Cruisin' for a Boozin'

If the final effects of last night's drunken debauchery are starting to slowly ebb away into sobriety then fear not as The Forest Hill Society Pub Crawl takes place today from 7pm at Bar Equal. Apparently any Tom, Dick and Harry can join (or leave) at any of the points along the route. A bloke called Charlie is the host for the evening and will be wearing something conspicuous to identify himself (lol!). The plan for tonight is as follows:

7pm Bar Equal
8pm Tapastry
9pm General Napier
10pm Foresters

Be there and be square!

22/7

For those of you with nothing to do this evening, if you fancy trapsing down to the Montague Arms you'll be in for a rockin' surprise...long live VETO!

Poster Perfect

Something for the SE23 film enthusiasts…there is a Thai movie poster exhibition showing at the Horniman Museum which will run until 4 February.

The posters on display are just some of the thousands collected by Neil Pettigrew during his travels around south-east Asia during the past 10 years.

In an article, Mr. Pettigrew enthusiastically explains why Thailand’s amazing movie posters are a unique art form and how the artists expressed themselves much more visually than western poster artists:

"The Thai poster artists were largely unrestrained by the kind of censorship which governs posters produced in the West. As a result they were able to produce some of the most sensational and explosive images seen on posters anywhere in the world. If you have a taste for the dynamic action of high-kicking kung fu films, or for the blood-drenched gore of horror films, or for the steamy nudity of porn movies – then Thai movie posters will deliver all this and more."

It seems SE23 has gone Thai crazy, and Miss Kitty welcomes the influx of exotic and bold flavours and colours.

Miss Kitty and the Blustery Day

Well, what a racket that was last night!

I am sad to hear about the trees uprooted on Forest Hill Road…and even sadder to see the little black and white cat, that greets me on the way home, being blown about.

Miss Kitty urges pet owners to keep their cats safe in-doors in such conditions!

My Thai: Update

According to sources Thai Orchard is going to be run by a Thai lady called Siraporn and her husband, Martin and there will be more about them in the February issue of SE23living with a special offer for readers.

Apparently, the Thai Orchard chef has a lot of experiences working in different places such as in the hotels in Bangkok and in Thai restaurants in Japan, so Miss Kitty might be visiting this potential gem sooner than she thinks...

My Thai

And so on NYE we bid farewell to The Orchard as it closed its doors for the last time…only to be reborn as Thai Orchard!

Well, that's just grand, Forest Hill was certainly lacking in the Thai restaurant department, and now it seems we can enjoy a glass of Singha beer without having to step foot in the dreaded Capitol.

Since the Thai Orchard opens tonight, Miss Kitty will give it a chance to resolve any teething problems before she crosses the threshold to sample their Gaeng keo wan!

The Great Eastern Dining Room

Last night R & Miss Kitty followed our tastebuds and ventured South into Brockley Rise. There we discovered a quaint little Chinese restaurant called Tai Wu. We were surprised to find it quite busy despite being tucked away from the main road, but perhaps that is why it is so popular as it offers a very non-obtrusive and relaxing atmosphere. In fact, Miss Kitty and her companion were becoming so lulled by the gentle aura that we lost count of how many Tsingtao (pronounced "Ching-Dow") beers we had drunk!

The food was very tasty, for our first course we ordered War-Tip Dumplings, Sesame Prawn Toast and Deep-Fried Squid with Salt & Pepper. Extremely yum. The second course took quite a while to reach us (20 minutes!) but it was an excellent opportunity to digest and converse in jovial banter. R ordered Beef Curry for mains, and Miss Kitty indulged in Quick Fried Scallops with Squid!

The only criticism of Tai Wu would be that the main dishes are slightly overpriced, but then the beers and starters are pretty reasonable so it kinda evens out.

Tai Wu is a complete gem and Miss Kitty shall definitely add it to her list of best Oriental Restaurants in SE London!

A Puzzle of the Flesh

Well, so much for the three-sided coin, I ended up not going anywhere last night! The main reason being that once boarding the 63 bus from Farringdon my eyes proceeded to superglue themselves all the way until the last stop in Honor Oak Park.

Luckily, had some indulgent provisions in my fridge to last me through the evening. Ended up having Sainsburys-steam-in-the-microwave Salmon with Tarragon, New Potatoes and Vegetables, accompanied by a large glass of Chateauneuf du Pape and then a Rocky Road Chocolate Sunday…I’ll start the New Year’s resolutions next week!

Tonight I shall be cooking dinner for my brother and sister in their new flat, which is always a little tricky since they haven't got a cooker! Have decided on Beef Bourguignon with New Potatoes (in butter and coriander) and Spicy Rice followed by Blueberry & Almond Torte for dessert. The wine for tonight is a 2005 Cotes du Rhone Villages, hope it's nice, had to make cut backs after splashing out on the Chateauneuf du Pape!

Anyway, should be fun. My brother is dying to show me Civilization IV which he has recently bought, and I should like to pick up my disk 1 of Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars from him so that I can re-run the fun and play it again (again!) at the weekend.

Sadder still is the game I managed to get working on my PC via DosBox. I definitely won't say what it's called…it contains some slightly sick killings (e.g. a lady gets her legs amputated and is then electrocuted through her stumps), the main character appears to be bisexual and frequently goes to an S&M club and last night I found out that aliens are to blame!!

Hmmm...bizarre, but definitely the sort of game Miss Kitty likes to play.

Bar Wars (in SE23!)

Hmmm...I feel in the mood for a few drinks (perhaps cocktails) and some tasty bar snacks. Luckily for me the Honor Oak Park area is a cornucopia of bars, restaurants and pubs. Narrowed it down to the three best places (and the ones closest to my lair, ha!):

1. Equal - now this is one classy joint! As soon as you step in you're greeted with cosmic chill-out music, lulled lighting and some very groovy artwork by resident artists. The food here is of high standard and unlike most South-East London restaurants the food (and cocktail) menu changes very frequently treating your tastebuds to a different experience everytime.
My only criticisms of this place is that the food is not as good as it used to be! Indeed, I remembering tasting one of the most heavenly starter courses here: Smoken Salmon and Poached Egg on a Bed of Rocket, yum! The food now is still good but slightly veering toward gastropub rather than gourmet, but hey, it's still good! Also, I get slightly disorientated with being served by different barstaff...now wait here me out! Although they are all very talented, they all have their individual styles of cocktail-making which means the same cocktail never tastes the same :( I guess I'm just a creature of comfort, but those things aside, it's definitely the best bar in SE23!

2. Tapastry - Now I have only been here once but I like it! Thankfully taking the place of the dreadful Red Rooms , Tapastry has a wonderful European feel to it, more German or Belgian than Spanish. It's not really the kind of place to sit brooding in a dark corner as the whole place is as bright as day! But if you want some good tapas, cold (and pretty darn cheap) Spanish beer and a cheerful, unpretentious atmosphere it's definitely a good place to go and nicely merry!

3. Two Trees Restaurant - Now this isn't exactly Honor Oak Park, but sometimes it's worth going the extra 0.1 mile for quality! Once you're seated in the restaurant it really does feel like you're somewhere more exotic due to a combination of the arabesque music and mystical knifes and jewellery adorning the walls. However, when you get to the menu it's a hodgepodge of Moroccan, European, Mexican, Cajun and Italian. Criticisms aside, they have a very good wine list, the chef always cooks the dishes with love and the staff are very helpful (and pretty!).

Might have to flip a three-sided coin for this one...

Brave New World

Last night as I sat on the top deck of a 63 bus, silently gazing out through the slightly steamed windows, I pondered on why I felt compelled to create this blog.

Hmmmm....I remembered first being inspired by the man from catford's brilliant and witty blog which lovingly elaborates on those enigmatic experiences one can encounter from walking along the high street.
Having recently lived in Catford, I too have had my share of strange experiences most of which I have forgotten. And yet, having relocated to Forest Hill, I am finding that the odd occurrences pervade still...

But why create a blog now? As the bus swerved onto New Kent Road, I could see remnants from the festive celebrations in the wet and shining streets such as empty boxes once containing remote-controlled cars and bread-makers now stacked high in rubbish bins and the prettiest blue fairy-light icicles cascading from a flat balcony, forgotten by their owners but still sparkling... And it was then that I realised why now was a good a time as any to start this blog, rather than lose all these South-East London gems to accursed time I should record and remember them. Plus I have so much free time these days...

Anyway, welcome to my blog and a happy New Year to you all!