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Liam's London Diary
Lunch Time Cookery Group
Eating out
We met at the Yaa Centre and discussed where we wanted to go for our meal. We decided on Whiteley?s shopping centre in Queensway where there is a nice selection of small restaurants and cafes.
Ignoring public transport, we proceeded along the Harrow Road and arrived shortly in Whiteleys to discover that there was an Irish art exhibition on and so we decided to cater for our artistic discernment before going for our meal. The art was pretty mixed ranging from the more traditional scenic to pop and modern. What was interesting was the way we differed in our appreciation of the various works and what one thought was brilliant the other felt was rubbish. When you recognise the width of our views it?s a wonder that we agree on anything .
Anyhow up to the second floor we went and had a scout round to decide on the restaurant of our choice. The Pizza Pasta looked interesting with a bright open plan and easy on the eye modern paintings. There was a also little balcony inside which would have given an unusual view. Chi-Chi?s, a Mexican restaurant, was enticing with an attractive offer of a platter with shrimps, beef, chicken and sautéed vegetables and the Margaritas were an extra draw. Poons was a Chinese restaurant, quite large but laid out with a formality that was dull and uninviting. MacDonalds was at the end of the floor but we had come to do something different.
We decided eventually on Ma Potters which was decked out like an old American western saloon with saddles and harness and tiled floor and wooden partitions with broken plaster When we took our seats the country and western music began to bite and we wondered if, after a bit, it was going to get inside our brains and drive us crazy. It did worry us a little but the music did change to something equally unpleasant but at least it was a change. We had been warned, there was a poster outside for a country dance with The Stony Creek foot stompers.
We sat in the restaurant for a while and everybody was beavering about but nobody wanted to approach our table. If they wanted to create an atmosphere of Western laid backness they were winning hands down. Eventually we decided to call halt to the game of who ignores who the longest and called the waitress over. She feigned surprise that we had not been dealt with and whipped out, if a steady fumble could be called that, her ordering pad and took our order. I had the chilli and rice and Suzie had the spicy chicken with chips. We both had the soup and bread for starters. As the waitress was moving away I asked her for some water and it might have been ground sawdust cordial for all the sense that registered. After prolonged and louder repetitions of the word water and a careful and clipped explanation of the humble aqua pura she smiled and grasped our request and was on her way wondering at the strange ways of the diners in Ma Potters.
The food came pretty fast and was very enjoyable. I think its only a game that they play with the customers to see if your nerves will stand up to a little battering before they serve you a pretty decent meal. It cost just under £10 for the two of us but there was a ten per cent service charge when we got the bill. If you have all the time in the world, don?t mind a spot of dithering and dallying, are prepared to do a study of the idiosyncrasies of the restaurant worker and believe in a fair reward at the end of the day, then don?t hesitate. Jump over those rails with a cry and a holler to Ma Potters. They don?t really care if you don?s pass by again; there?s lots more wagon trains rolling in from Queensway and all points further east.
I suppose I should I should have warned them that I was the restaurant critic for Muse Mews. I think that they already knew.
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