The Three Tuns Inn - New Forest - review

- so, a welcome to the "Three Tuns Inn", unbeknownst to us upon arrival at the aforementioned campsite, to be an "Egon Ronay" recommended "Gastropub", Flyingpops spotted the sign, and thence we were, oh ho(!), looking forward to a real treat -

- the venue was wonderful, very rustic and in keeping with the rural surrounds, unpretentious, dog friendly, and (thankfully) genuinely human friendly too -

- I struggled with the menu (for good reasons), I really wanted the fillet steak, but it was a little on the expensive side, so I went for the fillet burger at a very reasonable £8.95 -

- and (my goodness) did it fullfill my every expectation - not just a burger bun, or even ciabatta - it came served upon a freshly baked crusty herb bread roll (still steaming!), the succulent pink meat topped with drizzled cheddar cheese and a sweet red onion and cranberry relish, a fresh and equally sweet tomato salsa and a slice of crispy bacon tucked down below...each mouthful was a tearful revelation as to what a burger should be...Bravo...it was inevitable, therefore, that on night two, it would be a repeat performance...upon arrival, politely advised that a large table may be arriving soon, we took to our seats 20 minutes or so earlier than the evening before, and this time I opted for the sirloin - the presentation was as immaculate as the evening before, the meat, sweet and succulent again, and quite perfectly cooked, the plate streaked with a balsamic reduction as sweet and sticky as molasses - as we went to pay, I called a waitress over and told her that each time we had come here, the staff had quite literally knocked the ball right out of the park -

- but I beg you, please, don't crowd out my new favourite restaurant, leave me a table somewhere... ;)

Midtown, Times Square and Tea

Had a really busy day yesterday, mostly shopping, took a cab to Times Square (feet still hurting after 4 hours of walking around downtown, so decided to be lazy)...

...which is just as wonderfully over-the-top commercial as ever...


...trailed around the shops, stopping longest in Toys R Us, with it's incredible big wheel *inside* the store!

Then (all shopped out) cabbed all the way back downtown, traffic was so bad though I had to give up about 3 blocks from the hotel and walk the rest, it was total gridlock -

- made sure I had everything I needed for today arranged neatly, Fillet Mignon for tea...medium rare, I'm sure it was an excellent bit of beef, texture was good, I just would have loved the opportunity to taste it, the sauce was way too much, tasted like oxo cubes and marmalade... >;P Brocolli was nice though...humph... ;)

Anyway, slept through last night until about 0230hrs again, and dozed until 0700hrs when the sun came up (so still feeling zapped), found the office with no problems and just finished an excellent lunch (which I enjoyed with my colleagues), but I've got to get on with some work now so more on that later... ;)

Beating Jet Lag

Just woken up, turned on the TV (Interview with a Vampire on TNT, whoever said US TV never has anything on worth watching?), and it really feels like 0630hrs, so I think I made it! Woo hoo! ;) The trick, for me at least, seems to be to stay awake into the early hours, do the super push through the fatigue...

So last night I headed down to the restaurant in the hotel, enjoyed some Brooklyn Lager (which is actually excellent) and a little more of my book (didn't eat the salty M&Ms) -

- then decided to have Veal alla Marsala (Veal scallopine with three types of mushrooms and marsala, served with fried potato) for dinner, enjoying it with an excellent chardonnay, which complimented it perfectly...

However, I must try to eat much more total rubbish from here on in, both because it's very hard to get the particular kind of total rubbish that the Americans do so well at home, and for our mutual amusement...Oh, I have to eat breakfast in the hotel first though, which will probably be quite good, judging by last night's effort... ;)

Now to try and cram myself into the impossibly small American bathtub and wash myself with "Rusk" soap... ;)

More later...

Arkle Manor, Betchworth - Review

So on Friday night, by way of thanks for his board and lodging at "chez Fink" , Ratty took Flyingpops, Jinx and I out for a treat...the choice was ours and I think we jumped up and down, shouting "Arkle Manor!!" loudly and repeatedly enough to secure the booking (and yes, you do need to book, it's got rather busy in there since the tatty "Harvester" closed it's doors and the subtle and sympathetic conversion back to a nice country pub took place...the pricing on the menu is reasonable, but expect to pay about £25 a head (if you are going for starter, main and desert), plus drinks, oh and on that note, I counted 11 draft beers on tap (all sorts of English and European brews)...quite impressive.. ;) For starter we decided to share a whole roasted camembert, which arrived, studded with rosemary (still in it's little box) swimming in a sweet and fresh cranberry/red grape compote with plenty of hot herb bread to dip into the lushous creamy centre...So inspired by this dish was I, that I made exactly the same thing as a starter for us on Saturday night (but I managed to keep mine from bursting ;) Their's, though, was classically presented, and quite, quite delicious...

Fillet Steak, medium rare was mine for main...accompanied by a suitably complex deglaze that wonderfully complimented, but didn't overwhelm the simply melt in the mouth flavour of the beef, a subtle horseradish (more cream than bite) topped it off, leaving your palate free to explore the sweet and perfectly cooked vegetables...

For desert I had a very fragrant blue cheese, served with fine and fruity home-made chutney and Scottish oat cakes (joined by a small glass of port) which was sublime in it's harmony...

All in all, this is, without question, the best meal I have eaten in Surrey in a very long time...bravo... ;)

Frankie and Bennys Redhill - Review

Been here once before (in Feb last year), this return visit to Frankie and Benny's in Redhill was by way of celebrating DJMathu's impending transition into a state of wedlock (followed up by a number of drinks in the "Sun" pub)...

Service was attentive (most likely because we were just about the only people in the place), the mens toilet was broken, and the air conditioning was stuck on "arctic" (and remained so despite at least five separate complaints), but the company was good and the food wasn't too bad either, for my starter I opted for the "Regular" sized "BBQ Chicken Wings" (if you go large you get twice as many, but I was worried about finding room for my main course) they were smokey, suitably BBQ sweet and sticky (wet wipe not optional)...not sure what I was supposed to do with the cocktail stick, probably pick burnt bits out of my teeth, but worrying about getting the sauce all over my chops I was careful to make sure it all went down the right way, they must be used to messier eaters... ;)

Main course I went for "BBQ Chicken and Ribs" (with fries), which went almost all the way to doing what it said on the tin, the ribs weren't a patch on *real* American ribs, but because I already knew they wouldn't be (why can't we do American ribs in England...why??) my expections were managed and I quite enjoyed the way the meat *almost* fell off the bone like the "knife and fork" variety from NYC, just a shame the "rack" was about 80% bone and the whole affair could have been neatly fitted into a pack of playing cards... :(

Anyway, a great evening was had (thank you Flyingpops for coming to pick me up!), and the aforementioned wedding is tomorrow, for which (and at which) I have certain duties to attend to, but a few shots, no doubt, when the celebrations and ministrations are complete...

Have a good weekend everyone... ;)

Traditional Swiss Cheese Fondue Recipe

(Scroll down if you are here for the recipe alone ;)

So, perhaps foolishly, we went to finish off the last few bits of Christmas food/drink shopping (£183!!!!!!!), okay, mostly drink, and lots of cheese...got a big bacon joint to cook up too...conditions in Tesco can only be described as "absolute bedlam", a totally chaotic nightmare, I estimate one aisle in three had at least one abandoned trolley clogging it up, tempers were fraying...amazingly though, the shelves were stocked almost as normal, the only thing we couldn't get from our list was a bottle of Malibu (I'll live)...

Went from there into Redhill (still loaded down with the shopping), spotted this (which I hope isn't a portent for tomorrow) in the market-

- then home to cook dinner, decided to have my annual naughty Christmas Swiss Cheese Fondue (all to myself as Flyingpops doesn't like it...what a terrible shame... ;)

Anyway, if you want to enjoy this awesome and very naughty treat (I *do* only have it once a year) you will need the following -

• A clove of garlic (chopped in half down the middle)
• Half a pint from a nice bottle of white wine (fruity Hardy's Chardonnay works a treat)
• A teaspoon of the juice of a lemon
• A tablespoon of Kirsh (Willisauer is ideal, but any clear cherry liqueur will do)
• A teaspoon of cornflour
• 110g/4oz emmental cheese grated (per person)
  
• 110g/4oz gruyère cheese grated (per person)
  
• Half a French stick (per person)

Procedure -

1. Get a non-stick saucepan (or if you have a cast iron fondue bowl, put that on the hob) and rub the garlic half all over the inside, push hard, get plenty of flavour all over the cooking surface
2. Put the cornflour into a glass and pour in the Kirsh, mix well, if it doesn't look like you will be able to easily pour it out then add a splash of tap water, mix again and stand next to the hob
   
3. Pour the half a pint of wine into the saucepan and add the lemon juice then bring quickly to the boil
4. Turn down the heat (a little) and *slowly* add the cheese, stirring *constantly* with a wooden spoon, waiting until each batch is melted before adding more
5. Pour in the Kirsh mixture and stir well (this is when it all comes together!)
6. Pour the whole lot into your Fondue bowl, light it up and sit (on the floor) dipping tiny cubes of French stick into the glorious sweet sticky yum sauce, curling up the trails of cheese so as not to make too much of a mess before popping into your mouth, washing it down with much, much more of the wonderful wine...
7. Fall asleep in front of a Christmas film

Reduced Salt Pot Noodle - review

Sorry for not posting the last couple of days, picked up a really nasty bug, throat has been feeling like I swallowed a bag of broken glass... :(

Having to eat slimy food as a result, and having exhausted all other options I reluctantly peeled back the lid on this "33% less salt" Chicken and Mushroom Pot Noodle (a slightly worse version of that "food" one normally reserves for camping emergencies)...

I might as well have prepared myself a lovely bowl of shredded cardboard in warm water.

Almost a teaspoon of added salt later it sort of half tasted like the normal one...but going through that process has demonstrated precisely how much salt really is in these blooming things (for perspective I wouldn't use that much salt in the production of a roast dinner for four)...so sort of lose/lose for Unilever really, as I'm not sure I'm going to be able to bring myself to eat either kind ever again now...

Picasso, Tapas House, Worthing review

Second birthday celebration in a row (wow, really dirty-stop-out behaviour going on lately!), Saturday night found us down in the distinctly "Balearic resort"-style, south coast town of Worthing (a mish-mash of largely shiny, inviting bars, resturants and clubs containing a large number of drunk people, although not as many as I had *expected* there to be, I guess Brighton is stealing some of the thunder)...

- we enjoyed a couple of drinks in chain-pub Yates (much like any other Yates) and then on to the simply divine Picasso resturant, hidden away behind the Guildbourne Centre on Annes Road-

Walking up the stairs you find yourself simply transported to Spain, the buzzing atmosphere, the wonderful aroma and the music, the warm sunny decor (looked like the Spanish flag?) all combine to create a perfect ambience -

- if you come here, please, don't miss the Tapas...it looks a bit like a set menu, and it is, in a way, you pay a certain amount per head (depending on how many of you there are) and can select from 3 lists, one largely chicken and seafood, one largely pork and beef and one wholely vegetarian, we went for a selection of all three and I can quite honestly say the smile never left my face...roughly 40 dishes were delivered to the table from ensalada, melt in the mouth garlic bread, deep fried squid, beef in red wine, garlic mushrooms, spanish tortilla, deep fried chicken with chilli, herb roasted spuds with garlic, Paella...the list went on and on...and *every* *single* *dish* was *perfect*...

Go, you cannot possibly be dissapointed...and the huge seafood paella the table behind us had delivered, with mountains of mussles and about 40 king prawns...there's more, definitely much more to discover once you have tried the Tapas, although I'm not sure I'll be able to resist having exactly the same again next time...extraordinary...and the bill worked out at about a tenner a head (before drinks)...so excellent value also...

I'm not ashamed to say, I asked and was allowed in to meet the chef and I shook him by the hand...

We'll be back! ;)

Bowlarama at the Trocadero

Last night was the office "Bowlarama!", we all met up for a quick drink in the Lincoln Lounge (it of the naughty artwork) then managed to split up into about 10 different groups in the crush and confusion on the tube -

- arriving staggered over the space of about 20 minutes at the Strada in Panton Street (near Leicester Square) -

- as a result we were cutting it pretty fine for the alloted slot for the bowling alleys -

- thus it was straight to main courses, I went for the "Pizze rosse" (sic) which was spicy sausage, caramelised red onion, red peppers, tomato and cheese (and jolly good too, once I had added freshly ground black pepper and a generous amount of peri peri oil, which was thoughtfully left on the table) -

- then it was on to the Trocadero, which is much less exciting for the death of SEGA World (the owners just put a coke machine in front of the escalator that used to lead up there), "The Aliens Experience" and the IMAX cinema, the majority of the machines that comprised the former are now scattered around pretty much everywhere, so it looks like FunLand bought them all up and just expanded over the whole place...

...there is, at least, one cinema still in there, lending a small illusion to the contrary...the shops, of course, survive in various reinventions of themselves, and a slightly seedy undertone is lent to the place by the addition of a number of market stall affairs touting cheap jewellery and mobile phone accessories (this is not the Trocadero of old)...

The crew descended on the dodgems, with a similar enthusiasm to that witnessed at the climax of "Carry on at your Convenience" -

- and then onto the main event of the evening, amazingly they had bowling shoes in my size(!), and the finger didn't get in the way of an almost respectable performance from me (once I had warmed up)...but I was no-where near the league of the heavy hitters who seemed to manage to effortlessly get strike after strike (a mis-spent youth, obviously) ;)

Then, equally amazingly, "B" and I had a relatively stress free journey home, my train (from Victoria) dropped me right at Earlswood, so I had a lovely spooky walk through the (full moon lit) fog across the fields, back to the house, and bed...

"The Tree Inn" Stratton, Cornwall - Review

Right, sorry, back now (and this is the last time) to the holiday, and my final food review (thereof)...

This is a "second visit" review, having already had one wonderful visit spellbound by the food, but appalled by the service (extremely inattentive waitresses) who rarely managed to actually bring what we ordered...so, our last night, having failed to score a table at "The Countryman", we fished for another of the classics of the area and came back to -

- "The Tree Inn" (very ancient, very lovely, and) of the (seriously underrated) historic Cornish town of Stratton -

- (despite the charming notes the local residents leave around the place, zoom in at your peril) -

- The food here is excellent, if second to the Countryman (but you can put that down to sour grapes if you like..)...it's really jolly nice, and they can cook very decent steak...(and they own the Countryman for veg, loads better!)...

Most importantly, fancy a bit of history with your dinner? You absolutely can't go wrong, it's an amazing place, you feel like you are eating in a banqueting hall or wandering around a museum! :)

Skeletomuscular Assessment

Well, after much poking and prodding (even some of the ultra-sonic variety) the professional medical advice is to just whip off the splint (Woo Hoo!) and try and use it as normal (and come back if I have any problems)...I'm not pretending it doesn't hurt to do so, but I'm just so relieved to be rid of all the strapping I'm going about it with optimistic enthusiasm and putting up with the occasional wince...(loosing the reflexive-whipping-of-hand-up-to-opposite-shoulder when anything (even very remotely) threatens to bang my hand may take a little longer... ;)

Best sign of recovery - enthusiastically making a huge bowl of pommes de terre boulangerie last night when *I* had already eaten and Flyingpops' told me she didn't want it with her quiche...it's just about being *able* to do it again... ;)

Traditional Thai chicken red curry recipe

Okay, so harking back to before "the break", I stocked up on all the ingredients required to cook traditional "Gaeng phed kai" or Thai red chicken curry (picture duplicated below for your convenience) having been so inspired by Douglas Chew-

- this was basically all the bits I didn't have in the cupboard or growing on the windowsill/in the garden, namely - Coriander seeds, Fish Sauce, Fermented Shrimp Paste, Coconut Milk, Galangal, some nice fresh dried chillis, some fresh lemon grass and a big old block of palm sugar...without further ado, on to the recipe (it's 2 stage) -

Traditional Thai Red Curry Paste Recipe

1. So, from scratch (the quantities I supply here will be sufficient to make 4 large, spicy servings of any Red Curry, but I happen to like Chicken) grab your mini blender (or pestle and mortar) and put in the following ingredients -

10 Dried red chillies (stalks and all)
7 Cloves of garlic (take the skins off)
1 Inch cube of galangal (dried is fine, in a pinch a similar quantity of fresh ginger might work instead, but I haven't tried it..)
1 Inch of lemon grass (if it's the bottom inch chop the root bit off and throw it away)
half a teaspoon of lime zest ("kaffir" lime if you can get it otherwise ordinary lime will do fine)
5 Black pepper corns
1 Tablespoon of coriander seeds
1 Teaspoon of cumin seeds
2 Teaspoons of fish sauce
1 Generous teaspoon of fermented shrimp paste or "kapi", as it is known (this stuff is STRONG!)

Now, I know this seems like a lot of chillies, but don't worry, this is simply the proportions we need to get the correct basic paste mixture (we decide how hot the final dish is going to be later)-

2. Whizz it up (or spend 25 minutes grinding (choice is yours)) then immeditately put it into a totally airtight container and pop it in the fridge...

3. The next thing to do is to wash up your blender (right away) or it may accumulate the same delicate aroma as the paste (you'll know what I mean when you do it), so get it all properly clean now
3. If you have the time, give the paste one nights rest to let the flavours really work into each other ;)
4. (Gordon Ramsay Voice) - Traditional Thai Red Curry Paste - Done... ;)

Note - this paste will keep for a month in the fridge, so you can comfortably make it *well* in advance of the dish itself...one thing though, make the container airtight as I said, if not, well...your milk/cheese (anything in there, in fact, that is sorbant and mild) may not be quite the same again... ;)


Traditional Thai Chicken Red Curry Recipe

1. Okay, so you are now ready to start cooking, ...You'll need the following (for each portion) -

1 Large (or two small) neatly trimmed chicken breasts (cut into bite-sized pieces, get free-range if you can, local free range is ideal)
Half a tin of coconut milk (you can get it in Tesco now)
Half a teaspoon of lime zest, "kaffir" if you can (for bonus points ;)
About ten large leaves of sweet basil (fresh)
2 Tablespoons of fish sauce
1 Inch square chunk of palm sugar
A little splash of vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon of fresh coriander leaves (for the garnish)
Your fresh homemade paste from the fridge

Add - (and this is essential) - Lots of Basmati Rice
(I'll leave the cooking method for that up to the side of your chosen packet though)

2. Heat up a medium-sized frying pan...Add your dash of oil and between 1 and 3 tablespoons of the red curry paste (bear in mind, one tablespoon is *very spicy*, 3 tablespoons is traditional Thai and will most likely induce a fatal heart attack in anyone unaccustomed to the raw power (start small, you'll still *love* it, and work your way up (next time you cook) if you feel the need)...Fry it fast, keep it moving around so it cooks evenly, and don't let it burn...

3. While the Curry paste is cooking, quickly shred the basil and crush the palm sugar, now, at the first hint of the fine fragrance (not burning, no black bits please...if you are in any doubt as to when the fragrance is present you can normally tell because all non-curry eaters will now have left the kitchen (if not the house) because of the strong aroma) immediately add the coconut milk and let that simmer until you see oil forming around the edge -

4. Now, add all of the rest of the ingredients and slow the cooking down to an energetic simmer

5. Turn your chicken regularly and cook for a couple of minutes (until the chicken is obviously done) the time to this will vary depending on how small you made the chunks, but it's no more than 5 minutes (this is a lightning dish to cook)...

6. Serve over the rice, make sure you pour all the sauce over too, it's wonderful soaked into the rice, and garnish with a generous handfull of shredded coriander leaves...

7. Traditional Thai Chicken Red Curry - Done...

Enjoy... ;)