Author: jamesclay

Posted on

Pretty Coffee

I was in Amsterdam for a conference and was staying at the Hotel Casa which is close to Amstelstation.

I hadn’t been able to book breakfast with my hotel booking and I wasn’t willing to pay €17.50 for a buffet breakfast, which if my other Dutch experiences were anything to go by it wasn’t going to be that good value for money. So, after getting washed and dressed I headed out to the nearby Jumbo supermarket. I got four croissant for €1, some orange juice, and I got some more Illy espresso capsules for the hotel room coffee machine, all for €7.31. Bargain!

On one of the following days, my plan was to head to the supermarket to get some croissant and an orange juice. However, it was pouring with rain. So, I went to the hotel café for a flat white and croissant.

They did make a very pretty coffee.

flat white coffee

Either I left it too long as I ate my croissant, or they didn’t pre-heat the cup, as the coffee wasn’t very hot when I came to drink it. Difficult to really judge how good or bad the coffee was, as it wasn’t at the right temperature. They did give me a biscuit though, which I didn’t really want as it was first thing in the morning. So, not really sure about my overall verdict, okay it was pretty.

Posted on

Chestnut mushrooms on toast

Chestnut mushrooms on toast

I was staying at the Drayton Court Hotel in London. One of the hotels I regularly stay at in London is the Drayton Court Hotel in West Ealing. It’s a easy trip from West Ealing station to the heart of London and is always significantly cheaper than central London hotels. They also have a great restaurant, most of the time the food is excellent, though now and again there are sometimes the odd dud dish. I try and avoid those I think could be a mistake. Alas this time I did end up with a slightly disappointing plate.

Looking over the menu I decided I would try the starter of chestnut mushrooms on toast with spinach & truffle.

I don’t know, but I wasn’t impressed. Then again it was what was described. There was a slice of toast, there were chestnut mushrooms, and there was spinach. I couldn’t taste any truffle though.

Maybe I shouldn’t be disappointed, I got what I ordered. It certainly was something I wouldn’t order again in a hurry. I think what was missing was two key things (and I am not including the truffle in that comment). The first the mushrooms really needed to be cooked differently, they needed to be pan fried, whilst avoiding overcooking and steaming them. Secondly, the dish really needed some cream of some kind as well. Oh a third thing, the toast needed to be toasted.

Yup, not one of my best dishes from the hotel, and I wasn’t that happy with it.

Posted on

Dinner at ARCA

Amsterdam canal in the evening

I was back in Amsterdam for some meetings. We went out for dinner and we headed off to ARCA. Portuguese chef Henrique Sá Pessoa who has two Michelin stars in Lisbon, opened ARCA Amsterdam in 2021 on Martelaarsgracht, close to Amsterdam Central Station.

Inside was elegant decor and some odd looking sculptures. As we congregated we had a drink in the bar. Once we were all there we were shown to our table. The place was full and busy.

There was a really interesting menu, and to be honest I probably could have ordered anything (or everything) off the menu. 

For my starter I had the carpaccio de lírio. This was yellowtail carpaccio, Portuguese ‘caponata’ and pickled pearl onion.

carpaccio de lírio.

Now I did think this was going to be yellowfin tuna, but yellowtail is a different kind of fish. This was a fusion dish of Japanese style yellowtail slices with a Portuguese twist with the caponata. I had heard of caponata, but couldn’t remember exactly what it was. This version was aubergine, pepper, tomato, and onion. This was a delicious plate of food. The thin slices of fish were tasty and the caponata added sharpness and flavour.

For my main course I had the presa Ibérica. This was Iberian pork presa, “Bolhão Pato” purée, and seasonal clams.

presa Ibérica

I chose the pork as I have a fondness for Iberian pork. 

The Presa Ibérica (Iberico dam) is one of the most prized cuts in restaurants. It is also known as the “caviar” of the pig. It is in the front of the animal, between the spine and the shoulder. It is a muscle that the animal exercises a lot yet the infiltrated fat makes it very juicy.

Alongside the pork was some lovely smooth potato purée. The dish was dressed with green beans, puffed rice, clams, and a tasty sauce.

The pork was cooked perfectly, there was a lovely char on the outside of the portion of pork, the pork was tender and full of flavour. I really enjoyed every mouthful and cleared my plate.

Two of our party went with the polvo à lagareiro, this was roasted octopus, mashed sweet potato, and piquillo peppers.

polvo à lagareiro,

This looked amazing and was assured it was delicious.

Overall this was a fantastic meal and I really enjoyed it. The service was excellent, friendly and efficient.

Posted on

Seriously?

I was at the NEC and needing not just a coffee, but a place to sit, I went against all my better judgement and ordered a flat white from the Starbucks there.

This is what I was served!

I know it was not a flat white, as the method they used to make it was the same method it appeared they were using to make latte and cappuccino as well. They frothed up some milk and then added it to espresso coffee!

Then they had the cheek to charge me £4.25 for it as well. Coffee seems so much more expensive these days.

I really should know better and not bothered.

Posted on

I will miss those hirata buns…

One of my favourite street food stalls in Bristol is She Sells Sushi and I was intrigued to hear that after years of trading, that Lisa is changing the name to She Sells Streetfood and was also changing the menu.

So, when I was working in Bristol I headed down to Finzel Reach to see what was available and to try something new. I nearly didn’t go, as there was downpour, and I did get quite soaked in the queue. The menu now has four items and no sushi! Also gone are the lovely hirata buns.

The four items consist of two favourites, Katsu curry and the Beef Donburi. The two new items are Loaded Katsu Fries and Tan Tan Udon noodles.

I went with a bento box containing the Beef Donburi and the new Tan Tan Udon.

The Tan Tan Udon was udon noodles in a creamy sesame broth with spicy ground pork, Asian greens and spring onions. As this was a bento box the Tan Tan Udon came in a smaller cardboard bowl than if you ordered the full size version. This was served alongside the Beef Donburi.

I’ve always enjoyed the Beef Donburi and this time was no exception. 

Beef Donburi

Delicious full flavoured tender beef in a delicious sauce served on fluffy rice. It was delicious.

I was intrigued by the Tan Tan Udon and I did wonder how good it was going to be! 

Tan Tan Udo

Well, it was excellent, just delicious. The creamy broth was superb, full of flavour, thicker than a normal broth (hence the creamy). Nice noodles and the spicy ground pork just added to this one tasty bowl of food. 

I was well impressed with the Tan Tan Udon, so much so, that next time I might just go with the full sized portion and forgo the bento box. I am not really a fan of loaded fries, so might try those in the future, but then again probably not. I am though a little saddened that the delicious hirata buns are no longer on the menu, I will miss those.

Posted on

Crispy Calamari

I was in Birmingham for a conference and I was staying at the Novotel, a hotel I have stayed at before. 

I realised I had ordered the calamari from here before back in October 2022. Back then I wrote:

It was actually quite nice, the squid was really tender and the batter was crispy. You could tell it wasn’t made fresh, but this was late evening in a hotel. However, I did enjoy the dish.

The dish I got this time was very similar (maybe not as well presented). This was a simple dish of crispy coated squid pieces served with some salad leaves and mayonnaise.

Crispy Calamari

Not an amazing plate of food, but sometimes when you have squid from a hotel, you get battered rubbery squid rings. This dish was much better than that. The pre-battered squid was probably cooked from frozen, to keep things easy and simple for the hotel restaurant. It wasn’t the busiest place, so cooking stuff from fresh probably isn’t an option. I guess I get spoilt when I have the freshly cooked squid in a crispy coating from the likes of King Fin or La Lola in Bristol. However, I wasn’t in Bristol, so that’s that.

Posted on

Sirloin Ciabatta

arena

I was back in Amsterdam for some work stuff. This time I was staying at the Hampton by Hilton near the Johan Cruyff Arena, home to Ajax FC. The hotel did not have a restaurant,  but there was a wide range and variety of places close by. I didn’t go to far and went to the place next door, the Brasserie Hoekenrode. They had a menu of grilled entrees and sandwiches. The previous evening I had some nice lamb chops.

After leaving the offices where I had been working, I headed to my hotel. The bars and pubs were very busy for the football game happening later at the Johan Cruyff Arena. I did check how busy the restaurant was next door, it was packed. 

Went back to my hotel room and decided I would wait until after kick off before heading out to get something to eat. 

When I arrived at Brasserie Hoekenrode it was virtually empty, though some fans were in watching the match on the big screen.

I had a sirloin steak ciabatta, which came with cheese salad and a portion of fries.

Sirloin Ciabatta

This was certainly an interesting dish. Not sure it would be something I would order again. The steak was nice, but I really don’t think the cheese added anything to the sandwich. The fries were nice, but the salad was nothing special. 

Posted on

It wasn’t perfection…

Drayton Court Hotel

One of the best roast dinners I have had was from the Drayton Court Hotel in Ealing. I remember the first time I had their Sunday roast back in 2022. I said back then: This was probably one the best carvery meals I have ever had from a pub.

Though in April this year I had an even better version from the Drayton Court Hotel. It looked great and was delicious. 

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.

So, a recent stay at the hotel on a Sunday I was looking forward to my roast dinner. As you can imagine I had quite high expectations about the food. Probably too high expectations.

This is what I got.

roast beef dinner

This is what I was expecting.

Roasted Sirloin of Beef

This was not perfection. I had eaten perfection back in April, this was nice, but nowhere near as good as the dish I had before. The beef was tasty, but wasn’t pink as advertised. The vegetables were delicious, the squash mash and cabbage were particularly good. The roast potatoes however had been standing around too long and had gone soft. I enjoyed the cauliflower cheese (served separately) and there was some really good gravy. The Yorkshire pudding, usually the crowning glory was, well a little flat.

For a roast dinner it was nice, but the problem I had I was comparing good to perfection, and in that case perfection will always win.

Posted on

Lamb Chops

Railway Station

I was back in Amsterdam for some work stuff. This time I was staying at the Hampton by Hilton near the Johan Cruyff Arena, home to Ajax FC. The hotel did not have a restaurant, but there was a wide range and variety of places close by. I didn’t go too far and went to the place next door, the Brasserie Hoekenrode.

They had a menu of grilled entrees and sandwiches. I went with the lamb chops. The plate arrived with five lamb cutlets, a portion of fries, mayo, salad and garlic butter. 

plate of lamb chops, fries and salad with a glass of beer in the background

The lamb was cooked well and was nice and tender. I was sightly annoyed with the garlic butter, I had anticipated it being melted, but it was still cold from the fridge. I should have gone with a different sauce.

Overall it was a nice plate of food, nothing special, but still quite tasty.

Posted on

Flat White at Hanbury Hall

Hanbury Hall

I stopped off at Hanbury Hall, a National Trust property for a break during travelling. The house was lovely, but afterwards I headed to the stable for a coffee.  I went with a flat white.

It was nice and I enjoyed it.