1 . Where to Eat on Christmas Day in London?
Bob Bob Ricard
The best choice for smaller child-free parties—or pairs—that think of Christmas as an excuse to enjoy distinctly adult treats, let’s say: caviar, oysters, steak, followed by cheese and fries, all washed down with wine (ordered by pressing a button, obviously).
Location: 1 Upper James St, Soho, London W1F 9DF, UK
Contact: 020 3145 1000
Min Jiang Restaurant
If a typical modern Chinese banquet (宴会) is required to refresh the family’s Christmas spirit, book a table atop the Royal Garden Hotel and look out over Hyde Park while sharing a feast that includes traditional Chinese dishes. Since it’s Christmas, it’s probably worth going all out by pre ordering a whole or hall Beijing (Peking) duck, too.
Location: 2-24 Kensington High St, Kensington, London W8 4PT, UK
Contact: 020 7361 1988
The Alexandra
A special case: The Alexandra in Wimbledon offers a wonderful Christmas dinner to anyone spending Christmas Day alone, no charge under whatever circumstances. It is a place of spirit, refuge, and generosity.
Location: 33 Wimbledon Hill Rd, Wimbledon. London SW19 7NE, UK
Contact: 020 8947 7691
The Pem
Sally Abé’s newest restaurant is serving up a classic three courses in Westminster, for £130 a head (children under six, free if accompanied by adults). Guests can choose between smoked sea fish and crab mousse or a special ham for a starter, with bee Wellington or a plate of goose coming as main dishes, followed by Christmas pudding and ice scream. We offer a 10% discount if the total cost is over £500.
Location: 22-28 Broadway, London SW1H 0BH, UK
Contact: 020 3301 8080
1. Which number should you dial if you love Chinese food?| A．020 3145 1000. | B．020 7361 1988. | C．020 8947 7691. | D．020 3301 8080. |
| A．A family banquet. | B．A wine party. | C．A living place. | D．A free dinner. |
| A．£468. | B．£520. | C．£585. | D．£650. |
2 . What will restaurants look like in the future? What would your dinner taste like if a robot cooked it? A robot restaurant in Tianjin may give you the answers.
Covering an area of over 400 square meters with a total of 112 seats, the X Future Restaurant is a robot restaurant opened in November 2018. The restaurant has amazed customers with its fully-automated technology, which covers every step of the dining experience, from ordering to cooking to serving the dishes and even taking payment.
Entering the restaurant, one can order dishes by simply scanning the QR codes on the table. There are over 40 choices of dishes. After taking the order, “robot cooks” prepare dishes using fixed time, temperature and ingredients designed by famous Chinese cooks.
“As the cooking is controlled by a computer system, the taste and quality of dishes can be good,”said Li Xiaokui, manager of the X Future Restaurant.
Robots also complete the delivery of dishes. Without following any designed route, the robot waiters serve meals thanks to automated driving technology, which helps each robot timely change its route when something is in the way.
These eye-catching technologies have received wide praise from customers. “The dishes taste surprisingly good. I couldn’t believe that they were made by robots, especially dishes that were difficult to cook”, one customer said. “The application of robots has increased our efficiency and cut down our costs,” Li said, “I think robot restaurants will develop fast and have a bright future.”
1. What do we know about the X Future Restaurant?| A．It covers over 112 square meters with 400 seats. |
| B．Customers could enjoy fully-automated services |
| C．Robot waiters deliver dishes following fixed routes. |
| D．Robot cooks design dishes by themselves. |
| A．They are prepared by human cooks. | B．They are not accepted by customers. |
| C．They are ordered by scanning QR codes. | D．They are not easy for robots to prepare. |
| A．Worried | B．Doubtful. | C．Puzzled. | D．Hopeful. |
| A．A Robot Restaurant Was Opened in Tianjin. | B．Robots Cook Delicious Dishes like Humans. |
| C．The X Future Restaurant Has Become Popular. | D．Robots Are Helpful in Many Restaurants. |
| A．In a shop. | B．In a restaurant. | C．In the woman’s house. |
4 . A McDonald's restaurant has been rated one of the worst in the UK, out of 1,300 of the chain's outlets. The restaurant in question is in Kingswinford near Dudley, and Birmingham Live reports it has attracted a rating of just two.
Setting
As I walked into the restaurant itself. I noticed it was fairly busy for nearly 11：30 a. m. on a Tuesday in January. It looked clean and well organized. I didn't see any messy tables, or food left lying around. The outside was also tidy - no overflowing bins or rubbish dumped.
Service
There was no one serving behind the counter when I arrived at the restaurant, only those handing out the orders.
Having read reviews on TripAdvisor about items being missed from orders and cold food, I wasn't holding out too much hope.
Overall
So I headed to the Kingswinford branch full of fear of what might be in store after reading the overwhelmingly terrible reviews on TripAdvisor.
| A．But is it really that bad? |
| B．Would the restaurant be messy? |
| C．For first impressions, it didn't seem too bad. |
| D．But, I have to be honest, I was pleasantly surprised. |
| E．So I had to use the self-service screens, which was no big issue. |
| F．Even the most latest reviews from December are very negative. |
| G．Yet within minutes, I was being presented with a large tray of food. |
5 . Home delivery meal kits have been one of the bits of the pandemic: they have enabled diners to carry on getting a taste of restaurant-quality food, while helping restaurants to stay in business, and even make you an excellent chef. Here are four of the best offering delivery in our region:
Berenjak (berenjakbazaar.com)
“The kabab kits from this London-based Iranian restaurant — which range in price from £25 to £45 — are a ‘class act’,” says Jay Rayner in The Observer. “My kit even included a pair of plastic gloves for me to wear while dealing with the raw meat. This is the best kind of meal kit — the cooking is fun, and the finished product is utterly delicious.”
Gujarati Rasoi (gujaratirasoi.co.uk)
“I love this vegetarian restaurant,” says Marina O’Loughlin in The Sunday Times. “And its meal boxes are ‘electrifyingly good’ too. Family boxes for four cost £65, and I especially love the starter (£15.50). The dishes were complicated, yet quite easy to cook.”
Lyle’s (lylesprovisions.com)
“This Michelin-starred London restaurant delivers its ‘exquisitely delicious’ menu boxes each Friday,” says Xanthe Clay in The Daily Telegraph. “At £140 for two, they aren’t cheap, and with multiple courses, they do take a bit of work and concentration to cook.”
Santo Remedio (santoremedio.co.uk)
“Order a Remedy kit from Santo Remedio and what you will get is an incredibly generous, sharing-style Mexican feast for two,” says Anna Lawson on BBC’s “Good Food”. “The kits come with a choice of slow-cooked meat, accompanied by all the ingredients to make your own pancake. Preparation is simple, thanks to a colour-coded instruction.”
1. What can be found in all the introductions to home delivery meal kits?| A．Small gifts. | B．Cooking instructions. |
| C．Nice discounts. | D．Personal recommendations. |
| A．Berenjak | B．Gujarati Rasoi | C．Lyle’s | D．Santo Remedio |
| A．Restaurant cooks. | B．Trainee chefs . |
| C．Ordinary housewives. | D．Hotel managers. |
