Author: jamesclay

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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.

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Time to visit Mowgli

Last year I posted that Mowgli had opened in Bristol. I said back then that, Mowgli sells Indian street food, and has a nice sounding menu. It looked interesting inside. One day I might give it a visit.

Well I never did…

However I did recently visit the Mowgli at Bridgend whilst my car was charging.

I popped in and took a seat at a table, I didn’t go with the swing seats… Thinking I would probably fall off!

My original thought was to go with the Office Worker’s Tiffin, 4 tiers of meat, veg & carb jeopardy chosen by chef as it is in India. However I wasn’t overtly hungry, so looked across the menu and liked the sound of Maa’s Lamb Chops & Fenugreek Kissed Fries. These were lamb chops marinated in aromatic spiced yoghurt, ginger & garlic with tomato coriander & mint chutney. Alongside were the Fenugreek Kissed Fries, which were potato with turmeric, fenugreek & the Mowgli masala. I also went with a side of roti bread.

I did think about how the dishes would be presented, but was intrigued when the food arrived. The lamb chops were on top of the potatoes in a small rectangular metal tin.

Maa’s Lamb Chops & Fenugreek Kissed Fries

The lamb chops were very nice and cooked well.  The spicing was subtle, so you could taste the lamb, and it was enhanced (not overpowered) by the spicing.

The potatoes were spicy and tasty. I did think initially that maybe I should have ordered another dish, but even saying that this dish was actually quite substantial.

Service was excellent, and I am already planning my next visit to Mowgli.

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M&S Collection Honduran Prawn & Crab Anglotti

The M&S at Cribbs Causeway was recently revamped, the food hall was refreshed and expanded. It has changed over the years, it use to have a cafe in the middle which disappeared.

On a recent visit to get some stir fry veg I had a look around and saw some fresh pasta from their collection range on sale, which I hadn’t see in my local M&S Food Hall.

One pack I picked up was the Beef Shin & Chianti Tortelloni, which I enjoyed. I also picked up the Honduran Prawn & Crab Anglotti. Described as fresh egg pasta parcels filled with prawn and crab in a cream, langoustine stock and brandy sauce.

M&S Collection Honduran Prawn & Crab Anglotti

Part of me thought, £6.50 for a pack of fresh pasta, that’s a bit pricey, but then thought, well the price of a steak is more than that.

It was quick and easy to cook. I dressed it with a little olive oil and some parmesan cheese.

Sometimes when I have bought crab filled pasta they haven’t really had that intense crab flavour I was hoping for. These however did have a really nice crab and prawn flavour.

I liked these, not sure I liked them enough to buy them again though.

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Grilled Chicken

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. I decided  I would have the soup followed by the grilled chicken.

The soup was okay, but nothing special, so I wasn’t expecting much from the grilled chicken. 

Grilled Chicken

The chicken came with some salad leaves, roasted tomatoes and a portion of fries. The flattened chargrilled chicken breast was cooked well, probably a little over as it was dry in places. 

I think I would have preferred some vegetables with this and, say, a mushroom sauce. This would have made for a better meal.

As with the soup, it was nothing special, though it could have been so much better.