tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20190414373864462182024-02-21T14:49:57.949+00:00Little Chan Food and Travel Blog
Little Chanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05098967887598710314noreply@blogger.comBlogger460125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019041437386446218.post-81092734106623006492013-11-17T19:17:00.000+00:002013-11-18T22:07:32.628+00:00Forest Avenue<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Ciao readers!! My sincere apologies for not updating the blog in such a long time - to cut a long story short, some life changing events have occurred in the past few months hence the lack of entries...</div>
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As I am woefully behind, I thought I would start from the most recent resto visit and when I have more time, write up visits on other eateries that we have been to in the last 6 months, hope you will bear with me :)</div>
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I follow food writer Tom Doorley on Twitter and one of his recent tweets recommended a newly opened resto in town, Forest Avenue. Having done a quick search about it on the internet, there wasn't much info bar a recent profile in the Irish Times. Upon further perusal of their website, I decided to ring up and see if we could bag a table for Sunday brunch (5 courses for 24 yoyos). Luckily, there was no problem securing a table!!</div>
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Even though the website says that they open on Sunday at 1pm (which was also the time of our reservation), the resto already had a few tables seated and eating when we arrived. First impressions were good; the dining room has a lovely contemporary feel with the front part benefiting from lots of natural light thanks to a double height ceiling. I was already told over the phone that it was a set menu of 5 courses (completely fine by us) so it did feel a little weird when one of the waiting staff came to "take our order". We were also given a drinks menu (aka. cocktail list) and were surprised that they did not have any fruit juices available.....even though we were there for brunch? JD does not drink so he was rather limited from any of the drinks.....a suggestion may be that 1) they offer some form of non-alcoholic cocktail or 2) just offer fruit juices and rake in the margin!</div>
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More people started arriving after we had sat down and we were a little surprised when these tables were served food ahead of us. As time went on, I started to get paranoid that perhaps these other tables were getting preferential treatment over us since they were so chummy with the owners. After a wait of almost half an hour, JD enquired about when our food would be arriving to which the response was "soon". You can imagine that we weren't particularly impressed when the food finally arrived and was placed in front of us without an apology.....and the fact that it was the 2nd course on the menu? Luckily for the resto, the food was good but having restaurant service experience myself, it does not take half an hour to plate up 2 orders of granola and yoghurt??!! After we had finished, I asked the waitress when she came to pick up our plates if we would get the 1st course (coffee and donut) later - it then came to light that they had completely screwed up our order as the donuts were supposed to arrive before the granola? Yet another resto let down by service, which stills baffles me!!</div>
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Fortunately, after these few hiccups, things ran a bit more smoothly. The donuts arrived promptly after the granola, as well as the remaining courses. The quality of the cooking was exceptional; when we were leaving, I asked how long the resto had been opened and the response was two and a half weeks so I guess they can be forgiven for not having service completely fault free. I can only hope this will be fixed over time and if so, Forest Avenue is a very exciting and fresh addition to the Dublin dining scene.<br />
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Vanilla yoghurt, house made granola, pear and golden raisin</div>
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Donut (when it finally arrived, yay!)</div>
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I'm a bit of a greedy guts and could've easily wolfed down one twice this size!!</div>
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Soft boiled egg with gnocchi, cauliflower and leek - super tasty.</div>
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(My one request would be a small slice of bread (or large soldier) to wipe up all the gooey yummy mess)</div>
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Venison, parsnip, beetroot and kale - simple but beautifully cooked and again, very delicious. </div>
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Orange polenta cake, tea soaked prunes and salted walnut ice cream</div>
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A satisfying end to the meal but would concur with JD that I am not a massive fan of polenta in cake </div>
Little Chanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05098967887598710314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019041437386446218.post-83714577995998243382013-11-08T21:25:00.000+00:002013-11-24T21:26:18.290+00:00The Greenhouse revisited<div style="text-align: justify;">
As a belated birthday treat, we managed to get a reservation for dinner at what I would consider the best resto in Dublin, the Greenhouse. Its been just over a year since our first visit (you can read about that <a href="http://little-chan.blogspot.ie/2012/10/the-greenhouse.html">here</a>) and it appears the popularity of the resto has not let up. Ringing to make a reservation in October, I was informed that the first table available on a Saturday would be the first week in December whilst the first table available on a Friday was a slightly closer November; we chose the latter :)</div>
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This time, we chose to try the 5-course surprise chef tasting menu with no stipulations other than we had already tried the foie gras royal and deer dishes last year (and the fact that JD is allergic to prawns). I'm please to report that the quality of the cooking has not waivered which is encouraging. Service for the most part was good (in particular, the waiter assigned to our table) but things started to falter when the dining room became more than half-full. This was something we noticed during our first visit, and whilst things have improved a little, there is still a long way to go if the resto wants to achieve Michelin star status (sadly, still no accolades this year). </div>
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Despite some shortcomings, I would have no hesitation in recommending the Greenhouse as the top resto in Dublin from a dining point of view and it would be the first place I would take any of my gourmand chums if they happen to be in town ;)</div>
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One of the highlights of a meal at the Greenhouse is the yummy amuse-bouches which are served :) The glass above was brandade with crispy fish skin</div>
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(Apologies in advance for brevity of description of dishes, forgot to take notes at meal!!)</div>
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Canapes, the larger one included foie gras (cannot remember the smaller one)</div>
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Beetroot marshmallow and fennel meringue</div>
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Foie gras creme caramel with a sweet raising reduction - unbelievably rich but oh so good!! (luckily, we were ravenous at the beginning of our meal)</div>
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Grilled scallop dish (with possibly lobster risotto?) - absolutely delicious, the scallop was SUPER sweet :)</div>
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Wild sea bass with grilled young leeks and mushrooms - lovely but one minor grip that the leek was a little tough to cut with a fish knife (to the point where we needed to ask our waiter for a proper knife to cut said leek)</div>
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Guinea hen with bitter leaves, truffle shavings and brussel sprouts</div>
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Chocolate delice</div>
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Petits fours of rum baba....</div>
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.....and savoury fennel fudge (not a fan), chocolate macaron (nice but the wrong colour!) and sweet fudge (best of the trio)</div>
Little Chanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05098967887598710314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019041437386446218.post-86732485525242166412013-06-03T17:53:00.000+01:002013-06-04T17:53:49.197+01:00L Mulligan Grocer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">JD and I ended our long weekend of gluttony with a lazy lunch at L Mulligan Grocer in Stoneybatter :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Mulligans is a pub with an extended dining room and beer garden at the back specialising in beers, whiskeys and Irish seasonal cuisine. The dining room is lovely and airy; decor is rustic with some charming details such as vintage cutlery, old cereal boxes, old Scrabble letters used as reservation signs and bright flowers in mason jars on every table :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The food did not disappoint and service was of a high standard too, many thanks to the waitress who suggested my beer!! :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A great way to end the long weekend and definitely somewhere that we will heading back to for another visit!!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Porketarian Starter Board of black pudding croquette, slow cooked pork belly and caper rillettes, batter sausage and warm sourdough toast - tasty start to our meal :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My main of hazelnut crumbed Chicken Kiev with chips, beetroot coleslaw and creamed corn</span> </div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Reeling back the years - bill arrived in an old geometry set and with a brown bag of jellies :) </span></div>
Little Chanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05098967887598710314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019041437386446218.post-78576465166794156752013-06-01T17:29:00.000+01:002013-06-04T17:29:43.495+01:00The Butcher Grill re-visited<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">JD and I first visited The Butcher Grill shortly after we moved back to the Emerald Isle last summer. Since then, we've been meaning to go back for another meal but every time we think of going, there are never any tables available. So you can imagine my surprise when we managed to bag a last minute table on the Saturday of a bank holiday at a "normal" time (only requirement was that we needed to sit by the bar)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I wasn't bowled over by the main course the last time we ate here (see previous blog entry <a href="http://little-chan.blogspot.ie/2012/08/the-butcher-grill.html">here</a>); however, I could no find no fault this time in what was a delicious and enjoyable meal. I have my eye on the gargatuan T-Bone to share for our next visit!! :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">View from the bar - brownie points for having hooks on the side to hand ladies handbags :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Starter of Sligo crab, apple, dill and fennel - generous, tasty and nice combination of flavours :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Main of hanger steak with baked bone marrow and roasted onion with sides of cauliflower cheese and fries - sublime meat and wonderfully seasoned!!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Pudding of banana fritter and salt caramel ice cream - tasty but not a fan of soggy fritters, prefer mine nice and crunchy instead!!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Major compliments to the chefs - everything in the kitchen was calm and running like clockwork just like it should. A real pleasure to see when service is run this well :)</span></div>
Little Chanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05098967887598710314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019041437386446218.post-7282222874902318182013-05-29T14:14:00.000+01:002013-06-04T14:15:03.973+01:00Yummy sambos at Juniors :)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">FINALLY!!! We managed to beat the lunchtime rush :)</span></div>
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Little Chanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05098967887598710314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019041437386446218.post-78907354816778285782013-05-18T13:36:00.000+01:002013-06-04T14:09:43.695+01:00Las Tapas de Lola<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I had driven past Las Tapas de Lola a few weeks ago whilst in town and made a mental note to try and visit it in the near future. Our first attempt to eat there was on a Friday night but unfortunately, they were fully booked. This time, I remembered to ring ahead and bagged a table for a Saturday night :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The resto, whilst not in the nicest part of town, is nicely decorated inside. The menu is extensive with some interesting dishes that you might not necessarily find in other tapas restos and staff are very helpful and friendly :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The dishes we ordered were a bit hit and miss but with such a large menu, I am tempted to come back and have another go!!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Bomba de la Barceloneta - large meatball with spicy sauce. Not what we were expecting, tasted OK but the inside was still cold :(</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Mussels - tasty but a little on the small side (we were also given a smaller dish as a complimentary nibble together with a punchy glass of sangria too!)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Empanadas de carne - memories of Argentina!! I liked them but JD not a fan as the filling had olives in them!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Chorizo y morcilla - both a little too chewy for me :(</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My favourite dish of the night - <span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;">Cazuelita de fideuá - a Catalan dish similar to paella which uses noodles instead of rice. Could easily have eaten another plate of this :)</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Churros and tea for dessert :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(yummy langues de chat too!)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We probably ordered quite a lot for 2 people (7 dishes, 2 desserts, 2 tea/coffee and one glass of sherry) but final bill was quite reasonable :)</span></div>
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Little Chanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05098967887598710314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019041437386446218.post-26788298058069745952013-05-10T11:54:00.000+01:002013-06-04T11:55:20.275+01:00Green Bench Cafe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://greenbenchcafe.com/index.html">Green Bench Cafe</a> is a great little spot just off Harcourt Street to pick up some goodies for lunch (on the recommendation of my yoga teacher, thanks A!!) Unfortunately, there is no seating in the cafe (only the bench outside) but its within walking distance from St Stephens Green where there are plenty of spots to enjoy your grub! :)</span><br />
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Little Chanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05098967887598710314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019041437386446218.post-38592613823301771572013-05-05T11:22:00.000+01:002013-06-04T11:42:52.933+01:00Damson Diner<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">JD and I found ourselves in town on a Sunday afternoon of a bank holiday so decided to pop into Damson Diner (had heard good things through a <a href="http://lovindublin.com/#">blog</a> I check into from time to time!) for a spot of lunch :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Despite the resto being around 30% full, the kitchen looked like they were already in the weeds which didn't bode well as they were expecting more customers after us!! The menu available was brunch offerings - surprised to see and hear that they did not offer juices or smoothies (was offered milkshakes instead??!!). I'm imagining its a bit of missed opportunity as I always thought the markups on juices and smoothies were pretty high and easy money to pocket?!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Portions were generous, food and service acceptable - lunch was pleasant enough but I don't think I will be in a rush to return.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">JD's eggs Benedict with on a bed of hash. Looks nice but did not deliver on flavour :(</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My full breakfast - lots to eat and get through but nothing much to savour.....</span></div>
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Little Chanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05098967887598710314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019041437386446218.post-26506883173279962652013-04-27T10:52:00.000+01:002013-06-04T10:52:37.329+01:00Bison BBQ<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">JD and I have always had a soft spot for American BBQ, so much so that we once drove all the way down to Brighton from London just to try out BBQ Shack - one of Jay Rayner's all time best restos in the UK! To be honest, I have no idea why he rates it so highly because its not a patch on our new discovery in town, Bison BBQ!!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="https://twitter.com/BisonDublin">Bison BBQ</a> is located in Bison Bar on Wellington Quay, just on the edge of Temple Bar - not exactly the most attractive section of the quays but on the bright side, close to town :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Orders for food and drinks are placed at the bar, then find a free space and wait for everything to arrive at your table (by the way, reservations are taken as well).</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Our food arrived pretty quickly, everything was very tasty (meat and sides) and I was also amazed by the quality and taste of the meat used (not exactly very scientific here but meat tasting meaty rather than of nothing). Bison BBQ is far, far superior to BBQ Shack - would recommend any other BBQ aficionados to check it out :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">JD's order of pulled pork and pork ribs with burnt end beans and coleslaw</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My "fatty" order of pork ribs and brisket with onion rings and potato salad :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(Homemade BBQ and Mustard BBQ sauces available for free on the tables!)</span> </div>
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Little Chanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05098967887598710314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019041437386446218.post-20995985071722750072013-04-13T09:28:00.000+01:002013-06-04T10:18:31.820+01:00La mère Zou<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Its been more than a decade since the last time JD and I ate at La mère Zou - all the times we had eaten there previously had been positive so I was very much looking forward to dinner after we managed to secure a last minute reservation for dinner on Saturday night :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The dining room has changed since our last visit and has a more informal bistro feel to it - very cosy and welcoming in contrast to the chilly weather outside! Apart from the menu, there was a blackboard groaning with daily specials, all of which sounded so tempting :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Food was delicious and service was friendly and attentive - as I keep saying before, the secret to a good resto is nothing complicated! Yet, only a select few ever get this perfect.....am happy to report that La mère Zou is one of these "gems", bravo! :)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Starter of mussels - super fresh, plump and tasty :)</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Main of turbot, white asparagus, crispy ox cheek and chicken jus</span></span></div>
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Little Chanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05098967887598710314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019041437386446218.post-75904547667763800182013-03-02T08:43:00.000+00:002013-06-04T09:27:39.743+01:00Woeful dining experiences<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After the simply perfect meals which we had experienced in Italy, we were brought back down to Earth quite abruptly with a few bad meals in Dublin. What made it worse to stomach for me was that my bro and Jools had come to visit us from halfway across the world. I had wanted to pick some nice places to eat when they were in town but unfortunately, they ranged from not quite hitting the mark, a real disappointment a decade later and so bad I will NEVER return again!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I decided to choose somewhere quite casual which also served good food, hence the Winding Stair. JD and I had visited the resto at the beginning of the year and really enjoyed our meal (see <a href="http://little-chan.blogspot.ie/2013/01/the-winding-stair.html">here</a> for blog entry) so I thought why not? The resto was bustling on the Saturday night we ate but the service remained pretty good, polite and efficient. The food, whilst solid did not live up to the standards of our first visit - a real shame :(</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I had scoured the net for good brunch places in Dublin and more than 10 years since I last lived here, the general consensus was that <a href="http://odessa.ie/">Odessa</a> was still one of the best in town. I remember the first time I did go for brunch there, it was pretty good but was then disappointed by subsequent visits. Despite this, I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt and booked us in for brunch anyway - I was secretly hoping that in the 10 years we have been away that things may have improved :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Sadly, I was wrong. Yes, Odessa is still as popular as ever for Sunday brunch. Why? I have absolutely no idea??!!! Smoothies and juices were cold, weak and sour. Breakfasts took an age to prepare and were only lukewarm on arrival (worrying that the kitchen is already in the weeds at an early sitting!) Again, I felt bad for taking my bro and Jools here especially since when they are used to the embarassingly good and bountiful spreads that are served for weekend brunch in HK without fail every week :(</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Meal no. 3</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ma and Ba Chan had popped up to join us for my bro and Jools last meal in Dublin before driving them home for a few days RnR. Since it was a week day and taking into consideration Ba Chan's fondness of curry and flatbreads, I chose to take them to <a href="http://khansbaltihouse.ie/">Khan's Balti House</a> in Donnybrook (also close to where JD works). We arrived early evening on a Monday - there was already a large-ish party (party of 10) seated in the main dining room yet the waiter decided that he would seat us (party of 8) right next to them (despite the other side of the dining room being completely empty. After ordering, we then had to endure an eternal wait for our food; despite ordering first among 4-5 other tables, we were served last. Finally, to make matters worse, the party of 10 seated next to us not only increased in size but became increasingly drunk and rowdy. This not only ruined our meal but also culminated in a near serious accident when one pissed out of her mind woman fell backwards and directly landed on Ba Chan. Needless to say, I was beyond pissed off and fuming at myself for bringing my family to the resto and pissed off at the way the staff had treated us. Normally, I do not complain much at restos but when they came to clear our plates, I made it known that I wasn't happy with our meal (Ba Chan started by asking why they would seat us next to the large party of lager louts). To add insult to injury, instead of listening and offering an apology, the waiter decided to throw it back in our face and said it was our fault for being too large a party and therefore, we were served last (no mention about his idiotic decision to seat us next to the other party). By the end of our conversation, Ba Chan, my bro, Jools, JD and I had all weighed in with complaints before the waiter eventually offered a less-than-genuine half-arsed apology. I was disgusted by the whole experience and our treatment that I will never step foot in Khan's again nor do I believe that anyone else should subjected to this.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A guide on how NOT to choose restos to bring your nearest and dearest!!! :( </span></div>
Little Chanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05098967887598710314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019041437386446218.post-8213812415922919652013-02-25T22:57:00.000+00:002013-05-22T22:58:50.332+01:00Trattoria Sostanza<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Before coming to Florence, I had asked an acquaintance through the twittersphere if he could recommend any places for trying bistecca all fiorentina and he suggested Trattoria Sostanza. Reservations were recommended for this resto at all times so yet again, we enlisted the help of our hotel to secure us a table and they didn't disappoint :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The decor resto is "rustic" and feels like nothing has changed in the last 50 years or so (at least!). Even though we had made a reservation, we still had to share a table with other customers (which just goes to show just how popular this place is!). Again, another wonderful evening of great food and service - if only, all restos were like this :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Love the old school fridges!!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The artisanal beer and proscuitto fiend strikes again!!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Bistecca to share.......</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">.....with sides of fagioli in olive oil </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">and spinach :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">One (make that two!) happy bistecca diner(s)!!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My pudding of wild strawberries with sugar and cream - much nicer than French fraises de bois!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">JD's meringue cake :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Note.</b> If anyone plans on visiting Trattoria Sostanza, remember to bring cash are they do not accept cards! Buon appetito :) </span></div>
Little Chanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05098967887598710314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019041437386446218.post-8432694501243553362013-02-24T21:45:00.000+00:002013-05-22T22:11:20.512+01:00Il Santo Bevitore<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">JD and I are off on a sneaky "field trip" to Italy for a few days starting off in Florence. Finding a resto for dinner on Sunday can be tricky which is why we asked our hotel to ring ahead to see if they could secure us a table at Il Santo Bevitore (we had passed by it on a Saturday evening the last time we were in town and had wanted to eat there but sadly, they were fully booked. Luckily, for us this time we got a table AND they were open on a Sunday, yay!)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Had a yummy and relaxing dinner - simple food deliciously cooked with friendly and attentive staff, perfect :)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(Its times like this when I wish we could live in Italy, sigh!)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Love the motif on the napkin, the saintly wine glass :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Italian artisanal beer and charcuterie to die for to start :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I had ordered pasta with N'duja sausage as a starter. The waiter had warned me that it would be very spicy but I thought I would be OK. The Italians are not renowned for their spicy food so I figured I had nothing to worry about......boy, was I in for a rude awakening - this dish was MEGA-spicy!!!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In the end, JD kindly swapped his ribollita for my fiery pasta :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">More mellow main of beef cheeks with mushrooms and polenta </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Deconstructed Mont Blanc for dessert</span></div>
Little Chanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05098967887598710314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019041437386446218.post-19236121126253720252013-02-11T22:39:00.000+00:002013-04-07T22:39:41.298+01:00Jamies Italian, Dundrum<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">JD and I have been to various Jamies Italian restos during our time in the big smoke and we have never been disappointed by them. Food is usually of a high standard and service friendly, efficient and relaxed. Because of this, we thought we would take Ma and Ba Chan to the Dublin outpost of this hugely popular chain for dinner the one night they were in town. Despite being a Monday night, the resto was heaving with people. We were seated in a booth near the back of the resto (and unfortunately, right opposite the toilets) - luckily for us, none of our party were particularly "chunky" in stature otherwise it would've been a tight squeeze as the seating was pretty tight!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Dinner started off well; we ordered a selection of starters to share which were all pretty tasty. Mains arrived and all 4 were either overseasoned or unbearably spicy. A real disappointment after all our experiences in Blighty :(</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Share starters of bread basket, arancini, deep fried squid and meat plank - well executed and generally, pretty yummy</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ma Chan's main of seafood risotto - overpowered by so much chilli that she could not finish her dish</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My main of baked hake - made the cardinal mistake of ordering fish on a Monday!!! Also overpowered by a whopping dollop of chilli sauce underneath the fish!</span></div>
Little Chanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05098967887598710314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019041437386446218.post-89854784172112159882013-02-09T21:46:00.000+00:002013-04-07T21:46:41.109+01:00La Maison<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I have walked past La Maison many times whilst in town and have never thought of having dinner until now (arm got twisted after perusing their menu). We were able to bag a table for Saturday night and luckily, were seated in the (relative comfort) of the main dining room (it was a cold night and did not fancy sitting in their "conservatory" area). The resto was already quite busy when we arrived. However, it was still early for dinner (7pm) so it was little strange to hear that the rib of beef for 2 was already sold out?! A shame as our neighbours were eating it and it did look very tempting!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This was to be the beginning of many things being sold out.....to the point that when our new neighbours arrived to have dinner at 9pm, they were being told that 90% of the entire menu was sold out.....not to mention the various wine options they were picking as well??!! If I thought Ouzos last week was bad being in the weeds with my main course, La Maison really took the biscuit this week - how can someone get the stock ordering so badly wrong??!! In the end, I got off quite lightly as the glass of wine I ordered (which was not on the menu and actually suggested by the staff) and dessert wine were.........you guessed it, sold out!!! Despite the food being moderate, the grosse merde that was service that evening was enough to put us off not returning again!!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Our poor neighbours who were left with a bottle of wine which was maybe their 4th/5th choice, the last remaining portions of starters (possibly 2 choices?) and a handful of mains - shocking!!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My starter of mixed salad of duck and foie gras - I am not the biggest foie gras fan in the world but I did enjoy it a lot :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Pan fried skate wing with brown butter and potatoes - one of my favourite dishes to eat and this one was pretty well executed</span></div>
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Little Chanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05098967887598710314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019041437386446218.post-89970465398052966812013-02-02T16:32:00.000+00:002013-04-07T21:28:54.144+01:00Ouzos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I came across Ouzos through a re-tweet from a food writer who was a fan of the resto's blog (http://ouzosdublin.blogspot.ie/). I also found myself checking the blog whenever it had new entries and thought what was being written made a lot of sense, hence the decision to make the trek to the coast to try out the resto :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We dropped in for dinner on Saturday night and first impressions were good. Service initially was friendly, warm and efficient. After our starters were served, everything went a little downhill. It definitely felt like the kitchen was in the weeds as it took an eternity for our main courses to arrive and at no point, did anyone approach out table to offer an apology for the wait. A shame as I had high hopes for the resto.....</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">Things got off to nice start - steamed pot of mussels with white, garlic and shallot (moules marinières, essentially). Mussels were fresh, plump and juicy :)</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Ouzos surf 'n'turf - the menu claims this is a legendary signature dish but there was nothing very special about it (bar the eternity it took to arrive!). To add insult to injury, my crab claws tasted more boiled than pan fried - if you are going to state the method of cooking on the menu, then at least cook it the right way!</span></div>
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Little Chanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05098967887598710314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019041437386446218.post-25640885271513661272013-01-24T18:28:00.000+00:002013-01-28T18:28:55.758+00:00Asador<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Asador is a recent addition to the Dublin dining scene having opened their doors to the public just before Chrimbo. The name of the resto refers to the name of the grill which is used to cook meat, most commonly associated with Argentinian steak restos. Sadly, Asador is not an Argentinian steak resto but just a resto which happens to use an asador to cook its meats. Nevertheless, the prospect of well-cooked meat was too good to pass up, which is how JD and I ended up having a midweek dinner there. No signs of the recession in Asador as the place was already buzzing with diners when we arrived and full shortly after we were seated! I don't usually comment much about the dining room on my blog entries but Asador really reminded me of a hotel dining room (ie. pretty dull) so I was hoping to be impressed a bit more by the food.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Bread (sourdough and house) - the former very nice, the latter not so much. 4 slices of bread just looks mean in any setting.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The food overall was quite good. My starter of grilled calamari was delicious but I failed to identify any physical chorizo or red pepper on the plate despite it being stated on the menu. I did taste a hint of paprika and red pepper in the sauce so am guessing the ingredients were used in that. I don't have a problem with this but surely, the menu should state "chorizo and red pepper sauce" rather than "chorizo and red pepper"? </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Sauces of smoked bearnaise, roasted garlic and cafe de Paris - all pretty insipid and forgettable</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">JD and I then shared the BBQ Meat Platter for 2, a feast that we were looking forward to. It was a generous platter but any enjoyment of it arriving at our table was immediately sucked away by our waiter. Firstly, he made a grand announcement telling us not to touch our plates as they were very hot (the centres of the plates were warm and the edges stone cold) and when the platter finally arrived, he then spent several minutes dividing up the platter to ensure we got equal servings of everything. Maybe its an Irish thing that platters for 2 people always need to be served individually but it goes against the very idea of a platter which is to share. My definition of sharing in this context would be for the guests to share amongst themselves in a leisurely way rather than a waiter dictating what you can and can't eat. Restos should be one or the other; divvying up platters just highlights the fact that Irish people like the "idea" of sharing but in reality, want their own plate of food. Why bother really?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Delicious banoffee pie - caramelised bananas were a bit of a red herring as only the cut sides of a raw banana were sprinkled with sugar and then presumably blowtorched....</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Excellent chocolate fondant with perfect runny centre</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Desserts were a pleasant surprise and were to a much higher standard than others restos in the city with a higher price bracket.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Overall, dinner was good but service was patchy. Our drinks were left to sit at the bar whilst 10 waiters/servers were working the floor. At one point, a waitress approached the drinks but then walked away after she realised they were not for one of her tables. Between the waiting and being able to see our drinks, we probably would've been quicker serving ourselves. I had highlighted in my blog entries of <a href="http://little-chan.blogspot.ie/2012/08/bite.html">Bite</a> and <a href="http://little-chan.blogspot.ie/2013/01/hatch-sons.html">Hatch & Sons</a> that it was highly irritating for diners to see owner/proprietors lurking around and not actually helping out with service. Well, there was definitely a bit of this happening in Asador but what was more annoying was waiting staff using the space between our table and the bar area as a common area on discussing tables/customers/gossip and therefore forcing us to listen to their conversations. Completely unprofessional and responsibility of this (and the drinks incident) lies with the management. I'm not holding out for much since one of the managers (female) did not acknowledge me when she was taking our dessert orders (I wasn't wearing a suit and did not exude macho banker so didn't deserve to be acknowledged, perhaps?) and we faced the same old problem of not being able to get the bill promptly (despite another managerial head being close by, he did not make eye contact and ignored</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> us 2-3 times whilst passing our table). Asador should do well with its D4 location but there are other restos I would choose to dine again at in the city before I consider a return visit.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A parting gift - one of the "manager types" plonked this down on our table after our main courses were cleared.....why?? </span></div>
Little Chanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05098967887598710314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019041437386446218.post-41310960965347551892013-01-19T01:01:00.000+00:002013-01-20T01:04:05.601+00:00Cinnamon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">JD needed to get a haircut which was the reason for our visit to Ranelagh today. I came across Cinnamon from an online review and my curiosity was piqued after reading that:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1 - there was an attractive display of cakes at the front of the shop</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">2 - Leinster rugby players often head there for a post-match coffee :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We popped into for a late lunch (around 3pm) and the resto was still full of diners. Cinnamon is a spacious, casual eatery (they serve breakfast/brunch all day at weekends) serving the hipper/hipster Dublin crowd. Food on the whole was good (cake selection was sadly nothing to write home about) and service was spot-on too. If only they could focus on the less obvious (but equally important) things of running a resto (such as not leaving a cupboard open so that everyone can see your boiler and cleaning products, checking and cleaning toilets regularly, unpacking retail stock before putting it out on shelves), then it would be pretty terrific. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Popular weekend hangout :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Breakfast salad - generous feed of bacon bits, roasted baby potatoes, black pudding, poached egg and mixed salad leaves. Hard to beat gooey egg with fried spuds and meat....and you can pretend you are being healthy since technically, its a salad. Highly recommended! ;)</span></div>
Little Chanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05098967887598710314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019041437386446218.post-81560951859050151362013-01-18T00:41:00.000+00:002013-01-20T00:43:01.145+00:00The Winding Stair<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Winding Stair has been on the list of restos I have wanted to try since coming home and we finally got around to visit it after seeing it being mentioned in the Dublin episode of Anthony Bourdain's "The Layover" :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The resto is on the North side of the Liffey just a few steps away from the Ha'penny bridge. A bookshop is located on the ground floor with the resto on the first floor....up a winding stair :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We had a lovely meal there; the produce and cooking were of a very high quality, served in a very relaxed and comfortable atmosphere. Service was very good; unobtrusive but efficient, friendly and most important of all, attention to detail. Definitely somewhere that I would like to return for another meal......or two ;)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Starter of seafood chowder; a huge feed in itself.....</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">....especially after I dug my spoon in to reveal a feast of fish and seafood in creamy broth spiked with some punchy pieces of chorizo :) </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Wild venison with colcannon bake, buttered kale, wild mushrooms and plum gravy - very good and went very well with my glass of Touriga as recommended by our waiter :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Pear and apple crumble - served originally with cinnamon ice cream but the servers very kindly swapped that for a scoop of vanilla instead for me. Ice cream was delicious but crumble was a little stodgy; difficult to finish after a whopping bowl of chowder and generous main!</span></div>
Little Chanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05098967887598710314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019041437386446218.post-42189937726052427802013-01-17T00:21:00.000+00:002013-01-20T00:22:02.305+00:00Hatch & Sons<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I had first read about Hatch & Sons in a weekend supplement of the Times in an article about running a successful food business in Ireland. We then walked past the actual premises whilst on our way to dinner at the Cliff Townhouse and I made a mental note to head back for a bite to eat the next time I was in town.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I popped in this week for a spot of lunch and worried that there may be a lunchtime rush, made sure I got there before midday. To my surprise, there were only a few tables being occupied so there was no problem with getting a space (there were a steady stream of customers during my time there but the staff were never in danger of being flat out). There were lots of tempting things to eat on the menu and in the end, I settled for a meat board and mug of tea. All in all, pretty good stuff and service (which started off ropey.....why else would I be standing at the doorway other than wanting to come in and eat??) was pretty good. My only gripe would be that someone who appeared to the owner was on the premises conducting a business meeting. Whilst I have no problem with this, what I do find irritating is bosses then lurking around the dining room (like in Bite) and worse still, checking their mobile phone in full view of paying customers. Get an office!!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Hatch & Sons have only been open for a couple of months but it looks like they are off to a good start, attracting a wealthy clientele and providing some solid food so fingers crossed, they should be able to weather the recession-hit economy...</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Despite it being a grey day, the basement premises is surprisingly light and airy......as though you were overground rather than underground :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A kitchen "island" at the side of the dining room (and right in front of the door) where baked good and condiments are on display</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My meat board of spiced beef, chorizo, salami, roasted roots and soda bread. The meats were delicious despite the chorizo not having the usual vibrant paprika colour. The roots were a nice accompaniment but I would've expected them to be more roasted. Soda bread was not the best I have tasted but it was fresh and home-made.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Update (20/11/13):</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After my visit, I found out that Hatch & Sons are part owned by the Kemp sisters, Domini and Peaches of Itsa Bagel fame. According to my "source", they run a very tight ship at Itsa Bagel therefore I can only assume that Hatch & Sons will be given the same treatment.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Hatch & Sons received a glowing review in the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Saturday Irish Times magazine</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> this weekend - how objective this is unknown as </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Domini Kemp is also a regular contributor of recipes to the same publication....</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></div>
Little Chanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05098967887598710314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019041437386446218.post-32947335495165578612013-01-14T23:49:00.000+00:002013-01-19T23:49:28.401+00:00순두부찌게 (Soondubu Jjigae) - Spicy Soft Tofu Stew<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I'm a big fan of Korean food and a bit of a <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 16px;">라면 (ramyeon) addict too; I always have a few packets stashed in the cupboard for the ultimate mega-quick lunch / hot snack. Of course, they are loaded with all sorts of artificial flavourings and additives (probably the cause of my addiction) and I am constantly scolded by Ma and Ba Chan to stop eating so much ramyeon! :(</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;">With the New Year comes resolutions and one of mine in 2013 is to stop eating so much </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;">라면! </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;">My healthy alternative (to substitute my craving for strong, gutsy Korean flavours) comes in the form of 순두부찌게 (Soondubu Jjigae). I found a pretty straightforward recipe on a <a href="http://kimchimari.com/2011/05/18/soondubu-jjigae/">blog</a> I have been following, pottered along to a Korean supermarket in town (yes, we do have one here) to get the ingredients and hey presto, managed to create a healthy, hot and yummy lunch. Now the only thing I have to do now is control my portion sizes!! ;)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">First step: make the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Yangnyum(양념) which forms the flavouring of the underlying soup...</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Yummers! :)</span></div>
Little Chanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05098967887598710314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019041437386446218.post-5424712166184200702013-01-13T16:33:00.000+00:002013-01-13T16:33:23.221+00:00Little Chan update<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I guess I have kept pretty quiet about what I've been up to work-wise since returning to Dublin, so its probably about time for a quick update :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I was fortunate enough to be able to secure a trading spot at Marlay Park Farmers Market so have been trading there every Saturday selling a variety of cakes and pastries (pics of the products can be found <a href="http://www.facebook.com/gloriouscakes.ie">here</a>)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">. So far, things have been going well and I am really happy to report that I have developed a small following of regular customers which is very encouraging :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Looking forward to 2013, I will be back trading at Marlay Park at the end of the month and will hope to find another market to trade at, as well as a few other potential projects to look into....exciting times but lots of hard work and motivation required, fingers crossed for a good year! :)</span></div>
Little Chanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05098967887598710314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019041437386446218.post-81830696980012142192013-01-12T12:58:00.000+00:002013-01-13T12:58:46.061+00:00Rock Lobster<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Dublin food blog scene isn't as well-developed as in London so hearing about new places to eat can be a little challenging. I first heard about Rock Lobster last week whilst checking into a <a href="http://lovindublin.com/#">blog</a> I read from time to time. The author had just added a post about a place which had what he claimed to be the best and cheapest lobster in Dublin , which was to be found at Rock Lobster. I then rang the resto and managed to bag a reservation on Saturday evening :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The resto was already quite busy when we arrived, a good sign! Once seated, service was prompt, polite and efficient; just how it should be at restos. There were a few blips such as poor management of seating customers at the beginning. The entrance to the resto only allows 2 people to stand comfortably; any more, results in a complete clog. Secondly, JD ordered mussels for his starter which did not come with a bowl of water to rinse his hands (yet they remembered for my lobster main). Lastly, it took 2 servers over the space of 10 minutes to find out if the resto served any dessert wine. The food was pretty decent and prices quite reasonable. I overheard a conversation on the table next to us just as we were leaving that the resto had only been open for 5 weeks. If they continue to maintain this level of food and service, then I wish them continued success for the future.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(One of JD's pet peeves in restos is asking for the bill and then having to wait an eternity to pay - if there is one thing that restaurateurs should look at improving in 2013, then this should be it!! Not a problem usually, but if we had to wait any longer for our bill at Rock Lobster, we would've run the risk of getting a parking ticket!!)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Loving the backs of the menus!! A shame they go to all the trouble of pointing the different cuts of meat on a cow yet only the prime cuts appear on the menu :(</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Starter of crab cake - lovely taste of flaky crab meat in the middle. To be honest, could've done with less of the fried potato strings on the outside, which overpowered the crab slightly. The onions in the roasted peppers were not cooked down enough.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Whole lobster and fries - very generous portion for 20 yoyos! I was given a nutcracker and pick for the getting out the meat from the claws but I think it would've been nice if the kitchen had given us a helping hand and maybe crack the claws slightly before serving. My claws were too big for the nutcracker and I nearly lost them in my efforts to crack them open!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Cheeseboard - nice but not as good as the one at One Pico :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Also unfortunate that our server did not bother to tell me what the names of the cheeses were... </span></div>
Little Chanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05098967887598710314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019041437386446218.post-39976814107596500342013-01-05T16:13:00.000+00:002013-01-13T16:16:09.536+00:00Cliff Townhouse<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">JD and I had wanted to visit the <a href="http://www.thecliffhousehotel.com/">Cliff House Hotel</a> during the Christmas holliers but did not manage to as the hotel was fully booked by the time we decided to try and make a reservation :(</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It wasn't until after the New Year that I found out that the people behind the Cliff House hotel also have premises in the capital called the Cliff Townhouse. Its conveniently located on Stephens Green and is a bar/restaurant with a small number of guestrooms in the same building. We did have an ulterior motive for visiting the resto so managed to bag a reservation for Saturday dinner :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The welcome at the door was warm and professional, with staff to take our coats and then lead us to the table. The dining room is lovely with high ceilings and elegant table settings so first impressions were very good. However, it all started to go downhill when our waiter came to take our order. The individual in question looked like he was a more senior member of staff as he was wearing a suit (and others were wearing aprons) yet he failed to ask the most basic of questions during our order. I had to ask for side dishes which he did not offer and later, I had to ask JD if he wanted a drink because our waiter did not bother asking him, pretty poor!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The food was OK although my whole sea bream was undercooked. No-one came to ask if our food was alright and I did not actually find out that the fish was undercooked in the centre until half-way through my meal. I did not wish to make a fuss, however, I did point it out to our server when he came to take our plates away. In fairness to the resto, a member of staff (presumably the maitre d') did come over and apologise which was fine (they subsequently comped one of our desserts). Service from desserts onwards was restored. It was a mixed night, I did ring the resto the following week regarding my "ulterior motive" which they promised to send me some information via email. However, this has yet to arrive so the combination of this delay plus a so-so dinner means that I will not be considering or visiting it again, a real shame....</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Dressed crab, avocado and Marie Rose sauce - nice crab but sauce was a little overpowering</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Whole seabream with roasted vegetables - generous size of fish and fresh. Let down by being undercooked.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Vanilla ice cream and rhubarb jelly - tasty, especially with the crunchy oat topping but rhubarb jelly did not have much flavour and was too hard</span></div>
Little Chanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05098967887598710314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019041437386446218.post-52897432434480356602012-12-26T12:17:00.000+00:002013-01-13T12:17:41.007+00:00Chrimbo 2012<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I have been notably slack this year during the festive period with cooking and baking. There are valid reasons for this lack of activity which I will hopefully share with you on a later post :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Christmas was a quiet affair with just me, Ma and Ba Chan. Dinner was decidedly low-key (smoked salmon, roast rib of beef and apple pie) but for the first time, cooking (well, me helping out Ma Chan) was quite leisurely and the folks even managed to pop out to the golf course and play a few holes which made them happy!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Usually, people are too tired and still too full to think of dinner on Stephens Day, so this year we continued the low-effort formula and sat down to Chinese hotpot. Luckily, we had enough ingredients (usually the biggest problem) for a real feast - great fun, where everyone helps with the cooking and sharing of the food. I would highly recommend if you have not tried it before :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Before.....</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">......and after! Bon app :)</span></div>
Little Chanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05098967887598710314noreply@blogger.com0