Thursday 30 August 2012

Masterclass with Lucy Porter

I wasn't early and managed to get a seat at the front , yes!

Everyone sounded really excited: a cooking masterclass with Lucy Porter, this is not something you can see everyday.
The comedian would be on stage the same day for the Fringe festival, and as a cooking aficionado she popped in the foodies as well.

As soon as she entered the tent I was surprised to see that she was as tall as me (which isn't a lot!), and she just enlightened the audience with her smile.

Lucy told us through the meal she was about to demonstrate, and for this she called out for single girls in the audience (I stared at my feet).
"If you are single don't eat this on your own because this is really fattening, however cook it for your date, it's a good aphrodisiac!" (Laugh from the audience).

The dish was a warm salad, with potatoes, chorizo, red wine and oysters. I say!

The rest of the masterclass was all over the place: it was more like a girlfriend showing you how to make a dish than a proper professional demonstration, but that's what everyone loved.

While chopping, Lucy told us all about her two babies, and how her husband made them pose with cans of beers taped to their hands for mother day: "we are bad parents" she laughed.

She also told the story of her wedding and meeting her in laws: "I swear it smells of lavender when they fart!".


The recipe? pretty simple:
Take some really good quality chorizo, the one you can cook, and place it in a pan with red wine.
Boil some potatoes.
When the potatoes are boiled, put them into the simmering chorizo and red wine.
Lay some fresh salad leaves on a plate, and serve the potatoes and chorizo stew on top.
Finally add the oysters on top of it all.

It looked and smelled great, a perfect autumn salad.

To hear my interview with Lucy:
http://audioboo.fm/boos/939787-lucy-porter-interview



Wednesday 22 August 2012

Foodies festival

I arrived on the platform five minutes before the train was to depart, typical me.
Obviously there was only one seat left, backward facing, tiny window, next to a bunch of kids singing: "Mummy are we there yet? Mummy are we there yet?" with such ... angelical voices. Yes, I was smiling and happy, I was on my way to the Foodies festival.


I read the foodies magazine religiously every month, so there was no way I would miss the show.

I arrived to a jam packed Edinburgh: silly me, I had totally forgotten about the Edinburgh festival, man this will be fun.

Making my way through the crowd I felt like an explorer in the jungle: bikers with long grey beards, camera attached japanese tourists, "I wants anotha icecweam" chanting kids, purple hair, old couples, what a mix of people.

It took me about forty minutes to get to Inverleith park. The sun was burning my skin, and I wondered for a minute if I was going to get a tan on top of a great day out (I did in the end, yes!)





As I entered the festival, I was greeted by Sue Hitchen, the editor of the magazine who gave me a programme.
I signed for a cooking masterclass with Lucy Porter, this had to be interesting.

I then started my journey across the stands. What struck me from the beginning is how smiling people were. Sure the sun must have had some effects on the general mood, but no, it did felt like a massive family picnic.



People were lying on the lawn, laughing and drinking cocktails, or standing by the stalls, tasting and chatting with the merchants.








There was such a diverse range of products on hand, and it took me a good two hours to see them all.

I started off with what I will call the "producers alley", with mostly food stalls, then made my way through the"seasoning alley", with chillis, spices mix, rock salts.
More on that in my next article.







I ended my tour with the street food alley: what a choice! Basically, it saves you a £5000 round the world ticket: Jamaican food, Chinese food, French food, Spanish food, Morrocan food, cider stalls, coconut stalls (yes, fresh coconut water!).

At last I had a wee look on the west aisle of the show which featured some well known restaurant such as Glasgow's "Southern spice" who were offering taster dishes for between £3 and £5. Very mouthwatering.






Before I knew it , it was time for my masterclass...




Saturday 11 August 2012

York: Gert and Henry, my worst experience


Like every tourist destination, York has many traps that we need to avoid (in France we call that an "attrape- cons", basically a fish net for stupid people...)

In York there is a massive one (vulnerable people should now be put away from the screen):

Gert and Henry:

I had read a few negative reviews about this place, some people where saying how their standard had lowered over the years. But when Matt and I were dying for a drink and we passed it, I must say the cute facade made me want to give it a go. After all, how bad can it go with just one drink.
Answer is: very!

STAY AWAY FROM THAT PLACE, THIS IS NOT AN EXERCISE!

We sat by the window, and ordered a pint of lager and a bottle of cider. We were chatting when the waitress brought us a free nibble: a plate full of greasy doughnuts.
"That's... strange" I thought, but then again , it was free so what can we say?

My cider arrived almost straight away. When the lager was still not there after ten minutes, I asked the waitress who said "yes, the draught is a bit hard to pull down"
"??"

When finally a tray full of beers arrived (after another ten minutes), I was all ready to just enjoy the moment and be cool, but our drink was not on it.
Another five minutes (yeah I was going through a phase of making efforts not to be a pain, but being patient hurts my fingers)

So that was it, I asked for the bill and said we were just going to leave it. The panicked waitress reported it to her manager (an angry looking wee Asian guy), who, true story, went to the table next to us, took their drink and put it on our table. I said "no, no thanks we don't want it, we are leaving now".
I looked at the menu, left the 2,75 pounds for my cider and we took off. I had barely stepped out the door when the manager lost it, shouting at us to stay inside.
-"excuse me?"
-"the bill, you need to pay the bill!"
-"I left the money on the table"
-"how can you have left it on the table, you don't know how much it was, I don't even know how much it was"
-"It was 2.75!" I said, raging.

We tried to leave again and he shouted at us even harder, in front of a room full of shocked customers.
When he finally made his little calculation (I guess something like 2,75+ 0 = 2,75) , he rudely waved us away.

-"well, thanks very much!" I said, still not believing what had just happened . He did not even look at me.

I guess I do not need to add anything to that, just stay away from Gerk and ... oops sorry, Gert and Henrys.




Tuesday 7 August 2012

York do's and dont's

I have done quite a research about York: the place is packed with pubs , cafes and restaurants, so where go?

Confession: all my researching lead to nothing. I think in this kind of situation (a one day getaway), you've got to go with the flow and trust your instincts.

Let's start with my recommendations.

Crumbs tea room


After a look in the national trust shop in college street that sells all the kind of useless crap I am into (tea towels with the Queen's face on it, vintage cooking books, how to grow your own coriander kit ...)  I was feeling in the mood for a cup of tea. We passed a couple of cafes when the window of Crumbles caught my eye. The window featured a sweet exhibit of three tier cake stands and teacup hanging on ribbons.

Matt was wanting a milkshake, can't blame him with that heat. I happened to want nothing, and cursed the sun for stopping me from having a cupcake. They all looked so tasty, and what a choice!
The girl was very friendly and we felt so relaxed in this retro-looking wee place.
We sat in the couch, looking out the window, flicking through some cooking books (I copied some of the recipes, might as well).
Ideal for a cream tea break when touring the city.

+ lovely interior                                     
- so overly cute your brain might explode






















Crazy bubble tea

We passed that place and suddenly, I was back in Shanghai.
I remembered how my Indonesian friend Chandra used to love those, and I thought it would be fun to share this experience with Matt.




This tea drink that originated from Taiwan has a tea base mixed with fruit or milk. You then add some chewy tapioca balls (or pearls). We chose a coconut milk tea with mango pearls.
It was just like I remembered: weird. I don't think Matt was such a fan, I thought it was funny.
I guess it's not everyone's cup of bubble tea.




+ something new                        
-  expensive                               





York hog roast

We walked past this shop a few times that day, drooling like crazy.
So when we had to leave for our train and had no time to sit for a proper meal, we decided to get a sandwich there. A bit pricey but my god, what a meat.
We both went for the pork sandwich which is basically a Sunday roast stuck between two pieces of bread :  roast pork with stuffing, apple sauce and crackling. I had read a review saying the meat was too dry, nope, can't agree with that, it was perfect. To my taste it would need a bit more apple sauce but that's not a rule.

+ quality meat                       
- not for dieters                     


York.

I can truly say that York is my favorite English city so far.

The shambles represent ,to me, the typical "cliched British scenery" you expect to see anywhere in the country.
So I was really excited to show Matt around.

I will obviously review some places but York needs to be seen not read, so here: 






Monday 6 August 2012

Leeds: best breakfast at Primos

We had a few hours before our train to York and decided to have a nice filling (meaning fatty) breakfast.
We strolled around the calls and ended up at the corn exchange.



This Victorian building is host to many original shops, such as Teddy and co that caught my eye: they offer a large selection of collectible bears and homemade celebration cards.

I thought it was a great place for browsing, and perfect for finding that little special gift you would get nowhere else.

We stopped at Primos for breakfast, inside the corn exchange. They specialize in hot dogs but their breakfast menu sounded appealing.

I have to say, hot dogs are not my thing, I would happily pick a burger over one, but those ones sounded like masterpieces, hear this:
The Utah hot dog: Bratwusrt sausage with caramelized onions, Monterey Jack cheese, guacamole, sour cream, tomato salsa and jalapenos.

Oh my. Let's stay focused, we're here to have breakfast.

I went with the "american pancakes and bacon", and Matt went with the "crispy bacon bagel", both 2.85 pounds.
"What a bargain" I thought, and "what a super ultra bargain" I thought again when my plate arrived. There was enough to feed two people there.

Yes I finished it all, why?



A great wee place to get lunch too, with 10% off for students and special offers going on almost every day of the week (damn I wish we were Wednesday for "bagel Wednesdays", why, WHY!!)

I would not dare naming it the "best breakfast in Leeds" as I have not had breakfast anywhere else, but it was the best one I have had in a while that's for sure.

+ great menu for great prices          
- only open for dinner on Thursdays


Sunday 5 August 2012

Night in Leeds/ dinner at Thai edge


Thanks to my young person's railcard, I got a two month free trial with the gourmet society, which gives you restaurant discounts in every city.
After some (22 hours) research, I decided to give a try to the brasserie at Bewley's hotel: the online menu looked incredible, and would be well worth the 30 minutes walk from our hotel.

I had already made up my mind on the "duck medallions served on a cassoulet of duck sausage, spinach & lentils with orange potato cakes" followed by the "almond Galette served with summer fruits, crème fraiche & mini strawberry daiquiri". Wow, the title itself is mouthwatering.

So imagine my disappointment when after walking half an hour (can't stress that enough) I arrived to a complete different menu. A two course prix fixed that was nowhere near as good as the online one. I asked about the a la carte, and I was told it was taken off a month ago because not enough customers were ordering from it.

Fair enough , but how about taking the menu off the website? We left.

Thank god I had a plan b: in a symphony of rumbling stomach we jumped on a taxi to Thai edge.

This Thai restaurant near Millenium square was cute as hell, and the service was out of this world.

The lovely waitresses were wearing elegant purple traditional dresses and were very attentive and open to questions.


 


The menu can please everyone with the classics like green thai curry, or for those more adventurous, you could go with one of their specialities such as the steamed fish wrapped in banana leaves in coconut milk and sweet basil.

We went with the Mussaman gai which is a chicken mussaman curry cooked in coconut milk with potato,
peanuts and onion and the mussaman gae which is lamb in mussaman curry cooked in coconut milk with potato, peanuts and onion.
But ... that's twice the same curry will you say. Well, that's what happens when you let the man order and he gets mixed up. Bless.

Did not care in the end as the curry was divine. The meat was really tender, to the point where Matt went:
"My god this lamb is so tender, hang on, no that was a potatoe..."

The presentation was a first for us: curries were served in two lovely candle heated pots that kept our food hot throughout the meal. Clever.

Glad we went there in the end, lovely dinner and cheap too, as my gourmet society card gave us two for one on mains bringing the total to 20 pounds, including drinks. Khawp khun kha!


+ Lovely decor   

- Expensive drinks




Leeds: First impressions


As Matt's plane was landing in Leeds Bradford airport,  I thought it was the perfect opportunity to visit a new place and decided to meet him there. It was also the perfect excuse to go to York once more as I had not been in years.

I had no idea what to expect from Leeds. In France you would hear about London or Edinburgh, but not much else unfortunately, so I was rather curious.

As I left rainy Glasgow, I could swear the rain stopped the second I entered England.
Two very chatty people decided to sit right in front of me (you know when the whole train is empty and people simply decide they want to sit next to YOU...) but I stayed focused on the scenery, blocking the noise.
I passed a place called Saltaire that caught my attention, and wrote it on my to do list.

I then arrived in Leeds and, I have to admit, it overcame my expectations.
The city is lovely, really lovely, and I wish someone had recommended that place before.
Of course, the fact that I had not seen the sun in a month must have had some part in my excitement.

We stayed in the Etap hotel near the calls.
This budget accomodation was good enough; there was a summer deal going on and the night was as cheap as 18 pounds. Can't complain.


We started the night by having drinks at the calls landing. This pub has a terrace that overlooks the river Aire. Matt and I sat there enjoying the sun, nibbling on fresh olives while drinking a pint of lagger (who am I kidding, I had a strawberry cider)

Saturday 4 August 2012

Mini break in Arran/ Lighthouse

The lack of sun does not mean I should not enjoy a bit of holiday this summer, so when I was kindly invited for a getaway in the Isle of Arran, I did not think twice.




I was surprised at how easy it was to get there without a car; I simply got on a train to Ardrossan Harbour which took about an hour, then queued up for the ferry.

I have traveled a lot in my young life, but weirdly enough, never was it on a boat. So I felt like a kid when I stepped onto the ferry for the fist time.

I could come up with a whole story of how I was touched by the beauty of the sea and how I had the deepest conversation with a dolphin, truth is, I fell asleep two minutes in.
When reaching the coast of Arran, Del insisted we got outside and watch. I was still cranky from waking up and my hair got all over the place, but yes the view was stunning.

We then drove all the way to Pirnmill where Del's family had rented a cottage for the week. It was purely dreamy, exactly how I expected the whole of Scotland to be when I first moved here.


I had barely arrived in the house when I was told we had a dinner reservation for the lighthouse, a seafood restaurant round the corner. "Oh well" , I thought, "I am really on holidays".

Because you see, I am a restaurant freak (no kidding) , I would never go somewhere unless thoroughly researched. So that was a first , and I could not wait.


The Lighthouse

I must say, the place was cute but empty, I wondered if it was a good sign. After a quick glance at the menu which was on the wall, my skepticism just melted: everything, I mean EVERYTHING sounded delicious.

Thank god I was craving for salmon or I would have spent the night choosing (did not want my hosts to hate me on the first day...)
So I went with the "cajun spiced supreme salmon with leek mash and prawn and chive cream sauce", while the rest of the table chose the "roasted shoulder of Arran Lamb with red wine rosemary sauce", the "pan seared fillet seabass with white wine mussel provencal sauce" and  the "chargrilled tuna served with a sesame roasted potato salad".

The starters sounded lovely too, and Del and I said we would definitely go back the next day in secret to try them  (we didn't).

How can I describe that dish without sounding over the top, I don't know, it was overly nice.
This was truly the best dish I have had in years. The salmon was perfectly cooked, could have been eaten on its own, but the prawn and chive cream sauce was just a delight. Our dishes were supplemented with some lovely vegetables and potatoes. Could not get enough.





So when desert was mentioned I was stuffed, but I thought "more, more, I want MORE!!!"
-Cec? desert?
-yeah sure, I mean if everyone else is...hum...

I went with the crumble and ice cream, rest of the party enjoyed meringues, creme brulee, and sticky toffee pudding.
"Everything is home made" the waitress said proudly. And she had every reason to be proud.
Perfect ending to a perfect meal.
Absolutely recommend that place, the service was warm and welcoming, the food was extraordinary, would be curious to know where the chef was trained.




A bit of shopping

As the shopping addict that I am , I could not leave Arran without some local goods. From cheese to fish and homemade soap, what a trip for my wee nose.

Arran cheese shop:

I have to confess, in France we think cheddar is not a real cheese, more like an orange plastic thing pretending to be cheese, so it was a grand surprise to taste some that was so delicious and properly made.
That wee shop was so cute, with four plates on the counter for us to taste: garlic cheddar, herb cheddar, mustard cheddar and I'm afraid I forgot what the fourth one was. Oh well, it was probably the least tasty or I would remember it.

I got some mini oatcakes with garlic cheddar (so French of me!) and raspberry and cranberry cheddar (so weefrenchy of me, I have a thing for fruity things)

Creelers:

Everything was just so fresh!, We got a mackerel quiche for our dinner, salmon and mackerel pate just for pigging out, and a lovely fish soup that I had back in Glasgow.

Arran aromatics:

For whoever loves original smells and luxury bath products. The place was full of nice gifts ideas.
I ended up buying a honey and oat soap that smells gorgeous.


So my trip to Arran was a total bliss, it was quiet and relaxing, the food was fresh and yummy. An overall magic experience.