Matthew Grant

Cappers - Although not "loaded", I did spend a lot at the Waterside inn however, presumably not as much as Cabrales as I have not received the glossy 64 page brochure she describes

Not loaded, just careful with our money (currently unemployed so no decent meals out for several months:angry:)! When we visited in the past, I had to make sure I arrived before the valet parking started, I couldn't stand the embarassment of him parking my V reg mini (1st time) or E reg Fiesta (1.3L). No avoiding the embarassment at Manoir where the Valet looked horrified when he returned with my car as we checked out. I smiled politely and said "That must have been a treat for you, don't get too many of those around here!" Both meals at WI were exemplary and service was out of this world although Cabrales last post is a little worrying and other reports have made me wonder whether we have been lucky both times. I also think there is a lot of jealousy from other chefs who resent the 3 stars. It is expensive but the rooms are reasonably priced for this type of establishment.

Its been a little while since I went to Manoir but we found it disappointing. I felt that it lacked the quality of sauces that I think are necessary at this standard of restaurant. I'd also agree that the postcards on the table are tacky. Its also a little disconcerting if you are staying and find a coachload of tourists visiting for lunch, they disrupt the peace and quiet. I noticed in the Sunday Times this week that Altnaharrie Inn is up for sale for £500,000 if anybody fancies it (See property section for more details).

Unless I find gainful employment in the next 4 weeks , we are planning on returning to our backpacker roots and heading to Thailand for 5 weeks. I know the question has been asked before but it seems to me that the answers may now be out of date: Where are the best restaurants in Thailand? They don't necessarily have to be up market, although we would be keen to try something on a grand scale and if they are really good we can make a detour for them (we have no set route in mind). We will almost definitely be spending time in Bangkok and probably Chiang Mai, before heading South. We may also pop down to Malaysia (east coast, KL and Langkawi) so would welcome recommendations in those areas. After that we are open to suggestions and please don't warn me about the monsoon, it can't be any more depressing than looking for a decent job in London at the moment !

Without doubt Lindsay House. Awful food (one dish ws left by nearly everybody who had ordered it), drafty table next to raging fire, shoddy service.

Can anybody recommend some good food related software? I am specifically interested in a database that will be able to save the recipes I have collected or devised over time and allow searches by various criteria. Is there any other food related software people can recommend?

RHR is closed on Saturdays I always find this sort of discussion interesting especially with regard to Gordon Ramsay, I have eaten at his establishments several times (RHR, Claridges and previously Aubergine) and he has always been there (incuding Claridges), the same goes for Marcus Wareing at Petrus. Obviously I have just been lucky but should we expect them to work everyday of the week? I can see both sides of the argument on this one but ultimately, whether the chef is there or not, he will bear the brunt of the publicity generated by bad reviews so he should (?) have total trust in whoever is left manning the stoves

I've stayed in both these rooms and enjoyed them enormously. The first time we arrived after dark and I was a little shocked to find people on "our" balcony whilst standing naked in front of the doors patio doors the following morning! I think the rooms are quite reasonably priced and service is excellent, a maid ironed my shirt for me quite happily when she saw me struggling with the iron and the honesty bar/kitchen is great for after hours drinks and snacks. Breakfast is fantastically fresh, the pastries and Croissants taste like they have been taken straight out of the oven and rushed to your room.

Marmite makes the ultimate eggy bread! I like to make mine into a sandwich before frying. Beautiful!

I would hazard a guess that this doesn't include accomodation, they only have 10 rooms that I am aware of. :wow: I think they would be pretty special evenings though, the setting and the food combine to make one of my favourite restaurants

It would also suggest the lobster was pretty old when you bought it, they will survive for quite a while in the fridge or on ice.

Try telling that to my Brother-in-law! He managed to smuggle a huge pepper mill out of a restaurant without being caught. This was of course fuelled by alcohol and part of a bet. I cannot condone this sort of behaviour

Thanks Robert, have you got a recipe for the dough? I tend to make mine pretty much like a bread dough (which I can make alright!) with some Olive oil in it. Does it make a difference using fast acting or Fresh Yeast (I've got both)?

Has anybody got a pizza dough recipe that isn't going to turn out like bread? I want my pizza bases like the ones you get in Pizza express and however many times I try to replicate it I fail, not miserably, but I can't get it quite right :confused:

I love biryaani and the recipe I use most regularly can be found HERE . I'm not sure who Mamta is and I haven't tried any of her other recipes, but this one works just fine, just make sure thatyou have gotr a huge pot for the final spell in the oven, its amazing how big this dish is and we normally freeze it and find it serves enough for around 6 portions. However, more recently I have tried a recipe by Vineet Bhatia (Zaika - very good) which we found exceptional, it was very rich and the use of ghee may seem excessive but works fantastically. It can be found HERE. It is a little fiddly but is worth the effort. One thing I have found is that Mutton works better than lamb with these dishes , just make sure you cook it long enough to be come tender before adding it to the final preperationbut the flavour is far more robust. Both recipes work fine with chicken as well.

No matter how many times I do it I am bound to do it again: Brown meat in Nice heavy black iron pan, place pan in (very) hot oven), Remove pan after cooking and place on stove top, remove meat and set aside to rest, return to pan to make sauce carefully grabbing pan handle as firmly as possible without cloth. Voila! Perfectly cooked fingers, thumb and palm. I am slowly becoming oblivious to the pain and always have the ibupofen handy in the kitchen

Wierdo!

Peter Gordon ws a consultant on the menu at GBK hence the link to the Providores menu. Interestingly, I was looking int the window of Stefanos Deli (unfortunately closed ) just up the Road from GBK, when the great man himself appeared tidying the place up. I also noticed a sign along the lines of "Want a dinner party, don't want to spend all night in the kitchen, how about letting a Michelin starred chef and Sommelier into your home, ask within for details" (or words to that effect). I imagine he provides wome wine and food to reheat, if anybody knwo otherwise please let me know, he can lend me a hand next time I'm entertaining!

I ate at the Gourmet Burger Kitchen in Battersea on Saturday. Fantastic burgers and chips (Further info and menu here. Most burgers were around the £6 mark, The beefburgers are 100% Aberdeen Angus beef and were cooked nicely pink in the middle (I don't like rare beefburgers, it maks the bun too soggy) Good sourdough buns an an excellent variety of burgers including a few variations for the non beef lovers (Venison, Chicken, Chorizo, Mushroom etc. The chips were thick cut, hot and crispy, and they looked like they had been cut on the premises. We ate the Chilli burger and the Blue cheese burger. We were pleased to see the Chilli burger with Chilli sauce on it instead of a pile of Chilli Con Carne, the sauce was maybe a touch mild for our taste but otherwise excellent. The blue cheese dressing was very good with pieces of aged Stiliton in it, a bit messy but thats all part of the fun. They don't serve anything else here which is probably why they are so good, no pasta,hotdogs, chilli con carne/desserts etc. Only slight fault was the cramped conditions (this isn't a place to stop and linger and there is a healthy take away trade) and the fact that you have to order at the counter (joining the takeaway crowd) before the waitresses bring it to your table, why can't they take your order at the table? :confused:

I realise this is an old thread, but has anybody seen this survey. Whereabouts are 29% of the selected people eating British food? Caterer survey results here :confused:

Tomatoes are naturally high in MSG, probably why this solved your flavour problem.

I've been mis-quoted! You've inferred that I don't think about the price of the meal at all. What I in fact said was "If I enjoy a meal immensely, I tend not to think about the price too much". "Immensely" may have been the wrong word, perhaps I should have said a "fantastic meal" You've struck the nail on the head in your post - at what point does the cost/benefit reach a happy medium reach its peak? On a thread about Smithfields we spoke about the second floor at Smiths, here the food was almost universally disliked but we forgave it because it was cheap. Steins is liked by everyone but too expensive - where is the happy medium? I didn't mean to suggest that RS should be able to charge as much as a restaurant in London, I was merely curious to find out whether people would be prepared to pay these sort of prices for this quality of food in London.

This is an interesting topic. For people that have eaten there the food comes away virtually unscathed. The only criticism seems to be the price. Made me think about how much we are willing to pay for good food? If I enjoy a meal immensely I tend not to think about the price too much, if the food turns out to be a little "ordinary" (as at SOS last weekend) then it becomes an issue. For me although I realised the prices were high at RS it was never really an issue due to the high quality of the food. If food of this quality was being served in London would we or, should we, pay more for it?

Haven't been to Kelong since it resorted to all you can eat buffets - do they still do that? I agree that a few years ago (11 to be precise) it used to be superb. I've been to Il Ponte once but it was just OK, my other half has been more often than I have though and she does tell me to give it another chance. Tried Chateau Napoleon many years ago but found it very ordinary and trying to hard to be posh. Having heard your recomendation I might try the Basil leaf and Beijing cottage - further info please? Malay house at the bottom of Cherry Orchard road is very good and very cheap - definitely the best place in Croydon (that I've eaten at) now that Mr & Mrs Yeo have left Mantanah Thai, does anybody know where they went?

Croydon - huge catchment area and about 50 restaurants in a row in the high street and not a decent one amongst them (apart from the tree house which tries hard but doesn't quite pull it off)