Guest blog entry from Lee - Holden's Ice Cream, Edgeworth, Lancashire

Sometimes, you can taste tradition; the elusive flavours that can only be passed down from generation to generation whose brilliance would, if written down, evaporate. Such unwritten perfection is found in the village of Edgworth amidst the moorland between Bury, Bolton and Blackburn. Drive past on any sunny day and you shall see a queue stretching down the otherwise unremarkable street, as people come from far and wide for Holden's traditional vanilla ice cream. Holden's ice cream is lovingly charmed out of the little fridge behind the counter by an old woman who is almost certainly the kind of granny who arrives bearing a bag of assorted sweeties when she comes to visit. She probably gets them from the shelf that eager customers queue in front of, as Holden's is also the village shop, selling everything from bread and eggs to washing up liquid and tea bags. Be assured though that most people will be queuing for the ice cream. It comes in only one flavour, but what a flavour! It's the taste of childhood glee and friendship and sunny summers. The best way to enjoy it is to take your cornet with its captured cloud of ice creamous wonder down to the Wayoh reservoir (take the public footpath down the side of the Black Bull pub) and reflect on how good to you life is sometimes. Address: Holden's Ice Cream Blackburn Road Edgworth Lancashire
Open Mon-Sat (I assume it's not open on Sundays. Beware the lunch hour when the shop closes).

Lee

Home made cakes

(Above): The cake I made for Hazel's birthday. I'm not great at cakes - this one was slightly lopsided, but I was quite pleased with it.

(Above) This is the Victoria Sponge that Lee made over the weekend. I sadly didn't get to try this one, but i'm hoping he makes it for me at some point as it looks delicious (and he assures me he was very happy with it!)

This is the cake we all need to aspire to. One of the best cakes I have ever eaten (actually, quite possibly the very best). This is a chocolate cake made by Anjana on Saturday. It was intensely chocolately, very moist, and beautifully presented (as you can see!)

Restaurant Molzmuhle, Wegberg, Germany

The very best restaurant I have eaten at this year, was very nearly not documented in these pages. Hours of Google-searching different combinations of 'watermill - German - restaurant - near - Monchengladbach' proved fruitless in discovering the name or location of this wonderful place I'd visited in April with Rebecca (who is such a good hostess, it was the third time I'd been to stay with her in Germany). She couldn't help me either, being away with no internet access. I sadly resigned myself that this exquisite dining experience would remain unblogged, until I miraculously found a flyer for Hotel-Restaurant-Molzmuhle hidden amongst a pile of random bits of paper from various travels. (The flyer, like the website (and the menu) are entirely in German, but thanks to the powers of technology, an acceptably translated version can be found here - I say acceptable, but do notice the reference to 'erotic vegetables' on the translated menu page!)

So often when travelling, the restaurants you visit are the ones you walk past, but the joy of having a friend whose local favourite restaurant is in a forest in Wegberg, meant that I experienced a place I never would have found on my own, which was so good that it made me radically rethink my impressions of German cuisine.

The building is a beautifully restored 17th century watermill, and dinner was a candle-lit affair (would definitely score highly as a romantic location, but was no less lovely for a girly evening of indulgent food and drink), and the service was impeccable - the waiter didn't speak much English, but was very friendly and tried to be as helpful as possible. So this wasn't an issue - Bec helped translate the menu for me and we'd soon ordered. The wine was wonderful, and the bread was warm and served with exciting condiments.

My starter was a tart of french onion and gorgeously creamy and rich cheese. Bec's mushroom soup was one of the freshest and most flavoursome I'd ever tasted (she kindly let me sample some). Portions were generous and very artistically presented.

This was followed by an amuse-bouche of very small pieces of rabbit, which sadly didn't look very appealing. It wasn't quite to our tastes but we sampled it all the same.

Luckily, we were far from disappointed by our main courses. We were both delighted by our respective choices - seafood for Bec and roast chicken with incredible flavour for me. But the delight levels (already very high) went through the roof once we reached dessert. These were quite possibly the two most beautiful and indulgent desserts I've ever seen and tasted.

Apple strudel ice-cream.

Chocolate brownie with poppy seed ice-cream - lusciously chocolatey and gooey.

Overall:

Atmosphere: This place feels special (as being in a 17th century restored watermill should feel) - a good balance of relaxed and romantic.

Service: Attentive, professional and friendly.

Food quality: It looked amazing and it tasted even better.

Value for money: A three course meal with wine came in at EUR 50 a head, which is pretty good value indeed for the quality of what you get.

Overall: Highest mark possible 10/10

Contact details:

Restaurant Molzmuhle

In Bollenberg 41
41844 Wegberg

Germany
Tel.: 02434/99770
http://www.molzmuehle.de/
molzmuehle@t-online.de

Parisian Guest Blog Entry from Pam, '14 juillet', 14th arrondissement. Paris.

It is often said, and not entirely unjustifiably, that French waiters, and in particular Parisian waiters, are snooty at best and downright rude at worst. But the 14 juillet is an example of quite the opposite. Right down in the south of Paris, there is none of the touristy unpleasantness of bad food and rushed atmosphere here. The manager takes great pride in the number of regular customers (indeed, the couple that introduced me to the place eat here about once a week), and now greets me as an old friend when I turn up, and knows exactly what wine I’ll enjoy.

The food is as French as it comes – free saucisson on arrival, then very decent sized starters, followed by a good selection of fabulously rare meat options (they will serve it to you well-done, but only with a bit of a shudder, and the result is still what most Brits would consider medium rare) with plenty of rich creamy sauces. There are always a couple of lighter fish options, but this is a restaurant that doesn’t cater to hardcore vegetarians. But perhaps the real reason people come here is for the desserts, and to be more precise, the profiterole (singular form is deliberate). The biggest profiterole you have ever seen arrives at your table, and just when you’re asking yourself where the chocolate sauce is, you see (or usually smell first) the giant pot of chocolate sauce coming your way, to be ladled on until you say stop. Good news is that you are more than welcome to share starters and desserts (I have what has been referred to as a “wholesome” appetite and yet I have never managed a full three courses here all to myself). Drinks are a very important part of your meal here, with an aperitif suggested to go with the free saucisson, then a wonderful selection of wines, and why not a little digestif at the end of the night?

This is a restaurant in which to spend an evening, rather than a place for a quick bite, and its popularity means that you may well need to book ahead.

Atmosphere: laid-back and friendly. Can be quite lively depending on the manager’s mood and how many birthdays there are (the whole restaurant is expected to sing!). Service: chatty and relaxed.

Value for money: prices are a deservedly a little higher than some of the more standard brasseries in the city, but still reasonable given the quality and quantity of food on offer.

99 rue Didot

tel 0033 (0)1 40 44 91 19

Pam

Food pictures - Chez Kathleen

Leg of Roast Lamb, as beautifully cooked by Kathleen, using James Martin's handy hint of adding anchovies to increase flavour and meatiness. Worked fantastically well.

It tasted delicious, especially with the addition of her home grown herbs, and roasted cherry tomatoes.

Waitrose Chocolate Cheesecake. Highly recommended, as is the lemon variety.

Fairtrade cup of tea on the Guardian.

Crumpets for breakfast, enjoyed with local honey.

The Regency Club, Edware, Middlesex (UPDATED)

First impressions can be misleading. I originally posted about The Regency Club a few days ago - but after re-visiting last night, here follows an updated review (this time with pictures!)

The menu is extensive (and laminated). The food is not usual Indian-Restaurant fare. It would be far better to think of it as Indian Pub Grub - inexpensive, no-nonsense stuff with a lot of the qualities of home cooking. The main one being authenticity.

The previous visit was on a Tuesday night where the atmosphere was frantic and sports-bar like. Unexpectedly, on yesterday's Friday night visit we found the place had a far more relaxed atmosphere, (perhaps as there was no sport in sight). It felt like a lively pub - busy but not hard to find a table. The service was also far better (don't visit on a Tuesday as we did last time - it's the day off of the person who gave us really fantastic service)!

It would be a crime not to have starters here. The amazingly juicy and succulent chicken wings were as fantastic as last time. The mogho (fried cassava chips) we enjoyed last time were good, but this time we were recommended the garlic mogho instead, which turned out to be absolutely fantastic. The crispy freshly fried chips have an amazingly tasty seasoning - not just garlic, but a wonderful combination of flavours.

I was so pleased with the mogho and the chicken wings, I was almost reluctant to taste the third starter ordered - shish kebab - but this was just as delicious and well-flavoured as the other two dishes.

Then onto main courses - firstly murry chicken (chicken curry with loads of black pepper). I love this dish as it has such a different flavour to normal indian curry dishes. The pepper gives the chicken a really distinctive aftertaste. It was great with naan, but a little bit too spicy for me just with rice (I regretted not ordering the chilli paneer to go with it this time, as the sweetness of that dish would have been helpful to counteract the spiciness!) We also had 'handy' chicken (a special of the day - chicken currry cooked on the bone, which made it extra succulent. My dad loved this dish - it tasted just like my mum's cooking, which proves the authenticity of the food here. The vegetable dish we had, okra (also known as ladyfingers), was once again wonderful, and I actually preferred it to they way my mum makes it at home! High praise indeed for indian food, which I usually always enjoy in restaurants as it can't live up to her cooking!

To finish we shared a pistachio kulfi (indian ice-cream) - which I could only manage a few spoonfuls of having eaten so much, but needing something to counteract the spicy food. It was good kulfi - creamy and with a good flavour.

Overall:

Atmosphere: Relaxed and laid back. Pubby. Not very sports-bar-like this time, so a vast improvement on last time.

Service: Attentive and efficient. The food did come very quickly, but we were hungry and so this was most appreciated.

Food quality: Exceptional. Every single dish was quite fantastic. It was spicy, but with lots of flavour and not just heat. The authenticity was amazing.

Value for money: Three of us ate a huge amount of food, and had plenty to bring home with us in a doggy bag, for about £15 a head including drinks. brilliant value considering.

Overall: 8.5/10 - I will be trying to get my friends to come here.

A plethora of photos - Home Made Desserts

Strawberry Cheesecake as made by my cousin Anjana.

An incredible Banoffi Pie (also made by Anjana)

A beautiful Baked Alaska, as made by Graham's mum.

The tirimasu of joy that Sofia unveiled at her 'Come Dine With Me' themed dinner party should also be on here, but alas, I don't have a photo that could possibly do it justice. Fia, please make it for me again so that I can photograph it properly!

Breakfast at Mallory Court Hotel

I firmly believe that there are few things in life more wonderful than a full english breakfast. I'm not ashamed to say I love them in their many varieties. When I lived in Bristol I was spoilt for choice - there were the many hangover-aiding breakfasts in Havana (Cotham Hill), the great-plan making ones with Rachael in the second-hand bookshop, Circles (Bedminster), and an amazing greasy-spoon breakfast (complete with endless mugs of builders tea), with Lee in the now sadly defunct York Cafe.

Hotel breakfasts are a different beast entirely. The big chains do big buffets but eggs, bacon and sausages are far from appealing when cooked in advance and left under bright lights to keep warm. Independent hotels are far better with breakfasts cooked to order. Rachael always insisted that the inclusion of hash-browns was of optimal importance in the breakfasts of the hotel she managed, and I agreed with her. But the quality can still be variable.

The breakfast at the Mallory Court, was quite possibly the best full-english i've ever had. Aesthetically it was beautiful, and the quality and flavour of the sausage, bacon, eggs and mushroom were quite amazing. The portion may look small, but the richness of the food made it the perfect size (even with the pictured fried bread swapped for toast). I'd opted for poached eggs after Graham inspired me by ordering some, and we both found one with a wonderfully runny yolk, and one with a harder yolk. The precision with which this had been accomplished made me think that this was done purposefully, but it is mere speculation on whether they did this to hedge their bets on the diner's preference.


From the moment we walked into the breakfast room, the service couldn't have been more attentive and professional. Being a huge fan of tea, I loved the ceremony that of having tea leaves and tea pots. All I needed was my cooked breakfast, but the continental buffet looked ample and well stocked. The addition of freshly squeezed fruit juices was also a very appealing touch.

Overall:

The quality of the food and presentation made this the classiest full english i'd ever had, and the attention to detail and professional friendly service, in lovely surroundings made for a rather wonderful breakfast experience.

10/10

The Brasserie, Mallory Court Hotel, Near Leamington Spa, Warwickshire

I hadn't expected a good meal that evening.

Plans remained mysterious, and all I knew about our destination was that it was "5 minutes away from the M40" - a phrase which led me to genuinely expect us to be heading to a Travelodge and dining in a Little Chef (actually - as unpleasant as eating in Little Chef is, I would quite like to visit the one that has had the benefit of the Heston Blumenthal makeover).

But I had very much underestimated Graham's proficiency at finding a beautiful country house hotel (found via this aptly named website) earlier that day during his 5 hour transit wait in Moscow. We had an amazingly luxurious room in the main building of the Mallory Court Hotel, and the wonderfully friendly staff recommended we visit The Brasserie for dinner. Not quite sure what to expect, we made the two minute walk to the restaurant in the hotel grounds.

We were greeted by more friendly staff and had a drink in the stylishly art deco bar. There was none of the usual downfalls of hotel restaurants - oppressive silence and lack of atmosphere being the worst offenders. Instead there was the great combination of smart interiors, helpful staff, a good number of other diners and a relaxed atmosphere. We perused the various menus (a la carte, daily specials and vegetarian), which had a good mix of options without being over-long, and we chose quickly (although I found it difficult to decide between halloumi or a blue cheese souffle starter).

We were then shown to our seats in the restaurant, which had a totally different feel to the bustling brightness of the bar. It was a romantic atmosphere, with tables in a softly-lit conservatory. We quickly ascertained as we were given the choice of a variety of bread rolls, that this was the most classy establishment that we'd had dinner at together.

Graham's starter was the exotically named 'King Crab Thai Style Nage' (we didn't know what a 'nage' was - neither did the waitress- although she found out it was pronounced 'nagee') - it was under the 'soup' section and sounded good, and I opted for the pan friend halloumi with salad, lemon and capers. Both dishes were beautifully presented. The 'nage' was a white, creamy crab soup which was given a kick from spring onions, and was much enjoyed.


My first impression of my halloumi dish was that it was a small portion, but the amazing taste, quality and richness meant it was actually just the perfect size. The halloumi wasn't as overly salty as it can be, and the richness was wonderfully offset by the capers and tomatoes.



The high standard of food in terms of quality, flavour and presentation, continued to the main courses. Graham opted for the daily special - beef bourguignon with mashed potato and carrots, and I went for the penne with butternut squash, sage, parmesan and parma ham. It was the best pasta dish i'd had in a very long time. The parmesan and butternut squash made for a velvety smooth cheese sauce with the deeply robust flavours of the sage and the ham. It was blissfully good!

As Graham had opted for beef, I couldn't sample his dish, but he rated it very highly, and we were both far too stuffed to contemplate dessert.

Overall:

Atmosphere: There were just the right number of other diners and it was classy without being oppressive- the bar was stylish but relaxed and the restaurant was romantic but still relaxed. Ideal in terms of atmosphere.

Food Quality: Wonderful! Only complaint would be the slightly dry bread rolls, but the mains and starters were quite perfect.

Service: Friendly and attentive without being obtrusive.

Value for Money: Even though some of the dishes on the menu are pricey, our dishes were great value. The dish of the day is £8.50 and includes a glass of house wine, and a starter for £3.50. I didn't go for the deal so my starter was £6, but my main course was only £6.50. So excellent value considering how satisfied we were with our meals.

Overall: 9.5/10 This is a fantastic restaurant in its own right, but I found it even better comparing it to other hotel eateries that i've experienced, as it gets atmosphere, food and price right, which is a rare find in these situations!