I had a couple of hours to kill in Southend, so decided to treat myself to lunch. I drove along the seafront and saw the Hundreds Seafood Restaurant. I love seafood and assumed that the best place to indulge my cravings was at the seaside. Also, the Hundreds restaurant is a small shack, with the diners sitting in an awning complete with heat lamps. This place looked both quaint and a mess, so I thought that it must be a Southend institution, otherwise the council would have told them to smarten up, right? Afterall, this place is on the beach, just up the road from the rather posh Thorpe Bay. Maybe the food is so good, they don't have to look smart; the diners come back so often, this business hardly need try.
My assumptions were wrong.
I went in and saw that the last two diners were just leaving. I was in this place by myself. I found the waitress rather rude. She seemed to find it a terrible inconvenience that a customer was wanting some grub.
Their lunch menu consists of filled ciabattas, tapas and 8 meals. I didn't fancy a ciabatta, tapas are not ideal for a single diner, so I opted for the sea bass. The waitress abruptly told me that there was no seabass. Or mackerel. There didn't seem to be much fish on the premises really. I opted for the ham, eggs and chips, ordered a cappuccino and took a seat. My cappuccino arrived in a latte glass, and didn't taste very good. It was luke warm and not particularly coffee-like.
I was most disappointed with my meal. This restaurant is not cheap. At £7.95 for a simple meal of ham, eggs and chips, I had high expectations. As soon as the waitress gave me the food I knew I'd made a mistake. The eggs were not fried. They were poached in oil, where the white has no crispiness, colour or bubbles. These are not fried eggs! The ham was very wet and not nice. The bread and butter was a pointless addition to a heavy meal. The chips tasted of oil that needed to be changed.
It tasted like a meal I would have expected in a cheapo greasy spoon or naff chain pub. It tasted like it should have cost £5. It was not a meal I would have expected to be eating at a prime location on the Essex coast.
I will not be visiting again. I will try the chippy opposite.
Saturday 29 October 2011
Monday 17 October 2011
Loch Fyne, Elton near Peterborough: Review
It was a beautiful autumn afternoon, and I was taking a relative to Loch Fyne for a birthday treat. I was looking forward to it; Elton is a beautiful village outside Peterborough, and the restaurant appeared to be inside an old building.
The service was somewhat frosty and sluggish. We were kept waiting a long time between courses. I opted for the King Prawns with Chilli, Lemon and Garlic to start. It was a very pleasant dish- there was just enough chilli for it to be warming, and enough garlic to be brave. My guest had the smoked salmon and rocket and was very happy with it.
The problems came with the main course. I opted for the talapia with a citrus marinade, new potatoes and samphire. I had mixed vegetables as a side order. I was being brave- I'd never tried talapia before. As it turned out, it was fine, just another white fish. I'm not sure I would have put a citrus marinade on it, especially when serving it with potatoes and samphire. The overall dish didn't really work as a whole. The mixed veg was a disaster. The carrots looked like they'd been peeled the day before and left out- they were grey round the edges. They were undercooked, but not as badly cooked as the broccoli. It was raw!
My guest had the dressed crab with new potatoes and green beans. She was bitterly disappointed- the crab meat was full of shell. A complaint was put in and we were told that the crab was dressed off-site. We were offered another main course, and chose whiting in parsley sauce with new potatoes. This was very good, but my guest felt slightly embarassed because I had nearly finished my meal by the time the whiting arrived.
It was a great shame. The restaurant has everything in its favour- a beautiful building, good parking, a nice village and a reputable brand. Sadly, it does not deliver, with the lack of care with the food and the poor service. I'll be sticking to the Chelmsford branch in future.
The service was somewhat frosty and sluggish. We were kept waiting a long time between courses. I opted for the King Prawns with Chilli, Lemon and Garlic to start. It was a very pleasant dish- there was just enough chilli for it to be warming, and enough garlic to be brave. My guest had the smoked salmon and rocket and was very happy with it.
The problems came with the main course. I opted for the talapia with a citrus marinade, new potatoes and samphire. I had mixed vegetables as a side order. I was being brave- I'd never tried talapia before. As it turned out, it was fine, just another white fish. I'm not sure I would have put a citrus marinade on it, especially when serving it with potatoes and samphire. The overall dish didn't really work as a whole. The mixed veg was a disaster. The carrots looked like they'd been peeled the day before and left out- they were grey round the edges. They were undercooked, but not as badly cooked as the broccoli. It was raw!
My guest had the dressed crab with new potatoes and green beans. She was bitterly disappointed- the crab meat was full of shell. A complaint was put in and we were told that the crab was dressed off-site. We were offered another main course, and chose whiting in parsley sauce with new potatoes. This was very good, but my guest felt slightly embarassed because I had nearly finished my meal by the time the whiting arrived.
It was a great shame. The restaurant has everything in its favour- a beautiful building, good parking, a nice village and a reputable brand. Sadly, it does not deliver, with the lack of care with the food and the poor service. I'll be sticking to the Chelmsford branch in future.
Sunday 16 October 2011
Quince jelly recipe
The quince. The result of a drunken fumbling between a pear and an apple.
Someone I know has a quince tree, but really does not know what to do with them. She gave me a bagfull of quinces to use at my pleasure.
The quince is an odd thing- rock hard, covered in fluff and smelling of apples. I decided to do some quince jelly as it looks beautiful, and was eager to know how one gets a ruby-red jelly from a biege sludge. As it was, it was dead easy. The quince is so rammed with pectin that I believe it would be impossible not to make a set jelly.
Here is the recipe, satisfying in that one does not need a degree in chemical engineering to understand it. You need:
Quinces
Granulated sugar
Juice of one lemon
Chop the quinces into chunks. Cover with water, add the lemon juice and boil the fruit, lid on, until it is very soft. This can take hours. When the fruit falls to pieces, mash the fruit with a potato masher. Strain the resulting mush through a jelly bag or a muslin cloth.
Measure the liquid. Using a pound of sugar per pint of juice, heat the juice and sugar until the sugar is dissolved. (Retain the fruit mush to make quince cheese.) Bring to the boil, and boil for 10 minutes. Behold the colour change from orange to red. After this, test the jelly to see if it has reached setting point. Dot a bit of jelly on a chilled plate and leave for a minute. Nudge the jelly with your finger. If it wrinkles, it's ready. It not, boil for 3 more minutes. Repeat this process until it's set.
Once the set point is reaches, pour into sterilised, hot jars, cover with a wax disk and seal.
The resulting jelly is beautiful and tastes fruity, but perfumed, like it has a hint of rose water. It's quite hard to describe, so have a go.
Someone I know has a quince tree, but really does not know what to do with them. She gave me a bagfull of quinces to use at my pleasure.
The quince is an odd thing- rock hard, covered in fluff and smelling of apples. I decided to do some quince jelly as it looks beautiful, and was eager to know how one gets a ruby-red jelly from a biege sludge. As it was, it was dead easy. The quince is so rammed with pectin that I believe it would be impossible not to make a set jelly.
Here is the recipe, satisfying in that one does not need a degree in chemical engineering to understand it. You need:
Quinces
Granulated sugar
Juice of one lemon
Chop the quinces into chunks. Cover with water, add the lemon juice and boil the fruit, lid on, until it is very soft. This can take hours. When the fruit falls to pieces, mash the fruit with a potato masher. Strain the resulting mush through a jelly bag or a muslin cloth.
Measure the liquid. Using a pound of sugar per pint of juice, heat the juice and sugar until the sugar is dissolved. (Retain the fruit mush to make quince cheese.) Bring to the boil, and boil for 10 minutes. Behold the colour change from orange to red. After this, test the jelly to see if it has reached setting point. Dot a bit of jelly on a chilled plate and leave for a minute. Nudge the jelly with your finger. If it wrinkles, it's ready. It not, boil for 3 more minutes. Repeat this process until it's set.
Once the set point is reaches, pour into sterilised, hot jars, cover with a wax disk and seal.
The resulting jelly is beautiful and tastes fruity, but perfumed, like it has a hint of rose water. It's quite hard to describe, so have a go.
Tuesday 4 October 2011
Steak marinade recipe
Well, I think I must be a genius. We were having steak for dinner the other day, but I'm not keen on the unadulterated steak flavour. I hadn't got time to look up a steak marinade, so I tried to recreate the flavour of the steaks from Cafe Rouge.
I put salt, pepper, oil, chunks of garlic and some smashed-up rosemary into a bowl. I left the steak in the bowl for 30mins, and made sure I removed all chunks of garlic from the steak before cooking.
It was delicious.
I put salt, pepper, oil, chunks of garlic and some smashed-up rosemary into a bowl. I left the steak in the bowl for 30mins, and made sure I removed all chunks of garlic from the steak before cooking.
It was delicious.
Saturday 1 October 2011
The Blue Bridge, Writtle: Review
Writtle is a beautiful village; it has a village green with a duck pond, a teeny weeny pub and some gorgeous Georgian houses. Previously, I had only eaten at Grahams On The Green where I had eaten a perfectly satisfactory meal.
I had never heard of The Blue Bridge until my partner mentioned that it had been one of the choices for a family meal, but it had been vetoed once people saw the prices on the menu.
Anyway, my partner has gone a bit mad recently, and treated me to yet another meal out! (See last review.) He fancied The Blue Bridge to see if it was better than The Blue Strawberry, Hatfield Peverel.
As we arrived, I was worried that there was noone there- I could see that the dining room at the front of the restaurant was empty. I shouldn't have worried. The restaurant is a mishmash of different rooms, and there were plenty of diners in the other rooms.
The staff were pleasant enough, but were very much frostier than at the Strawb'. I attributed this to the fact that it was a 'restaurant' to the Strawberry's lowly 'bistrot' status. I was somewhat concerned when we were shown to a room at the back of the restaurant, especially when noone else was in there! Is this where they stick the oiks, or those who don't know how to use asparagus tongs? I was reassured when other couples soon followed.
The menu was impressive, yet expensive. Their set menu was £18.95 for 2 courses, £23.95 for 3 courses. There were 5 choices for starters and main course, but only 3 for dessert. The a la carte menu was quite steep, with most starters being around the £8.50 mark, mains costing £16-£23!
I opted for the set menu- I always look to the cheaper options, even if someone else is paying! I chose chicken satay, followed by herb-crusted pollock. My partner is a fussy fellow, not liking most fish, seafood, mayonnaise, fruit, mushrooms- he ended up going a la carte.
He chose a simple salad to start with- rocket and parmesan with a balsamic dressing. He said that it was very good- but can one go wrong with such a combination? I was eager to see what top-notch chicken satay looked like; I have had so many disappointing satay incidents with dry meat and gloopy peanut-butter sauce. The dish was absolutely delicious. I find chicken breast lacking in moisture and flavour, but this dish made me reconsider my thoughts on it. The meat was tender, well seasoned and marinaded in something with a very complex flavour- I suspect dark molasses were involved. The peanut sauce was delicious, and used sparingly, so it was not cloying. It was served on a salad of beansprouts, herbs, chilli and spring onion.
When our main courses arrived, I could see the difference between a restaurant and a bistrot. Restaurants serve their food on odd shaped plates, and when the food arrives one feels guilty to have to destroy the artwork when eating it! The pollock was moist and was coated in a cheesy, herby crust. It was served with some amazing piped mashed potato and creamed leeks. It was sheer comfort food- I dread to think how much cream was in that food!
Given that we'd been seated in the Naughty Room, I felt no shame when sticking my fork in my partner's food. He'd opted for the belly pork (yes, he has it everywhere!) with a wild boar sausage and braised cabbage. He also had a side order of green beans in garlic butter. He was very pleased to see that the pork came with extra crackling! Sadly, I was not allowed any! The pork was sweet and delicious, as were the beans. The sausage was nice, but lack any 'wow' factor. My partner was somewhat disappointed by the cabbage. He likes cabbage as nature intended, ie. raw, and failing that he likes cabbage that tastes of cabbage. Sadly, this cabbage had had the 'Christmas cabbage' treatment, having been spiced, sweetened and cooked until it no longer tasted of cabbage.
Given that I was driving, I was on tap water, so felt like I'd earned a dessert. I went for the simple chocolate brownie and vanilla ice cream. The vanilla ice cream was very good- heavy on vanilla, light on sugar. The brownie was crunchy on the outside, gooey in the middle. Nom nom nom.
The bill came to £66, including service, with only one person drinking. It'd be very easy to rack up a £100 bill if a couple both dined of the a la carte menu and were boozing. However, if this is a little steep, there's always the option to go for lunch, where a two course meal costs £13.95. OAPs get it two pounds cheaper, which is a nice touch.
I had never heard of The Blue Bridge until my partner mentioned that it had been one of the choices for a family meal, but it had been vetoed once people saw the prices on the menu.
Anyway, my partner has gone a bit mad recently, and treated me to yet another meal out! (See last review.) He fancied The Blue Bridge to see if it was better than The Blue Strawberry, Hatfield Peverel.
As we arrived, I was worried that there was noone there- I could see that the dining room at the front of the restaurant was empty. I shouldn't have worried. The restaurant is a mishmash of different rooms, and there were plenty of diners in the other rooms.
The staff were pleasant enough, but were very much frostier than at the Strawb'. I attributed this to the fact that it was a 'restaurant' to the Strawberry's lowly 'bistrot' status. I was somewhat concerned when we were shown to a room at the back of the restaurant, especially when noone else was in there! Is this where they stick the oiks, or those who don't know how to use asparagus tongs? I was reassured when other couples soon followed.
The menu was impressive, yet expensive. Their set menu was £18.95 for 2 courses, £23.95 for 3 courses. There were 5 choices for starters and main course, but only 3 for dessert. The a la carte menu was quite steep, with most starters being around the £8.50 mark, mains costing £16-£23!
I opted for the set menu- I always look to the cheaper options, even if someone else is paying! I chose chicken satay, followed by herb-crusted pollock. My partner is a fussy fellow, not liking most fish, seafood, mayonnaise, fruit, mushrooms- he ended up going a la carte.
He chose a simple salad to start with- rocket and parmesan with a balsamic dressing. He said that it was very good- but can one go wrong with such a combination? I was eager to see what top-notch chicken satay looked like; I have had so many disappointing satay incidents with dry meat and gloopy peanut-butter sauce. The dish was absolutely delicious. I find chicken breast lacking in moisture and flavour, but this dish made me reconsider my thoughts on it. The meat was tender, well seasoned and marinaded in something with a very complex flavour- I suspect dark molasses were involved. The peanut sauce was delicious, and used sparingly, so it was not cloying. It was served on a salad of beansprouts, herbs, chilli and spring onion.
When our main courses arrived, I could see the difference between a restaurant and a bistrot. Restaurants serve their food on odd shaped plates, and when the food arrives one feels guilty to have to destroy the artwork when eating it! The pollock was moist and was coated in a cheesy, herby crust. It was served with some amazing piped mashed potato and creamed leeks. It was sheer comfort food- I dread to think how much cream was in that food!
Given that we'd been seated in the Naughty Room, I felt no shame when sticking my fork in my partner's food. He'd opted for the belly pork (yes, he has it everywhere!) with a wild boar sausage and braised cabbage. He also had a side order of green beans in garlic butter. He was very pleased to see that the pork came with extra crackling! Sadly, I was not allowed any! The pork was sweet and delicious, as were the beans. The sausage was nice, but lack any 'wow' factor. My partner was somewhat disappointed by the cabbage. He likes cabbage as nature intended, ie. raw, and failing that he likes cabbage that tastes of cabbage. Sadly, this cabbage had had the 'Christmas cabbage' treatment, having been spiced, sweetened and cooked until it no longer tasted of cabbage.
Given that I was driving, I was on tap water, so felt like I'd earned a dessert. I went for the simple chocolate brownie and vanilla ice cream. The vanilla ice cream was very good- heavy on vanilla, light on sugar. The brownie was crunchy on the outside, gooey in the middle. Nom nom nom.
The bill came to £66, including service, with only one person drinking. It'd be very easy to rack up a £100 bill if a couple both dined of the a la carte menu and were boozing. However, if this is a little steep, there's always the option to go for lunch, where a two course meal costs £13.95. OAPs get it two pounds cheaper, which is a nice touch.
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