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yasai yaki soba with mushroom

We were in London for a show, and afterwards we headed to the Covent Garden branch of Wagamama.

That area of London is quite busy on a Saturday evening, but the advantage of Wagamama is that you can’t book. We arrived and were able to go straight in. When we left there was a queue for the place.

There was a wide range of choices on the menu, I had initially considered a Korean hotpot with tteokbokki, however it was quite a hot day and I wasn’t sure if I wanted a hot pot dish, also for me that ruled out a ramen as well. I did like the idea of a salad, but in the end I went with the yasai yaki soba with mushroom.

This was soba noodles cooked with mushrooms, egg, peppers, beansprouts and white and spring onion. topped with crispy fried onions, pickled ginger and sesame seeds. It was really good. I love the combination of flavours and textures. It is probably my go to dish when visiting Wagamama. This dish had a good portion of mushrooms and I found it delicious.

Though service was okay, we did have a long delay on the gluten-free dish for our table. When it did arrive it was very tasty I was told. I really don’t mind that Wagamama bring out the dishes when they’re ready, but we weren’t really expecting the difference to be nearly thirty minutes! As a result I had finished my food (as it was the first to arrive) by the time the gluten-free dish arrived on the table. That was disappointing.

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Time for some Gas Street Social tacos

I met up with some friends in Birmingham for drinks at the Gas Street Social at The Mailbox in Birmingham. We decided to that we would stay where we were and eat at the Gas Street Social.

Though I visit Birmingham on a regular basis, pretty much going at least once a year I was a little surprised that I didn’t realise I hadn’t heard of or visited The Mailbox before. There are quite a few places to eat there. Somewhere I would probably now visit in the future. Of course Birmingham is a big place and in the main I have usually been to places around the ICC and Brindley Place.

Looking over the menu I went down the small plates route. I was quite hungry, as I had missed out on having a big lunch and it had been a long day.

I went with four small plates, these are only really big enough for one, and not entirely suitable for sharing.

The first of my dishes to appear was the achiote chicken taco.

A single soft taco filled with achiote chicken, and dressed with sauces, pickled red onions and coriander. The chicken was nice and tasty, as were the accompaniments. The taco was either stale or overcooked, but wasn’t as soft as I would have preferred.

The second small plate was the cajun fried shrimp, a soft shell taco, crispy cajun shrimp, sautéed shallots, peppers, and spicy Baja sauce.

Some good flavours in there, but the prawns were a little greasy for me.

My final taco was a cauliflower tinga taco. 

This was a crispy corn tostola, blackened cauli, and black bean hummus. It was nice. This was very similar to the achiote chicken taco in both appearance and flavour. I did like the black bean hummus.

Alongside I had some loaded tater tots, which were loaded with salsa, guacamole, and cheese sauce.

Though not a huge dish, it was quite filling. I enjoyed it very much. The salsa was nice, zingy and tasty.

There was a little too much food, so much so, that I probably could have had one less taco.

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Goan Monkfish Curry

Out with friends in Birmingham we went to Dishoom. This is an Indian cafe that sells some amazing Indian street food. It was quite dark inside and as result I did have some issues reading the menu. There was lots of choice, and I wasn’t quite sure what to have. 

In the end I went with the Goan Monkfish Curry, described as choicest monkfish simmered in creamy coconut, tamarind, tomatoes and kokum. Strewn with fragrant curry leaves. 

This was a delicious curry which I really enjoyed. The sauce was aromatic, and the monkfish was cooked well. Alongside I had rice and a naan bread.

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Fish and Chips from the Morrisons Cafe

The last time I had fish and chips from Morrisons I was not impressed. So, when I was in Minehead the other day I was never intending to go to Morrisons, however my plan to revisit The Cod Shop was scuppered as they were closed.

I needed to go to the supermarket anyhow and time was against me, so I thought I would give the fish and chips another try.

Fish and Chips

This time the fish and chips were much better. The large portion of fish was nice and fresh, the batter was deliciously crisp. I also like the chips. The only downside were the mushy peas which were not nice. They looked dried out and were quite solid and underneath were grey. I did not eat them.

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Calamari and Fries

One of my favourite street food stalls is King Fin, who are a regular at the Temple Quay and Finzel Reach street food markets. I noted that they had missed a few markets when they were advertised to turn up. So, when I was in Bristol one Wednesday and visited the Finzel Reach street food market I was pleased to see that King Fin were there. So, I went with one of my regular orders, which is the calamari and fries.

Calamari and Fries

I love how they are cooked to order, you know these are fresh. The squid is so soft and tender, the batter is light and crispy. Delicious. The fries were twice cooked and seasoned with rosemary and a tasty sauce. Alongside was a small portion of slaw.

I really like this dish, and even though I promise myself to try new places and dishes, I am not too surprised when I I revert to one of my favourite dishes.

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Char Siu Pork Belly Burnt Ends

I always like the idea behind many of the slow cooked dishes that seem to proliferate the supermarket shelves these days, but sometimes the execution doesn’t always meet the expectation.

I was intrigued by these pork burnt ends from Asda, which cost £4.95.

Char Siu Pork Belly Burnt Ends

Pork belly bites marinated in aromatic Chinese 5 spice, slow cooked for 3 and a half hours for mouthwatering tenderness, finished with sticky honey and soy sauce.

They were easy to cook. I used half with some stir fried vegetables and the rest I put in bao buns.

I quite liked them, and they were quite tasty.

One of the reasons I sometimes buy this kind of thing, is to then try and replicate the dish from scratch. I’ve yet to do that.

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Roasted Sirloin of Beef

I was staying over at the Drayton Court Hotel in West Ealing. Having arrived Sunday evening, I went to the bar to get something to eat. Sunday at the Drayton Court Hotel in West Ealing means that it is Sunday roast day.

The roast dinners at the Drayton Court Hotel are excellent and are a real treat. I have had a few over the years and enjoyed them all. So, it wouldn’t be a surprise that I ordered the Roast Sirloin of Beef. It was a fantastic looking plate of food.

Roasted Sirloin of Beef

There was a bed of squash mash, cabbage, roasted carrots, roast potatoes, slices of tender sirloin of beef, all topped with a Yorkshire pudding. On the side was a portion of cauliflower cheese, and a jug of gravy.

The beef was nice and pink, tender and soft, and very tasty. The accompanying vegetables were delicious. This was one lovely roast dinner, one that I would like to have again.

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Looks can be deceiving

Now I like trying out new places, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.

Kleftiko is relatively new on the food scene, they had taken over the Vietnamese place, Moi An, that used to be on Fetter Lane.

They have an authentic menu with a wide range of choices. I was given a lovely warm welcome and I took some time to peruse the menu. I went with one of their bowls with pulled lamb kleftiko. It came with chips, rice, and Greek salad.

From an appearance perspective the lamb didn’t look that appealing, however it was very tasty. The rest of the bowl was just as delicious.

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Fiorentina Pizza

I was staying at the Drayton Court Hotel and was having dinner in their restaurant.

After a disappointing ravioli I was hoping that the pizza I had ordered would be better. 

I have had the Fiorentina Pizza from Drayton Court before.

This was an excellent generous pizza. A great base, cooked well, and delicious toppings. The dough was crisp with a soft centre, the toppings were full of flavour and there was just the right amount of tomato and cheese. The egg was a little overcooked for my preference, but this didn’t detract from the whole pizza eating experience.

I usually avoid pizza in hotels as they usually use pre-cooked bases, or even prepared pizza. The Drayton Court Hotel however has a proper pizza oven and use proper fresh pizza bases. So, I was quietly looking forward to see what I would get.

The pizza toppings were spinach, mushrooms, olives, and an egg. It looked really nice.

pizza

I did not enjoy the pizza as much as I thought I would. I think they may have used vegan cheese on my pizza, as there was a slightly odd taste to the pizza and the cheese did not feel or taste like cheese.

Overall I wasn’t that impressed with the food that night, which is unusual, as I have had some great food from Drayton Court in the past.

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Quy Burger and a Caesar Salad

I was staying at the Quy Mill Hotel & Spa just outside Cambridge. I had chosen Quy Mill Hotel as not only was it within budget, but also had a really interesting restaurant with an intriguing menu. I was a little disappointed to find out, when I arrived, that it had closed the day before.

We would like to inform you that The Waterwheel Restaurant will be temporarily closing as we embark on some exciting plans for the future.  

If I had known that I probably would have chosen a different hotel. As a result I was limited by the bar menu, which was not as exciting as the restaurant menu. The day before I had the chicken and the soup. This time I decided I would have the burger and a salad. 

If you wanted cheese and bacon they were extras, and I thought somewhat overpriced at £2.50 each. I also ordered a small caesar salad on the side.

The burger wasn’t that impressive, I did think they had overdone the lettuce inside the burger. The burger itself was nice, and had a good flavour.

The caesar salad was a little overdressed for me, I also would have preferred shavings of parmesan over the grated parmesan.

The croutons were crunchy and there was a good proportion of anchovies. It was also quite substantial, much larger than I thought it was going to be.

I am never a fan of hotel bar food, it’s often uninspiring and for what you get usually quite expensive. That was certainly the case here, where the burger was just okay and the caesar salad could have been better.