I have had some wonderful times in London the last few days.  I enjoyed a long walk on Tuesday evening from Seven Dials to Borough.  It was cold but clear and calm and London looked amazing in the dark.  This the view to the East from Waterloo Bridge.

Last night we went out to celebrate Lara’s birthday.  We had a cocktail at the Waldorf Hotel. Then on to dinner at The Delaunay. The Delaunay is in the style of a Grand European cafe.  It was busy with the lively chatter of people enjoying themselves,  the atmosphere was comforting and convivial and the service was impeccable.

I had a fabulous spiced lentil and kale soup to start but they did not have one single vegetarian main meal on the menu!  I was really surprised.  So I selected 3 vegetable side dishes; wilted spinach, cauliflower cheese and fries.  So not the healthiest but for a celebration it could have been far worse. I had 2 scoops of blood orange sorbet for dessert which was lovely.   We had such a lovely evening together celebrating my beautiful daughter’s birthday. Today I had banana, blueberries, oats and coconut yogurt for breakfast. At lunch time we went to Dishoom, which was fabulous.  My colleagues at work have been several times before but this was my first.  It is based on the Irani cafes established in Bombay in the 1930’s.  We shared various plates for starters and I had a vegetables samosa, okra and 3 chutneys.  The okra was the best I have ever had as the outside was crunchy and the inside soft.  Completely yummy and I could eat a whole plateful. I drank Darjeeling tea with my meal.  I had the house black daal, a Roomali Roti and a bowl of greens.  The dal was very rich so I suspect it had cream in it which is not great on a  diet but it did taste incredible.  It was perfectly spiced and probably the best daal I have ever had.  The Roomali Roti is described on the menu as a “soft handkerchief of thin bread, gridled to order on an upturned tawa”.  Every mouthful was a pleasure. This was lightly cooked spinach, broccoli and mange tout, with spices. I need to eat this bread and daal again.  I was going to have the daal with a potato dish but I was corrected by two of my colleagues who said the daal should be eaten with bread. At home I wasn’t very hungry but I was very tired so I had a really simple supper of an avocado with lime juice and some cherry tomatoes with a large mug of green tea. I enjoyed it all but did then have some raisins and cashews later.

So not the healthiest of meals in the last couple of days but plenty of wholefoods and plant-foods.  And given the occasions, I did well for me.