Last night Norm and I tried a new venue to celebrate his birthday. I had just planned a quiet dinner for us two as I had thrown him a small drinks evening at our house on Sunday and invited all of our friends. I knew we might be a bit tired on Monday as a result and I had work all week so I did not plan anything too raucous.

I did not tell him where we were going until I needed to direct him into their car park. We went to Lucky Bao Bar which is the sister restaurant to Cheyne’s which is located directly next door to Lucky Bao.

Both are owned and operated by Cheyne Morrisby, who in my opinion is a culinary genius. I had wanted to go Cheyne’s but as they have a winter special on in July it is booked solid! However I am very pleased we went to Lucky Bao as it was a fabulous evening. We were the only people when we arrived.

Norm ordered a glass of wine on arrival but I opted for a cocktail. It was called Buddha something or other and contained Vodka and lime and passionfruit and all manner of nice things. I did not take note and cannot find their cocktail menu online.

To start off I had the Chicken Yakitori which is chicken skewers in a peanut butter and coconut cream sauce. There were 5 skewers of chicken breast which was more than adequate as a starter. The chicken was tender and the sauce divine.

Norm had the Belly Bao: Grilled Pork Belly, soy, maple and sriracha.

He really enjoyed this. I had a wee nip of the bao and it was soft and tasty.

For his next course Norm had the Lucky Wagyu Burger. It has bacon, cheese, a spicy sauce and wagyu beef and is a generous serving. The pic of our burger is on the left but it was quite dark so I nicked the lovely pic on the right off of Lucky Bao’s Facebook page.

He had it with the Lucky Slaw. It contained mandolin sliced root vegetables in a green chili mayo.

I had the Korean Fried Chicken which was really lovely. There were 3 large pieces and it was ever so crispy, almost like it was coated in cornflakes. It came with a dip. I do not know what the dip was as I cannot find their full menu online. Whatever it was it was nice.

I also had the Gyoza which are little dumpling type items filled with a saucy short rib in a little pastry type casing and it came with a spicy sauce. I loved this dish.

We shared a bowl of Nori dusted fries served with Bullseye sauce. It was nice and spicy.

I had my eye on a dessert and fancied the tempura banana with peanut butter ice cream but I was just way too full to have dessert. I was a bit of a piggy but I was starving and it was all so divine.

The staff were very friendly and you watch them cooking the food right in front of you. It got a wee bit smoky so they had to open the door but it was a freezing cold night and it could not remain open. In summer it will be fab to sit outside on the balcony and enjoy the food in the night air. We will certainly be back, we really loved the experience!

I give The Lucky Bao Bar a solid 5 Kitten stars.

When we got home Caitlin was back from pulling up the carpets in her new flat and we gave Norm the presents from the kids. They got him a pot to go on the braai to keep meat warm and a new briefcase for his laptop.

He is wearing one of the shirts I gave him, I gave him 2 dress shirts and a pair of comfy track suit bottoms. He was very happy with his presents and I was very happy with our evening. Happy Wife Happy Life Happy Norm!