in the Russian language…

Story & photos by Dr. Michael Lim The Travelling GourmetTM

All rights reserved

Photos are of REAL food with no special effects or props

The irrepressible Travelling Gourmet stays in a 21st Century Bed & Breakfast with a…

MELLOW & soothing atmosphere. Remont is a cool & welcome haven after the hustle & bustle of Oxford City, shopping & sightseeing. It is quite far from the City Center, and you have to take a bus from Banbury Road to get there. It is not for those who want to stay right in the city centre close to the restaurants and Colleges. The area is in a quiet residential suburb of Oxford. However, the rooms and suites are comfortable, clean & well equipped. The rooms also have tea, coffee making facilities with sachets of Coronet Hot Chocolate & nice biscuits too. 

It is almost like a hotel, except there is no Bar or Restaurant. This is actually good because Bars mean there are always some drunken revellers around carousing, shouting, singing uproariously and disturbing the peace.

1st Meal of the Day!

                                    YUMMYLICIOUS!

There is a cosy Breakfast Room that serves a most delightful Buffet Breakfast that would put some hotels to shame. All freshly cooked and prepared by the friendly Polish cooks, all ladies. J’adore the crispy, fragrant Bacon, Eggs Sunny Side Up, Fried Multi Grain Bread, Baked Beans, Cumberland Pork Sausages oozing with flavour, Mushrooms sauteed in herbs and Butter, Grilled Tomatoes, Cheeses like Red Babybel and Cheddar Babybel, Fresh Fruit Salad of zesty Strawberries, green seedless Grapes, Granny Smith Apples, Kiwi & Honeydew, Apple, Orange & Grapefruit juices, Bread Basket and Croissants and Pain au Chocolat, Danish pastries, fluffy Brioche, Poppy Seed encrusted Rolls, Cereal like Muesli, Cornflakes and Alpen, Coffee, selection of fine teas like Darjeeling & Earl Grey, Danone Activia Yoghurt of Apricot, Figue (fig) and Zangy Rhubarb and MORE!  A toaster lets you toast your own bread. There are also 12mm thick medallions of my favourite flavoursome Black Pudding, beloved of the Germans as Blutwurst, but only on weekends. C’est la vie. It brought back happy memories of the British Army Camp at Catterick. Years ago, A British Army Chef taught me how to make the perfect Omelette.

Outside the Breakfast Room, which doubles as a Lounge after Breakfast, there is a most splendid tastefully landscaped garden with a swing that all swingers will love to swing on, including myself. A very “Zen” atmosphere…

If you fancy dining in restaurants, a 12 minute walk will bring you Summertown. In Summertown, there are supermarkets like Tesco and Marks & Spencer and many nice restaurants. I like Portabello at No. 7 South Parade which is quite well run and the food is pretty good. Most of the restaurants are on South Parade. Incidentally, Porta bello means beautiful port/harbour in Italian but the food is not Italian per se.

                                                           Portabello’s warm ambience

Lydia, the charmant (charming) Manager and her colleagues like bubbly Natasha & Silvia  of Remont are very helpful, caring and warm hearted. I had fun practising my Spanish with Silvia! They are not only hardworking, they really go the extra mile when you have any inquiries or need recommendations for shopping or sightseeing. They made my stay very enjoyable.

AS The Travelling Gourmet, I have stayed in huts deep in the jungle to the 5 Star ueber-luxurious Hotel Danielli in Venice, but I would happily stay in Remont again for its comfort & hospitality. Enjoy! {:-)