Wheres me jumpa

• Happy Easter Egg Day to all! #
• Just paid my vbulletin renewal….thank jebus it’s not backdated #

• Looking forward to the return of The Inbetweeners tonight:

  http://www.e4.com/inbetweeners/ #

• Bear Grylls in the West of Ireland on Discovery. He is struggling with the Atlantic at the moment! #

• grrr, baked potato not quite done yet, back in the oven it goes. Will I eat the rest of my dinner, or wait for the spud… #
• Watching The Apprentice UK, one gone already! #

This will be a very short blog post. Liverpool ruined my first trip to Old Trafford in over three years. That is all.

• lazy day on the couch, gotta love Saturdays! #
• United crush Fulham 4-0. The perfect preparation for Wednesday night. #

Despite having been to England and Wales a number of times as a young whippersnapper, I had never been to London before. After this weekend, I will definitely be back to see more of London.

We flew to Stansted and got a Terravision bus to Liverpool St. station. The bus journey took about 1 hour which was a tad annoying. Out hotel was about a five minute walk from Liverpool Station. We stayed in The City of London Apex Hotel. £90 sterling per night for a 4 star hotel was more than reasonable! The hotel and room were great, the only drawback being the location is in a business area, which meant the area was deserted at the weekend.

A major plus for the hotel was its proximity to the Tower Bridge and the  Tower of London which was two minutes away on foot. A bus tour in Rome put us off bus tours forever more, so we braved The Tube. We were lucky to be on the Red Line, which is pretty straight forward to understand. A day ticket costing £5.60 each got us around all the sights. You get a real sense of the size of London when on the underground. Our first stop was Notting Hill which was nearly 25 minutes way from Liverpool St Station on The Tube. Word of warning, dont eat in Notting Hill if you are like me, a bull in a china shop, the restaurants and most shops are tiny!

The highlight of the trip was definitely The London Eye. Although the queues seem large, they move pretty quickly. The “flight” itself takes around 30 minutes but the time literally “flies” by! We rounded off the weekend with dinner in The Ivy, in the hope of seeing some celebrities, a hairy, arrogant horse racing commentator was the closest we came!

Happy that we have seen all the major sights, we will definitely get back to London again to sample a bit more of what the city has to offer.

• had considered many possible United team selections but not this one… #
• @shortword i’ll get over it in 86 minutes +- #
• @bksolutions thingy.ie? #
• @bksolutions i know a guy who could “arrange” the documentation! #
• @bksolutions oh he’s a dictator alright! #
• @bksolutions any pancakes a cooking in there today? #
• @lecraic hand wash only! #
• 0-0, happy but United may regret not getting that vital away goal. #
• @drtaz I didnt get any, damn my lazyness! #

• @shortword you will be hearing from my solicitor! #
• @hagandaz could not agree more. her piece on 2fm is painful. she reviews movies she has never seen! e.g. Hunger! #
• @cormacmoylan didnt see the game but it’s a good win for Chelsea #

I have been meaning to big up this restaurant since I had the pleasure of eating there last Saturday. It was Valentines night, so Minnie and I trusted a recommendation of a friend and booked a table.

I pass the restaurant on a daily basis but always assumed it was more of a shop / deli than a restaurant. Sure enough on entry you have a deli like counter and you pass a long wall of wine before getting to the back seating area. It’s a small area but it is not overcrowded, seated perfectly for the space available.

The menu is very simple. All recognisable dishes. Not many dishes either. We started with Tiger Prawns and Brie. Both were delicious and a good sign of things to come. Took me a while to decide on a main course but eventually I went for the Herb Crusted Cod while Minnie went for the duck. Again both were delicious and both were so simple (but obviously cooked to a standard that will never be seen in my kitchen). I am not a huge fan of duck, I tried Minnies and it is easily the best duck I have ever had. Desserts were equally as good, the Banofi Pie is even better than expected after reading several tip off’s for dessert.

Food aside the staff are very friendly, efficient and know the menu. The owner / chef appeared on two occasions to speak to customers and also had a quick chat with us when we left. It is a very easy thing to make people feel appreciated for giving you their custom but it is often neglected, not here. I also liked the fact that there wasn’t a big deal made of Valentines night. Other restaurants saw fit to adorn their exteriors with balloons and other decorations.

Three course meal (x 2), a bottle of wine and coffee came to a more than reasonable 91 euro. The Cheese Pantry is a real find for us, as we live just around the corner. I’m not sure how well known it is in Dublin but it is certainly a recommendation for anyone living in / visiting the city. We will be back to sample the rest of the menu and I can’t wait!

Website is not complete yet, but you can view contact details and menu on MenuPages.ie.

• @lynch3001 “Hear me now!” #