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Scotland in “summer” - a short travelblog

Duvel

By Duvel
in Food Traditions & Culture

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liuzhou

liuzhou

Posted
Posted (edited)

It is worth pointing out that very few fish and chip places sell the notorious deep-fried Mars bar and most of them sell them to foreign tourists. The natives not so much.

 

Bit like all the clowns in Yangshuo eating snake bile glands because that's what the locals do. Except the locals never touch them.

Edited by liuzhou (log)
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...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
Mark Twain
 

The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

Duvel

Duvel

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
14 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

most of them sell them to foreign tourists


If your ancestors fought in the battle of Culloden, the least they can do is to provide nourishment …

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Kerala

Kerala

Posted
Posted

Deep fried Mars bars will have to wait if there are battered squid, shrimp or cuttlefish on the menu. My main concern is that my appetite would disappear for the rest of the day.

However, if and when I make it to Skye, I might just lodge near here

On 11/14/2022 at 8:51 PM, Duvel said:

🤔

 

 

 

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fpor a couple of days!

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Duvel

Duvel

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
5 minutes ago, Kerala said:

However, if and when I make it to Skye, I might just lodge near here


A very wise choice, my friend - and about 500 m down the hill is the Talisker distillery 🤗

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Duvel

Duvel

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

We headed out to St. Andrews today, a leisurely 45 min drive through the Lowlands.

 

St. Andrews is a lively town, if not touristy. They had a street market going on. There is something about German sausages in this country …

 

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We visited the university grounds as well as the ruins of St. Andrews cathedral. I always find it fascinating how a community can live next to a structure falling into disrepair and then completely breaking down without literally being able to do something against it (due to lack of funds, skilled labor, political will). The cemetery on the premises for example was used continuously.

 

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Being a bit famished we headed for the Chippy with lingest queue. Squid and fries for the other two, Stornoway black pudding for me …

 

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Dessert was at the nearby bakery, again with a looong queue. We bought their specialty: a cream-filled, fudge-coated sweet yeast roll. It was great (and I usually do not care for sweets) !

 

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Heading back, we drove by a carvery a few kilometers before reaching Perth. A quick poll amongst uns made me turn around and I enjoyed picking my meats and sides:

 

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Roastbeef & gammon. Maple-glazed carrots, roasted carrots, steamed broccoli, roasted potatoes, buttered brussel sprouts, mini-wieners wrapped in bacon, potato gratin, all topped with Yorkshire puddings. And looooots of gravy. A very happy Duvel.

 

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Burger for the little one …

 

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And Angus steak for Mrs. Duvel …

 

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They had an ice cream bar going on. None of us was able to fit anything in anymore. Maybe a tiiiny digestif …

 

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We slept very well !

 

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Smithy

Smithy

Posted
Posted

I'd like to go back to this statement:

 

Quote

They had a very light hand on the vinegar, so I had to return and get more. 

 

Is it common there to vinegar the chips before they're served? I don't remember that (granted, I was there in 1980) and I'd expect the fries to get soggy quickly after the vinegar.

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Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
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Duvel

Duvel

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted (edited)
16 hours ago, Smithy said:

I'd like to go back to this statement:

 

 

Is it common there to vinegar the chips before they're served? I don't remember that (granted, I was there in 1980) and I'd expect the fries to get soggy quickly after the vinegar.


For takeout it is common - they’ll ask you before they wrap it up. Since we ate around the corner in a public place, it was fine.

Edited by Duvel (log)
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liuzhou

liuzhou

Posted
Posted

St Andrews, my birthplace and childhood home. Fisher and Donaldson is a local legend. Wonderful bakery.

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...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
Mark Twain
 

The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

Darienne

Darienne

Posted
Posted
15 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

St Andrews, my birthplace and childhood home. Fisher and Donaldson is a local legend. Wonderful bakery.

The little bit of the bakery we saw in the photo looked amazing.  Sometimes I am so grateful that our local city has nothing to offer in the way of baked goods (and if it does...please don't tell me about it.)

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Darienne

 

learn, learn, learn...

 

We live in hope. 

liuzhou

liuzhou

Posted
Posted (edited)
3 hours ago, Smithy said:

I'd like to go back to this statement:

 

 

Is it common there to vinegar the chips before they're served? I don't remember that (granted, I was there in 1980) and I'd expect the fries to get soggy quickly after the vinegar.

 

Not in my experience. They are salted and vinegared at the point of sale and not before. Just as well, as I don't take vinegar on mine.

Edited by liuzhou (log)
  • Like 1

...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
Mark Twain
 

The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

Kerala

Kerala

Posted
Posted

 

3 hours ago, Duvel said:


A very wise choice, my friend - and about 500 m down the hill is the Talisker distillery 🤗

I will see what I can engineer...!

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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted
9 hours ago, Duvel said:


If your ancestors fought in the battle of Culloden, the least they can do is to provide nourishment …

 

I learned recently that my great great grandfather emigrated from Glascow while he could.  In Stornoway I was served "American Style" hamburger, battered and deep fried.

 

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liuzhou

liuzhou

Posted
Posted (edited)

As a quick rule of thumb in Scotland, if you wander into a random fish and chip shop and there is a menu featuring deep fried pizzas or, heaven forbid, deep-fried Mars bars or burgers, then you are for sure in the wrong place. They obviously have no respect for food. There is almost certainly somewhere better nearby.

 

Research is key. @Duvelfound the seafood shacks, but I'm afraid missed some great fish and chips. A short distance from St. Andrews and on a pleasant route to Perth would have been to stop in here, one of the best F&C places in the UK. Check out their menu. That is what a proper F&C menu looks like. Yes, it has pizza, but they're not deep fried. I'd stick to the seafood, though.

And remember, everywhere has bad rip-off food.

Edited by liuzhou (log)
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...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
Mark Twain
 

The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

liuzhou

liuzhou

Posted
Posted
5 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

Even so, there is always one big problem on vacations. So much good food, so little time.

 

Indeed, but I can't recommend choosing restaurants at random.

...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
Mark Twain
 

The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

Tropicalsenior

Tropicalsenior

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

choosing restaurants at random

Yes, research and local recommendations when possible. Not easy to do sometimes when you're on the road. The internet is good but sometimes it looks so good and is so bad.

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Duvel

Duvel

Posted
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Posted

Last day in Scotland … heading down to Newcastle.

 

We missed Edinburgh castle on the way up, so I made a stop for the little one on the way down.

 

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In the dungeons, the diet of the prisoners was elaborated, which I found not too shabby …

 

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Even the foreign prisoners got their share …

 

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Views over the entire city were very nice …

 

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That was out last stop in Scotland.

Some 2.5h drive later we arrived in Newcastle. A childhood friend of my wife lives here, so the two of then went for a girls night out …

 

Little one and me headed out for some Indian food to My Delhi, close to our hotel.


Little one wanted mango lassi, of course.

 

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He might have been hungry, as he practically inhaled the pappadum crisps …

 

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Little fried fishes …

 

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Some (ginger)spicy onion bhajis ..

 

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A nice design idea: a flatscreen tv in a antique window from, with basically a multihour recording from a random street in Delhi. It looked pretty realistic.

 

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Railway lamb curry …

 

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Garlic naan …

 

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Butter rice …

 

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Aaand more lassi …

 

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One Indian beer for me …

 

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Followed by a local nightcap in the hotel 😉

 

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kayb

kayb

Posted
Posted

I have so much enjoyed this trip, particularly through the eyes of Little Duvel.

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Don't ask. Eat it.

www.kayatthekeyboard.wordpress.com

Tropicalsenior

Tropicalsenior

Posted
Posted

@Duvel For some time now, I have been reading a light-hearted series about a Village Bobby in the highlands of Scotland. Going on this trip with you, just let me see the territory in which he lives and to learn about the food that, to me, seems strange but you show to be really quite appealing. I was a little disappointed that you didn't try a bacon bap.

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Duvel

Duvel

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
24 minutes ago, Shelby said:

Thank you for the wonderful trip!


Still 1.5 days to go ☺️

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Duvel

Duvel

Posted
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Posted

The next day was reserved for exploring Newcastle. While Newcastle is supposed to have the best nightlife in all UK (which - for me a married father - of course is as attractive as  a dentist visit), my wife’s friend ensured us that the city itself is void of any attractions, things to do or scenic spots. She was right !

 

A light breakfast at the hotel (so odd to sleep in a regular bed again) …

 

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After running around for a while we spotted a Wagamama and decided to have lunch there, for old times sake. We were fans of Wagamama in the early 2000’s, when it was still a kind of revolutionary concept, with the communal benches and Ramen-esk noodle soups. By now of course it has expanded into 150 branches and broadened its menu significantly, while we on the other hand have lived in Japan and Hong Kong and gained quite some experience on Japanese food and Asian fusion in general …

 

An interesting interpretation of Takoyaki.
 

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Gyoza with duck.
 

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Miso-glazed sweetcorn. This was actually very tasty.
 

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Spicy food goes well with fancy drinks …

 

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Ramen with extra egg.
 

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Yakisoba with teriyaki salmon.
 

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A Vietnamese-inspired rice noodle salad (called “bowl”) …

 

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It was just ok. No need to return in the foreseeable future, though …

 

Just after leaving Wagamama we passed by a Jollibee (“Home of the Chicken-Joy”) … but I was too full. Life can be unfair 🥲

 

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While there were no sights to speak of, there were some creative Covid warnings …

 

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After some more hours of aimless shopping (I found two cookbooks) we decided to call it a day. We were all still full from the late lunch, so my wife’s friend suggested to “just get a waffle”. Little one was happy …

 

”Just a waffle” 🙄

 

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My wife had a crepe with ice cream …

 

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… while little one and me shared this beast:

 

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Shared with uneven portion sizes …

 

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Thankfully there was a little digestif waiting at the hotel …

 

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