"Firstly I must say how pleased I feel, having been asked to contribute reviews of the
many fine restaurants and cafe's that we have here, in the Wuxi China Expatdom.
After a gruelling morning sweating-over subjunctives and tenses, a man builds-up
a hearty appetite, so it's just great to swing around to a sumptuous lunch right near where I work.
"The La Titanica" isn't actually a new restaurant though. Everyone will remember that it was previously a nice kebab eatery called "Pitta the Great". Under new ownership, this restaurant has been drastically-remodelled as "La Titanica".
"Location-wise, this place is a breeze for me. You just enter Baoli via the north-east
(First Class) gangway entrance, then only a few metres to the left where you'll see the elevator.
Inside, you go down to basement level 'E', turn right after the third
door (on your left), then take the right-hand side corridor, and there it is right in front of you.
"I'm met at the door by the genial, capable, warm, big, firm handclasp of
Bob "Budget" Spicer. Bob and I are old chums. "La Titanica" is a 100%-accurate
re-creation of the First Class Dining Saloon of that fine old ship, and
obviously it's luxury with a capital "l". The decor is meticulous, down to every last rivet.
"But this is a real, working, eatery. No Jim Cameron-ry here, so have no fear of corsets, or Leo, Rose, or any other clowns inside this beautiful, and, really, really, huge, room. Anyone seeking a chickflick-atmosphere here will be out of luck. Quite unthinkable, here in the heart of the Expatdom, of course.
Bob seats me by the starboard porthole, which is faithfully refilled with sea-water at all times.
I sink into my chair as Bob places the 'cuffs on me, and then he presents me with the menu. Such aplomb. Oh gosh....what to order though?
"Today I began with a chilled tonic-water (no ice), then let my eyes take-in this stunning
soaked-mahogany-soaked decor. Almost always a few business tycoons here in the clientele, and
we nod and smile at each other as proper-gentlemen. I settled for the bombe Alaska, but made a mental-note to try the rack of sausage, or deep-fried prawn, next time.
With the flaming-dish and tossed-salad before me, my eyes were burning, and, unfortunately,
I was fuming, because a noisy group of Nanjing Expats had lit-up their cigars at the adjoining table.
They were also drunk-out-of their-tiny-minds, but with just a swift click of my fingers, Bob
had them under control, kissing his ass, in no time. That explains a lot.
"It was all delicious. Bob waved away my proffered-tip with a dismissive flourish.
"La Titanica" does not disappoint".
Price:
Washroom Cleanliness:
Service:
Ambience:
Behaviour of non-WCE Expat Patrons:
Please note: this review was dictated to me by Andis Kaulins, The English Teacher, and I made a terrible grammatical error in my text-editing. (not going to tell you where!).
ReplyDeleteMea culpa.