Staying at the Drayton Court Hotel I went for dinner and I went for the steak and chips. This was described on the menu as Owton’s dry-aged 9oz ribeye steak on the bone, triple cooked chips, watercress salad, and a peppercorn sauce.
It arrived promptly and it looked very nice.
The steak was much better than the last steak I had had at the Drayton. As I have mentioned before, I am not a fan of triple cooked chips, it feels like they are overcooked, but these were okay. I did enjoy the peppercorn sauce as well.
I was making a return visit to the Drayton Court Hotel and was looking forward to my breakfast after the excellent breakfast I had had the previous times I was there.
I ordered the full English which was pork sausage, Mrs Owton’s bacon, Hampshire black pudding, grilled tomato & field mushroom, hash brown, Heinz baked beans, and two poached eggs.The breakfast plate was beautifully presented.
The three rashers of bacon were cooked to my liking, not overdone, full of flavour. I enjoyed the sausage and the black pudding. The poached eggs were perfectly cooked, and had runny yolks. The field mushroom was delicious, and the tomato was perfectly cooked. The beans and hash brown were okay.
I really enjoyed the breakfast again and is one of the best breakfasts I have had at a hotel.
I was staying over at the Drayton Court Hotel in West Ealing again. I had arrived Sunday evening, so 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.
On a previous visit I had gone with the dry-aged sirloin of Owton’s beef which had been delicious and was probably one the best carvery meals I have ever had from a pub.
So though tempted by the roast beef, I decided to try the roast pork. On the plate was a few thick slices of roast pork, roasted parsnip and carrot, roast potatoes, pan fried greens, cauliflower cheese, a huge Yorkshire pudding, crunchy crackling, apple sauce,, and served with red wine gravy.
This was quite a big plate of food, and bigger than the roasts I have had before. I did enjoy the plate of food, but it wasn’t as good as it was before. The vegetables were just as good, but the roast potatoes were a little chewy; I did feel that they were heated up, well it was a little late in the day, so that perhaps contributed to this. The pork was nice, not as good as the beef, but was still cooked well. Overall I had high expectations, so was a little disappointed, despite having a really nice plate of food. It was really good and nice, but I was expecting outstanding. I still think though I would order it again.
Staying at the Drayton Court Hotel I did quite fancy a starter with my evening meal. The menu talks about bar snacks, rather than starters. On a previous visit I had really enjoyed the fish tacos with mango salsa, so I ordered it again.
As before, the dish arrived promptly. It comprised three tacos, each was served with a piece of fish in a crunchy coating, shredded lettuce, mayo and mango salsa.
They were slightly different to the ones I had before, but were still very nice. The fish lacked the flavour of the previous tacos, but there was more salsa this time. They were tasty and I enjoyed them.
I was in London and wanting a coffee so headed out to one of my usual haunts of Coco di Mama on New Square.
I ordered a flat white and took a seat, always like it when they bring the coffee to you rather than hanging around by the counter until they’ve made it.
The coffee arrived in a proper china cup with a little chocolate on the side.
The coffee was smooth and delicious, with a real coffee kick.
It’s one of my favourite places for coffee and they delivered an outstanding coffee again.
I was up in Manchester looking for somewhere for lunch and Banh Mi Co Ba on the Oxford Road has been somewhere I have been meaning to try for a while. They have a wide ranging menu, but I ordered the Grilled Chicken Bao Bun.
The Bao was filled with salad, chicken dressed with sauce.
I will say I wasn’t impressed, I’ve had better and even made better myself. The Bao was a little cold, the chicken was reheated and I wouldn’t have said it was grilled. The salad was probably too much and I would have served it with less. The sauce was nice though.
Needing an evening meal and not having much choice I ate in the bar at the Copthorne Hotel in Salford in Manchester. There is a typical bar menu, this time I ordered the lamb hotpot.
The dish comprised the lamb hotpot covered in sliced potato, some red cabbage slaw and some toast.
The lamb hotpot wasn’t half bad, the lamb was tender and there was a good portion, it was quite tasty. The potato slices in my mind needed to be cooked for a little longer and I prefer my potato crispier. The red cabbage slaw was nice, I think it would have been easier to eat if it had been sliced thinner. I wasn’t sure about why there was toast, then I worked out it was for mopping up the sauce.
In a large pan, gently melt 150g of dark chocolate, 50g of butter and 3 large spoons of Golden Syrup. The key here is gently, too harsh then the butter and chocolate will burn. Once it has melted then leave for 15 minutes. You need to leave it to cool down otherwise when you add the marshmallows they will melt.
Crush some gluten free biscuits. I used some gluten free shortbread from Tesco. I also added about 50g of gluten free rice cereal as well, foradded crunch. Then add 50g of small marshmallows.
This mixture is then stirred carefully to ensure that all the ingredients are coated in the chocolate mixture.
Spoon the mixture into either a greased lined baking tray or a foil tray. Press down into the tray and ensure that it is evenly spread.
Then sprinkle the top of the rocky road with decorations. I used small marshmallows.
Chill in the fridge and then cut into squares or slices.
I have had pickled red onion when I have been out for meals at Wahaca and Wagamama. It was something that I had thought about making myself. I have had success in making quick pickled peppers for salads, so thought I could do it.
I thinly sliced a red onion and then added salt, white wine vinegar and a small amount of sugar. I then added some dried Italian herbs as well.
This I then left for a few hours. I then drained it in a sieve and served with a salad. It was rather nice.
Back in the 1980s I do remember seeing packs of yellow savoury rice, often branded Golden Vegetable or similar. I also remember never having it and never buying it.
Over the last few years (or is that decades) I have been cooking Spanish inspired rice dishes (which I have been known to call paella), and a range of risotto dishes. When cooking paella and risotto I always use a specialist rice to ensure that it cooks right.
Well there I was cooking dinner and we decided on a rice dish, however I had no paella or risotto rice in the cupboard. I did however have some long grain rice. So reviewing a few recipes I came up with the following recipe.
1 onion
1 small red pepper
3 or 4 mushrooms
Pack of diced smoked pancetta
200g long grain rice
600ml boiling water
Knorr Chicken Stock Pot
1 teaspoon of Morrisons Chicken Seasoning
Tomatoes
Fresh parsley
Dice the onion, red pepper and mushrooms.
In a large frying pan, heat some olive oil.
Cook off the pancetta.
Add the onions and pepper and cook until softened.
Add the diced mushrooms and cook for another minute.
Stir in the rice.
Stir the stock pot into the boiling water and add to the rice mixture. Add the chicken seasoning.
Simmer for fifteen minutes until the rice is cooked.
Garnish the rice with chopped fresh tomato and chopped parsley.
