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It was a little disappointing

Lynmouth

We had made the trip to Lynton and Lynmouth. A place we have been to many times. 

We went to the Coffee Mill for a drink and something to eat. We thought we had been there before, which is the main reason we went. There was no indoor seating so we sat outside and I went to the counter to order.

We had some tea, a scone and a sausage roll. Even though we were eating on site the tea came in disposable card cups.

Though there was nothing fundamentally wrong with the tea and food, it was more we were charged, what I felt would have been for eating in and we had china crockery. However for what was basically takeaway I thought it was quite expensive.

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So, no fish on the menu then!

I was staying over at the Drayton Court Hotel in West Ealing. This is a place I stay regularly when working away in London.

Went down for dinner, the menu changes regularly, and the sea bass had been recently added. I was going to have the fish tacos followed by the sea bass. However, both weren’t available. So, I had steak and chips instead.

This was described on the menu as Owton’s dry-aged 8oz rib eye steak with triple-cooked chips, grilled tomato, baked field mushroom and peppercorn sauce.

Owton's dry-aged 8oz rib eye steak with triple-cooked chips, grilled tomato, baked field mushroom and peppercorn sauce.

The plate looked good with the sauce coming separately in a miniature saucepan. The steak was excellent, and much better than some of the steaks I have had at Drayton Court Hotel. It was cooked well and reasonably well seasoned, I did add a little more seasoning. I liked the chips, tomato, and mushroom as well.

Overall it was a really nice plate of food.

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Beef Short Rib Bao Buns

I was staying over at the Drayton Court Hotel in West Ealing. This is a place I stay regularly when working away in London. The menu changes regularly, though I couldn’t say how often it changes.

On a recent visit there was a new addition to the menu, beef short rib bao buns with Bourbon maple glaze, aioli, coriander, and peanuts.

I do like a good bao bun, so it was no surprise that I ordered this dish. I was intrigued as this was quite a fusion style dish, I don’t see Bourbon maple glaze as something you would find in Fujian cuisine.

I was pleasantly surprised to get two buns, I was only expecting one. It was nicely presented.

Beef Short Rib Bao Buns

The beef was nice and tender, and I quite liked the Bourbon maple glaze. It was a good plate of food.

On a following visit I ordered them again, as I had enjoyed it the first time.

Beef Short Rib Bao Buns

It did look a little different, also the beef was not as good as before. Not sure of why there was a difference.

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Time for Tau Yew Bak 

I was in Bristol and popped down to the Finzel Reach street food market. Though I do visit other street food markets, the Bristol scene as one of my favourites. My personal challenge though when visiting is that I usually default to stalls I’ve been to before, and don’t necessarily try something new. So on this visit, I was going to go to King Fin, however they had sold out of their calamari, even so I was tempted by their soft shell crab burger. I then thought, there are lots of stalls that I’ve not tried before, so lets try something new. 

So I looked around and I decided to try out the Fat Rice stall which sells Malaysian comfort food.

Fat Rice stall

There were three choices on the menu, a beef rendang, kunyit chicken, and tau yew bak. I went with the tau yew bak. This was pork belly slow-cooked in soy sauce and spices. Served with basmati rice, fried onions and pickled salad.

pork belly slow-cooked in soy sauce and spices. Served with basmati rice, fried onions and pickled salad

This was a good sized meal and there was a decent portion of the main part of the dish, the pork belly. Sometimes I have found that you order a dish and the amount of the *star* of the dish makes you feel like you’ve been short-changed. 

The pork itself was nice and tender and full of flavour. I liked the chilli sauce that was served with the pork. The salad added zing to the dish and the rice was nice. Overall a delicious bowl of food.

The service was efficient and friendly. Thought it was interesting there was no vegetarian (or vegan) options. I certainly think I would visit the stall again and try out some of their other options.

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Parmentier Potatoes

I quite like parmentier potatoes. I have been known to make them myself, but sometimes I buy them ready prepared.

I bought a pack from Lidl and cooked them.

Parmentier Potatoes

They were quite good.

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Time for a Salad

As the weather improves, we have been eating a lot more salad. Sometimes I did individual salads, customised for each person. Other times I do a big bowl of salad.

salad

For this salad I did mixed leaves, avocado, sliced peppers, sliced radish, cucumber, tomatoes, and mozzarella. There was a homemade dressing on the side.

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Time for Guinea Fowl at Ma Cuisine

A few weeks back I was staying in London, having enjoyed recent French style meals at Côte I did wonder if there were any (independent) French restaurants in the area. I have had over the years some really nice French style meals in various places.

I wanted to try and repeat these experiences, so I did a Google search and found Ma Cuisine in Richmond, next to Kew Gardens tube station. I looked at the menu online and it had some nice choices. I headed out there in my car and parked up. The online menu was out of date, so the dishes I had in mind weren’t available.

After a typically French frosty welcome I sat down and perused the menu. For my starter I chose the boudin noir en-croûte with pear ketchup and Dijon mustard sauce. I went with the Guinea Fowl for my main course.

After my starter my main course arrived, this was guinea fowl, roasted beetroot, merguez sausage, pear ketchup and Dijon mustard sauce. I had chosen this dish, as I liked the sound of the merguez sausage, as well as I do enjoy roasted guinea fowl. 

Guinea Fowl

It came with some potato dauphinois and seasonal vegetables.

The guinea fowl was cooked well, tender, moist and full of flavour. Alas the merguez sausage was a little overdone. I enjoyed the roasted beetroot and the pear ketchup. As with my starter I did feel the Dijon mustard sauce was a little overpowering.

With the potato dauphinois and vegetables, this was quite a substantial plate of food. Having had two delicious courses, I was quite full and as a result did not go for dessert, even if I was tempted by the cheese option

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Boudin noir en-croûte

A few weeks back I was staying in London, having enjoyed recent French style meals at Côte I did wonder if there were any (independent) French restaurants in the area. I have had over the years some really nice French style meals in various places. Back in 2013 I had a nice meal in Oxford at Pierre Victoire, an independent family run French style restaurant. The now sadly closed La Buvette in Bristol did some great dishes. In Edinburgh in 2020 I had some excellent food at Petit Paris.

I wanted to try and repeat these experiences, so I did a Google search and found Ma Cuisine in Richmond, next to Kew Gardens tube station. I looked at the menu online and it had some nice choices. I headed out there in my car and parked up. The online menu was out of date, so the dishes I had in mind weren’t available.

After a typically French frosty welcome I sat down and perused the menu. For my starter I chose the boudin noir en-croûte with pear ketchup and Dijon mustard sauce. I went with the Guinea Fowl for my main course.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, I knew this was going to be a black pudding style sausage in pastry. So the dish was quite intriguing when it arrived. I don’t know why I was surprised that these looked like sausage rolls, as what do you call sausage meat in pastry, but a sausage roll.

Boudin noir en-croûte

There were three pieces and the dish was a lot larger than I expected. The dish was well cooked and nicely presented. The pastry was nice and crisp. I did think that the boudin noir lacked the intensity of flavour that I thought it should have. I also felt it was a little under seasoned. The Dijon mustard sauce on the other hand was a little overpowering in my opinion. Despite some reservations, overall I did enjoy the food.

After my plate was cleared I awaited my main course…