Teaching singing with Chris and Ali for the Holiday Property Bond takes us to lovely castles in Scotland and Angelsey, a place outside Paris and now to the South of Spain near Almeria. The complex is built like a white toppled hill-top village amongst the barren folded soft green hills. Unfortunately, the food in most of the restaurants we patronised (with one exception), whilst edible, sometimes tasty and always filling was unremarkable and mostly hotel catering food from the freezer pack. A bit "Brits in Spain". So I'm not going to comment any more than that. It was a very enjoyable week with lovely singing people, our own huge villa to rehearse in (including our own pool) and some gorgeous warm sunshine toasting our sun-starved bodies as we relaxed at the end of the week!
My weight, however, unlike the last Theme week in Scotland where I did not put any weight on, has risen by a whole pound! That'll be the potato wedges and the packet of pastries that I ate during the last two days!
Tonight Scott and I went to Green's Dining Rooms on Zetland Rd, where it was enjoyably, and unusually quiet. The food was delicious, tasty and not too large portions. The service was light-hearted, quick and good. Lovely juicy little crisp parcels of crab wontons with a cucumber relish and avocado,calves liver and chocolate torte with a crispy thing and a coffee sauce. Scott had a langoustine bisque that was OK, and a very strong flavoured sticky toffee pudding. I have heard that the brothers who run Green's are selling up. That will be a loss to Bristol!
Mmmm.... Now I've got to make sure I lose a pound by next Wednesday to return to my stone loss since I started going to Slimming World!
Wednesday, 23 March 2011
Saturday, 12 March 2011
The Crown at Whitebrook
Mid March and Scott, Danny and I headed up the Wye Valley, through dense woodland of winter-bare trees with the hint of bursting buds in a purple haze of promise. Past Tintern and then left, up a valley of picturesque houses and babbling brooks to find The Crown, an old coaching inn way off the beaten track run by chef James Sommerin, a Masterchef finalist with a Michelin star. Our friends Chris and Martha were already there, and we added our battered old Zaphira car next to their Astra followed by my daughter Amy's Corsa - a trio of faded old Vauxhalls amongst the Jags and Porches. The staff and the room was welcoming - especially the cup of tea and hot welsh cake.
We chose the nine-course taster menu. With our aperitif we were presented with an appetiser on a slate - a freshly baked cheese choux pastry, a savoury lollipop, a strange ceramic spoon of tomato tapioca and some crispy snacks. We marvelled at the price of some of the wine and ordered various glasses and were shown to my favourite shaped table... round with serviettes on little wooden platters!
I won't bore you with the details, but I think this was the best meal that I have ever had. Highlights were the amuse bouche where amongst a creamy langoustine mousse, tiny crisp individual cells of lime exploded in the mouth as you bit them; a strongly flavoured roast chicken crunched inside pasta with egg and wild mushroom; tasty barbecued mackerel cuddled up to beetroot and horseradish; a tiny square of delicious soft pork belly with a sliver of crackling nestled beside a piece of turbot, tiny slices of venison were served on a cushion of pureed carrot with a wonderful jus, an entertaining waitor described and served two wonderful slates of soft and hard Welsh and English cheeses before desserts - one of which contained a delicious sharp blackcurrent sorbet, another chocolate together with cinnamon and fig. The wonderfully curvy wooden platter made a reappearance with the final dessert to round off the meal with a smile. Danny and Amy went home and the remaining four of us were happy to go upstairs to our comfortable beds.
I loved the way Amy, who is pregnant, was cared for, with separate dishes where things were not suitable, and the meat and eggs never undercooked. The wine was fabulous and company was excellent. Chris and Danny are both professional cooks and were excited by each course and we all took pleasure in discussing the flavours and the artistic presentation which was beautiful. We had a great night with lots of conversation and fun. The breakfast was a treat, with freshly baked raspberry and white chocolate muffins alongside creamy porridge. I had a full English whilst Scott and Martha had french toast with maple syrup and Chris had smoked salmon. We rounded it off with toast and unlimited coffee and tea. As we paid the bill, we gulped a bit at the expense, but it was definitely good value and much cheaper than some of the other restaurants I plan to visit this year. And I want to go back to The Crown again... please...
We chose the nine-course taster menu. With our aperitif we were presented with an appetiser on a slate - a freshly baked cheese choux pastry, a savoury lollipop, a strange ceramic spoon of tomato tapioca and some crispy snacks. We marvelled at the price of some of the wine and ordered various glasses and were shown to my favourite shaped table... round with serviettes on little wooden platters!
I won't bore you with the details, but I think this was the best meal that I have ever had. Highlights were the amuse bouche where amongst a creamy langoustine mousse, tiny crisp individual cells of lime exploded in the mouth as you bit them; a strongly flavoured roast chicken crunched inside pasta with egg and wild mushroom; tasty barbecued mackerel cuddled up to beetroot and horseradish; a tiny square of delicious soft pork belly with a sliver of crackling nestled beside a piece of turbot, tiny slices of venison were served on a cushion of pureed carrot with a wonderful jus, an entertaining waitor described and served two wonderful slates of soft and hard Welsh and English cheeses before desserts - one of which contained a delicious sharp blackcurrent sorbet, another chocolate together with cinnamon and fig. The wonderfully curvy wooden platter made a reappearance with the final dessert to round off the meal with a smile. Danny and Amy went home and the remaining four of us were happy to go upstairs to our comfortable beds.
I loved the way Amy, who is pregnant, was cared for, with separate dishes where things were not suitable, and the meat and eggs never undercooked. The wine was fabulous and company was excellent. Chris and Danny are both professional cooks and were excited by each course and we all took pleasure in discussing the flavours and the artistic presentation which was beautiful. We had a great night with lots of conversation and fun. The breakfast was a treat, with freshly baked raspberry and white chocolate muffins alongside creamy porridge. I had a full English whilst Scott and Martha had french toast with maple syrup and Chris had smoked salmon. We rounded it off with toast and unlimited coffee and tea. As we paid the bill, we gulped a bit at the expense, but it was definitely good value and much cheaper than some of the other restaurants I plan to visit this year. And I want to go back to The Crown again... please...
Saturday, 5 March 2011
Harvey Nicks on Friday March 4th 2011
Scott had a day off work, so I took a day off too and we trundled off to Cabot Circus - the cathedral of retail, with it's high vaulted glass ceilings. As I'm writing this I am still indulging...sitting by a log fire with Scott playing the guitar and a glass of red wine. Danny has brought round some very salty roquefort and has spread it on thin hot toast.
Lunch in Harvey Nichols was not a disappointment. With gold sofas, ceilings, pillars and carpet it was very 60s in style. The staff were very helpful and friendly, the toilets were wonderful (with an accessible toilet for Scott which wasn't locked!), the acoustics were wonderfully dampened by the soft walls and the music was exactly the volume that I like with Leftfield playing loud enough to recognise the music but not too loud that it curtailed conversation.
They brought a variety of breads made in the kitchen... soda, focacia and sweet rolls. To start, Scott had a round of kipper pate with lightly toasted soda bread and I had a fresh beetroot, orange and curd goats cheese salad with crispy leaves. I followed with a compact square of belly of pork with a tiny flake of crunchy crackling with freshly cooked butterbeans whilst Scott had delicious willow-leaf shaped lambs liver on carrot mash and we shared sides of purple sprouting brocolli and potatoes. We ended the meal with moist hazelnut polenta cake with bitter-sweet lemon curd and a couple of expresso coffees before going off to see the heart-warming film West is West at the Showcase. Strong and delicious flavours and combinations.
Cost-wise, the £18 for 3 courses increased somewhat with the side dishes, wine (Scott only), coffees and service.We want to go back to Harvey Nicks for an evening meal sometime!
I forgot to mention that Scott bought a Macbook Air between lunch and watching a film! Going to the Apple shop is dangerous! On Sunday we are going to the first Michelin star restaurant on my tour! Watch this space......
Lunch in Harvey Nichols was not a disappointment. With gold sofas, ceilings, pillars and carpet it was very 60s in style. The staff were very helpful and friendly, the toilets were wonderful (with an accessible toilet for Scott which wasn't locked!), the acoustics were wonderfully dampened by the soft walls and the music was exactly the volume that I like with Leftfield playing loud enough to recognise the music but not too loud that it curtailed conversation.
They brought a variety of breads made in the kitchen... soda, focacia and sweet rolls. To start, Scott had a round of kipper pate with lightly toasted soda bread and I had a fresh beetroot, orange and curd goats cheese salad with crispy leaves. I followed with a compact square of belly of pork with a tiny flake of crunchy crackling with freshly cooked butterbeans whilst Scott had delicious willow-leaf shaped lambs liver on carrot mash and we shared sides of purple sprouting brocolli and potatoes. We ended the meal with moist hazelnut polenta cake with bitter-sweet lemon curd and a couple of expresso coffees before going off to see the heart-warming film West is West at the Showcase. Strong and delicious flavours and combinations.
Cost-wise, the £18 for 3 courses increased somewhat with the side dishes, wine (Scott only), coffees and service.We want to go back to Harvey Nicks for an evening meal sometime!
I forgot to mention that Scott bought a Macbook Air between lunch and watching a film! Going to the Apple shop is dangerous! On Sunday we are going to the first Michelin star restaurant on my tour! Watch this space......
Friday, 4 March 2011
A Bad Start and Marktplatz, Mittenwald
By the way, I must mention that I am not trying to write "well" in this blog.... I spend enough time trying to do things properly and right... this is just a thing I'm doing when I have a minute, and if you're reading it, read without judgement! It's a pouring out of my fingers.... nothing else.
I put on a pound this week... bad start to my blog eh? So didn't go out to eat tonight, but had pasta and salad and.... I'm afraid I have to report that I then had sticky toffee pudding, shared 4 ways with Scott, my husband, Amy my daughter and her husband Mark. So a just tiny portion!
I forgot to mention the restaurant in Germany. In January, which after all is the start of my year of fine dining, Scott, my son Ben and I went to Austria, but ended up over the border in a little Bavarian town of Mittenwald. Lovely little cobbled, painted and historical place if a tiny bit run down. However, it does posses the best restaurant I have eaten at for a very long time - Marktplatz.... if you are ever there. We had three tastes for three courses.. each delicately placed and artistically put together. And the flavours!!!! We are going to be hard-put to beat this restaurant during my year. We also had some incredibly wonderful saunas in Seefeld and Leutash in Austria. The sauna in Mittenwald was not so spectacular but quite old and sweet. And the B&B we stayed at was fab too.... Hotel Garni Edlehuber, with Angelica as the friendly host. Great breakfasts!
I put on a pound this week... bad start to my blog eh? So didn't go out to eat tonight, but had pasta and salad and.... I'm afraid I have to report that I then had sticky toffee pudding, shared 4 ways with Scott, my husband, Amy my daughter and her husband Mark. So a just tiny portion!
I forgot to mention the restaurant in Germany. In January, which after all is the start of my year of fine dining, Scott, my son Ben and I went to Austria, but ended up over the border in a little Bavarian town of Mittenwald. Lovely little cobbled, painted and historical place if a tiny bit run down. However, it does posses the best restaurant I have eaten at for a very long time - Marktplatz.... if you are ever there. We had three tastes for three courses.. each delicately placed and artistically put together. And the flavours!!!! We are going to be hard-put to beat this restaurant during my year. We also had some incredibly wonderful saunas in Seefeld and Leutash in Austria. The sauna in Mittenwald was not so spectacular but quite old and sweet. And the B&B we stayed at was fab too.... Hotel Garni Edlehuber, with Angelica as the friendly host. Great breakfasts!
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