Date of Last Visit: Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010

The Victims: American in London, Mr. American in London, Su-Lin, Mr. Noodles

The Background: American in London was on the lookout for General Tsao's Chicken. Apparently, this in an American staple. Despite my American-ness, I don't think I'd ever had it before. In my house growing up, our choices were pretty much limited to chicken and broccoli or beef and broccoli. I was never a sweet and sour fan, and I tend to gravitate AWAY from the deep fried dishes. (You've got to, with a hobby such as mine.)

Number 10 had been on my radar for a while because of a Chowhound thread or two. The Chowhound folks rave about the Szechuan items on the white board, and we probably should have thought about that as we ordered. Because in the end, it was the Szechuan items that really stood out.

 
The spicy aubergines were deliciously (surprise) spicy and melted away into cool hotness. I love when aubergine is cooked so perfectly as to not be too mushy. Let's face it. Eggplant gets mushy. It's a good cook that can make this work.

 
The boiled beef was AWESOME. This is one of those dishes that I think I could eat every day for a very long time. I might kill some tastebuds in the process, but that's okay.

We had some other dishes but really, they paled in comparison and I can barely remember them. The only other dish I do really member was a sliced pork of some sort. The pork tasted old. I wouldn't recommend it.

The Verdict: I don't know if I'd go out of my way to go to Number 10 again, but if I did, I would definitely have the boiled beef and the spicy eggplant. And I would stick with the Szechuan dishes. The rest is just not very interesting.

The post Number 10, Szechuan in Earl’s Court first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Date of Last Visit: Saturday, March 26

Victim: Connie

I was supposed to meet up Rutton, but he ditched me for Pangea, where his buddies had booked a table that expected a good 50 GBP a head if not more. (End of night total: 150 GBP a head. I am so glad I went elsewhere.) So I talked to Connie and she had always wanted to check out Eclipse, so off we went.

I have actually already been to the Notting Hill Eclipse, and found it utterly delightful…along the lines of a Chicago lounge. So I was intrigued by what was rumored to be a larger, more upbeat Eclipse.

I arrived, and I was the 6th person there. It was 8:30. If you must drink alone, always drink champagne, so I ordered a glass of Moet and waited. Connie showed up about 20 mins later and we moved on to a table, ordering a meditteranean platter while we were at it.

Through the course of the evening, I tried a Rude Cosmo (tequila-based, and delicious) and a Sunburst champagne cocktail (blackberry something or other), also delicious. Our meditteranean plate was OK–the olives weren’t marinated, and they were a little too heavy on the salad and the dips. Not enough breads and other dippers to go along with.

Connie tried the watermelon martini, and it looked fantastic, althought I admittedly didn’t try it.

Service was very attentive and friendly. (And Australian. Perhaps why!) The guests were a distinctive Euro-trashy-y mixture. Many languages being spoken. Beautiful people.

The oddest part of the evening was at 11, when we went to leave. We ran into my friend Brian, who was supposed to be in Mallorca, but was instead running around Old Brompton Road at 11 p.m. on a Saturday night. The world–a small place!

The Verdict: Well, I never went downstairs, so I can’t say for sure. But if you want to chill early in the evening with some great cocktails and some okay-ish snacks, you could stop by here.

The post I am So Trendy: Eclipse first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Date of Last Visit: Saturday, March 26

Victim: Connie

I was supposed to meet up Rutton, but he ditched me for Pangea, where his buddies had booked a table that expected a good 50 GBP a head if not more. (End of night total: 150 GBP a head. I am so glad I went elsewhere.) So I talked to Connie and she had always wanted to check out Eclipse, so off we went.

I have actually already been to the Notting Hill Eclipse, and found it utterly delightful…along the lines of a Chicago lounge. So I was intrigued by what was rumored to be a larger, more upbeat Eclipse.

I arrived, and I was the 6th person there. It was 8:30. If you must drink alone, always drink champagne, so I ordered a glass of Moet and waited. Connie showed up about 20 mins later and we moved on to a table, ordering a meditteranean platter while we were at it.

Through the course of the evening, I tried a Rude Cosmo (tequila-based, and delicious) and a Sunburst champagne cocktail (blackberry something or other), also delicious. Our meditteranean plate was OK–the olives weren’t marinated, and they were a little too heavy on the salad and the dips. Not enough breads and other dippers to go along with.

Connie tried the watermelon martini, and it looked fantastic, althought I admittedly didn’t try it.

Service was very attentive and friendly. (And Australian. Perhaps why!) The guests were a distinctive Euro-trashy-y mixture. Many languages being spoken. Beautiful people.

The oddest part of the evening was at 11, when we went to leave. We ran into my friend Brian, who was supposed to be in Mallorca, but was instead running around Old Brompton Road at 11 p.m. on a Saturday night. The world–a small place!

The Verdict: Well, I never went downstairs, so I can’t say for sure. But if you want to chill early in the evening with some great cocktails and some okay-ish snacks, you could stop by here.

The post I am So Trendy: Eclipse first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.