Yesterday, a bad weather descended upon Britain and even though London escaped from its fiercest might, the heavy rain drenched evening commuters and Christmas shoppers, including me. I was there to meet up with my dearest girlfriends, Fei, Letizia & Alex, for our pre-Christmas feast at Patara on Greek Street, Soho.
Around 7pm on Carnaby Street, the sky started to spit tiny raindrops but no one was yet to anticipate that it would turn a proper downpour shortly…

Fei and I met up at Topshop first and scouted the shop floor for her headdress and cape for her office Christmas party. Upon leaving the store, we were confronted with a stormy rain and a herd of shoppers taking shelter. Why there is no cab when I want one? We gingerly unfolded our umbrellas and headed towards Soho. Oh my, what an epic journey it was! Our folding brollies were too flimsy to brave the elements and we could hardly see where we were walking into. Therefore, it was a great relief when we had a sign “Patara” glowing on the facia in our sight.
Once all of us got together at their bar, we were ushered to our table…

The Magnificent Four!
Our appearance was slightly dishevelled by the elements…

Year 2013 had its ups & downs for all of us. However, we stuck together and weathered it very well. Without them, my year would have been a much dimmer one because of my unforeseen health problem. I am truly thankful for their love & support. I love you, girls!
For our feast, we ordered three starters to share as well as a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc…

Kong Nueng Ruam…

Assorted steamed handcrafted dumplings with prawn, chicken and pork fillings.
The purple one had pork filling and tasted sweet. Very interesting flavour for dumpling. It was non-spicy and Hubbie would like it.
Kamon Bueng DIY…

Do-It-Yourself Thai tacos of chicken and prawn with cucumber tomato salad. My apology for an out of focus pic. The taco filling in the bowl appeared deceptively benign but it was fiery! I was caught completely off guard.
Then, we favoured this Yum Nua Yang the most…

Grilled sirloin beef spicy salad with rocket and onion. The beef was tender and dressed exquisitely.
For main course, I ordered Gae Yang Somtam…

Grilled herb-marinated tender rack of lamb, accompanied with sweet rice rolls, spicy salad & chilli sauce. The lamb was succulent and flavoursome. And the rice roll, its delicate sweetness was a perfect accompaniment to the meat.
Letizia & Fei had Pla Hima Tod…

Grilled black cod, accented with savoury ginger and pickled yellow bean sauce.
And Alex opted for Pia Yang Bai-tong…

Sea bass fillet char-grilled with herb curry in banana leaf.
In the middle of main course, our wine ran out and we ordered another bottle.
Then, for dessert, Fei picked Tart Sangkaya…

It was coconut custard baked pudding with ginger flavoured ice-cream. Again, the flavour was delicate but far from dull.
And the rest of us had Chocolate pudding with mango sorbet…

Normally, I would opt for more tangy fruits such as berries to eat with chocolate pudding. But their fresh mango as well as the sorbet added the sweetness and depth to the otherwise bitter chocolate pudding. The marriage was quite successful.
In spite of the restaurant being busy, the service we received was attentive and pleasant. Therefore, I highly endorse this beautiful eatery in Soho.
After lots of hugs, kisses & holiday wishes to each other, Alex & Letizia headed to Tottenham Court Road station and Fei & I beelined to Piccadilly Circus.
At Piccadilly Circus, we saw the Eros in a gigantic snow-dorm…

Then, a cheeky intruder jumped in the frame!

A complete stranger! Still, the mood amongst the crowd was buoyant and good-natured. This must be another Christmas magic…
Kaori by Kaori Okumura