I’m not sure what I’ve done wrong.
There are people outside my building today that would happily unleash medieval acts of horror upon my body if I divulged to them that I work for a bank. If I actually let it slip that I was an evil derivatives trader, goodness only knows the extent of the chinese burns and wedgies they’d want to inflict. And all-in-all, I’m not sure why they want to do this to me…
Choices and Responsibility
More to the point, I’m not convinced the people outside know why they want to do this to me, or bankers in general. I may be very wrong but, in life, you makes choices and take responsibility. Society confronts everyone with a set of rules, choices and incentives. With a vague idea of the kind of lifestyle I might one day aspire I set out to make the best of my choices within this rule set. I worked hard. I’ve made choices and taken responsibility. I have 5-A levels and two university degrees. I get into work at 7am and work 12hr days. No one handed me this jobs and its rewards. I take choices and I handle my responsibility.
Let’s be clear: the current economic recession is driven primarily by the erosion of prices in the US housing market. People over-extended; credit cards and mortgages. They took the choice to borrow money that was on offer (their choice), that they could never afford to repay. Yet it is the bankers that are being held responsible for the resulting mess; a total disconnection of choice and responsibility. A Simpson’s style lynching.
Frivolous
I find the only appropriate response when confronted by such mob-madness is frivolous and impromptu dining; appetite indulgence to be sure. When my gorgeous date suggested a last-minute 50%-off-food Toptable offer at Mango Tree on Tuesday, it seemed the perfect way to spend what could potentially have been a last evening with all my limbs attached correctly.
Mango Tree, just across the little park outside Victoria Station, is a fun Thai place to go for dinner. Their system hadn’t quite caught up with our last minute online booking, but we were happy to sit in the dark-wood bar, have a quick drink and wait before we were seated at our table. The large main room was packed, with every one of the close-together tables taken. The sheer number of diners made it loud, but there’s something about Asian cuisine that lends itself well to “large-room-buzzy-atmosphere” eating experiences (a la Hakasan), where the same type of thing falls down badly when attempted with other food-types.
I ordered squid stuffed with pork mince and coriander, followed by Gaeng Garee Pla (Yellow curry with monkfish and butterfish). I was expecting the squid dish to be warm but in hindsight, what with it being stuffed with pork, I guess that would be a little hard to put together. It turned out to be cold and had the look of something that had been pre-prepped a while ago, but it tasted good and the squid was cook well, if a little un-yielding due to it’s time in the fridge. The curry dish was first-class. The sauce was rich and flavoursome and the generous chunks of fish stayed firm and were cooked well. My gorgeous date had queen scallops in their shell with garlic and sweet basil crust (lovely, if a little small), followed by a visually appealing razor clam and mushroom stir-fry.
The 50% Toptable offer which has been running forever, makes this a great value destination. A 60 quid bill with 2/3rds of that being booze was well worth it for this condemned man’s last meal.
Mango Tree46 Grosvenor Place
London SW1X 7EQ
