The Chequers PH, Matching Green

Many years ago, this was an old-fashioned spit 'n' sawdust pub of the type that just doesn't exist anymore. It was somewhere I would visit occasionally until one day it had closed, been re-furbished and re-opened as a gastro pub (by their own admission). My mate and I just walked back out in disappointment and mourned the loss of a great public house. About 3 years ago, possibly even longer, a bunch of us went for dinner to The Chequers, as it was getting something of a reputation. It was fine food, but I didn't feel that it in any way justified the above-average price tag for pub grub. Another visit last night and I was ready to be disappointed all over again.

I really wasn't.

Starter was a cold seafood selection, which I shared with a friend. The smoked salmon, prawns, crayfish, crab and smoked mackerel were all very good. The prawns in particular were fresh and juicy, and the horseradish and crème fraiche it was served with was a divine example of what must surely be the best seafood accompaniment?

Main course was a simple sirloin steak, served with peppercorn sauce and some asparagus and chunky chips on the side. I ordered the sirloin rare, and it was much nearer medium (not uncommon) but it was a beautiful piece of beef. With a strong peppercorn sauce it was elevated further still, and there was a good, large jug of it too! Asparagus was fine but the chunky chips (so often poor) were amazing. Some of the best I have had (certainly the biggest!) and entirely deserving of a SUPER-DISH. They were so good that I was too busy eating them to take a picture… sorry!

Dessert was my one of my favourites, Eton mess. Good but not the best, the ratio was 'off' for me: too much cream and not enough fruit or meringue. And the addition of a pistachio powder was a little unnecessary.

About £55 a head with drinks which for the quality and quantity of food on offer was worth every penny, I came away feeling like I had got very good value. Besides, a relaxing drink before dinner watching the cricket on the green... you just can't put a price on that. Recommended.

thechequersmatchinggreen.co.uk

China Garden, Standon

Regular readers (both of you) will know my feelings about Chinese food… mostly bad. When it’s good it’s great, it just isn’t very often. A random need for dinner somewhere a few weeks ago ended up at China Garden in Standon, a new one on me.

Starters were the usual Chinese fare, deep-fried but perfectly palatable. None were exceptional, but the high point was the additional order of salt & pepper squid which was very nice indeed. Crispy duck to follow (obviously) which again was nice but unexceptional.

Main course was a Chinese classic, sweet & sour chicken Hong Kong style. Tasty but lacking in much chicken. Served with some vermicelli noodles which were very nice indeed.

So, really nothing special, but perfectly fine. As a quick ‘drop in for some food on the way out somewhere’ restaurant it has much to recommend it; but honestly I think I would have been just as satisfied stopping for a kebab or for some fast food.

www.puckeridgevillage.co.uk/restaurants

Ferry good or ferry bad?

I travel a lot with my job and recently visited the Netherlands; however instead of the usual ‘up at 4am to get to Heathrow’ routine I decided to play it different and get the overnight ferry from Harwich to Hook of Holland. I had done this trip once before but as this was for a stag do it really doesn’t count! I got the train to Harwich and was on the boat by 10pm, ready for a late dinner.

The Stena Hollandica is a new boat, built in 2010 so still nice and clean and surprisingly well equipped. I dumped my stuff in the comfortable cabin and walked swiftly to the food hall, as I remember that this got very busy very quickly on my first trip.

I ordered pork schnitzel with chips, and helped myself to the salad bar. You know what? It was very good, much better than I thought you could realistically expect on a ferry. It was freshly cooked to order and had a lovely spiced breadcrumb coating. The chips were equally good; from experience I know that Dutch people like good chips. The salad was mostly a mix of Dutch options and all were perfectly good. A small bottle of wine complemented this nicely.

An hour on deck with a cigar and a book (under the heater) and it was time for bed. I woke up suitably refreshed and ready to go, I was on the train into Rotterdam less than 15 minutes after walking off the ferry. Definitely a more civilised way of travelling; I firmly believe that train and boat travel broadens the mind whereas plane travel narrows it. Find an excuse to go to Amsterdam (I can think of plenty) and get the boat at least one way.

www.stenaline.co.uk/ferry

Las Palmas, Rotterdam

 

Rotterdam is a city I know very little about. I know it is a big port, and thanks to The Beautiful South I know it could easily be mistaken for Liverpool or Rome. What I wasn’t expecting was a super-new, super-cool city that had a little something of New York about it. Thanks to an excellent host, I got to see a little of the city (including a speed boat ride!) and eat at a famous Rotterdam restaurant, Las Palmas. Specialising in seafood, it is the brain child of a famous Dutch chef and TV presenter, Herman den Blijker.

When we sat down at our table the maître d’ suggested starting with some oysters whilst we chose our meals, which regular readers will know are my favourite thing in the world. He was great fun, and spoke at least six languages! The oysters were big and fantastic, certainly a lot bigger than our own native UK oysters. A simple red wine vinegar and shallot dressing, and some lemon wedges were served with the oysters. Amazing.

To start, another seafood favourite, bouillabaisse. At a basic level, this is just a simple fish-based soup. At Las Palmas it was an event, the waiter introduced and explained the three types of fish that were in the bottom of the bowl, and then theatrically poured over the broth from a kettle. A nice touch (see video above) that just raised this dish from the norm, and it was every bit as tasty as it deserved to be. I’m giving this a SUPER-DISH award, not least because of the accompaniments (croutons, cheese and aioli).

Main course was gurnard, served as a whole fish. It’s not the most attractive fish (it’s a BOBFOC!) but was very impressive when served whole. I have eaten this fish many times before, and this was one of the best; it can be quite labour-intensive to fillet but this was a generously-proportioned specimen. It was served with some un-remarkable vegetables but that just didn’t matter, it was all about this exceptional fish.

For the first time in a long time I didn’t make it to dessert, however I had in effect already had three courses so this can be explained away. What I did have were some excellent petit fours, the chocolate truffle was great and the mini-macaroon was even greater.

This place was simply great great great. The décor was amazing, especially the taxidermy and the beautiful meat hanging up in the lobby. Not as expensive as expected and definitely a great destination restaurant if ever you find yourself in this interesting and exciting city. Very highly recommended.

Heel erg bedankt aan Richard, onze uitstekende gastheer. We hadden een geweldige tijd in uw stad en kijken ernaar uit om binnenkort weer komen!

restaurantlaspalmas.nl

The Meze House, Folkestone

I was looking for somewhere interesting to eat whilst in Folkestone at the weekend, so consulted TripAdvisor for some advice. The Meze House was a restaurant I had never heard of, rated #3 amongst Folkestone’s 83 restaurants so definitely worth investigating. I’m a big fan of Greek food, and it isn’t something I get to eat very often so I was suitably excited. The restaurant is in a great location just off The Leas, underneath a slightly crappy old hotel. Walking down the stairs and the atmosphere in the basement restaurant is nice; it is subdued and softly lit. However the all-Irish staff doesn’t give you the confidence that this is going to be an especially authentic experience!

I shared the inevitable meze with a mate. First of all (again, inevitably) was houmous, taramasalata and tzatziki served with pitta bread. All were good, none were brilliant. The horiatiki salad was nice, well dressed with balsamic vinegar. The grilled halloumi was for me the best of the starters, probably best of the whole meal actually.

Inevitable (third use of this word) was the calamari, which was unfortunately not as good as the calamari I had for lunch a few hours earlier. The fish course was seabass, which was very good and was devoured quickly. The meat course was souvlaki (pork) served with chips and a flatbread. The souvlakia was fine, as were the chips.

All of the above was fine, no more and no less. Exactly the same thing you would expect to see in any mid-level Greek restaurant in any town in the UK. I might visit again, but I would not by any means make a bee line for this place. The trouble is, once you have eaten at the best Greek restaurant in the UK (Vrisaki in Palmer’s Green, which is AMAZING) nothing compares!

themezehouse.com

The Smokehouse, Folkestone

Everybody loves fish & chips. And if you don’t, you just need to go to the right place. My parents are lucky enough to have a great chippie where they live in Folkestone, from Mark Sergeant. Mark used to run Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant at Claridge’s; but he is from Kent so a few years ago he ‘did a Rick Stein’ and moved to the seaside, opening a restaurant and a chippie. I have eaten here many times and it is my favourite fish & chip shop.

My favourite dish at my favourite chippie is the salt & pepper squid. It’s just divine, the perfect SUPER-DISH and one I could eat every week and never get bored of. The spiced batter is amazing, better than anywhere else I know, and I love that there is a good mix of the head of the squid as well as little bundles of sweet tentacles. Last weekend I added a curried scallop in batter which was also very good. The chips are cooked in beef dripping and this makes them a) incredibly tasty and b) perfectly textured, I’ll also add a c) which is the fact that this a great link to how chippie’s used to be. The addition of a homemade pickled egg tops off the perfect lunch.

In Folkestone? Go there for lunch. A great place to stop off and have something to eat if heading for the channel tunnel.

thesmokehousefolkestone.co.uk

Restaurant 65, Hemel Hempstead Old Town

We had a conference at work last week, so there were thirty or so of us for dinner close to the office, so in stepped Restaurant 65 and a special ‘chilli’ menu to enjoy. This is exactly as you would expect, chilli was in every one of the courses that made up this special menu. First came a lovely glass of chilled prosecco, with a candied chilli in it, which was actually very nice; then onto the six courses…

First came ‘pit of darkness’, simple rye bread served with a chilli oil dip; this was as you would expect and was very tasty. Second came ‘gates of hell’ which was a mango, lime and (you guessed it) chilli shooter, a sort of evil amuse bouche. This was also very good, although the fact that it was served in the kind of plastic shooter glass that nightclubs serve Sourz in sort of cheapened the effect!

Third and fourth are fish course and main course respectively. The fish course (‘eternal damnation’) was seared sea bass, with a risotto flavoured with lemon and scotch bonnet peppers. This dish was served with a coriander pesto and a smoky chilli oil. The sea bass was absolutely delightful, really very good, easily the high point for me. I tactically sat very near to a fussy-eater friend so I got to eat this excellent dish twice! ‘Sands of time’ was corn fed chicken breast with a chilli rub. The vegetable accompaniments would have been lovely if you could taste anything over the ridiculous heat of the chilli rub, which I think was entirely unnecessary.

A very welcome fifth course was ‘cleanse the spirit’, a simple carrot and ginger sorbet which was a godsend after the chicken. This was another highlight for me, and again I got to eat two! ‘Last rites’ finished the meal and my taste buds. I’ve never eaten a white chocolate cheesecake and found myself saying “needs chilli”, I won’t be starting anytime soon. Again, ridiculous and over-the-top!

In summary, a very mixed bag: some great, some far-from-great, but all interesting. I would definitely re-visit this restaurant again, but this time I would order from the regular a la carte menu and give my taste buds a chance.

restaurant65.com

Chiangmai Cottage, Hemel Hempstead Old Town

Everybody loves Thai food; it somehow takes the best bits from Chinese cuisine and mixes them with the best bits from Indian cuisine, and the sum is greater than the parts. 2 + 2 = 5 with Thai food. Chiangmai Cottage in the old town part of Hemel Hempstead is somewhere I have been two or three times before and it has always been excellent. I was entertaining a colleague from Ireland this week so this was my first choice. Then I decided I would consult Trip Advisor and see which was the best rated restaurant in Hemel Hempstead, it was this one!

My companion didn’t want to order the mixed starter (WTF?) so I had to choose something else. That something else was a beef salad, which I wouldn’t normally order but I just fancied a change. The salad was marinated grilled beef, tossed in fresh thai herbs and a spicy citrus dressing, garnished with fresh coriander. It was immense, so I’m going to give it a SUPER-DISH for being a) delicious and b) different. Highly recommended.

Something a bit more familiar for lunch. We shared a steamed coconut rice and a chicken pad thai, both simple and lovely. A main dish each were chosen to share. For me, ped ma-kham, a favourite of mine; this is sliced duck breast in a sticky tamarind sauce and is served with crispy noodles. The ped ma-kham here is just as good as my favourite local Thai restaurant. The other main course was hoi-shell phad prik thai drum, which is scallops with kaffir lime leaves. This was every bit as good as good as the duck, so we scored on both main course choices!

In summary, another great meal at this restaurant. Any co-workers reading this and staying over near the office, go here, you won’t be disappointed at all.

www.chiangmaicottage.com



Simon’s stag do (Bristol)

My mate Simon is the ultimate non-foodie, as anybody who knows him will understand. When we worked together he would have the same lunch EVERY single day with NO variation whatsoever: ham sandwich, Penguin chocolate bar, an apple and water biscuits. He likes Penguin biscuits so much; he would often dress as one…

So, naturally, his stag do in Bristol last weekend included no 'official' food of any kind, the plan being to grab what we could between activities. This article details my attempts to try and beat the system he had devised and introduce some food that was, if not great, then at least interesting.

The Willow Walk

We didn't start well. Breakfast at a Wetherspoons pub in Victoria on Friday before getting on the bus. Ordinarily, I would avoid a Wetherspoons for anything other than cheap beer. However, the breakfast wasn't too shabby, and worth the £5.95 we paid for it. The hash browns were a little soggy and the beans were developing a skin, but other than that all was passable; even the ‘tell’, the sausage. A sachet of HP Sauce helped too; a cheap foodservice brown sauce just wouldn't have worked. A good condiment lifts many a bad meal!

www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk/home/pubs/the-willow-walk

Los Amigos

Fast-forward to Bristol and we are walking to our hotel. A very unlikely sign encourages us towards 'burritos in car park' a few minutes away from the hotel. Check-in, dump stuff and look for burritos. Really, in a car park? Yes! This place was a great random find, and the lovely lady who runs it says she does brisk business with the workers from the many nearby building projects. We arrived just as she was thinking about packing up; she had run out of everything except chicken so she gave us a cheeky discount (£4 instead of the usual £5). Lovely burrito. The chicken was good, the beans were good, the salsa was good, the chilli sauce was good, the rice was... hard! Not sure whether this was under-cooked or suffering from being at the bottom of the tray all day, I suspect the latter. Only a minor irritation that didn't detract at all from a lovely little lunch. Really worth seeking out, the kind of little eatery I wish I had near my own work place.

www.losamigoseventcatering.co.uk/burritos-in-bristol

My Burrito

Another day, another burrito! This time from a place in the city centre, right off the quayside. Interesting selection on offer here, many different salad options with choices offered on the type of beans and the strength of the salsa. I chose black beans and the medium, smoky salsa to accompany my excellent beef. So, best burrito in Bristol? On taste My Burrito had it for me on taste, but it was twice as expensive as Los Amigos, and My Burrito was just too busy to be the convenient offer it should be. Another great lunch though, sitting on the breakfast bar in the window watching the world go by.

www.myburrito.co.uk

Bristol Cider House

Saturday afternoon was spent visiting the epic SS Great Britain, an absolutely fantastic experience. Quickly back to the hotel to change shirts and then straight out for some cider tasting, accompanied by 'nibbles'. Pork pie, beef pasty and scotch eggs were all very average, but the cheeky little cheese selection (cheddar, brie, stilton, Neapolitan-style-oddity) complemented the cider in an acceptable fashion!

www.bristolciderhouse.co.uk

Quick Crepes

Eight pints of cider, Jaeger bombs and champagne doesn't do anything for your taste buds but I was sober enough to decide that a 1am crepe is better than a kebab. The guy had only been making crepes for a day and this showed in the slightly under-cooked product of his labour, but a great opportunity to further cement my belief that Nutella improves the taste of everything! Probably my favourite thing I ate all weekend.

www.quickcrepes.com/crepe_kiosks

Wasabi

Back in London with five minutes before my train home, exactly enough time to get a smelly snack to offend other passengers! I went through a stage when Wasabi was my favourite little take-away when working in London, but I haven't been for a while. I had the spicy chicken with rice. It was pretty tasty, and pretty spicy, but nothing above average; the rice was well cooked however. An anti-climatic end to the weekends food, but it filled a hole nicely.

www.wasabi.uk.com

Conclusion? Not the gastronomic car crash I was expecting, so I can feel like I have managed to beat Simon! Both burritos were great, as was the crepe, all very enjoyable eating experiences. However, one wasted opportunity: the cider tasting could have been a great chance to indulge in some honest West Country fare, good enough to match the excellent cider on offer. Possibly a high quality ploughman’s, like you would get on a cider farm serving lunch? Or just a great pasty? Or better quality, more locally-representative cheese? The food let this place down a little I felt, however I'm guessing that a pub that seems to serve exclusively stag parties on a Saturday night will know exactly how discerning their clientele are!

Yiasou Souvlaki Bar, Harlow

Getting married. Having a child. Winning the lottery. All of these are an exciting event in anybody’s life, but they pale into insignificance when compared to the joy of the discovery of a new takeaway to try! I’m not sure whether this place has newly opened, or whether it has just passed me by, but when I found the delivery leaflet on my doormat on Thursday I knew right away that my dinner was sorted for that evening.

I ordered the mixed meat souvlakia meze (£8), which includes chicken, pork and beef. I wasn’t 100% sure exactly what souvlakia was, so here is what Wikipedia had to say on the matter…

Souvlaki (σουβλάκι) is a popular Greek fast food consisting of small pieces of meat and sometimes vegetables grilled on a skewer. It may be served on the skewer for eating out of hand, in a pitta sandwich with garnishes and sauces, or on a dinner plate, often with fried potatoes.

I would say a very accurate description of a tasty dish; the meat was subtly spiced and had a great dry texture to it, a sort of light crust. Served with chips which were fine but not amazing, and a salad that consisted mostly of iceberg lettuce so a little disappointing. I ordered tzatziki to accompany my dish but unfortunately they sent garlic mayonnaise instead. The mayonnaise was tasty, albeit the portion was a little small. I really enjoyed the flatbread that came with the dish, just crispy enough and full of flavour.

On balance, despite a few frustrations, an enjoyable meal. However, I’m not sure whether this is because it was genuinely good or because it was new and different and therefore perhaps more interesting than it would otherwise have been? Basically, I need to order again to be entirely sure, so watch this space!