High Tea at The Ritz

Afternoon tea at the Ritz is held in the gorgeous Palm Court and it is quite the experience. The quintessential destination for afternoon tea in London, five sittings a day, booked up to 6 weeks in advance.

What makes tea at the Ritz so special is hard to pin down. Is it the beautiful silver tea pots and the exquisite porcelain teacups and dishes? The traditional 3-tiered trays of perfectly arrayed no-crust sandwiches - smoked salmon, mature cheddar, chicken, ham, egg cress, and of course cucumber and cream cheese - freshly baked scones and delicate pastries? Or is it simply the impeccable service for which The Ritz is known worldwide? Of course the most sensible answer is that it's not just one factor but the whole package, couple with the reputation of the brand and the legacy itself that makes tea at the Ritz so remarkable.

The service was so refined that the waiter sniffed that I wasn't absolutely thrilled with the first tea that I tried and offered to bring me another, and then another. The first was a traditional Ceylon tea that was nice, but not very perfumey so I wanted to go a bit wilder, with the tea... The L'Opera blew me away on the first cup. It's a green tea infused with red berries and "precious spices". However, after brewing for a bit it assumed a very dry finish and then I wasn't particularly keen on it anymore, and the exceptional waiter noticed this as well. My last and successful tea was the Moroccan Mint (green tea infused with spearmint) and it was divine from first to last cup. Not at all overpowering, and very refreshing.

Surprisingly, the sandwiches got more attention than I expected, not because they aren't deliciously simple and pleasing but because when faced with sandwiches versus cake, millefeuille and other sweet treats I tend to veer in the latter direction. The savory sandwiches though are particularly nice when alternating between the assorted pastries. The mini-millefeuille (aka napoleon) was quite possibly the best I've ever tasted. And then once you've had a head start on both the waiter will then ask if you're ready for the warm apple and raisin scones. All the while clotted cream and preserves are on the table waiting for them to arrive. My first scones and clotted cream experience, and it only took six months in London! What I was waiting for I'll never know...

Qype: The Trafalgar in London

London - Travel & Hotels - Hotels - 5 Star Hotels

I wanted drinks with a view so went with a friend to the roof garden of the Trafalgar hotel after work yesterday. Great view indeed looking out from the 6th floor terrace towards Trafalgar Square. Cocktails were as pricey as you'd expect at an upscale hotel bar (between 10-13quid for most), but what I didn't know in advance was that they charge 5quid pp (on a Monday!) just to get up to the roof garden.

So with some cocktails, a shared jug of Pimms, and a sharing platter of Asian snacks it turned into an expensive outing overall, but I did have a great time, relaxed in the oversized chairs, and enjoyed the mini-escape from the bustling scene just 6 floors down that seemed far far away. The international bar staff were friendly as well and may have convinced me to visit again soon. We'll see!

Check out my review of The Trafalgar - I am CaribQueen - on Qype

A Taste of Edinburgh

Qype has hosted a range of parties, meet-ups, classes and other cool events in London so far this year and when it came time to take the party outside London, Qypers all around the country made their voices heard in determining the location for the first non-London shindig. The outcome of a lengthy discussion thread on the Qype Party Forum was last week's trip to Edinburgh and the Qype Team thoroughly made the most of the 4h30 train ride up by spending an extra day exploring the city.

We met some of Edinburgh's finest Qypers on Thursday night, and took to the streets on Friday night for some good eating, ale drinking, and what was for me a most surreal insider view of Scottish culture being privy to some of the finest fiddling and folk music in the land during our mini pub crawl. I had my first Deuchars in the first pub stop, and all of a sudden I like ALE! Who knew?!

My Qype reviews of the pubs we visited cannot by any measure do justice to the amazing fiddlers, ridiculously smooth guitar pickin', and the incredible mix of funny, sad and touching folk songs belted out by performers and audience members throughout the night. Everyone in the Royal Oak seemed to have an amazing singing voice! Unbelievable all around. And I must give a special mention to Mike Duffy, who can always fall back on singing if the BBC thing doesn't pan out :)

Quite a memorable trip and next time I go to Edinburgh, I'll definitely make it to the castle, and I'm sure I'll be revisiting Sandy Bells to park myself right next to the guy with the 12(?)string guitar.

Qype: Sandy Bell's in Edinburgh

Edinburgh - Pubs & Bars - Pubs - Pubs & Bars - Bars

I really liked this pub and am rating it higher than the Qype boys did as I could have definitely stayed here for a couple hours, happily tapping and bouncing along to the fiddles (at least 4 of them!) and guitars. Truth be told I was overjoyed and got even more of the Scottish experience than I hoped for as soon as the musicians got going.

As it was my very first time in Edinburgh (and in Scotland as a matter of fact!) it's hard to say definitely which was my favourite pub from our Friday night crawl but I did think the music and atmosphere here was more upbeat than in the other spots we visited. I had a great time despite the very crowded bar area, and trust me when I say I *really* don't like tight spaces so that in itself says a whole lot!

Clearly, this is on my must-revisit-in-Edinburgh list.

Check out my review of Sandy Bell's - I am CaribQueen - on Qype

Qype: Chocolate Soup in Edinburgh

Edinburgh - Food & Drink - Sweets & Chocolates - Restaurants - Cafes & Coffee Shops

With all the chocolatey options on the menu I'm still shocked I somehow walked away with a breakfast sandwich! Utterly flabbergasted. The sandwich (egg, cheese, ham on a light and buttery croissant) was exactly what the doc ordered though, after the uncounted number of drinks at the Qype party the night before. Also had a latte and it was good, not remarkable, could have been hotter, but good nonetheless. They have lovely tables out on Hunter Square too and I could easily chill out here with a coffee and something sweet and sinful. The chocoholic in me won't let me not return on my next jaunt to Edinburgh to sample some of their inventive 'soups' though.

Check out my review of Chocolate Soup - I am CaribQueen - on Qype

Qype: Marie's Cafe in London

London - Restaurants - Thai - Restaurants - British - Cafes & Coffee Shops

I have mixed feelings about Marie's Cafe, which I had heard so much about as one of London's tastiest Thai eateries. First the positives: the food was indeed delicious (I had the chilli basil noodle with chicken), the menu was pretty darn long (lots of starters, noodle dishes, mains, and desserts), and the prices were rock-bottom at 4-6 quid a pop (less for starters naturally). That's the good stuff.

Now the less good. The portions are modest. At least for the noodle dishes. And this is very understandable given the price you're paying. Moreover it's not such a bad thing cuz it would mean their starter+main at under 6 quid(!) would be quite do-able, nice and tidy-like.

More importantly though, I feel duty-bound to report that although I wolfed down 80% of my noodles before the ol' faithful Jubilee line arrived (ha!) I was very conscious that I was doing something terribly bad for me at 10pm eating what must have been the oiliest noodles I've ever seen, that were certainly not to be digested before 3am.

And lo but I was correct. Soon after I was getting that familiar grease-driven queasy feeling, not unlike the kind of shaky stomach you'd expect the day after mixing and matching your poisons like Richard Simmons let loose in a lycra store near you. That said, the pros stand a fighting chance at getting me back to Waterloo for cheap Thai, but only if they don't laugh at me mockingly when I ask to go easy on the oil.

Check out my review of Marie's Cafe - I am CaribQueen - on Qype

Qype: I Knit London in London

London - Fashion - Knitwear - Arts & Entertainment

Knitting store, classroom, bookshop and counseling! All together in one location. The folks at I Knit have really got something here. They offer classes for beginners to more advanced. Staff members are really friendly and encouraging. And they even have a little bar stocked with beer, cider and red and white wine. Brilliant!

The shop boasts a large stock of yarns of all varieties, colours, textures and all the accoutrements you need to get going. There's also quite an eclectic library section with all types of books on knitting and you can tell that the accomplished knitters that own the place take pride in keeping up-to-speed on all that's new and interesting in the newly-trendy-again world of knitting.

A fab time was had by all in our group class, with most of us being beginners and a few stars and fast-learners impressing us all into sticking with it, for the greater good. I can see why knitting can become such an addictive hobby!

Check out my review of I Knit London - I am CaribQueen - on Qype