Claire's Kitchen at Le Salon Take 2

So I'm slowly working through everything that I want to write and upload on the blog but you and I probably share those moments where all you want to do is just go and sleep. Nothing else matters but sleep. In fact, as I'm writing this, I am fighting off my droopy eyelids that are overworked from an early morning start to be at uni for an exam on a Saturday.

This is my second time at Claire's Kitchen at Le Salon and I had to take my best pal with me again because we have practically adopted and coined this place as 'Our Restaurant'. It would be my go-to place were in not for the fact that I would be broke if I dined here on a very regular basis. I have to say that this place is one of my absolute favourites restaurants and for me to say that means that I hold this place to a very high regard and in saying that you definitely will not be disappointed if you went here on my recommendation. Read first post here.

Steak Tartare $25-  served with condiment and toasted French baguette 

L: toasted French baguette

R: Claire de Lune cocktail $17- mix of Vodka and Creme Yvettes stirred with fresh lime, mint and raspberries then lengthen with sparkling wine. A fruity and bubbly drink 

If you've followed some of my eating adventures then you will no that I am not the biggest fan of pink meat. I am unfortunately that sad person that would order steak well done were it not for the weird glances and judgment from the waiter. As such, I have never in life had raw beef, that is until Claire came along. I trust the team behind kitchen without any reservations and if my waiter is gushing about their steak tartare then I cannot help but want to join him. I told my friend this but at Claire's none of my fast and hard eating rules apply because I know without a doubt that whatever you order is going to turn out to be amazing. Such was the case with the steak tartare. Hand chopped into tiny pieces that was the pinnacle of melt in your mouth delicious. I still haven't been converted into a raw meat girl but I am definitely willing to shed my well done alter ego when I'm here again.

Ocean trout roulade with pickled cucumber, Vongole, cauliflower, trout caviar and garlic cream $36

First of all how amazing is this! Absolutely loved the trout, crispy skin included, with the garlic cream. Looks may be deceiving here (let me know if you fall in this category) but the meal itself was very substantial and well worth its price tag especially with their generous servings of trout, which for the record is way better (and more expensive) than salmon.

Prosciutto rolled pork fillet, pork belly and boudin noir with apple puree, sorrel and artichoke chips $34

Post googling 'boudin noir', I can confirm that it is a blood sausage. Taste wise it very strong, kinda reminds of a intense pate but equally as delicious. I hate to be repetitive but we were just wholeheartedly stuffing ourselves. I love pork and apple, it's one of my favourite combinations and you can imagine my delight in combining the pork belly with the apple puree. 

 I promise that I didn't spend all my time taking photos

Options on the dessert trolley (these are all for display)

Unfortunately when you pick from the trolley, there is no 'menu', the waiter simply explains the options, you pick, then eat! It's a great system but for blogging purposes when you wish to recount it and you're left with your less than ideal memory. So we chose a mango and mandarin mousse with a chocolate mousse base as well. Needless to say that this was as faultless as everything I had. 

A bit on the brevity side but I'm letting the pictures do the talking. And should you want to read further then go and read my first post about this place. 

Falling over for Falling Poppies

So one of the first ever outfit posts that I did was on this very print, and rightly so because a year on, I am still madly in love with this print. I think my archived posts are really embarrassing, hence the absence of a 'click here' link so if you're really curious then enjoy lurking through my past posts for it because I'm not helping you guys with that. 

Anyway, here are so some impromptu photos taken after a brunch date with one of my girlfriends and somehow or another we always happen to stumble upon interesting coloured walls. I guess it's our thing and maybe it may turn into a series but who knows. 

Pink or Mint?

Top: SES

Blazer: Bec & Bridge Falling Poppies

Shorts: Bec & Bridge Falling Poppies

Shoes: Giuseppe Zanotti

Bag: Mulberry Alexa

M is for Magical and Mary Katrantzou is Magical

I might just have broken the bank....again.

I'm not going to deny it. I am a serial shopper and serial shopper Shirley did her thing last year when she poured over the internet so she could snap up discounted clothes by Mary Katrantzou (I'll stop with the third person talk). I bought this sweatshirt at half price, making the completely unreasonable into a somewhat unreasonable- Original price $600, Matches price $300 because I literally bought the last one.

I wish I could say that it's the most versatile thing in my wardrobe because sadly it isn't. I bought it because I absolutely fell in love with her Resort Collection; her ethereal digital prints and because no one could compare as a worthy competitor. I love you Mary. X

And because this print is so special, I wore to somewhere that would turn extraordinary into Extra Extraordinary (if that is even allowed). In the back of my head, I already know of 2 more places that I have to visit with this sweatshirt as my companion, so you shall be seeing more of this one. I don't know if it is because this is a sweatshirt but this is small and as a small it is insanely big.

Sweatshirt: Mary Katrantzou Twist tree and lake

Pants: Ralph Lauren

Boots: Sergio Rossi

Travel Diary- Suzhou

Some more snaps as I try to get through my massive backlog of posts. And that's for putting up with my irregular posting schedule. It's getting more consistent nowadays, right? Things should hopefully return to 2014 routine come July when I am no longer sleep deprived nor surviving a day by day basis. Yes. That is when I shall have more time to myself and this blog unfortunately. 

So casting your mind back to December last year, I went on a day trip to Suzhou with a tour. Suzhou is in the Zhejiang province and is a 2hr drive from Hangzhou. It's most famous for being like a city built around rivers and waterways and that will definitely come across in the following photos. 

Photos from some rich person's house from around the Ming Dynasty. 

I am not rugged up for no reason. It was freezing cold.

Also how amazing is my sweatshirt. I've mentioned my love for digital prints for quite some time now and in particular one very special individual. More on this to come in the next post but in the meantime here's a preview.

If you've watched the Chinese drama Romance in the Rain (Qing Sheng Shen Yu Meng Meng 情深深雨蒙蒙), the drama was shot here (and the above photo)