Category: beef

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What, no…

One of the best meals I have had in recent years has been the Sunday Roast from Drayton Court Hotel in London.

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, staying at the hotel on a Sunday I was really looking forward to a roast beef dinner. So, you can imagine my disappointment when I went to the bar to order my food that they had sold out… I would have to choose something else from the menu. As it was a Sunday they had a limited choice, as they usually serve roasts.

In the end I went with the braised beef & ale short crust pie with creamed potato & gravy. It was supposed to come with peas, but I got cabbage.

braised beef & ale short crust pie with creamed potato & gravy

It was a nice looking pie, the mash was smooth, and I enjoyed the cabbage. However, the gravy was awful, it had a weird taste, which I realised later was ash like. I couldn’t be bothered to complain, so had my pie and mash without gravy.

I think I was disappointed with the pie, as earlier in the week I had been to Cadbury Garden Centre and had a fantastic steak pie from Walter Smith Fine Foods who have a deli counter in the centre. The pie from Walter Smith was in a completely different league to the pie from the Drayton.

Overall I wasn’t that happy, no roast, and not a very good pie, and horrible gravy. I think that if this happens again, and there isn’t a decent choice on the menu, I will venture elsewhere for my dinner.

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Andalusian Beef

The last time I was in the Netherlands was in October 2022 when I visited Amsterdam for a conference. Having spent a few days in Delft at a conference, and meetings in Utrecht I took the train back to Schiphol Airport where I had booked a hotel, the CitizenM, which is literally next door to the airport.

I wasn’t that impressed with the menu, but there weren’t many places to eat around the hotel. I went with the Andalusian Beef. This was described as slow cooked beef in a carrot and white bean stew. Served with oven baked potatoes and beef chorizo. Topped with our signature black olive crumble and parsley.

Andalusian Beef

The dish arrived and let’s just say I was not impressed. The stew was quite bland, and there wasn’t very much beef in there. The oven baked potatoes were cooked, but I wouldn’t have said they were cooked in the oven. The “signature black olive crumble” was not very good, it was driven black olive and some stale bread pieces. Not sure I would be boasting about that.

I ate it, but I was quite disappointed.

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Beef Carpaccio at 3 Brasseurs

Dunkirk

Last summer I was on a driving holiday to Europe. On the way back we stopped at Dunkerque for an overnight stay before our ferry and final drive home the following day.

The 3 Brasseurs restaurant was close to the hotel and had an extensive menu. I wasn’t that hungry and wanted something different so I went with the  beef carpaccio, which was dressed with pesto oil, capers, parmesan shavings, lemon, tomatoes, mozzarella, and rocket.

This was a very pretty plate of food. The beef was delicious, thinly sliced, and very fresh. I really enjoyed this dish.

Service was smooth and friendly and we had a lovely meal.

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Bao Buns at Paddington

Paddington Station

Having arrived at Paddington, I headed to Market Halls for lunch. This is a new place in the Paddington Square development. There are various places now to find somewhere to eat. Market Halls at Paddington is one of four halls across London, but this was my first visit to any of them. They consist of a range of street food stalls with common tables. A great place to go and eat if no one know what they want, or people want different things. Lots of choice including bao buns, tacos, curry, and burgers. On a previous visit when I was there, I went to From The Ashes Parrilla, which is an Argentinian grill place. I had the grilled picanha steak with fries.

This time I went to Bao and had two bao buns. I placed my order, took at seat and waited for the buzzer to go off. It wasn’t long

I had the Beef BAO, beef short rib, gherkin, and Sichuan mayo.

The beef was rich and deeply flavoured, and the gherkin and mayo added a nice contrast. The bao bun was soft and fluffy.

My second was the Fried Chicken BAO, soy milk marinated chicken, golden kimchi, coriander, hot sauce, and Sichuan mayo.

The bao bun was different, halved and toasted. The fried chicken was moist and tender with a nice crispy coating. I liked the golden kimchi.

These weren’t the best bao buns I have had, but they were tasty and I thought reasonable for £9 for the pair of them.

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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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A different Bento Box

When I buy a bento box from She Sells Sushi in Bristol I usually go for the beef donburi and a chicken hirata bun. On a recent visit to the Finale Reach Street food market I went with the bento box, but this time I went with the beef donburi and for a change the chicken katsu.

The chicken katsu was tasty. There was crispy chicken with katsu sauce on top of rice with pickles and crispy onions.

The chicken freshly cooked had a crisp coating. The katsu sauce was nice, not too spicy, but with a hint of fruitiness.

The beef donburi was slow cooked teriyaki beef rib on a bed of rice, topped with crispy onions and pickles.

This was delicious as usual, with tender beef and great flavour.

Overall I think there was too much rice for a light lunch,  but the rest of the box was delicious.

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Wahaca for One

I had really enjoyed my last meal at Wahaca at Paddington, so had thought about going again at some point.

Arrived in London and went to Wahaca for lunch. They do a deal for one, which looked nice. Better than a sandwich. Initially I thought do I want to go there, as it was quite early, just approaching midday. But then I thought, what was the alternative? A sandwich from Pret? So headed on up the stairs. I was the first person in the restaurant. However, by the time my food arrived twenty minutes later, the place was packed.

What you got was:

      • Guacamole & Tortilla Chips
      • Smoky Sonoran Hummus
      • Sweet Potato & Feta Taquito
      • Two tacos of your choice, I went for the Buttermilk Chicken Taco and the Beef Gringa Taco.

I loved the way the food was presented on a wooden board.

The guacamole tasted nice and fresh, and it was nice to have the mixed tortilla chips as well. I really liked the smoky Sonoran hummus, not too smoky, but I liked the addition of the sunflower seeds. The Sonoran hummus is a Mexican hummus, made with roasted vegetables, chickpeas, guajillo and herbs, drizzled with chilli oil.

At the heart of the board was a sweet potato & feta taquito. There was a variety of textures and flavours in this taquito. It came with caramelised onion, salsas and chipotle mayo, and was served in a crisp blue corn tortilla. The crunch of the rolled taco and the smooth sweet potato made this a tasty treat.

I had gone for the buttermilk chicken taco and the beef gringa taco. You got one of each. The gringa taco was slow-cooked British grass-fed beef with grilled cheese and salsa fresca, in a soft corn tortilla. The beef was tender and full of flavour.

The buttermilk chicken taco was chicken crispy fried in WildFarmed flour with pink pickled onions and spiced mayo, in a soft flour tortilla.

It was a great meal, really tasty. Service was excellent as well.

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Five Pound Kebab Deal

I had a tasty kebab from GDK back in August so when I saw there was (another) £5 deal on the Three+ app and needing some lunch, I popped to the branch of GDK in Cabot Circus and using the app ordered a five pound deal for a kebab. I went with the beef kebab, and this time I felt there was a more generous portion of meat in the kebab.

kebab

It was served with salad and sauce. I added fries and a drink as well. I did enjoy it, but I think I prefer “normal” pitta bread with a kebab. This was pretty good value lunch.

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Spaghetti Bolognaise

This is my go to recipe when making bolognaise. It has an intense flavours of beef and tomato. One thing I have found is that when using tinned tomatoes and tomato purée that not all are equal and some have better flavour than others. I have to say that my experience with own brand versions haven’t passed the taste test. More recently I have been using Mutti finely chopped tomatoes when cooking this dish.

It has the consistency and intensity of flavour I like when cooking bolognaise.

This serves four people.

500g minced beef, I try and get 5% fat mince, otherwise the end result can be a bit greasy. If you do buy the mince with the higher fat content, I would suggest after browning the mince to drain some of the excess fat or oil from the pan before adding the vegetables.

Splash of olive oil

One onion, diced

One red pepper, diced, I prefer the pointed peppers for this recipe

Handful of mushrooms, chopped

Splash of balsamic vinegar

Knorr chicken stock pot

Beef stock cube

Tin of Mutti finely chopped tomatoes

Mutti tomato purée

Garlic purée

I usually use a large pan with a lid, for cooking this dish. I heat the pan add the splash of olive oil and then brown off the mince until it is all done. If you have excess fat in the pan then drain the cooked mince and discard the excess oil and fat, then add the mince back to the pan.

Add the onion and pepper. 

After a few minutes add the mushrooms.

Once the onion is soft and cooked, add the tin of tomatoes, the stock pot and stock cube, the tomato purée and the balsamic vinegar.

Cook for at least 30 minutes on a low heat. The plan is for all the flavours to infuse and for the beef mince to be cooked and tender.

Serve with spaghetti or a pasta of your choice. Add freshly grated Parmesan to taste, garnish with freshly topped parsley.

I used gluten free spaghetti, Rummo Spaghetti No 3 for this dish.  I was really impressed with this spaghetti; it has a great texture and flavour.

Certainly, the best gluten free spaghetti I have cooked with. It isn’t the cheapest pasta on the shelf, but I think it’s worth the extra cost.

The last time I made this bolognaise, it was not as good as my previous versions. This one though was back on form.

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Time for a Fat Hippo Swiss Tony

I was staying in the Headingley area of Leeds, and as a location close to the University of Leeds and Leeds Beckett University, there are quite a few places to eat. As you might expect though, they are catering for the relatively large local student population in the area. The last time I was staying in this area, back in January 2020, I went out to eat at Reds and had some barbecue. I probably would have gone there again, but since that visit it has closed down.

When I was out, I happened to walk past Fat Hippo when some customers received their food, and I did think it looked quite good. So I made the decision to try it out, and they had a happy hour deal which looked like good value for money.

Having arrived I looked over the menu. I did think about having their early evening deal, but I wasn’t sure if there was anything I wanted from the starters or even the desserts.

I would have had chicken wings, but they were not part of the deal. They only had three (very similar) dessert choices, so in the end I decided I would just have the burger.

I went for the Swiss-Tony, double beef patties smothered in gooey Swiss cheese, smoked bacon, juicy mushrooms, crispy Cajun onion strings and creamy truffle mayo. You get a free side, so I had fries.

The burger looked very food, and the photograph doesn’t really do it justice. It was a tasty burger.

Service was friendly and efficient.