Birth time anniversary (a little out)

On my birthday yesterday (although technically it was at 5am on Mongolian time today, since I was born at 10pm BST and this year the Mongolians chose not to put the clocks back), Altaa and I decided to splash out. We went to the Veranda (spelt that way) restaurant which was having a special Spanish week taht we caught the last day of, with a guest chef from Spain, Guillermo Trullas, combining with the resident chef Taivan. The set Spanish menu was very good, especially the starters - calamari, gaspatcho soup and shrimps in oil with garlic and a small, but powerful chili pepper. I chose the Taimen fish for my main course and for desert it was like rice pudding but you mixed the milk sugar with the rice mostly yourself. All this with a lovely view over the Choijin Lama monastery and Altaa presenting me with my birthday present - the book, The Secret History of the Mongols.
After this, we went to the Steppe Inn for the first time properly. Essentially, it's a bar in a big portakabin at the back of the British Embassy, with Her Majesty's staff pulling the pints or serving the spirits. The ambassador himself tends to err on the side of socializing rather than muck in with his underlings and wife. He has stayed away from Europe and North America during his career, preferring proverbial Third World postings. He was ambassador in Hong Kong during the handover in 1997 and a little after and affectionately refers to Chris Pattern as Pat. There's also an embassy cat who is exceptionally friendly. Outside, there are some tables in a space that during the colder months has a ger erected in it. Form the Steppe Inn we carried on to the Blue Martini to talk with Ana and Sol and a couple of their Mongolian friends, before heading home, not wanting to be too exhausted.