Ocean Cantonese Restaurant, Costa and Harry Brown, all in one day!

We went to a Chinese restaurant today. Yes, not a takeaway! Shocking. :P It's called Ocean Cantonese Restaurant, located in North Hykeham which is around 10 minutes drive from where we live. It's run by a Chinese family - not surprisingly - and had always looked quite expensive and upper-class every time we drove by it on our way to somewhere. But I stumbled upon their online menu today after work (after Boy said he was starving because his lunch tasted like detergent and he didn't finish it) and the prices were quite reasonable for a Chinese restaurant in England, so we decided to give it a go.

Stepping into the restaurant was quite a pleasant surprise. It was decorated and furnished in the style of a posh Chinese restaurant, kinda like a place where you would hold an expensive wedding reception in, for example. The waiting area was some sofas next to the bar. We were immediately greeted and led to a table for two. The restaurant itself had muted lighting, large round tables (and smaller square tables) covered in thick white tablecloths, proper napkins, wood-framed and cushioned chairs, good quality silverware and table setting. There are some tiny photos on their website, but those photos really don't do it any justice. It was beautiful.

We sat down and Boy got a Coke and I got myself a little pot of jasmine tea whilst we look through the menu. We (or rather, I, because I'm a bossy cow) decided that we should order some dishes and share them over rice, like we typically do in a Chinese restaurant. We ordered Sweet and Sour Pork to appease Boy's taste, Beef and Green Pepper in Black Bean Sauce because I know that is usually good, and Kung Po Chicken because I've always liked Kung Po Chicken but I have yet to find somewhere in Britain that makes it properly. With that is Egg Fried Rice, which I was a bit begrudging about since who the hell pay £2.70 for Egg Fried Rice? I can make it for less than 50p!

Anyway, the dishes came lightning quick! They set up the three dishes on top of a metal shelf thing with tea lights at the bottom to keep the food hot whilst we eat it, a bit like what they usually do with whole fish dishes, and they were all really yummy. It was surprising for me to taste something so authentically Chinese in Britain, because so far all the Chinese buffets and takeaways I've had, they had been good but did not have the authentic look and taste. These dishes today looked and tasted like they could've come from a restaurant from home.

I forgot to take photos because I was too busy digging into the food! Sorry. Haha. The service was fantastic too, drinks were poured for us and rice were dished out for us and I was offered chopsticks (which I declined, and the Chinese man was very surprised at this!). And the moment our glass or pot was empty, someone immediately appeared and asked if we would like more drinks or the pot topping up with more hot water. <3 I did manage to take photos of the dessert because it was too cute not to.

Boy's Mint Bombe - Mint ice cream with an outer chocolate shell and a melted chocolate centre.

My Coconut Half - Half a coconut shell filled with coconut ice cream with a chocolate slice in the centre!

There were so many other desserts that were so interesting, I wanted to try all of them. :( Most of them are admittedly filled fruits with similar ice cream or sorbets, like a whole lemon rind filled with lemon sorbet, etc.

Overall I am very satisfied with the restaurant and the food, and it's great to know that if I ever miss authentic Chinese food, there is a place nearby that serves it! I'm also really glad that Boy is very open to trying new dishes now, like Kung Po Chicken. Quite different from the Boy that I first dated who was a bit averse to non-English food and anything spicy. :) I think the first trip to Malaysia and our regular makan sessions had managed to expose him to far too many different tastes - some good, some bad - for him to feel surprised at any type of food he tries in the future. Hehe.

After the meal, we were supposed to watch Harry Brown at the cinema but we had around an hour to kill, so we went to Costa and had their Christmas special - Mint Hot Chocolate.

Love in a mug. <3

I've got Christmas in a mug! *happy* Boy thinks I'm the cheesiest person alive!

Was so stuffed after eating, dessert and then a large mug of hot chocolate that I felt a bit sick and decided against consuming any more sugary drinks. Settled for a bottle of spring water for the movie.

The movie itself was pretty good. I enjoyed it, even though some parts were pretty slow and dragged a bit, I felt overall it was necessary to establish a sense of Real Time, ie that some time has passed from one scene to another. I also like how Michael Caine as Harry Brown has somehow managed to make old men with emphysema look cool.

Do I sound ageist when I say that?