Dinner at The Ned - Petrina Christine

The Ned is a Hotel in the City of London and a short walk from Bank Station. They have nine restaurants, a rooftop pool, a gym, spa and hammam.

Gareth Malone was putting a flash mob together for the reopening of The Ned with different choirs around London and my choir (Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir) was included. I’ve never participated in a flash mob before so was excited but didn’t know what to expect. The flashmob was a success (read more about here in the Tatler) and once we finished we were ushered out. Elem, Brenda and I stayed and mingled with the crowds. Gary Barlow performed a couple of songs and then Paloma Faith came out and sang her set list. It was a memorable evening.

The choirs received a voucher to have dinner at a restaurant of our choice at The Ned for taking part in the flashmob. There was a great variety of restaurants from British to French to Italian. Brenda, Elem and I selected Kaia which is an Asian-Pacific restaurant which focuses on serving healthy food. The voucher gave us the option to have a 2 course meal with a cocktail.The decor was simple with marble tables and a vintage style.

For starters, I chose the Crispy Prawns with wasabi mayo. The prawns were coated in a light tempura batter and tasted delicious with a kick of chilli.

I chose the Salmon Poku Bowl with mango, yuzu and salmon caviar. The dish was pleasing to the eye. Each component when paired together provided a burst of flavour in your mouth. I will definitely return and try this dish again.

There was a small selection of cocktails and I went for the Haibisukasu Sour. The cocktail included Bombay Sapphire, Aperol, hibiscus, citrus and egg whites. It was refreshing with the hints of hibiscus and citrus.