I hadn’t had a winning Wednesday since my £10 three-number lotto luck last month.
That was all set to change as the balls began to rock ‘n’ roll in my favour. The first sign that the stars were realigning Wednesday’s back into their fortune-fold came when I was treated to tea at Topshop’s HQ. Amongst the mini-scones and Darjeeling, updates to the current collection were being displayed, and I’m not sure which was tastier… The main attraction, despite the quality of the cucumber sandwiches, was that we got to choose an item from the sample pieces in the showroom. I’m sure the huge faux fur coat I ferreted away was the predominant cause of my huge smile. Although I reckon the after-tea champagne might have put in it’s bubble-worth.
Then it was as fast a hobble as one can do in gold leather over to the site of London’s most exclusive new club, Molton House, set to open at the end of October. Due to be aesthetically stunning by the time the red carpets mark the official launch, right now it’s a bloody building site and my Courtney Crawford’s were not construction-friendly. However, I dealt with the dust and dived in to what is set to be one of the most luxury venues London has to offer. The gorgeously glam nightclub, restaurant and bar will be joining the capital’s fierce ‘Battle of the Members’ Clubs’ and participation is not for the faint-hearted. However, the weaponry deployed by Molton House in the fight for the top-spenders and stylish-sippers seems set to secure victory. Nick Valentine (co-founder of The Cuckoo Club and winner of ‘Sexiest Host’ at the London Bar and Club Awards 2008) is running the ranks and has recruited creative characters such as Tracey Emin, Alex James, Alice Temperley, Jemma Kidd, James Nesbitt, Philip Treacy and Leah Wood amongst many more as a membership committee to rival any other.
There’s much more to be said about this club (which I feel sure will be the scene of many Big Smoke stories in the near future) – but it will have to wait for a feature piece coming soon, starring Mr Valentine himself.
So this so-far fortuitous Wednesday wound down to a close with a wonderful visit to the opening night of Inamo, a new pan-Asian restaurant and bar on Wardour Street.
I don’t care much for the use of the word ‘concept’ – and especially it’s sneery partner in vocab crime, ‘conceptual’. It really annoys me. However, I have been guilty of using both terms when trying to appear overly creative and clever. And I will have to concede that in this case, the concept restaurant venture from recent Oxford graduates Danny Potter and Noel Hunwick (who incidentally are also as hot as their chilli-spiced Inamo cocktail) is both creative and clever.
Tired of waiting for waiters (none of whom must have been gay – otherwise they’d have been roller-skating their order pad to these two charmers quicktime), the friends designed an interactive ordering system.
Diners order from the table on which an illuminated menu tempts them with all sorts of treats with starters such as Baby Crispy Prawns with Thai Mango Relish and mighty mains like the Pomegranate Duck with sun-dried Pineapple, Chinese Broccoli and Ginger Pomegranate reduction. If you’re as technically-challenged as myself, there’s nothing to worry about. The hardest thing is preventing your ever-eager finger from touching the illustrated items on screen and thereby ordering everything you see. The Head Chef Anthony Sousa Tom (Nobu, Hakkasan, Ubon) makes the food taste so good you might wish you did. You can also see the chefs working on the screen, find the next place to continue your Soho adventures and order taxis.
But you might be better off staying at Inamo’s small but stylish basement bar which offers cocktails such as Sake Mojitos and other potent potions to end the night with more than just sushi-satisfaction. This is of course is what I did, before realising with a resounding thud that one should never mix sake, rum, champagne, vodka and darjeeling all in the same day.
For more info on Inamo go to www.inamo-restaurant.com or call +44207 851 7051
Image courtesy of Inamo
