We had a wonderful dinner at Scott's, a fine seafood restaurant in London. The place was known as Bond's favorite restaurant. Yes, Bond, James Bond. Ian Fleming, the creator of the British Secret Service agent, was often seen at Scott's in the 50s and 60s, according to the restaurant. In some of the 007 stories, such as
Moonraker and
You Only Live Twice, Bond was dining in Scotts or suggesting to go there. How exciting!
Although Scott's was located in Piccadilly Circus during Fleming's time and moved to the current location in Mayfair short after his passing away, we could still taste the same dishes that Bond was going to order in
Diamonds Are Forever, such as Dressed Crab. It was a crab version of asparagus mimosa. Served cold, the fine crab meat was sweet and flavorful.
Scott's potted shrimps was said Fleming's favorite dish. Served cold as well. I have never had potted shrimps. I learned later that it's a traditional Lancastrian dish made with the small brown shrimp from Morecombe Bay. The dish is usually flavored with butter and seasoned with nutmeg, and sometimes with cayenne pepper. Scott's must have used a pinch or two, maybe three of cayenne pepper because it was quite spicy for me! As a tradition, Scott's served it with some toasted brown bread (melba toast) along with land cress. The dish was rich and tasty.
Both J and I order Lobster Thermidor as a main dish. It was creamy and delicious. We ordered baked aubergines as a side. We didn't know it was also like a cheesy gratin. Then, a mountain of chips were served, which I also didn't expect.
The dinner turned into the creamy-richest meal in London! That's alright. It was our holiday celebration. When we come back home, we will have a lot of veggies.
The place was chic and lively with people's conversations and beautiful Christmas decorations. It was J's great idea to dine there like Bond and his date. Thank you J!
