Al la Colthard/both ends of the spectrum.

Last week I was in London which was hellish because of the crowds but had two meals that were memorable for different reasons.

The first was in Chinatown at Haozhan with a girl friend of many years.

I knew she would offer to pay her share but likes value and Haozhan ticked all the boxes.

We had duck and dim sum with Jasmine tea and saki.

The duck especially was delicious – the Chinese cook it so much better than westerners, preserving moisture, and capped by a flavoursome plum  sauce.

The final bill was a most reasonable £72 for two.

We decided to tour Chinatown first at midday and had picked out Hoazchan.

It’s a small restaurant that fills up quickly mainly with Chinese which is a good sign.

Stuck in London on Saturday night I decided on an early supper on my own at Milos in Piccadilly.

This is a high-end Greek restaurant priding itself on its fresh fish.

I had grilled octopus, the smaller portion of calamari and a glass of wine.

The fish was succulent, well-prepared and the greeting and service top notch – as it should be as the bill was £105.

This illustrates how expensive London restaurants can be.

Last Wednesday I took my godson and his father to English’s in Brighton and on the adjoining table was the owner.

We agreed that London restaurant prices – especially the wine – are becoming ridiculous and theirs are more sensible and treat me as a regular to a glass of Rathfinny bubbly.

English’s rather reminded me of Langans in the 1980s, a place to meet and then have an extended lunch – often going onto a bar and naughtiness!!!!

Daffers is a bit old for that sort of thing nowadays but every so often such a lunch as ours (ending at 7-00pm) clears the system.

Again – at the other end of the spectrum – I pass on the comments of my excellent window cleaner. He met up with a chum for hopefully a quiet catch-up in Haywards Heath.

He was refused a quiet table, objected to a QR code for the menu, and the manager took umbrage when he did not leave a tip as the overall service was poor.

No wonder more and more people are eating at home where you can have a delicious meal from M & S with fine wine for under £10!