Monday, 19 August 2013

A Chinese revelation and not just any wine bar


It was Lovely Boy’s turn to discover somewhere new this weekend, after my Oval revelation on Tuesday. 

It’s just a disgrace that his discovery was Gordon’s Wine Bar. I mean, the man has been in London for near on a decade and by his own admittance has walked down Villiers St on his way to and from Embankment station more times that he could contemplate. And yet he’d never heard of Gordon’s, much less crossed the threshold down into it’s dark and atmospheric space. It’s a fucking travesty of the highest London order. One I remedied pretty quickly.



I love Gordon’s – and on an ambivalent, windy mid-Saturday afternoon, there’s actually room to move in there – so it was a perfect introduction for LB, who was of course taken with its cavern-like space, extensive wine list and walls dressed in historical news clippings and assorted memorabilia. Gordon’s has been around since 1890 and little has changed since then in terms of the décor. And the building itself dates back another couple of hundred years again so it’s just such a gem of a place. Quintessential London.


Buzzed on wine, we had an early dinner at A Wong’s in Victoria. A new Chinese place that LB had read about and earmarked for a visit. And oh my god, it was just the most sensational meal, complimented by great service and a load more wine. 


Highlights from a feast of many included the prawn cracker, the Yunnan style fried cheese with Sichuan pepper salt (an exquisite halloumi-meets-tofu type concoction to die for), the Scotch Beef rump fried noodles and the desserts. I had a snowball meringue with lychee granite, mango puree and lime sorbet, which was I thought was just ridiculously good – until I tasted LB’s coconut ice cream with glutinous dumpling, apple jelly and crumbled peanut cream and nearly wept with impossible jealousy. 

Oh. My. God.


We might only have nine odd weeks left and a list of things we want to see, do, eat and experience as long as my arm, but having ticked A. Wong’s off the list, we both agreed to put it straight back on.

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