Barbados No 7

Hi Family, Friends, Davenanters and Bloggers,

So, off we went last night to Sandy Lane which is about twenty five minutes away by Taxi. The Taxi drivers have, so far, all been really good. The Bajan people seem to have the art of conversation and can talk about any topic in a natural and entertaining way. On the way to the Hotel, we passed the three beautiful golf courses that are part of the Hotel and the Taxi driver pointed out the one where Tiger Woods got married.

When we got into the hotel we had a drink first in the Monkey Bar but this was a little bit disappointing because it was freezing cold, had no atmosphere and only two other people in it. We were a little bit worried that we were going to end up in another restaurant with no atmosphere.

When we took our seats in the restaurant and settled into the meal we were not disappointed. We had a lovely evening and a truly delicious, fine dining experience. Sandra insisted that I use the occasion to celebrate my birthday and had brought with her cards from various friends and students at Davenant and a present, which I opened and displayed on the table.

I decided I was going to have three courses from the Menu of The Day and Sandra decided to go for two courses from the A la carte Menu. What we didn't realise was, that in this restaurant you get lots of extras that come "compliments of the chef" so I ended up having seven courses and Sandra, six. Needless to say, the dress I put on at the beginning of the evening, was very difficult to take off at the end of the evening.

The meal started with a selection of canapés which had bite size portions of soft cheese, melon and breadsticks. This was followed by an amuse-bouche which was tomato gazpacho with creme fresh on the top. Then I had my starter which was one large ravioli, stuffed with duck in a lovely sauce. Then we had our main courses: Sandra had a beautiful steak that was about two inches thick that was cooked to perfection and she had that with seasonal vegetables and chips. She said it was the best steak she had ever eaten! I had a poached and roasted chicken that was rolled and stuffed with a thick jus, on a bed of asparagus, peas and mushrooms. Delicious. Next came the pallet cleanser granite which was a rum baba, "compliments of the chef". After that we were almost there. Sandra had creme brûlée with strawberries and rhubarb in a trio of dishes and I also had a trio of dishes but in mine was the most amazing soufflé with a creme anglaise and chocolate ice cream. Just when we thought we had finished the staff brought out a birthday cake with a firework in it surrounded by fresh fruit and the pianist played happy birthday and everyone sang! And, I am not making this up.

Needless to say, breakfast this morning was a frugal affair.

For round two, tonight, we are off to The Cliff. This is a restaurant that was recommended by Tanya when I first started to Blog and she told me that if we are lucky we may get to see Stingrays swim past in the sea when it is lit up at night.