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Can’t Dance Coffee

I can’t dance, and I like coffee, so it wasn’t too surprising that I would end up in a place called Can’t Dance Coffee in Weston-super-Mare.

The Sovereign Centre is a shopping centre in Weston-super-Mare, which opened in 1992. There was a cafe when the place opened. At some point it became a Druckers cafe. Druckers was there for much of that time, serving cakes and coffee.

£500,000 was spent by in 2016 to create the six-unit food hall, with the hope of ‘transforming’ the shopping centre and luring national firms. Well, that didn’t work, as no one except Druckers took an outlet. Even then Druckers left two years later.

Back in 2000 on the Twitter I wrote this in response to this question:

What’s the worst shopping centre in the UK?

I said it has a food court with NO food outlets to buy food from! 

The health centre idea never happened, instead some of the empty shopping outlets became a business hub, with offices and desks.

The food court area, once more underwent a refurbishment and it does now have a food outlet. It is now the Can’t Dance Coffee cafe.

I rarely spend time shopping in Weston, as there isn’t too much choice of shops, so usually I am in and out, having been to specific outlet. However, this time I was picking up my daughter, I had some time, so went for a coffee, and decided to give Can’t Dance Coffee a try. So, I ordered a flat white.

Service was a little slow, but I got my coffee in the end and sat down. It looked like they knew what they were doing.

The environment is rather industrial and stark. There were some sofas, but the main seating was hard chairs or chipboard benches. As a result I think the place lacks any kind of warmth or character. It feels spartan and cold, it was also quite dark. It certainly wasn’t inviting.

The coffee was nice, and I enjoyed it. However when going out to drink coffee, there is so much more to the experience than just drinking coffee. There is ambiance, the physicalness of the space, the seating, chairs, tables, sofas, and the lighting.

Would I go again, probably not.

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Saffron Risotto

We recently had a saffron risotto, using a  box of Gallo’s Risotto a la Milanesa, which is risotto with parmesan and saffron. We have this quite often, after trying it once.

This is prepared risotto rice to which you only need add water, though you can add butter and parmesan at the end of cooking to add a little bit of luxury and more cheese flavour to the dish.

I usually cook risotto from scratch and this box allows you to cheat somewhat by cooking a risotto in about 15 minutes.

What you get is a bag of saffron coloured rice which you cook in water for 12 minutes before adding butter and extra cheese.

It’s a really bright yellow, which might put people off, but it is rather tasty, and there is a lovely taste of saffron in there.

When I blogged about this the first time I said:

It’s a really bright yellow, which might put people off, but it was rather tasty. If I can find it again I think I will get another pack. 

Well, we have had it quite a few times since then.

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Beef Donburi and a Crispy Chicken Hirata Bun

I was in Bristol on a Tuesday and I went to the Temple Quay Market. It now happens twice a week, on a Tuesday and a Thursday. There wasn’t a large number of stalls, but I did quite fancy the Korean fried chicken from KokoDoo. However when I arrived there was a huge queue for the KokoDoo van with their crispy Korean fried chicken.

Temple Quay Market

Instead I went off for a walk, changed my mind, and in the end did walk back. Based on the queues and I did fancy something to eat, I went to SheSellsSushi. Actually realised that the queues, though different in size, were in fact moving at roughly the same pace.

Last month I had a delicious meal from She Sells Sushi. I was quite tempted by the Tofu Puff Katsu Curry, but in the end, I went with my favourite Bento Box combination of the beef donburi and a chicken hirata bao bun.

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

This a street food dish I have had many times, as this was just as nice as I’ve had on previous visits. The beef was full of flavour and the garnishes added to the dish.

I’ve enjoyed the hirata buns from the stall, the chicken hirata bun was tasty. This was a charcoal bao bun with two pieces of crispy chicken, lettuce, pickles and sauce.

It might be that I walked back to the office to eat my food, but my chicken was cold, compared to previous meals. I will say I prefer the crispy chicken that came with the original Finzel Flapper bun they did a few years ago. However saying that, I did enjoy the hirata bun, it was rather tasty. 

Overall I did enjoy the food.

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Butternut Squash Risotto

This dish from Marks and Spencers was originally part of their £20 Valentine Meal Deal.

Butternut Squash Risotto

The list price was originally £7.25, but on a recent visit, my local branch of M&S was selling them on special for just £2.00, so I bought a pack.

It was quick and easy to cook just six minutes in the microwave.

Butternut Squash Risotto

It was nowhere near as good as my homemade butternut squash risotto. I think that the reason is that risotto always tastes better freshly cooked, rather than re-heated. Though I did like the larger pieces of butternut squash and red onion in the M&S dish.

It was a special dish, so probably won’t be available again.

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Soft Shell Crab Burger

I have had some really nice food from King Fin on previous visits to the Finzels Reach and Temple Quay markets, including some excellent calamari and (some okay) fritto misto. 

On a recent visit to the Finzel Reach market I went to the King Fin stall. They had fish goujons, calamari was back on the menu, and they also had the soft shell crab burger. I’ve always liked the idea of the soft shell crab burger, but always went with something else. This time, I decided to shell out for the soft shell crab burger.

I added a side order of rosemary chips as well. The burger was a soft brioche bun with a deep fried soft shell crab, and a coleslaw.

Soft Shell Crab Burger

The twice cooked rosemary fries with sauce were very tasty, and crispy.

The burger was not as good as I was expecting. The bun though was lovely and soft, and the spicy coleslaw added heat and freshness. The deep fried soft shell crab was crispy, but didn’t have the crab taste intensity I was expecting. So overall I did enjoy the food, but was a little disappointed with the soul of the dish, the crab.

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Time for a flat white

We were visiting the National Trust’s Wightwick Manor in the West Midlands.

Victorian half-timbered Manor House which was home of the Mander family, with a world-class art collection and Morris and Co. interiors.

After visiting the house and walking around the grounds we headed to the cafe for a coffee.

I ordered a flat white, but wasn’t tempted by the cakes.

The coffee was expertly made, and it was really nice. I enjoyed it. I was pleased it came in a proper china cup.

 

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Never had one of these before!

I had a coffee I have never had before. I was up in Clifton and went to the Illy Cafe.

After a nice warm welcome I ordered the Capo Triestino. I took a seat and they brought the coffee over to me.

Capo Triestino

So what is a Capo Triestino?

An illy espresso with abundant cold emulsified milk served in a small Freddo glass.

I do like Illy coffee and really enjoyed this. I don’t get to Clifton very often these days, so think it will be a while before I can make a return visit. Hopefully not too long.

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Beef Short Ribs

I do quite like the short release items that you find at Aldi. I don’t like that they are short release items, so you can’t buy them on a regular basis.

Aldi released a range of dishes for Valentines Day, including some slow cooked beef short rib. 

Beef Short Ribs

These British Beef Wagyu Short Ribs have been slowly cooked to deliver a deep flavour and succulent texture that falls off the bone. Serve with the rich Red Wine Sauce for the ultimate experience

I bought a box and cooked them according to the instructions, which was 35 minutes in the oven and then serve the red wine sauce on the side.

The beef was lovely tender, and fell off the bone. I didn’t think the flavour was as deep as advertised on the box, but it was tasty.

I would say I would buy it again, but it’s only on sale for a week, and I picked up the last box from the shelf.

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Egg Fried Rice

egg fried rice

This is a regular dish in our house, but the exact nature of the dish depends on what we have in the fridge.

This time I had some cooked long grain white rice.

Into a hot wok I added some sunflower oil, when this was hot, I added some Chinese five spice. I then diced red onion, diced red pepper, and some sliced spring onions.

On my omelette pan, I cooked a thin one egg omelette, which after being cooked was sliced into thin strips.

Once the onion and pepper is soft, I added the rice to the wok. I then added a good splash of soy sauce. After stirring, I cracked open and added (another) egg, to the rice. This was then stirred in quickly, to ensure that the egg was cooked. I finally added the sliced omelette.

The dish was then served as an accompaniment to other dishes I had cooked.

When cooking this dish before, I have added diced carrot, prawns, and I have garnished the dish with freshly sliced spring onions.

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La Lola Crispy Squid

Bristol

Working in Bristol and out for a walk at lunchtime. I wasn’t actually intending to have lunch out, but walking through the St Nicholas Market looking at all the different stalls, I was tempted. There are lots of lovely places in the market, there is the new Tibetan stall, MOMO, which had quite a queue. I also did think about Low and Slow, but they were equally popular. In the end I went back to the Spanish stall, La Lola.

Since I was last at La Lola, they have added some walls and windows to their stall, so sitting inside in this cold weather is much nicer. I was given a lovely warm welcome, and I ordered my food, and then took a seat. It wasn’t long before my freshly cooked squid arrived.

crispy squid

The crispy baby squid came in a cardboard container, it would have been nice on a plate (which I have said before), but realise that as a stall, it might not be possible.

The squid had a nice crisp coating and was very tender on the inside. The chipped potatoes had been cooked twice, so weren’t as good as previous visits to La Lola. However they were crisp and tasty. The salad was nice and fresh. It was a delicious box of food, which I really enjoyed.