Author: jamesclay

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So, that’s not on the menu, nor that!

We were having a meal at The Landing Light and I was looking over the menu.

I decided I really liked the sound of 

Our Roasted Lamb Rump & Mini Pie Duo – Roasted rump of lamb, recommended served pink, mini minted lamb pie, rosemary & garlic-roasted potatoes, honey-roasted carrots, kale, peas, green beans & mangetout, gravy

Alas, when it came to order, I was told it wasn’t available. So, ah well in that case I will go with the similar sounding

Our 4oz Fillet Steak & Mini Pie Duo – Two fillet steak medallions, recommended served pink, mini British steak & malbec pie, served with rosemary & garlic-roasted potatoes, honey-roasted carrots, kale, peas, green beans & mangetout, gravy

No that wasn’t available either! So, I had to choose quickly, what should I have, I thought, I went with the sirloin steak.

Though I asked for medium-rare, my steak was cooked to medium, if not on its way to well done. It was a little dry and I thought lacked flavour. I didn’t enjoy my tomatoes either.

It wasn’t awful, it was just okay. I guess I was a little disappointed that what I had my heart set on wasn’t available. I would go again, but I don’t think I would have the steak again.

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M&S Collection Beef Shin & Chianti Tortelloni

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.

Part of me thought, £5.75 for a pack of fresh pasta, that’s a bit pricey,  but then thought, well the price of a steak is more than that.

The pack I picked up was the Beef Shin & Chianti Tortelloni. 

Slow cooked beef shin in a rich ragu finished with parsley gremolata in hand folded fresh egg pasta.

It was quick and easy to cook. I served it with some crème fraîche and parmesan cheese.

The pasta was excellent, and the filling had a deep intense flavour. I thought they were delicious and tasty. Something I would get again.

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Crab Ravioli

Did think about going out to the fish restaurant in Ealing but decided in the end to go down to the  Drayton Court Hotel restaurant. I had some crab ravioli and a pizza.

I really liked the sound of the Crab Ravioli on the specials menu, it said it would come with some seafood foam…

Crab Ravioli

The dish was not quite what I expected. The ravioli was nice, but the tomato based sauce was overpowering. I did enjoy the addition of the samphire though. Overall not a dish that I would order again, a lost opportunity there.

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Celeriac Soup

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 choice on the menu was quite limited and there were only a few starter options. I decided I would have the soup as I usually wouldn’t have soup. Also I am not  fan of celery, which implies to me I am not really a fan of celeriac. The soup was described as celeriac soup with truffle croutons. I guess the truffle sold me on the soup.

The soup felt like typical hotel soup, it was okay, I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t really anything to write home about (even though I am writing home about it on the blog).

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Coffee and a Merveilleux

I was spending the day in Dunkerque. I wanted a coffee and I remembered a small patisserie and viennoiserie, Maison Vaucamps, that I had visited back in July last year when I was last in Dunkerque travelling back from a holiday in France and Germany.

Maison Vaucamps, as well as cooking some amazing cakes and French specialists such as pain au chocolate, traditional Flemish pastries have been Maison Vaucamps’ family specialty for many years. There was a wide choice of pastries and cakes to choose from.

I ordered a coffee and a merveilleux. The merveilleux is a traditional cake from the North of France and Flanders. I had the pistachio version, which was whipped cream with Sicilian pistachio paste, pistachio meringue pieces. My whipped cream was still a little frozen in the middle, but this actually didn’t detract from the eating experience.

My coffee was excellent, and I enjoyed my little bit of French coffee time.

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KitKat Hazelnut

KitKat Hazelnut

We don’t quite get the range of KitKat flavours that they get in Japan, however the range in the UK has been getting quite diverse. I noticed in my local coop they had a “new” flavour, hazelnut. I quite like a KitKat now and then so decided to get one and give it a go.

I might be out of line, but I like my KitKats chilled, so I put the KitKat in the fridge and left it there overnight.

Knowing it was hazelnut, I was expecting something quite sickly, a KitKat filled with a Nutella style spread. However, I was pleasantly surprised. There was a nut flavour in there, but the overall experience was rather nice. If you have had chocolate and hazelnut wafer bars before, then you would find these rather similar, but with a better coating of chocolate. Would I get another one? Yes I would. 

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Rigatoni Pasta

Close to my office in Bristol is La Panza, now an Italian restaurant, which use to be Chatterton’s Cafe.

They have a £10 lunch deal which consists of pasta, focaccia, and a drink. I liked the idea of this, so decided I would try them out. I have been meaning to try out for a while, but I quite like a walk at lunchtime, so as it’s practically next door to the office, I often give it a miss. However this time, I went there after my walk.

Upon arrival, I wasn’t really given any kind of welcome, I had to wait a while before being seated. There is no seating downstairs, all the tables are upstairs. There is outside seating, but it was quite chilly for that, even with table heaters. The place was busy, which is probably why I had to wait a while to get my table sorted.

With the lunch deal, you have no choice about the pasta, they serve the pasta of the day. This time they had a rigatoni pasta dish with tomato, ham, and chilli. I am not sure what they would do if you were vegetarian, but there are some nice sounding pasta dishes on the main menu (but they’re not as cheap as the lunch deal).

Though I had to wait for the table, it wasn’t too long before my meal arrived.

Alongside the pasta was a slice of focaccia. I have to admit I was expecting a chunk of focaccia, but that’s on me, not the restaurant. The pasta was excellent, cooked to perfection and a delicious sauce. The bread was fresh, light and fluffy. As part of the deal you get a drink, and you have the choice of a coffee, a soft drink, or a glass of house wine.

I will take a little annoyance with the 10% service charge, I don’t mind paying for service, but for a lunch deal, couldn’t you just include the service charge in the price? To be honest the service wasn’t that good, however I paid the service charge. I much prefer it when the prices you see on the menu actually reflect the price you pay. It’s much worse in London where everywhere feels they can charge 12.5% or higher service charge. I am not sure what they’re thinking, yes pay for service, but make it part of the price of the food on the menu. It feels a little fraudulent to have “lower” prices on the menu, but these aren’t the prices you are going to pay. 

The key question, despite that 10% surcharge, will I go again for pasta? Yes I will. 

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Crispy Duck Stir Fry

Crispy Duck Stir Fry

I was going to call this dish Crispy Duck Donburi and then I realised I had no real idea what make a donburi a donburi?

Anyhow onto how I cooked this dish. I took my sliced duck breast pieces and coated them in some plain flour. I use gluten free flour, but I would have thought wheat flour would work just as well. These pieces I cooked in the wok in some oil. The idea being to both cook the duck, but also with the floured coating make them a little crispy. After the duck was cooked I put them to one side. I then stir fried some mushrooms and when nearly cooked added some soya sauce. These were put to one side as well. In the wok I then added the vegetables and these were stir fried for a while before adding back the duck. I added a pouch of Wagamama Korean BBQ sauce.

I served the duck with the mushrooms, some sticky rice dressed with crispy onions and a soft boiled egg.

Was really nice.

Now to discover what makes  a donburi a donburi.

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Seafood Ramen

I don’t always write up all the meals I have, this can be because I didn’t take a photograph, it’s something I have written about before, I didn’t enjoy the meal. Sometimes its just because I was busy or forgot.

A case in point is the delicious Seafood Ramen I had at Wagamama back in September 2017.

I never wrote about it, but did write about other things I ate at that time.

This was a typical Wagamama ramen of the time, with noodles, vegetables and a lovely selection of seafood, including prawns, squid and other stuff.

It has been a while since I ate it, but drawing on old memories I did enjoy it. I had eaten this dish before, which is probably why I ordered it again. Sadly Wagamama no longer have the seafood ramen on their menu, which is a pity. I do like it when places add or change their menus, but sometimes this means dishes I like disappear.

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Taco Holders

I like making tacos at home, but this usually means making them one at a time at the table. I have been thinking about getting some taco holders so that I can prepare them in advance before serving them to the table.

I had a look online and in the end I got some colourful plastic taco holders.

These will hold two tacos, or turn them upside down and they can hold three.

Having tried them out, they work a treat, makes it very easy to construct tacos for serving.