The period of financial tense

The UK encountered its first bank run in more than a century in September 2007 when it became clear to the regulators that Northern Rock was in trouble. By February 2008, the bank was nationalised as a temporary measure.

Whilst some argue that tax payers’ money is at stake, Chancellor Alistair Darling explained "It is better for the Government to hold on to Northern Rock for a temporary period and as and when market conditions improve the value of Northern Rock will grow and therefore the taxpayer will gain."

But did the market improve?

A year has moved on since Northern Rock and the global financial market continues to face severe meltdown:

• Bear Sterns disappeared from the scene as the US investment bank being snapped-up by JP Morgan.
• Freddie Mac and Fanny Mae, the two firms which own or guarantee about $5.3 trillion (£2.7 trillion) worth of home loans - more than half the outstanding mortgages in the US was rescued by the US government.
• By mid-September 2008, Lehman Brothers, the 158-years old Wall Street institution filed for bankruptcy protection, leaving thousands of job losses.
• At the same time, Merrill Lynch, worried being the next bank losing the confidence of investors, was acquired by Bank of America.
• US regulators moved in and shut down Washington Mutual (WaMu), one of the largest savings and loan institutions in the US. The bank was immediately sold to JPMorgan Chase for $1.9bn.

This morning, the headline dropped another ‘shocking’ news, sending the next wave of financial tense to the global market: Bradford and Bingley, UK mortgage lender is expected to be nationalised.

At the point of writing this entry, US is still making significant progress in negotiating for a $700bn rescue plan – a tentative deal which authorised the government to buy up to $700bn of troubled assets from financial institutions.

But is this the end of the problem?

Le Gavroche: A taste of excellent

Le Gavroche
43 Upper Brook Street
London W1K 7QR



Le Gavroche, a French restaurant in Mayfair, London (currently under Michel Roux Jr. stewardship) is one of London most influential and respectable restaurant. It was the first UK restaurant to receive a Michelin star in 1974, a second in 1977 and a third in 1982. The name Le Gavroche comes from the fictional character Gavroche in Les Misérables.



In 2008, Le Gavroche ranks number 22 in Restaurant (a British magazine) Top 50 restaurants in the world, based on the votes of 600 respected chefs, restaurateurs, critics and fun-loving gourmands.



The restaurant offers classical French food, although some dishes come with something of a modern twist. The Food is a work of art. Here are some of the excellent taste of food we recently had the opportunity to indulge in… (apologies for the poor photography skills this time)

Lobster mousse



The escargot



Watercress soup and duck egg wrapped with bacon.



Roast pork




Roast rabbit



Selection of French and British Farmhouse Cheese



Review:
1) Service is excellent!
2) Food is fantastic!
3) Best value set lunch in town!



Verdict: 9 out of 10 points.

Beachcomber Seafood Restaurant – Fresh fish but bad attitude

Kay and I were around Cutty Sark/ Greenwich, London recently and had fish and chips at Beachcomber Seafood Restaurant per our friend’s recommendation. The restaurant is a small but served fresh fish. I would have given the restaurant 9 out of 10 points for the great food. Unfortunately, it has people with ‘shitty’ attitude serving the customers.

Upon seated, we were asked to order our drinks, but no drinks menu was available for our selection. So Kay asked for ice-lemon tea and the waitress says “Sorry, we don’t serve that”. That doesn’t impress us – how would the customers know what drinks is available if we are not given a menu or a list?

Anyway, that was just half the story. The ‘shocking’ event came when the owner or manager or (basically someone that looks in charge) came over to our table filled with ‘wrath’ and ‘sarcasm’. Here is a simple sketch of what happened…














So, my verdict is 4 points out of 10 for the very reason of ‘no matter how good the food is, you will lose your appetite when the people who serve you has attitude problem’. That is unless you don’t mind the attitude – the food is ok.

Notting Hill Festival 2008

Sorry for the prolonged ‘Coming Soon’. I was held back by work.

Anyway, I was referring the ‘Street Party’ to Notting Hill Carnival which took place between 31 August 08 and 1 September 08.

Notting Hill Carnival is an annual event which takes place on the streets of Notting Hill, London, UK each August, over two days. It is led by members of the Caribbean population, many of whom have lived in the area. The carnival has attracted up to 2 million people in the past, making it one of the few largest street festival in the world.

The carnival parades start on Sunday with Children's Day while the main Notting Hill Carnival parade takes place on Monday. Here are some of the snapshot of the main events:

There is the fashion parade...

The is the band to give the carnival the music....

Then there are fancy customers as well...

The carnival even attracted Sun Wukong - the Monkey God!

Street party...

A snapshot of dancers taking the streets in London recently. Update to come...