back to my old stamping ground

I've just had a short break at my inlaws to let Jen go shopping with her Auntie Karen and as I'm not an olympic standard shopper like they are I decided to meet up with my "best woman" Anne-Marie and head off for lunch in Newcastle's Chinatown (well, China hamlet, as it's only one street of restaurants bars, a supermarket and a casino).

When we were undergrads at Newcastle Uni we used to head off for a businessman's lunch on Stowell St as it was a cheap way of trying lots of Chinese food, and it's easy to get fed up of the usual student diet of pasta or chilli.

It was good to be back, although the fancy arch (taipan) is new, the food is just as good as ever. We had lunch at the Mandarin restaurant, then headed off to the Theatre Royal to get tickets for the RSC's productions in October. D had suggested I get some tickets for us and Jen and include his Mam as she loves Shakespeare but his Dad is not so keen. So we're booked to see Romeo & Juliet and Anthony & Cleopatra, and Anne-Marie and her teen are joining us for R&J. Fab!!! I am soooo excited!

The rest of the trip was good too, we went to see Toy Story 3 with my MIL, who hadn't see 3d before. It was a great film,  very funny, a good story, and a bit of a weepie at the end.
5 stars!! *****