The Dinner

Not as big as I'd planned, but it was cosy. One day, one day, I will be able to see my friends in a group rather than individually.

Lydia and Anthony (the twins), my friends for 27 years (we don't even remember meeting), and Shiho, my friend from Christie's, came through for me at Cocoon, on Regent at Air Street. The others turned up at 11, but we had left by then! Ha. Lydia asked if I would be blogging this, and when I said yes, she said I should put all the pics up, so here they are. (Except for the scary closeup one Tony put on when we weren't looking, and it made me jump when I reviewed the pics.)


(In the larger version of this pic, we look related!)





We ordered lots of edamame with salt. All sorts of sushi - with FRESH wasabi, which was nice. Duck rolls. Seaweed salad. Softshell crab tempura (this was my fave!). We enjoyed the food, and had cocktails. I had a Jasmine Fizz (fresh passionfruit in champagne with jasmine), and then a lychee martini (vodka, lychee juice, rosewater, and a lychee fruit in the bottom).


Nice lighting.


Then we had dessert. Lydia and Shiho got sorbets on banana leaf strips on blocks of ice in wooden trays (banana, mango and rhubarb, passionfruit, strawberry).



Tony and I ordered green tea mochi with white chocolate and green tea ice cream and warm chocolate sauce, also all set on top of ice.




I had to help Lydia with her dessert



They want to come back here...

Shiho left, then we moved on to The Pigalle, that new 40s-style jazz club that has opened on Piccadilly.



Both Lydia and Anthony enjoyed themselves and know loads of people who will like it. We thought we were showing our age by turning up at, and enjoying, a place where the average age of the guests was 40, but Lydia said we were actually showing our wisdom. She always looks on the bright side. What I love about my Twins is that they make me laugh like a maniac.


Kindred spirits forever and ever...Lyds n Liv.



My favourite twins in the whole world!



Lydia said he looked a bit drunk in that one (he wasn't), and insisted on taking another:




So he put his glasses back on. Awwwwwwww, sweet eh?

***

Here I opened my gifts. Shiho had given me a delicate selection of Japanese items:


A tiny mirror



A tube of incense wrapped in handmade paper with handwritten calligraphy



A tiny gold bookmark, nearly as delicate as a leaf


From Lydia:

A leather purse, coincidentally also Japanese

From Lyds & Tony & their entire family:


A special marcasite heart pendant. What is the green stone???