sarah w

i have since found out we are staying in coverta fuma (near El campello) so any further recommendations will be happily recieved. Thanks

we did a lovely dish the other week. boil your beetroot with skin on, either trim until its nice and round or a cube coat in beer batter deep fry and serve with fresh horseradish cream and chopped chive delicious xx

thnks for the fantastic reply, i will post when i know exact location of where we are staying thnks again sarah x

i probably worded it incorrectly, the area u describe was lovely. The hotel continental, the castle etc but the quays werent very appealing. I didnt expect lots of mainstream shops,candyfloss or anything but after the nice quaint road (not sure of its name) we just found the place a little rough(horrible,mouthy kids etc). I hope that doesnt sound to bad just a personal opinion. The pubs were pleasant but whistable was generally not as nice as i expected and the oyster fishery was overpriced and badly run sarah x

Macrosan as u may see from my post we had a terrible time finding places, we just couldnt find any signs. I was just really disappointed by the place and food having heard & read some good write ups. There was only the one pretty street with quaint shops & atmosphere. The weather was great when we were there but it just didnt live up to it's reputation... sarah x

I forgot to add my review of the whistable and Canterbury after my visit at the end of June. For a start i really liked Canterbury the sun was shining all weekend and we had a lovely meal at a cute tapas restaurant in Palace Street Then off we went to whistable. My 1st impressions were not good.I think we parked at the wrong end of town nothing was signposted and we ended up in an asphalt plant. The Castle and gardens were nice, we walked into the town and to the more "happening" quay. After a pub lunch and a few bevy's we went to relax for a while before dinner at the Oyster Fisheries. We were booked in for 8:30 but sat at the pub earlier just watching people come in and out of the restaurant..The amount of people they turn away is phenomenal We went over on time and were seated promptly, after that we were left for some time. Fair enough the place was heaving but the staff levels were low and layout is unpractical Eventually we ordered, 2 Kirs and a bottle of Palliser Riesling Starters were: 1/2 a dozen oysters Smoked eel, Horseradish and beetroot Mains Whole cornish crab Halibut with samphire The Oysters were of varying sizes. I think as my boyfriend had only had french graded ones or Mju's Mirin and ginger ones he was quite put off by these whistable ones(there was one the size of a fist !) I did ok The smoked eel was good besides the fact there was a lack of aforementioned beetroot The mains were disappointing, the crab didn't do much for me we had ordered it as we had never had a whole on before. I just found it all a bit of a hassle I was really looking forward to the Halibut but found the piece had been over poached in tasteless liquor Waited ages for plates to be taken away and then the bill which had the wrong, and more expensive wine on it. A good weekend but an unimpressive meal Sarah x

I am going to alicante in September and wondered if you anyone had any recomendations for Restaurants and Bars in the area thnks sarah x

thanks for advice so far CheGuevara,I do need whole white peaches. It is for Peche Haberlin. Poached white peach and pistachio ice cream. We were going to use Nico's pistachio ice cream recipe which requires pistachio paste I will now look on clubchefdirect and in M&s, would be great if they stocked them. I was thinking maybe borough market ? Do they grow in the UK ? Thnks sarah x

thanks for advice so far CheGuevara,I do need whole white peaches. It is for Peche Haberlin. Poached white peach and pistachio ice cream. We were going to use Nico's pistachio ice cream recipe which requires pistachio paste I will now look on clubchefdirect and in M&s, would be great if they stocked them. I was thinking maybe borough market ? Do they grow in the UK ? Thnks sarah x

hi guys There has been a topic b4 about white peach juice but i was wondering if you knew where i could buy/obtain Fresh White peaches & Pistachio puree (for dessert use) I work in London and live in surrey if that helps Thnks sarah x

Didn't even think about the ban in pubs !!!

As a smoker i feel that some reforms are needed, i wouldnt necessarily agree with a blanket ban but in many restuarants the seperation between smoking and non is ridiculous. On every occasion i/we try a prevent my smoking from interfering with those non smokers seated nearby but as we know with many places especially london the tables are so close together that there is no escape for the non smokers. At Petrus the couplenext to us began glaring after we lit one cigarette, we offered to refrain from smoking and instead visit the bar. The guy reluctantly said thanks then still complained and asked to be moved, the table he wanted was unavailiable and ironically would have been next to a table of smokers. He was obviously a one off case as he still complained and neither him or his date seemed utter a word through the meal...The point i am trying to make is that we went out of way when we didnt have to.. I quite like the style of some resturants where by the dining room is smoke free but guests can use the lounge. It can be embarassing leaving for a cigarette mid way through a meal but it it improves other guests dining experience then i have no qualms. I also liked the way at Auberge De l'ill in France you could smoke in the dining room after 10ish when everyone was at the end of the meal.Many restaurants are now switching to the smoke free dining room, Manoir, Mju, etc is that not halfway solution.?

Hiya Going to canterbury and whitstable for the weekend in June Does anyone have recommendations for lunch,pubs,dinner etc in Canterbury I have booked for a tapas restaurant for a change. In whitstable wheelers was fully booked so have booked the oyster fishery, why does this place seems to have divided opions? Are they any good lunch venues or pubs there? Anyone got some example dishes they have enjoyed at these places? Thanks sarah x

I have since discovered that Thyme and plaice has changed its name to langmans, the 6 course gourmond is £25.95 http://www.langmansrestaurant.co.uk/ sarah

we are planning to make peche haberlien from the Auberge De L'ill restaurant in france. It comes with Pistachio Ice cream, having checked out a few recipe books they seem to use pistachio paste. We have tried to make our own paste but it has no depth of flavour, thus why on the hunt for this hard to find product. thanks for you help so far x

does anyone know where i can buy pistachio paste? preferably in waterloo area or surrey. thanks sarah x

Hi We go to devon once or twice a year but dont often get to eat out as we visit family When we have i have found some of the pubs serve good quality food The Ship in Ughborough etc Last time we went we did visit a little restaurant in Callington, Cornwall A short drive from the Tamar Bridge The restaurant is serving hig quality food and very low prices I think 6 courses was £25-30, good local ingredients Unfortunately the website seems to be down at the mo but you could keep trying. www.thethymeandplaice.co.uk or search on yahoo sarah x

Thanks, keep them coming, didnt think this would be so hard i have gathered some info from veeraswamy,chutney mary(b4 i saw simons view!),red fort, zaika, Mela... I have a headache already x

Hi does anyone have experience of dining in one of London's modern indian restaurant in a group, probably around 16 people for a 30th bday? any recommendations? what about the private rooms? Thanks sarah x p.s that is meant to say "somewhere not someone" in the description sorry

hiya Can i buy fresh or frozen whole white peaches in England? Thanks sarah

Hiya I have just returned from a fleeting visit to Alsace for dinner at Auberge De L'ill and thought i would share my trip with you e-gulleters. I apologise if my recount is not perfect but no notes were taken and a few drinks were consummed To start our 4 person "bargain" trip worked perfectly, we flew stanstead-strasbourg for £45, early flight picked up a car at the airport and drove to Selestat. A lovely village, we strolled about and had a pleasant lunch of choucrote for the men and steak au poivre for the ladies. Then we set off for Illhaeursern..We were staying the the hotel hirondelles, a lovely hotel and £45 for the room and brekkie, very near Auberge We rested then set of for a beer at the only bar in the village Dinner at 8:30pm We were in the larger dining room by the window looking out onto the fairylit grounds. We started with 4 house aperitifs, cherry liquer and champagne canapes: Foie gras on toast, parmesan crisps and smoked eel on toast Amsue: very light, slighty sweet jerusalem artichoke soup with john dory Starters: 1) variation of scallop: incl, with cauliflower puree, foie gras lobe, towered with cavair, tartare 2) the pigeon consomme served in a steamer tower, with ravioli of quails egg 3) red mullet and langoustine salad 4) foie gras terrine All were consummed with much satisfaction and enough room for the next course We decicide to all share the famous 125 euro truffle dish Quite entertaining to watch 2 waiters divide into 4 and sauce this baseball sized dish but well worth our £21 bite each, the sauce was out of this world Mains 1) Assiette of suckling pig, incl: trotter, croqutte, belly, fillet 2) gratin of sole and lobster with a pomme puree quenelle 3) scallop and truffle pasta 4) Lobster and girolle ragout Dessert: These were very very good 2 x poached white peach, sabayon and pistachio ice cream...The sauce just clung to the perfrect tasting peach crepe suzette, delicious unfortunately i didnt choose it but we all managed to share Assiette of chocolate, amazing mousse's,ice cream,tart,filo pastry Petit fours: Macaroon, raspberry topped sponge, fruit mousse tart and chocolate sponge 2 plates of chocolates,small biscuits and marshmallows- these were gradually nibbled We had to bottles of local and v.reasonably priced reisling and a bottle of pinot noir We finished with 2 alsace beers, 2 gin & tonics , and 2 cigars TOTAL: 762 euros approx £510...... The building looked stunning by day and by night and the weather was beautiful. ******************************************************** After a good nights sleep,brekkie, we spent a boozy day in colmar, then stopped and ate very quickly in strasbourg.. Returned at 22:30pm All in all a wonderful weekend Thanks for previous help from egulleters on how to get there etc xx

Hi cabrales I am not great at distances and havent fully recovered from new year yet but i can say that Bruges centre is not far from the station We had bags so we got a taxi but i am sure it is walkable. Everything is well located I enclosed a bruges and De karmeliet web link on original mail, i think there are maps on those From the centre it was a 10/15 minute walk to the restaraunt I look foward to hearing about any visit anything else then pls ask sarah x

we went to chantecler last summer for lunch and thoroughly enjoyed it, they do a bargin lunch incl: wine which we went there for but once there all opted for different set menus.. fantastic food, wine, 4 hour lunch..ended up £400 for 4 adults and child..Totally forgot that there was sunshine outside ! on the same trip we went to La meranda (the chef was the previous chef at chantecler) very rustic, chalkboard menu, 3 starters,3 mains,3 dessert..a choice of red,white or rose had ratatouille, herbed cheese with rocket, legumes farci and daube with amazing socca desserts, poached peach and a goats cheese.. have fun x

you have made a sick girl very happy thanks

thanks cabrales but as i not feeling very clever 2day please could u redirect me to your previous thread ta x