Work Christmas lunch at Bordeaux Quay

This year I've had three work Christmas parties. The big masque at Longleat House which occurred almost two weeks ago, a team lunch yesterday at Shanghai Nights and last week a divisional lunch which was at Bordeaux Quay. I was asked to draw up a short list of restaurants by management and they would choose one. I was happy with all my picks (six in total) and finally after a wait Bordeaux Quay was revealed to be the chosen one. I had never been to Bordeaux Quay before and after hearing so many good things over the years I was excited to finally be going.

The Christmas menu for the brasserie was a delicious looking one and after a short deliberation I decided to opt for the pumpkin soup with toasted seeds and chilli pesto, slow cooked pork belly and spiced sticky toffee pudding for dessert. But with over 5 courses to choose from for each course there is definitely something for everyone.

Pumpkin soup with fresh bread

This was a brilliant soup the pesto really gave it a lift but the freshly made bread was the crowning glory. Light and fluffy, the seeded bread was my particular favourite, cannot beat seeds in or around bread in my opinion. We had all been waiting so long for lunch, it was booked to eat at 3pm, that we'd been starving ourselves all morning so as soon as the starters arrived we pretty much hoovered it up in grateful silence. 

Slow roasted pork

Pork with mash and kale

The size of main that was brought out was huge, the piece of pork was extremely generous. Placed on a bed of mash with some curly kale for a pillow and an apple puree for a blanket this was a great dish. The pork fell apart and was extremely well flavoured with a crispy top of crackling. I was impressed. It was great that Bordeaux Quay was delivering on all the great comments I'd heard over the years from friends, having said that I had some serious doubts as to whether I would be able to tackle dessert after such a monster of a main. Luckily after some more wine and a bit of a break I found some room.

Spiced sticky toffee pudding

This was one of the best sticky toffee puddings I've had although I could have done with more spice in it, as it was labelled as spiced, but then I am a spice nut. The butterscotch sauce that came with it was smooth, velvety smooth, and not too sweet. This was a melt in the mouth pudding, and it seemed to be the best of the ones that arrived on the table, the chocolate mousse torte was pronounced a bit dry by some. So we sat round the table, ordered some more drinks, in some cases Irish coffees with cream, and sat back with full stomachs. 

Chris' Irish coffee

I am looking forward to returning to Bordeaux Quay in the new year, their Christmas menu really impressed me, often Christmas menus aren't great value and the food can feel a bit of a let down, definitely not the case here. I will say one thing the area where we were sat, right at the front, did look like it needed a bit of a spruce up and a lick of paint as it sort of felt a bit tired. Definitely something to think about in the Spring but obviously this did not impact our enjoyment of the day in any way. To check out Bordeaux Quay's Christmas menu or any of their standard menus, visit their website.

Sunday Soothing at Bento Ramen in Camden

Last weekend was another London one, catching up with London friends for a 30th party and my favourite Australian, Kathryn.  Poor Kathryn had the dreaded Winter lurgy so we decided the best food for this would be some hot nourishing ramen. So a short trip down the road from her, and boyfriend Gavin's flat, led us into Camden, an area I populated much when a student. Just 2 minutes away from the tube station is a place called Bento Ramen, preceded on the same road by Bento Box. 

When we walked through the door it was full of the joys of Christmas with all the usual Christmas pop songs floating around the restaurant. Bento Ramen is a really nice little restaurant the decor at the back of the restaurant is pretty and just looks like a bit more effort has been spent on it. 

Some of the ramen options

Ramen is not something I have eaten a lot of in my life, preferring fried noodles as my cooking method of choice. The last time I ate ramen was several years ago and it wasn't great, the broth was flavourless and the toppings scanty. I am pleased to say after this visit this has totally changed. I chose the bento ramen option from the 2 page ramen menu, this was described as pork and seafood in a miso broth. We also ordered a few side dishes to curb any remaining hunger. 

Whilst I waited I sipped at my jasmine flour tea which I ordered, a beautifully delicate tea compared to straight up jasmine tea leaves, which I do also enjoy. So if anyone has bought this in Bristol let me know and I will head to get some straight away.

Jasmine flower tea

Pork and seafood ramen

Kathryn's ramen

My ramen came with a tempura prawn as well as items like tofu, egg and sweetcorn. It was extremely well flavoured and very comforting. I would come back here again like a shot. Ramen can be deceptively filling so we really struggled sharing out the char siu buns, siu mai and marinated pork belly pieces, which were particularly delicious.  So warm yourself through these horribly cold months with some hot soothing ramen, they will heal and warm you, definitely what I need today, I have been sneezing all morning. Check out the menus and location of Bento Ramen by visiting their website.

Gluten Free Christmas Baking: White Chocolate and Stem Ginger Cookies

Sarah (Wuthering Bites) and I had a Christmas baking day. Each of us brought a recipe and she was going to show me some straightforward gluten free baking to prove how easy it is to substitute flours but with no affect on taste. So whilst we prepped all the ingredients we popped on Kate Bush and Disney and sang along with great gusto, I like to think nurturing cooking with song helps it taste better. I had brought a white chocolate and crystalised stem ginger cookies to the table whilst Sarah had adapted a black treacle and cinnamon heart biscuit recipe to make it nice and gluten free. You can see her recipe, more of her excellent photos, and our results here.

White Chocolate and Ginger cookies (with hot coffee) 

It amazes me how gluten, something I take for granted as being able to consume, causes so much trouble., but for a lot of people it is a big problem. Luckily Sarah, who is a hero to the cause, has made a study of how to alter recipes so they taste pretty much the same, just requires a little more experimentation. Here however is a fool proof cookie recipe, that to me, having consumed my own version many times, tastes almost bang on the gluten filled one. The cookies will come out chewy and super moreish. This recipe is pretty versatile, whatever you fancy in your cookies you can just add in. So far I have  made these cookies with, Daim bar (also gluten free), Toblerone and dark chocolate with hazelnuts.

You will need:

125g butter

120g gluten free plain flour*
30g of tapioca flour

100g white chocolate
4 pieces of crystalised stem ginger chopped into small bits

½ tsp gluten free baking powder

1 egg

100g granulated sugar-it's the two types of sugar that give them the chewy texture

75g soft brown sugar

2 tsp of vanilla extract 

Pinch of salt

*(the standard gluten recipe uses 150g of plain flour)

Chop the chocolate and ginger and pre heat the oven to 190 degrees with fan. Weigh out the sugars into a mixing bowl and melt the butter in a saucepan then add the melting butter to the sugar mix then beat it. Crack the egg into the bowl and add the vanilla extract, salt and baking powder. Tapioca flour, I am informed, acts as a  thickener or gel when cooking, like fake gluten, adding a little extra help to the gluten free flour. Weigh the flours and then add gradually to the bowl  mixing each time as you go the mixture will be fairly stiff by this point. 

A very eager Miko (photo by Sarah Carter)

Add the chocolate and ginger and mix once more. Get some baking parchment on a baking tray and use teaspoons to separate out your mix into small blobs, do not press down, the oven will do the magic for you. Bake for 8-10 minutes, you are looking for browning round the edges and cracks forming across the top. They will still be soft when you get them out but have faith because if you leave them in too long they won't be chewy and delicious.

Cookies in detail (All Photos by Sarah Carter)

Miko eager to sample  (photo by Sarah Carter)

So my first foray into gluten free baking and I was suitably impressed as to how easy it was. I was afraid it was going to be difficult but with a guiding hand I know I have at least one sweet to prepare for my gluten intolerant or coeliac suffering friends. 

Dim Sum at Shanghai Nights

Way over due a dim sum visit, I am an addict you know, a recent Sunday, Jamie, Elisa, Mar, Gema and I went to Shanghai Nights for their dim sum menu. I was extremely hungry so we let Jamie, as the expert, lead the way in ordering. We had been in the restaurant for about 15 minutes and no one had come to take our  drinks order, so Jamie went up to the desk to enquire and was told we had to order them and the food from the bar. This was fine if we had been told the procedure before hand, it pretty strange that we had to guess what the deal was. 4 of us shared a pot of Iron Buddha tea whilst we waited for our dim sum to arrive.

Pork and Chive Dumplings

Salt and Pepper Squid

We had to ask for plates and chopsticks, for 5, we were delivered plates and five individual chopsticks, which was rather amusing and odd, so we had to ask for 3 more separately. The food however was great. We all agreed most of the dim sum we ordered was some of the best we'd had in Bristol so far. The flavours were fresh and the dim sum, extremely well stocked with filling. I particularly enjoyed my favourite Siu Mai and the Xiao Long Bao, which were very well made as the soup filling did not leak out at all so when you took a bite the lovely fragrant stock poured out. There is a great short film about their dim sum and an interview with the dim sum chef from Shanghai Nights on vimeo here.

As well as a variety of dumplings we also order some salt and pepper squid, cuttlefish cakes and shredded pork with crispy noodles to pad out the meal. All were wonderful, I have never had cuttlefish before and it went wonderfully with the chilli dip, nice and crispy with a subtle fish flavour. The noodles were greatly admired for the variety of textures in the dish, crispy noodles with soft vegetables and fragrant pork made a great combination. 

Cuttlefish Cakes

Siu Mai

Shredded Pork with Crispy Noodles

Delicious shrimp filled Har Gow (perfectly peachy coloured morcels)

There are a few tweaks they need to make with regards to service, but the dim sum at Shanghai Nights, bar about 2 dishes, is even better than Dynasty so if you are a dim sum fan, I recommend giving them a visit. We paid about £13 each including a drink which is pretty good value for what you get. Dim sum is always best when you go with more than two people as you get to sample more dishes I am looking forward to returning and sampling their buffet menu. For menus, karaoke and bubble tea flavours check out their website.

Celebration Steak: Hudson Bar & Grill

For our 100th post Rich reviews our latest journey to Hudson Bar and Grill in Bath. So whilst I quietly celebrate post 100 you can enjoy reading about our steak night.

Bristol these days is not exactly well-served for good steak restaurants. Since the closure of Cattlemans just over two years ago, there has been a lack of steak expertise. Good steak is available of course, but for that truly awesome experience, only The Cowshed has really stepped up to the plate. The finest steak however lies not that far out of Bristol, and comes courtesy of Hudson Bar and Grill.

Hudson's Front Door

Hudson itself is now well-established in Bath and everyone I know who has been there has drawn the same conclusions. Abby herself first went here nearly ten years ago and has been raving about it ever since. So her, myself and our friend Steph booked ourselves in to celebrate my first month in my new job. One of the coldest nights yet, we shivered along to the restaurant and were embraced by it's warm cosy feel and open fires. 

Bread sticks and creamy dip

We sat down to a table downstairs by the fire and had thin bread sticks to dunk in a creamy garlic dip which only made us hungrier. A good sized wine list means you get all sorts of variety without there being an overwhelming choice, and there’s a good range of prices (taking into consideration the fact that wine in restaurants always has a huge mark-up) I chose us a bottle of the Vallobera Rioja, a wine we have had there before and really love. It is packed with smooth full bodied fruits and a good hint of vanilla a great wine which I have recently found you can buy from Avery's so I will be getting several bottles to enjoy over Christmas.

Buffalo mozzarella salad

Tempura prawns with spicy ponzu dip

Crispy goats cheese medallions caramelised apples and baby spinach

We ordered our starters, a buffalo mozzarella salad, tempura prawns with ponzu dip and crispy mini goats cheese salad, which were all excellent as we sampled each others with great joy and only heightened the anticipation of the steak. At Hudson they feature Angus and Limousin beef slowly matured for a minimum of 35 days. So three super marbling rib-eye steaks were ordered, one a medium, one a medium-rare and for me a rare. 

For years I always ordered my steak medium-rare, and had always enjoyed it that way, but a friend a few years back had said that ‘the better the meat, the rarer you should eat it’. And whilst I don’t 100% agree, as I don’t really do blue steak, it’s a true enough statement, as the worse a cut of meat, the more well-done you should have it, and so knowing of Hudson and it’s meat excellence, I had my rib-eye rare. 

Super Marbling Rib Eye

Steak perfection

Close up steak with fries

The steaks arrived looking perfectly cooked and presented, sat in the meat juices and red wine jus with a small salad and helping of béarnaise on the side in a little tempura crisp cup, plus a healthily sized portion of salt and black pepper fries for us to share. Simply put, it’s the best steak I've ever had. The meat is delicious and just melts in the mouth, while the flavour itself is intense with the red wine adding to, not over-powering, the flavour of the steak. The crisp and béarnaise that comes with the steak too perfectly complements both the meat and the fries. Not many words were exchanged as we slowly pace our way through the course, taking care as we are not to rush this sheer thrill of pure flavour.

And yet, after all that, we still somehow (greedily) found ourselves able to order dessert. Although to be fair we did only order two to be shared between three - in this case a crème brûlée (Abby’s go-to choice) and a Belgian waffle topped with toffee sauce. The crème brûlée was very good (and I’m reliably informed by my crème brûlée connoissseur, that it was very VERY good), but for me personally the waffle won it, with one of the best toffee sauces I've ever had. Think rich, smooth, sweet, and all those other good things that you’re not meant to want in a food – it was all those and more.

Brûlée with dipping cookies

Waffles and a butterscotch sauce shot

Hudson is to my opinion the best steak out there you can get. If anyone is willing to prove me wrong by finding a better option, then please feel free to, but to my mind the meat used, the cooking of the meat, and the seasoning and flavouring, is just too near perfection that I’d be sceptical of there ever being a better steak. It isn't cheap, with more than likely dinner for two coming to at least £60 (depending on what you have of course), but if you want good food, and it is very good, it is worth the money. For people who don't want steak there are other less expensive menu options like the burger plus some fish and tasty sounding vegetarian dishes also. But for meat eaters, just go straight for the steak, as my dad said recently, it's the best steak he's had outside Argentina.

Service was very good, with our designated waiter being attentive, friendly, knowledgeable and very helpful, and the atmosphere was exactly what you want from a restaurant. Cosy, warm and very relaxed it is definitely one of Abby's favourite restaurants and I have to agree with her, we've never had a bad meal here and always look forward to attending. I think I know where she is going for her birthday next year. What are you waiting for? Check out their website for full menu details. 

Tudor Evening at The Star and Dove

The Star and Dove in Totterdown are doing something a bit different this year for Christmas. Amongst other things they are offering a Tudor feast for people to try out, complete with Tudor decorations. Upstairs in The Dining Room they are also offering food from Tudor to the Victorian age themed menu in the evening which offers much for the adventurous eater. We were invited, along with some other bloggers and foodies from the area to sample some of the creations they had been concocting. 

Tudor decorated tables

Potatoes in Edible Clay

The food was unlike anything I had tasted before, some of the paring were rather unusual but definitely interesting, with mullets in gravy, crab surrounded by hippocras jelly, wonderful sea bream in sweet wine, tasting rather like teriyaki marinade, and of course Tudor mulled wine, or as it's known, Hippocras. This was nicer than any standard mulled wine it can be served hot or cold, we had it cold this time. It was made with white wine and spices, of which I shall provide the recipe which has been passed on from The Star and Dove, and was so delicate and deliciously perfumed I could have drank a whole tank of the stuff. My favourite food item of the night was the dessert, baked orange custard, it was creamy and spiced with a hint of orange brought out as frosted miniature oranges, perfection.

So if you fancy something a bit different this year check out the Star and Dove's festive offering, it's a really lovely pub, especially in Winter with it's fires. And without further ado here is the recipe to make your own Hippocras, makes a nice change to regular mulled wine, much lighter, especially if made with white wine. I personally would make it with white wine and served chilled to bring out the perfume of all the spices. 

Hippocras

1 Bottle of white wine such as chardonnay or good red claret
10g whole cinnamon
5g fresh ginger, peeled and sliced thin
0.5g crushed fresh nutmeg
6 cloves
100g caster sugar
3g grains of paradise (available here)
2 fresh bay leaves
1g dried long pepper, crushed
1 small sprig fresh rosemary

Place all ingredients in a non-metallic bowl. preferably tupperware with a lid and leave to stand covered at room temperature for 24 hours. Then pass the ingredients through a muslin cloth and chill. Serve chilled or if you are feeling the cold warm it up and snuggle under a blanket.

Birthday Celebrations at Rice and Things

Last weekend was Carla's birthday celebration. She had picked Rice and Things, for a Jamaican feast. Before we left Rich and I were Googling for a menu and the one thing that came up most was the association with Jamie Oliver, who deemed the chef here to be one of the best he'd come across. Not that Oliver's opinion matters a whole lot to me either way but this only heightened the curiosity. Rich and I took the walk from our flat to Cheltenham road, me with a twisted ankle (yes I am a brave soldier) and in about 25 minutes we had arrived.

We had already talked about getting a set menu so we could sample a number of dishes between the 8 of us,  and as the second set menu had pretty much all the classics on it it was an easy decision to make. They have a good selection of rum based cocktails which I had on good authority as being fairly strong. I chose to have wine whilst Rich went for beer.

Ackee and Saltfish

Spring Village Fried Chicken

Our dishes also consisted of jerk chicken, goat curry and a slow cooked beef stew that was a substitute for peppered steak, as well as the above fried chicken, saltfish and ackee all served with well loved rice and peas. Having never had ackee and saltfish I wasn't sure what to expect. Although the saltfish was a strong flavour it was balanced out by the spices and ackee, it kind of reminded me a little of kedgeree in it's flavours, I was converted. The jerk chicken was spicier than I'd had before but so flavoursome, the heat stayed with you for minutes afterwards but was perfectly juicy coming off the drumsticks. 

Slow Cooked Beef Stew

I am not sure I could pick a favourite dish to be honest they all had their merits. The fried chicken, beef stew, which just fell apart in the mouth, and the jerk chicken possibly topped it for me. But it was great to finally eat more than a mouthful or two of goat curry, rather too fatty for me to order on it's own but it had great depth of flavour that was wonderful when combined with the rice and peas. 

The proof is in the empty plates

All in all you would be hard pushed to get better comfort food than the dishes that were served up to us. Warming, spicy dishes that were pretty much a hug on a plate, the place might be a little home spun but that is all part of it's charm. With giant portions and our whole table sharing, family style, it was a great evening out and I am looking forward to returning. Check out what else they serve at Rice and Things on their website.

Latin Dining at Las Iguanas Clifton Cocina

Thursday evening the temperature had dropped, heading ever so closer to the minuses of December. Rich and I headed to Las Iguanas for dinner, having been invited to check out what they had done with the place. Las Iguanas, a business that started in Bristol to much success, reaching almost 30 restaurants around the country. They have revamped the original Whiteladies branch as Clifton Cocina, a place where they return to their roots and go about testing new dishes, you can expect more specials and basically it's a bit more experimental.

Honestly Las Iguanas beforehand had never really been my favourite chain restaurant so it was not one I visited very often before, but I am happy to report this change to Clifton Cocina has definitely been for the better. With a more condensed but ever changing menu it has given a more independent and personal touch. We started off with some dark and stormy cocktails, a personal favourite, cannot resist anything ginger based, served in jar type glasses which I absolutely fell in love with. 

Dark and Stormies

The restaurant was pretty steady for a Thursday evening, which was encouraging and with the samba music playing softly across the room it gave the place a really nice warm atmosphere. Rich and I chose honey peri peri chicken wings and calamari for our starters and happily sipped at our cocktails whilst we waited. 

Calamari with Aioli

Honey Peri Peri Wings

The calamari were some of the best I've had in a while, coated in cassava, or tapioca to you and me, it was light and crunchy whilst the squid was soft but not rubbery or chewy. The chicken wings were fairly meaty and the sauce was sweet but also had a slight kick and a zingyness. Not quite as good as the chicken wings they serve in the newly located Burger Joint, nothing can top those, but they were very tasty indeed.  For our mains I picked bahia moqueca, a thick spicy sauce with tomato and coconut which I chose to have with white fish and peeled prawns, whilst Rich went for steak fajitas and a side order of patatas bravas.

Bahia Moqueca

Fried Plantain and Fragrant Rice

Steak Fajitas

I rarely order fish out, and this time I fancied trying something I normally wouldn't think to. I was pleasantly surprised by the bahia moqueca, the fish was not overcooked and the spices were subtle but blended nicely. Having the finely milled dried coconut to sprinkle on top was a nice touch and added some extra texture. My only gripe is that the prawns were a bit chewy, the surprise appearance of crayfish saved this, I think possibly they should consider substituting all the prawns for crayfish in the future as it worked better with the sauce and texture of the fish, in my opinion.

The steak in the fajitas was extremely plentiful and well flavoured plus it was cooked rare as requested, we didn't really need the patatas side order, but they had a nice heat to them and are always a favourite. By this point we were pretty full but we checked out the dessert menu anyway.  The special dessert paselinhos (or banoffee tart) sounded too good to skip so I ordered it and Rich went for an affogato which came with a couple of churros on the side. The tart arrived with a little face on it, unfortunately the pastry was a bit too thick and dry and the filling not quite up to scratch so I left most of it. The crowning glory here was the banana flavoured ice cream, a rare flavour indeed but a treat if you can get it. Rich's affogato had a scoop of toffee ice cream and it was highly praised.

Banoffee Tart

All in all Clifton Cocina has really upped it's game I was impressed with the standard of food and service. Jimmy, who runs the show here, knows his stuff and his enthusiasm and cheer was infectious. I am looking forward to seeing what new dishes unfold over the upcoming months.

As invited guests of Las Iguanas Clifton Cocina our meal was complimentary but as usual I was not influenced by what to write. 

Chinese Feasting at The Mayflower

I have lived in Bristol nearly five years and never been to the Mayflower. I have heard so much about it since knowing of it's existence that I was well over due a visit. Sarah had set up our monthly foodies meet up dinner for the Mayflower, it seemed to take ages for Friday to come round but finally it did. The Mayflower is hidden under the Beefeater and next to the Bearpit if you take the subway, a little secret restaurant hidden from passing trade view. I invited Jamie to join our party and promised her she could order for Rich and I as she was the expert, plus I wanted to try some new and authentic dishes. Jamie had already praised the Mayflower as the place to go in Bristol to get authentic Cantonese dishes so I knew I was in for a treat.

Sizzling Beef (ordered by one of our party)

As in some of the bigger Chinese restaurants there are both English and Chinese menus, the Mayflower excels in it's Chinese menu, here you can get many Southern Chinese delights including a good variety of hot pot dishes. We were all pretty hungry by this point so a hush descended over the table whilst we studied the four page menu. Jamie helped with some of the menu details and after about 20 minutes everyone had come to a decision so I sat back and sipped my Chinese tea whilst I waited.

Three Roasties

Jamie had ordered; three roasties, salt and pepper squid, tung choy in Malaysian sauce and an oyster and pork belly hot pot. I'd had three roasties before at Dynasty and the squid was my one stipulation to the meal because I adore it. Three roasties comprises of honey roast pork, pork belly and roasted duck served with rice and this was the best I have tasted, really well flavoured meats and crispy skin on the duck. The only warning I have is this is served at room temperature so don't be surprised when it does not turn up hot.

Tung choy is a semi-aquatic tropical plant, known as water spinach in English. Definitely one of Jamie's favourites from home where she knows it as morning glory. So obviously there were a number of titters round the table when it rocked up announced as such. The Malaysian style sauce it was served in was made from fermented tofu paste and was totally delicious. I wanted to try something new and this was definitely new. 

Tung Choy

Salt and Pepper Squid with Chilli Salt

The Mayflower serves the best salt and pepper squid I've had. It was crispy and not in any way rubbery, it has recently become one of my favourite dishes to order and this was the pinnacle of my recent foray into this dish. Finally the hot pot, this was also something completely new and the variety of different ones you can get at The Mayflower is great, anything from fish belly and tofu to stewed beef brisket. I was slightly dubious of the oysters after my first introduction into the world of oysters two years or so ago I was pretty sick the next day. Since then never has a oyster passed my lips. However these were cooked with a light batter so I was willing to give them a go. I was glad I did because they tasted very different hot. The sauce in the hot pot was light, giving the tender pork belly and oysters a chance to shine I would love to try some different hot pots in the future the brisket one on the menu here sounds particularly delicious.

Oyster and Pork Belly Hot Pot 

The Mayflower may not be fancy inside but the food it serves is first rate. There were sounds of happy munching at our table for many minutes it was definitely some of the best Chinese food I have experienced probably ever. I look forward to returning, especially with Jamie, who is my secret weapon. Rather randomly The Mayflower is open until 3am most evenings so if you have a late night hankering, this is not a problem. To check out some of the many other dishes served at The Mayflower check out their website.