Sunday 5th April 2009 was so far the most memorable day I've had in the UK. On that evening, I had the absolute pleasure and privilege to dine at The Ritz Hotel in London.
The event was organised by BritBound, a group that organises social events targeted towards new arrivals in the UK. I joined their Facebook group a couple of months after I arrived in the UK, but never managed to attend any of their events. However when I saw that one of the upcoming events was an evening at The Ritz Hotel, I couldn't pass on this opportunity. My RSVP was done quickly as there were only 20 spots available. The cost was £50 per person, which is actually very reasonable for dining at The Ritz Hotel. To stretch the wallet even further, I also decided to shout a good mate as he celebrated his birthday a few days prior.
Befitting the grandeur of The Ritz Hotel the dress code was very important. Gentleman must wear a tie and jacket, and ladies had to wear either a cocktail dress or a smart pair of trousers with top. No problem - I wasn't adverse to dressing up for a formal occasion and I have my own suit, so I was already sorted. All I had to do was pay the money, and turn up at the right hotel on time!
When myself and my mate got there, everyone inside the hotel looked very smart. The staff at the hotel took professionalism to a whole new level, from the way that they spoke to the guests, to holding the door open as you walked through. It was as if we were suddenly transformed into royalty.
We started by having drinks at The Rivoli Bar, where I drank a grapefruit juice and had a few nibbles. During this time we got to know a couple who hailed from Brazil, lived in New Zealand for a few years, and worked in the same industry as us. As we were relatively new to the UK, it was a chance to network and talk about our experiences.
After that, we headed to The Ritz Restaurant, or the most famous dining room in the world, where we had a sumptious 3-course meal. The atmosphere in the dining room was delightful. The lighting was dimmed to suit the mood, and the soft lush piano music lightly echoed throughout the room. For my meal, my entree was a rich onion soup with tortellini, the main was braised ox cheek (which was much larger than I expected), and the dessert was a caramel chocolate tart. The entire meal was absolutely delicious.
An interesting thing that I observed during dining was that no one at the table started eating until the waiters had presented the meals to all diners at the table. The meal, which was on a large plate, was covered by a large-sized brass cover. Once all diners were ready to eat, a group of waiters will pull off the covers in unison, to enhance the dining experience and heighten the anticipation of eating a fine meal.
The group that attended dinner that evening were mainly Antipodeans who had come from New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. In a country far away from home, with British and European accents flying everywhere, it was refreshing to meet fellow Antipodeans who I could relate to more easily. It was a time where I could pull out my Kiwi English, instead of the Queen's English to make myself more understood in this country, not that I've had to use Queen's English here. But I have been mindful of the way I speak to people here because I have been misinterpreted a few times due to my riul thuck Kiwi accent.
After we left The Ritz Restaurant, we did something totally forbidden. Maybe it was our Antipodean natures (after all, and I say this with tongue in cheek, Australia is convict country and New Zealand is Maori country), but we took out our cameras and started snapping at anything and everything inside The Ritz Hotel. I don't know how we got away with it, but we managed to snap easily over a hundred photos between all of us. When we were finally caught, we were reprimanded, but luckily our photos and cameras weren't taken away from us. Hopefully we didn't leave a bad impression on the staff, which might prevent us from dining there again in future.
I've only attended one BritBound event, but I can safely say that this event is one of the best ones organised by BritBound. Wining and dining at The Ritz with fellow BritBounders (expatriates from New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, etc) was an experience I would never have imagined when I first arrived in the UK. It was a great way to meet your fellow countrymen, and meet new BritBounders who have just arrived in the UK to start their big OEs.
Nothing can quite prepare you for the first time you step into The Ritz, the sheer grandeur, opulence and beauty of this legendary hotel is absolutely breathtaking. An experience unrivaled anywhere else, dining at The Ritz Hotel will give true meaning to the phrase wined & dined.
Jolly good show, chap!
The event was organised by BritBound, a group that organises social events targeted towards new arrivals in the UK. I joined their Facebook group a couple of months after I arrived in the UK, but never managed to attend any of their events. However when I saw that one of the upcoming events was an evening at The Ritz Hotel, I couldn't pass on this opportunity. My RSVP was done quickly as there were only 20 spots available. The cost was £50 per person, which is actually very reasonable for dining at The Ritz Hotel. To stretch the wallet even further, I also decided to shout a good mate as he celebrated his birthday a few days prior.
Befitting the grandeur of The Ritz Hotel the dress code was very important. Gentleman must wear a tie and jacket, and ladies had to wear either a cocktail dress or a smart pair of trousers with top. No problem - I wasn't adverse to dressing up for a formal occasion and I have my own suit, so I was already sorted. All I had to do was pay the money, and turn up at the right hotel on time!
When myself and my mate got there, everyone inside the hotel looked very smart. The staff at the hotel took professionalism to a whole new level, from the way that they spoke to the guests, to holding the door open as you walked through. It was as if we were suddenly transformed into royalty.
We started by having drinks at The Rivoli Bar, where I drank a grapefruit juice and had a few nibbles. During this time we got to know a couple who hailed from Brazil, lived in New Zealand for a few years, and worked in the same industry as us. As we were relatively new to the UK, it was a chance to network and talk about our experiences.
After that, we headed to The Ritz Restaurant, or the most famous dining room in the world, where we had a sumptious 3-course meal. The atmosphere in the dining room was delightful. The lighting was dimmed to suit the mood, and the soft lush piano music lightly echoed throughout the room. For my meal, my entree was a rich onion soup with tortellini, the main was braised ox cheek (which was much larger than I expected), and the dessert was a caramel chocolate tart. The entire meal was absolutely delicious.
An interesting thing that I observed during dining was that no one at the table started eating until the waiters had presented the meals to all diners at the table. The meal, which was on a large plate, was covered by a large-sized brass cover. Once all diners were ready to eat, a group of waiters will pull off the covers in unison, to enhance the dining experience and heighten the anticipation of eating a fine meal.
The group that attended dinner that evening were mainly Antipodeans who had come from New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. In a country far away from home, with British and European accents flying everywhere, it was refreshing to meet fellow Antipodeans who I could relate to more easily. It was a time where I could pull out my Kiwi English, instead of the Queen's English to make myself more understood in this country, not that I've had to use Queen's English here. But I have been mindful of the way I speak to people here because I have been misinterpreted a few times due to my riul thuck Kiwi accent.
After we left The Ritz Restaurant, we did something totally forbidden. Maybe it was our Antipodean natures (after all, and I say this with tongue in cheek, Australia is convict country and New Zealand is Maori country), but we took out our cameras and started snapping at anything and everything inside The Ritz Hotel. I don't know how we got away with it, but we managed to snap easily over a hundred photos between all of us. When we were finally caught, we were reprimanded, but luckily our photos and cameras weren't taken away from us. Hopefully we didn't leave a bad impression on the staff, which might prevent us from dining there again in future.
I've only attended one BritBound event, but I can safely say that this event is one of the best ones organised by BritBound. Wining and dining at The Ritz with fellow BritBounders (expatriates from New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, etc) was an experience I would never have imagined when I first arrived in the UK. It was a great way to meet your fellow countrymen, and meet new BritBounders who have just arrived in the UK to start their big OEs.Nothing can quite prepare you for the first time you step into The Ritz, the sheer grandeur, opulence and beauty of this legendary hotel is absolutely breathtaking. An experience unrivaled anywhere else, dining at The Ritz Hotel will give true meaning to the phrase wined & dined.
Jolly good show, chap!
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