Review: British Airways Concorde Room First Class Lounge at London Heathrow Airport

On a 13-hour layover in London Heathrow Airport recently, I had the fortune to experience the Concorde Room, British Airways' first class lounge. No, I was not flying first class (coach, totally) but I knew someone who was flying first class and got me in as a guest.

British Airways has three separate lounges in Heathrow airport and the Concorde Room is open only to first-class flyers or Gold members of British Airways Executive Club or Emerald oneworld member flying on BA or partner airlines.

Thanks to that, the Concorde Room is quiet and fairly empty. The wine selection is better, of course.

Even the cocktail menu was unexpected. I was expecting the regular highballs but they actually had unique craft cocktails on the menu here. I had the Fusion Fizz, a combination of Tanqueray TEN, jasmine tea syrup, lemon sherbert, and tonic. It was created by bartender Richard Tring, one of Bristol's best.

There's no food buffet at this lounge. Instead, guests sit down for a three-course menu. With wine, naturally.

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Crepe Making with Saltbox Farm at The KITCHEN at Boston Public Market

If you live in Boston, I'm sure you've visited the Boston Public Market, but did you know about The KITCHEN at Boston Public Market at the back of the market? The KITCHEN is managed by The Trustees, one of the largest owners and steward of agricultural land in Massachusetts and a founding member of Boston Public Market. The KITCHEN frequently holds hands-on cooking classes and educational experiences that highlight New England farmers, artisans, and chefs.
I recently got to attend a crepe making class with Saltbox Farm and the chefs from Saltbox Kitchen, their farm cafe in Concord, MA.

Since my mom was visiting me from Indonesia I took her along for the class.

Each table can fit four people and equipped with our own cutting boards, one induction stove per table, and the ingredients for our menu. The ingredients for The KITCHEN's cooking classes all come from the Boston Public Market, including some gorgeous oyster mushrooms for our crepes.

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Astro's Doughnuts & Fried Chicken (Downtown LA)

Doughnuts. We can't get enough of them. The popular DC-based Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken is now open in downtown LA. It's been named one of the best donut shops in America, so of course I had to try them! And I tried quite a few of them ..


Astro's has a selection of three hot cake doughnuts that will be made fresh to order, and you don't want to miss these. I got the Nutella hot cake doughnut (but it was a tough choice between this and maple bacon).

You have to get one of these made-to-order donuts if you have time to eat in the store! Warm donut with melted Nutella. So good! I'm normally a fan of yeast donuts more than cake donuts, but this was an exceptionally good cake donut.

Made-to-order donuts aside, Astro's doughnuts are made fresh in small batches throughout the day, and their batter is never frozen. Look out for their special seasonal flavors, like this Chocolate Banana Daiquiri filled with banana custard

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