Author: jamesclay

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Dodgy Italian

One of the problems I face when I stay away from home is where do I go to dinner. I am not a fan of hotel restaurants, generally I find they are overpriced and the quality can be poor.

I was recently in a hotel on the A45 Cromwell  Road and was not impressed with the menu, so decided to venture out and find somewhere to eat.

Well I wish I hadn’t…

I found Bellavista, what looked like a nice Italian restaurant, an interesting menu and was quite full (which I usually find is a good sign of quality) and went in.

Well I left very disappointed. It was an overpriced rubbish food experience.

I had a starter of calamari, which I initially thought was okay, but overall was disappointed as it was quite rubbery, it certainly wasn’t cooked from fresh, more likely deep fried from frozen.

My main course, spaghetti with clams was absolutely terrible. The sauce was obviously from a jar!

I couldn’t believe how bad the food was…

The couple on the table next to me ordered fish and chips, it looked worse than mine!

I had obviously entered a London tourist restaurant that caters for tourists.

I need to find some good places before I get to London in the future…

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McSacre Bleu

We may be up in arms about a McDonalds in the Louvre but it would appear that the French are not!

The French press has been kept busy this week – not with the news, but with news about the news.

The news was that McDonald’s is to open a fast-food restaurant in the Louvre. The news about the news was the way this was reported in the foreign – English-speaking – press.

The news itself did not especially interest French editors. It got a few paragraphs on the economy pages of Le Figaro, and a column in Le Parisien.

The news about the news was a different story. Within a matter of hours, this tale of cultural desecration a la francaise had travelled the world.

Read more.

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Yo Sushi

I have had Yo Sushi before, I had some time to wait before my train so decided to sit down and eat rather than buy the takeway that I normally buy.

The concept of Yo Sushi may be familiar to anyone who has been to Japan it certainly is a weird concept for many in the UK.

Sit down and watch as little bowls of sushi pass you by on a conveyor belt. Help yourself to the ones that you want. After you have eaten they count the bowls you have eaten and charge you accordingly. Not all the bowls are the same price and range from £1.70 to £5.00. The price depends on how much is in the bowl and what ingredients are used.

As well as the cold dishes on the conveyor belt you can order soup and hot dishes from the waiting staff.

I looked at the menu and the first two items I chose were not available. So I ordered Chicken Yakitori, char-grilled chicken skewers with a soy-mirin glaze and Prawn Katsu, crispy fried prawns in Japanese bread crumbs, with a fruity sauce. I had wanted to order Prawn Tempura and Chicken Teriyaki .

While I was waiting for the hot food I started off with a crayfish salad which was very pleasant. The hot food then arrived (quicker than anticipated). The prawns were good and the chicken skewers were sticky.

I then picked a Salmon Nigri from the belt. The salmon lacked flavour but the rice was okay.

My final dish was Spicy Pepper Squid which was very nice and a good finish to my meal.

Still think it was cheeky that they charge £1 for water!

I will go again.

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Chargrilled Tuna

I went out for lunch and had a nice piece of chargrilled tuna with vegetables from the café at Sainsburys, which was both delicious and in some ways was also surprising.

Chargrilled Tuna

I wasn’t quite expecting them to do such a good looking and tasty dish. The sauce was nice and the accompanying vegetables was a nice touch.

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An unwelcome break

You know sometimes you know better and trust your judgement, othertimes you fail miserably.

Today was one of those days.

Decided that it would be nice if we stopped for morning coffee, it was early on, not much was open and as we were in the area decided to stop at the Welcome Break on the M5 close to Junction 22. They had a Coffee Primo.

I have been to Coffee Primo before and it was okay.

Was it okay on this visit?

No.

It was awful.

I know I should have complained, but to be honest there wasn’t any one to complain too!

So where should I start?

Well the coffee we ordered was disgusting. I asked for an Americano. Now this is quite simple to make. A couple shots of espresso to which you add hot water.

Did they get it right?

No they did not!

The Cappuccino seemed okay.

We also had cakes.

The chocolate croissant was passable and not too bad.

The raisin swirl though rather heavy and sickly wasn’t too bad, but we weren’t sure what to make of the very dark cherry on top!

However the “chocolate” muffin was revolting.

For some reason it had something chewy on top, maybe it was toffee, didn’t taste of toffee. The muffin, though it was brown, certainly didn’t taste of chocolate.

An unwelcome break

Overall, though we laughed about it, it was a most unwelcome break.

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Paella

Made a homemade paella the other day.

Took some onions, pepper and some pancetta, and fried them in a large heavy pan.

I then added the paella rice, and it always makes sense to use paella rice, and never any other kind of rice.

Ensuring the rice was coated in the onions, pepper and oil, I added a splash of white wine. Then add the saffron and chicken stock.

Simmer for twenty minutes adding more stock if required.

I had already cooked the chicken and the prawns, I was also using cooking chorizo which was cooked separately.

The dish was the put together and served.

I would have liked to use more shellfish, but all I had was prawns. I would have probably also cooked the chicken in the rice, but that was done separately on this occasion.

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Floyd No More

Keith Floyd who died today was a real inspiration, and in many ways inspired me to cook and cook better.

When in the 1980s cookery programmes were boring and staid, his outdoor, open,  flash style made the programme a joy to watch. As a teenager with no real interest in cooking, I changed my mind as his flambouyant style made for really entertaining television.

I remember I was inspired to try Thai food after watching Floyd.

Even now many years later I still enjoy watching Floyd cook and often catch his programmes on Freeview.

Cooking has lost a hero.