi regime, among other things, and afterwards claimed to have no knowledge of what went on. Looks interesting. Showing in the Curzon Bloomsbury - and was mostly sold out already, so I booked!

On the 14th, back with LLW - for the Alan Turing walk, about the man said to be the father of theoretical computer science. Meeting at The Prince Alfred, where I've booked to eat beforehand.

On the 15th, back with The Hideout - for The Lighthouse, lovely! A psychological horror directed by Robert Eggers, who so recently blew all of our minds with his new version of Nosferatu, and co-written by him and his brother, Max, this stars Robert Pattinson, and the always-excellent Willem Dafoe, as the sole occupants of an isolated, 19th-century lighthouse - where the occurrences might be down to the supernatural - or to their fevered imaginations?! Always wanted to see this, and never quite managed it - but now it's showing at The Prince Charles, excellent. As usual, I'm eating at Bella Italia beforehand, and we're meeting for drinks at Victory House before the film. This showing is sold out already, so the cinema has arranged another showing in its other screen, starting a bit after this one on the same evening! Only three seats left for that one, at time of writing.. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend, which I'm not really looking forward to.

And on the 19th, back with UITCS for How to Fight Loneliness, showing in the Park Theatre.