Time for a coffee

November 6, 2021January 27, 2024

Time for some great sushi at Obon

I have enjoyed sushi from various places, but Obon in Kingston upon Thames was excellent. Visiting family in Kingston back in August, one night we headed out for a meal. Our destination was Obon, a small sushi restaurant.

There is quite an extensive menu, but everything is made fresh to order.

We ordered the 12 pieces of assorted nigiri.

We could see this being made to order. There was a wide choice, from smoked eel, salmon, tuna, scallops and prawns.

We also ordered cucumber and avocado maki, as well as some tempura.

The sushi was delicious and I really enjoyed it.

November 5, 2021November 4, 2021

Conference Dining

As part of my job I will often attend events and conferences. Sometimes these will be in hotels and other times they are in dedicated conference centres. I usually have lunch, which usually defaults to some kind of buffet lunch. For some events and conferences I stay over and that means having dinner. Over the years I have had some very disappointing meals, I remember one conference dinner in Sheffield Town Hall which was really quite awful. It comprised an over-cooked chicken breast wrapped in a rasher of bacon, served with soggy tasteless vegetables. Other times I have had some outstanding food.

In September I was attending an “away day” at the Ashorne Hill Conference Centre near to Leamington Spa.

It was a lunchtime to lunchtime event, so there was dinner in the evening.

What I did like was that we could choose from a menu and so we didn’t all need to have the same food.

For my start I chose the crispy chilli beef.

Well this was disappointing as it wasn’t crispy chilli beef, well not like other times I have eaten crispy chilli beef. It was rather chewy and the sauce didn’t really work and certainly could have had more chilli.

For my main I went with the chicken, something I wouldn’t usually choose, but it was served on a bed of wild mushrooms.

The chicken was tender, moist and full of flavour.

For dessert I went with cheese and biscuits.

This was a nice selection of cheese, nice chutney and a selection of biscuits and bread.

Overall it was a meal I enjoyed, but certainly not one of the best conference dinners I have had.

November 4, 2021

Pizza Hut to be a Tim Hortons

An artist's impression of the drive-thru. - Credit: Tim Hortons — An artist’s impression of the drive-thru – Credit: Tim Hortons

After losing Frankie and Benny to Burger King, we now know that the old Pizza Hut restaurant in Weston-super-Mare is to become a Tim Hortons.

I had no idea what a Tim Hortons was. The initial news report I read said a Canadian chain which sold coffee and doughnuts. I was quite intrigued. Was this going to be a sophisticated coffee place? They have a number of outlets already in the UK, so I checked the website.

Ah well looking at the menu, yes they sell coffee, yes they sell doughnuts, but it looks much more like a burger chain than a coffee chain.

I probably won’t be visiting when it opens.

November 4, 2021November 5, 2021

Disappointing Deliveroo, well not really

Despite the pandemic and the growth of delivery services, it was only in July of this year that I finally bit the bullet and used a delivery service.

I was away, working in London, and I was staying at a hotel which didn’t have a restaurant. I didn’t really want to go out to eat, so decided that maybe this time I should use a service like Deliveroo.

There was an opening offer, so that made it quite cost effective and cheaper than I thought it was going to be.

I looked over the choices and in the end went with Wagamama.

I was quite hungry so I ordered Yaki Soba with Chicken and Prawns, a portion of Chilli Squid and some vegan mixed mushroom bao buns.

The process of ordering was really quite simple and the communication was good as well. There was a slight issue in the driver finding my hotel, but a quick phone call sorted that.

So why was the meal disappointing?

The food was cold and I had to reheat it in my hotel room (which luckily was equipped with a microwave).

I did think that initially this was down to Deliveroo.

Well I actually don’t think the problem was with Deliveroo, but actually was with Wagamama.

When I went to Wagamama in Edinburgh recently, they were preparing orders for delivery services and the food was left on a table without any thought to it getting cold. I suspect it was a similar process when I used Deliveroo for my Wagamama meal.

The thing is that, this really put my off using Deliveroo again for a hot meal delivery. I did use the service recently for some wine from Morrisons which was also efficient and quick.

So what about the actual food.

Well the Yaki Soba was rather nice, and once warmed up in the microwave was tasty.

The chilli squid though looked great.

This was crispy fried squid dusted with shichimi. served with a chilli coriander dipping sauce.

However this dish was quite cold, and even though I warmed it up in the microwave, I do think this made the squid somewhat rubbery and softened the crispiness. It was certainly not as good as when I have had it in the restaurant fresh to the table.

There was though one star dish amongst the ones I ordered which was the (vegan) mushroom steamed hirata buns.

These were mixed mushrooms + panko aubergine hirata steamed buns – two small, fluffy asian buns stuffed with mixed mushrooms and panko aubergine, served with coriander and vegan mayonnaise.

These were delicious and I really enjoyed them.

So the next time I fancy some food from Wagamama, I think I will take the time to visit the restaurant and eat there.

November 3, 2021

Time for a simple pizza

It was September and we had spent the day in Bristol and having missed lunch we went to Zizzi in Cabot Circus, one of our regular haunts as they do a really nice gluten free pizza.

Though the place looked empty, they initially said that they were full (well all the tables were reserved). However as we arrived in mid-afternoon, if we were there for just an hour then we could have a table. We only wanted a main course, so decided that was okay.

I am guessing that though there were plenty of free tables, the challenge was more of a staffing issue than a seating problem.

We looked over the menu and I did quite fancy a pizza. I wasn’t sure what kind of pizza I wanted and there were a fair few choices.

In the end I chose the simple Rustica Margherita.

Sometimes I quite like simplistic dishes. In this case I really enjoyed the pizza, it was cooked well, the base was nice, crispy with some doughy parts. The tomato sauce was nice as was the mozzarella.

The service was efficient and we all enjoyed our food.

November 1, 2021November 5, 2021

Down at the Harbourside

It was a warm sunny day in August when I found myself with some colleagues at the Harbour House for a leaving do.

I was a little later than planned as I was trying to find somewhere to park. The party I was with were sitting outside on the decking in the sun.

Having looked online for the menu, I did quite fancy the Barnsley Chop, but this was not on the paper menu we had been given.

So in the end I decided against the steak or fish and went with the pork chop.

The grilled pork chop was served with French fries and a light green salad.

The chop was cooked well and was full of flavour and very tender.

For my second course I went with the cheese, I do like cheese and biscuits.

Personally I would have liked more cheese and less grapes. There were only oatcakes and these are my least favourite biscuits when it comes to cheese and biscuits. I did however enjoy the chutney that came alongside.

Overall it was a very nice meal and I enjoyed eating outside.

October 31, 2021January 13, 2022

Gluten Free Chocolate and Fudge Muffins

Having made some blueberry muffins, I also made some chocolate and fudge muffins. I have made chocolate muffins before, this time though I used a different recipe.

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases.

I bought my paper cases from Amazon, though I later found similar ones in Waitrose.

Ingredients

100g unsalted butter softened, plus 1 tbsp, melted, for greasing

140g golden caster sugar

2 large eggs

140g natural yogurt

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp milk

250g plain gluten free flour

2 tbsp of cocoa

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

100g of chocolate chips (dark or milk)

20g of fudge pieces to decorate.

Beat the butter and caster sugar together until pale and fluffy. Then add the eggs and beat in for about a minute. You then need to mix in the yogurt, vanilla extract and milk. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda in a bowl with ¼ tsp fine salt.

Add this into the wet ingredients and stir in. Finally, fold in the chocolate chips and divide the mixture between the muffin cases.

Add extra chocolate chips and fudge pieces to the top of the muffins.

Bake for 5 mins, then reduce oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and bake for 15-18 mins more until risen and golden, and a metal skewer inserted into the muffin comes out clean.

Cool in the tin for 10 mins, then carefully lift out onto a wire rack to finish cooling. Will keep for 3-4 days in an airtight container.

You can after a day or two, pop them in the microwave for 10-15 secs on high to freshen up.

October 30, 2021October 30, 2021

Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins

Decided to try and make some gluten free blueberry muffins. The aim was to recreate a traditional muffin experience, but make it gluten free.

Ingredients

100g unsalted butter softened, plus 1 tbsp, melted, for greasing

140g golden caster sugar

2 large eggs

140g natural yogurt

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp milk

250g plain gluten free flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

125g pack blueberries (or use frozen)

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases.

I bought my paper cases from Amazon, though I later found the kind I like in Waitrose.

Beat the butter and caster sugar together until pale and fluffy. Then add the eggs and beat in for about a minute. You then need to mix in the yogurt, vanilla extract and milk. Combine the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda in a bowl with ¼ tsp fine salt.

Add this into the wet ingredients and stir in. Finally, fold in the blueberries and divide the mixture between the muffin cases.

Bake for 5 mins, then reduce oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and bake for 15-18 mins more until risen and golden, and a metal skewer inserted into the muffin comes out clean.

Cool in the tin for 10 mins, then carefully lift out onto a wire rack to finish cooling. Will keep for 3-4 days in an airtight container.

You can after a day or two, pop them in the microwave for 10-15 secs on high to freshen up.

October 18, 2021

Frankly it was rather disappointing

On visits to the Leather Lane market well before the Covid lockdown I had seen the Argentalia market stall a few times, but had not bought lunch there, though I did quite fancy the concept.

So on a recent visit a couple of months back, I had the opportunity to try out the stall. I went with the Argentalia Barbeque Box, which comes with Asado (ribs), Vacio (flap meat), Chorizo (sausage), Morcilla (black pudding), Pollo (chicken), Pork with chimichurri and variety of salads or fries.

This had the potential to be outstanding box of food, but alas it wasn’t meant to be.

The salad was flat and insipid.

The fries were okay, but nothing special.

So what of the main attraction, the barbecued meat?

I think if the meat had actually been barbecued then this would have made the dish so much better than it was. The problem with the meat was that it was quite tough and chewy. It was almost braised, steamed rather than grilled.

I am not even sure I got everything on the list.

Overall I was looking forward to a great box of barbecued meats, what I got was frankly rather disappointing.

October 3, 2021

Time to go back to Oxford for some Thai

As time passes I realise that many of the places I have written about in this blog have disappeared or have changed beyond recognition. Covid-19 has exacerbated and accelerated this process. I sometimes don’t want to search up for somewhere just in case they have closed. So one of my favourite places to eat Thai food was Sasi’s Thai in the covered market in Oxford. I now rarely get the chance to eat there, having stopped working in Oxford in 2015. I did manage a return visit there in 2019 and it was just as tasty as I remembered it. I had hoped to visit again, but with covid-19 and lockdown, those plans were scuppered. So on a recent quick visit to Oxford I decided I would grab lunch again at Sais’s Thai. I wasn’t actually sure if it would still be there, as with lockdown has resulted in many places closing (and walking through the covered market, many stalls and shops had closed). However I was pleased to see that it had survived and was open.

They had a really wide choice of dishes and it was difficult to decide what to have. In the end, despite wanting to try new stuff, I went with the familiar and had rice with two selections, choosing the crispy pork and the spicy squid.

I really like the crispy pork dish, so much so that I often try and recreate it at home. The combination of crispy flavoured pork, a variety of vegetables and a nice spicy sauce is delicious. Eating it I was reminded that though I enjoy my version, it still isn’t the same as the original. It was delicious.

I’ve always liked the squid dish from Sasi’s Thai and this time enjoyed it just as much as I did on my regular visits in 2014 and 2015. The squid was tender and the sauce was spicy but full of flavour.

Despite eating both dishes and feeling full, I was so tempted to order some more food, as it was so good.

I really enjoyed that lunch, it was a real blast from the past and it was nice to see they had maintained their quality and range of dishes. It was a little more expensive than I remember, but okay it was over six years ago when I went on a regular basis, so I can live with that.