Jump to content

ajnicholls

participating member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    220

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by ajnicholls

    The Aumbry, Prestwich, Manchester

    in United Kingdom & Ireland: Dining

    Posted

    Really great meal there on Saturday night. Late table so dinner ran on well past midnight. That, and my insistance on the 9-course tasting menu. No photos I'm afraid.

    Amuse was the same as David's. Rich hare and a good all round start. Bread is made there and simple, but very tasty. Served with beef dripping and roasting juices and 2 butters - salted and a beurre noisette one. Both had been whipped and were extremely light. The beurre noisette butter may be the most addictive thing I've tasted in a bloody long time!

    1st course proper was home smoked mackerel with rhubarb and a slightly sweet mustard sauce. This both looked and tasted fantastic and is a regular on the menu there. Well worth ordering if you're alc or on the lunch menu.

    Bury black pudding quail's eggs followed which they have been doing since they opened. My idea of food heaven, if not my dining partner's due to an aversion to black pudding.

    Also had the cauliflower and oat groat porridge. This was the only down point of the meal. Really didn't like either the flavour or the texture of this dish. Went back half eaten as really wasn't my thing.

    Fish marked a huge up-turn with turbot with frog's legs and a smoked eel pudding. Saucing was a vin jaune infused burre blanc and parsley root. This was just gorgeous. Decent tranche of turbot which I believe they sous vide and then roast. The frog's legs had been crumbed and fried and all served with a small pudding of smoaked eel. This was sublime. All the flavours worked harmoniously.

    Meat course was hare. Loin and a sausage of the leg meat mixed with pig trotter. A deep sauce of roasting juices and a puree of pumpkin. Never had hare. My god, I want to again and soon!

    Palate cleansing pre-dessert was the grapefruit posset with celery granita and grapefruit sherbert. All worked and was very refreshing. Sherbert similar to the pine one at TFD.

    Cheese was a good choice. 6 in all - goat, ewe, Berkswell, Grubeen, a blue goat's cheese and a very strong but unable to remember blue that was amazing. Served with the same chutneys and quince jelly in the post above.

    Last but not least was a quince tart with yoghurt ice cream, honey and almond biscuit. A fantastic finish to the meal.

    Petit fours were chocolate truffles with rosemary and quince pastilles.

    Decent bottle of white burgundy accompanied.

    The 9-course isn't cheap for Manchester but represents very good value when you consider the quality of the cooking. There is a huge amount of skill that is on show from the kitchen and is one of the few places in the Manchester area that can cook food of this quality. I'm a huge fan and can only encourage people to go. It's well worth it and belies the somewhat odd appearance of a restaurant in a small cottage house in Prestwich.

    Adam

    "Pierre Herme Pastries"

    in Cookbooks & References

    Posted

    I bought this as an early birthday present for myself :-) It is very beautiful and well laid out. Not made anything from it yet but very keen to start. There are some mistakes I've noted, such as a pastry disc that is made for the infinetessement lemon dish that is never used. It says to put in the freezer and then never mentioned again. This does give me some concerns that there may be errors elsewhere? Anyone noticed?

    Adam

    "Heston Blumenthal at Home"

    in Cookbooks & References

    Posted

    Got mine 2 days ago. It's a very well produced, detailed book. There is some repetition if you own any (or in my case, all) of Heston's previous books. Some of the dishes are home-cookable versions of the Fat Duck dishes such as the salmon and liquorice, along with dishes that were in Perfection, albeit in slightly different forms. It has been a very interesting read and I'm looking forward to getting on with cracking on with some of the recipes in there.

    Adam

    Pollen Street Social.

    in United Kingdom & Ireland: Dining

    Posted

    Went on Saturday. I really enjoyed it. The atmosphere is great and the service is efficient and friendly. The restaurant itself is stunning and has been fitted out to a very high standard. Did the alc with splitting two main courses into tasting sized plates. The portion sizes even at half portions are extremely generous.

    There is a lot of skilled cooking going on and I think this place will remain a massive success after the hype dies down. The pricing is right and the wine list is is good value, especially given the Mayfair location. I'll definitely be back.

×
×
  • Create New...