Palace Square, St Petersburg

There are not enough superlatives to describe the beauty of St Petersburg. The Neva River runs through the heart of the city, and this and the city’s many canals add to it’s picturesque nature. St Petersburg’s architecture is decidedly European, a legacy from the time of Peter the Great and his love affair of all things European, and this is one of the reasons why The Palace Square overlooking the world-class Hermitage Museum must surely rate as one of the most spectacular squares in the worlds. It might not be as famous as The Red Square in Moscow, but it certainly holds its own in terms of grandeur and wow-factor.

The Hermitage

St Petersburg also lays claim to a collection of world-class art with the famous Hermitage being the second largest museum in the world after the Louvre in Paris. And what is also attractive about St Petersburg is that it is a tourist-friendly city. Contrary to Moscow where I travelled to a few months ago, signs are labelled in both Cyrillic and in the Latin alphabet, and there are tourism offices positioned throughout the city that make the travel experience far easier.

The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood

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It’s such a simple concept, a restaurant that serves one key ingredient – chicken. I mean other than vegetarians, who doesn’t like chicken? The concept is grander than fast food – its chicken done with style – rotisserie style rather than deep-fried. All the chicken served at Clockjack Oven is free-range and comes in the choice of pieces, sandwiches or in salads. There is also a selection of starters and sides to liven up the menu.

It’s a pleasant, friendly looking restaurant although space is a bit of a squeeze. There is a mixture of tables including bar stools by the bar, long tables for big groups and tables outside. The most interesting part of the décor is the rotisserie that sits behind the bar. It’s in plain view of all the diners and you get to watch the chickens cooking as you eat.

For starters we tried some chicken bites (£5.95) which had been marinated in buttermilk, coated in seasoned gram flour and lightly fried. These were really moist and crispy and were scrumptious with the dipping sauces. We tried the ranch, BBQ and chilli sauces, all of which were delicious, particularly the ranch with its creamy, herby and garlicky tones.

Chicken bites

The BBQ chicken wings (£4.95) were also delicious, being moist and lavished with the tastiest of BBQ sauces. The herb bites (£3.95), crispy sage and onion balls, didn’t appeal however as they didn’t deliver a great sage or onion flavour.

BBQ chicken wings

We moved onto the rotisserie chicken which comes in either three (£6.95), four (£8.95) or ten (£18.95) pieces. However I was also told it was possible to order one or more pieces should you wish to supplement your order.

There’s the option of brown or white meat, or both, and I went for all brown. The chicken was nice. There was a good flavour and it wasn’t dry. But then again it wasn’t superbly moist either, probably due to the fact that it had been kept warm in a holding dish for a little while after coming down from the rotisserie.

Chicken pieces

But we loved all the sides that came with it. The double cooked chips (£3.25) were absolutely fabulous and super crunchy, surprising for chips that had only been cooked twice (rather than three times). The tomato and red onion salad was also good with lots of juicy red cherry tomatoes (£3.95) and little bits of fresh, aromatic basil which helped to lift the salad. And the house coleslaw (£3.35) was really nicely done. The cabbage was crunchy and the dressing was neither too rich nor overpowering.

Salad and fries

Colesaw

A lemon tart with crème fraîche (£4.95) proved to be a generously sized portion. The tart was zingy, but it was also too sweet and the pastry was rather soft. However the Purbeck Dorset ice cream (2 scoops £2.95) was really yummy. We tried the vanilla and clotted cream chocolate flavours and both were very good.

Lemon tart

Ice cream

For such a small outfit I was really impressed by the care and quality behind the preparation of the food. And there were lots to like, not just in the chicken but also in most of the starters and the sides. The restaurant was super noisy when it got busy and it was a little short on front of house staff. But that aside, the food was really reasonably priced. All in all Clockjack Oven was a great low key place to scratch your chicken itch and it also seemed like a fun place for large groups.

Summary Information

Food rating: 3.5/5
Service rating: 3/5

Price range: About £20 for three courses, excludes drinks and service.

Website: http://www.clockjackoven.com/

Blue Elephant is one of London’s most iconic Thai restaurants. It opened its doors over 25 years ago on Fulham Broadway but moved to Imperial Wharf in January 2012. The new space is luxurious and beautifully glamorous and was refurbished based on ‘Saran Rom’ Palace in Bangkok, previously the seat of Thailand’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. Décor aside, another strong selling point is that the restaurant is positioned on The Thames, offering those who sit outside on a nice sunny day wonderful views of the river. As an extension to the Blue Elephant restaurant, the Imperial Wharf location also runs a newly created Thai cookery school.

The menu is vast and diverse and is divided into three key sections: Thai cuisine of the Past, Thai Cuisine of Today, and Thai cuisine of Tomorrow. There are also a number of tasting menus including a vegetarian option.

Chef Nooror’s Ma Auan, steamed minced chicken with crab (£14) yielded a good crab and chicken flavour. It had been flavoured with foie gras although this was difficult to detect in the dish. Accompanying the dish was a very tasty sweet and spicy sauce.

Minced chicken with crab & foie gras

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Pierchic – a view of the jetty

With a six-hour stopover in Dubai as I made my way home from Doha to London, I decided that there was just enough time to head out to dinner in Dubai. The alternative would have been to spend six hours shopping at Dubai airport, an option that I considered rather dangerous. And besides, I prefer eating so much more than shopping. But the difficulty was – where to go?!?! There are just sooooooooooo many restaurants in Dubai! I ultimately ended up at Pierchic, a seafood restaurant that is one of the nine dining options in the luxurious Al Qasr, a hotel that is part of the glamorous Madinat Jumeriah Hotel Group. Pierchic has won a string of awards including Dubai Time Out’s Most Romantic Restaurant of 2013 and Best Seafood Restaurant of 2012.

Pierchic sits on a jetty that stretches from the hotel’s edge onto the Persian Gulf. And with its position perched on the water it offers amazing views of its neighbour, the world famous seven-star Al Burj Arab Hotel which is also part of the Madinat Jumeriah Group. With views like this, it is easy to see how Pierchic can lay claim to being one of the most romantic restaurants in Dubai. Allegedly, the restaurant books out for Valentine’s Day six months in advance and has been the site of many a wedding proposal.

Pierchic and views of Burj Al Arab

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Grand Heritage Hotel

Day two of my stay in Doha saw me at the Grand Heritage Doha Hotel and Spa. The hotel is located inland away from the Corniche in the Al Waab district, right by The Aspire Zone, a famous Qatari sporting complex built for the 2006 Asian Games. The Grand Heritage Hotel is indeed very grand looking and resembles a sprawling Victorian mansion and houses Blue Restaurant that serves steak and Japanese food.

The Grand Heritage caters to both business and leisure travellers. There is a business centre which offers services such as binding, laminating, scanning and secretarial, etc, and a spa containing a number of amenities including treatment rooms, a natural pure water indoor swimming pool, a gymnasium, separate male and female saunas, steam room and whirlpool facilities.

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Grand Foyer

Doha, Qatar is not the choice of destination when most people head to the Middle East. Typically, people think Dubai first. To be sure, Doha is not in the same league as Dubai as far as entertainment options goes, but it looks to be seeking more recognition on the global stage. Doha is due to host the 2022 World Cup, and construction is going up left, right and centre. Currently the city is in the process of building one of the largest airports in the world, which is due to open later this year. The new Doha Hamad International Airport will be able to handle some 50m passengers per year, with some estimates putting it at up to 93million. Once opened it will only come second only to Dubai in terms of traffic passing through the Middle East.

And then there is the weather, which is always guaranteed to be warm to hot throughout the year. To be sure it is a little too hot during the summer days, but it helps that everywhere you go there is air conditioned.

Doha also has a string of nice hotels and restaurants, and for the first of my two nights in Doha I stayed at the St Regis Hotel, which was the epitome of 5-Star elegance. The hotel exudes a sense of Middle Eastern mystique and glamour, and as you walk into the hotel, the lobby, which is almost 4 storeys high, will stun you with its breathtaking beauty. As far as 5-star hotels go, this was in a league of its own and must truly rate as one of the most beautiful that I had ever seen.

St Regis Hotel lobby

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There’s no shortage of tapas restaurants in London and Boqueria on Acre Lane is another. It’s a charming looking restaurant perched on the Brixton borders with a relaxed feel to it and a modern décor. Roughly L-shaped, the section towards the back has glass-paneled ceilings overhead that allow in lots of lovely natural light. The menu boasts a reasonable range of choices with both a traditional and contemporary approach.

As is standard at a tapas restaurant we tried a large variety of dishes starting with some marcona almonds (£2.30) to nibble on that were crunchy, nicely seasoned and gloriously delicious. These nuts were a delicious way to being our meal. From the specials, innovative suckling pig croquetas boasted of some lovely sweetness from the suckling pig filling (£6.30) and were really yummy.

Marcona almonds & suckling pig croquetas

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At first glance, Moscow does not come across as the prettiest of cities. And the momentary confusion that grabs you as you first walk into the metro feels a little overwhelming as there are no English signs. But as you learn to navigate yourself and chip away at the language barriers, you soon discover that Moscow is not without its charms. The more you dig, the more you realise that there is more than meets the eye. There is an incredible depth of history behind this grand old city – inside the Kremlin walls is a treasure trove of riches and the fine art offerings in its museums are world class. And St Basil’s Cathedral – well it’s hard to capture the sense of awe that you feel when you first lay eyes on its colourful grandeur.

Saint Basil’s Cathedral

Friends of mine who went to Moscow 20 years ago told me that back in those dark communist times one had to wait about ten hours to get served at McDonald’s. Now the restaurant choices are plentiful and varied, Japanese restaurants are en vogue and some critically acclaimed chefs such as the likes of Pierre Gagnaire have set up shop in Moscow with his restaurant Les Menus at the Lotte Hotel.

So I was on a mission to do some eating of my own, and the first restaurant on the agenda was Expedition, a restaurant that is unique for its sense of adventure and its use of native Russian products. Also popular in Russia are cuisines from the ex-Soviet states so Georgian cuisine at Saperavi Café was up next. Finally Restaurant 57 rounded up the list for a spot of Soviet self-service eating which proved to be surprisingly good.

Expedition Restaurant

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