Days out don't get better than this: Experiencing Masterchef Live

MasterChef Live
11-13 November, 2011
Olympia London
http://www.mastercheflive.com/

Like many people with more than a passing interest in food, I am a self-confessed Masterchef addict. I'll watch any version; the normal one, the celebrity one, the Professionals, heck, I've even enjoyed John Torode praising spag bol on the Children's Masterchef. It follows then, that I've wanted to visit Masterchef Live for a few years but have never quite managed it. This year, however, my trusty friend Project: Goddess and I set off for Kensington Olympia armed and ready for a day of foodie fun.

Offical publicity shot of day one


The basic ticket cost around £20 but we also signed up for sessions in the Chef's Theatre where Gold tickets set you back a tenner and the back rows a fiver. Our first session was with Michel Roux Jr, a man we both love to watch on the Professionals. His recipe of gnocchi with wild mushrooms looked delicious and easy to replicate. He was interesting and informative as well as being much funnier in the flesh than he is allowed to be on Masterchef where he is positioned very much as a man to be feared.

Waiting for Roux


At the end of the half hour slot, it was announced that Michel Roux would be doing a book signing which led to an enthusiastic stampede of foodie fans rushing to purchase copies of his 'Cooking With the Masterchef' tome. Meeting him was a true delight, he's genuinely a lovely bloke and this was the undoubted (and unexpected)highlight of our day.

After this, we tried out the Masterchef Restaurant Experience which offers the chance to sample small plates of dishes from a range of restaurants. Firstly we tried the Cola-Braised Pork Belly, Carmelised Celery, Fondant Squash, Roasted Baby Turnips, Shelled Peas, Miso Mustard and Dashi Sauce from 2011 Masterchef champion Tim Anderson which was flavoursome and well cooked.



I then tackled a Cape Sante in Padella – pan fried scallops served in their shell with lentils de Castelluccio, pancetta, red chilli, parsley and chopped wild rocket (5DC) from Theo Randall and was especially thrilled to see Randall himself cooking away in the tiny kitchen! Project Goddess sampled an apple crumble and custard from Gregg Wallace's Wallace & Co and reported it to be delicious, as you might expect from a man so famously in love with puddings. The restaurant experience isn't cheap - the dishes we tried were 5 DC (dining currency) each which equates to £5 of normal money, and the accompanying wines are also priced at 5 per glass. It's a fun experience though, allowing you to work out what types of food you want to try, and which restaurants you'd like to add to the do-to list.

Scallop by Theo Randall


Our second chef's theatre session was a cook-off between Tim Anderson and 2010 Professionals winner Claire Lara. It was hosted by Gregg Wallace and John Torode and characterised by a great deal of banter between the two. Claire cooked a red mullet dish with potatoes and braised lettuce whilst the ever-quirky Tim produced an edible hen's nest (!). He was judged the winner and we were just disappointed that we didn't get to try either of the dishes for health and safety reasons.

After this we wandered the veritable banquet of stalls and suppliers on offer, sampling a good range of cheeses, wines, liquers and oils. It's tempting to spend hundreds of pounds on the produce but I came away with some artisan chocolate, some Shropshire blue cheese, and some banana and garlic chutney from The Garlic Farm for the other half. You can easily while away several hours on the producers' stalls, and if you're in the market for gifts it does offer some unusual options.

Our final chef's session was a cook-off between John and Gregg. Both made fairly predictable dishes - John went for beef and Gregg a pudding, knocking up a fabulous looking Christmas Yule Log. Like the earlier session, they were hilarious, keeping the audience entertained whilst also offering some good tips on how to cook perfect steak or whip up the ideal butter cream.

The show at dusk


As the day wore on we began to flag a little but found the Masterchef demonstation stage to be a little oasis of calm. At this point, many people were starting to leave but we enjoyed demos from recent Masterchef contestants Sara Danesin, who created a venison and chocolate dish, and James Perry who produced some interesting looking chocolate spring rolls. Feeling a little peckish again, I tried a Rice Noodle & Beef Salad with Mint & Peanuts from the stand from John Torode's Smiths of Smithfield restaurant and found this full of fresh mint and crunchy nuts.



Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed the day and were especially impressed with how much contact you can have with the stars of Masterchef. Admittedly, whilst John and Gregg and possibly Michel Roux Jr are recognisable to the wider public, not everyone would be as excited as we were to see Tim Anderson or Alexis Gauthier walking around or to have a photo taken with Monica Galetti. Throughout the day we caught sight of these and others including Michael Caines, Nick Pickard, Andi Peters, Jackie Kearney, and Tim Kinnaird and even John Torode was freely roaming around, giving us a cheery "hello" at the book stand. If you know who all these people are then you can see why we had such a good time. If you don't, then I think you'd still enjoy the live shows, the competitions and the food stalls.

We're already planning next year's trip and maybe this will inspire some of you to go along as well.

PS - Apologies for the cheesy title but I couldn't resist.

The Garden by the Sea - Penarth dining to-do list

Since moving to Penarth last year, I've tended to frequent the same few places to eat; the new Pier 64 in the Marina, the tiny Japanese San Kai which I constantly rave about, La Marina at the Custom House, and Ocho Lounge in the town centre.

However, Penarth is teaming with other places to visit so in the interests of research, I'm going to make a more concerted effort to try some new places and report on their foodie offerings.

So far, I've amassed the following. Do let me know if there's anywhere brilliant you think that I should try.

* The Fig Tree - I've heard mixed reviews but am intruiged by their chef's evenings and vegetarian Mondays. I'm also a sucker for places with sea views so their spot, on Penarth Esplanade, is enough to tempt me in.

* Cafe des Amis - Only noticed this place nestled next to the Washington Gallery a few weeks ago. Tea and cakes by day, candlelight and some tasty-sounding dishes by night mean that this is probably number one on my list.

* North Meets South cafe - Located at the top of Windsor Arcade this offers a range of interesting burgers and dishes from various cuisines and South African theming. Intruiging.

* Villa Napoli at the Glendale Hotel - The website promises an award-winning Italian experience whilst the menu offers a comprehensive range of dishes and a well-priced set menu.

* Neale's Restaturant at Holm House Hotel - A confession: I've looked for this hotel on Marine Parade a few times and never been able to find it. But once I do I'll be raring to try their Welsh inspired menu including dishes like Wild Sewin, or Welsh Pork Filler with Gwnt Y Draig cider, Carmarthen ham and mushrooms.Grady Atkins was their Head Chef before his recent move to the Park House in Central Cardiff.

* Jaflon - A Bangladeshi restaurant on Albert Road that was recommended in a Wales Online survey of best Indians in the area. They say "The lamb tikka starter is beautifully sweet and crispy on the outside and tender all the way through. The side salads are perfectly presented, the main course curries all haveconspicuously different, and interesting flavours and the service is polite and friendly". And that's good enough for me.

* Last but not least, The Olive Tree on Glebe Street. Recommended in the 2011 Michelin Guide and with a Head Chef trained by a chef from Le Gavroche, it's certainly on my do-to list asap. There are the usual A La Carte menus, an epic looking Sunday Lunch, and an early-bird option of 2 Courses £13.50 and 3 Course £17.50 before 7pm or 2 Courses £18.50 3 Courses £22.50 after 7pm.

If you've never ventured to Penarth to eat before, I recommend it. There's a range of choice and cuisine on offer as well as some great places to drink. That, however, is for another post...

300 Dishes Around the World: Red Hot World Buffet

Red Hot World Buffet
03-06 Hills Street
St David's
Dewi Sant
Cardiff CF10 2LE
Tel: 029 2034 2499
http://www.redhot-worldbuffet.com/redhot_cardiff.html

We all have our expectations of all you can eat buffet restaurants. They often involve lukewarm food congealing slowly under hot lamps, being elbowed out of the way by people jostling for tepid onion rings, and dishes often lacking their key component due to people shovelling the best bits of the dish onto their plates with gusto. A king prawn noodle dish without any king prawns, anyone?

Along with a range of other guests, I was invited to the launch night of Cardiff’s latest buffet restaurant Red Hot World Buffet but, due to other commitments, was unable to attend. You can read some thoughts on the launch on the blogs Cardiff Bites and Corpulent Capers . However, I was invited back to try the place on another evening and so ventured along with my other half last Friday night.*

Although located down on Hill Street, which is primarily an walkway linking the original St David’s shopping centre with the monolith that is the newer St David’s 2, Red Hot looks inviting from the outside with some dramatic flames and the ability to see inside through the huge glass windows. It was busy throughout the evening but didn’t feel too cramped, despite its size and capacitty. We were greeted by Sachin Bajpai, the Head of Brand and Corporate Marketing at the Red Hot company, who gave me a tour of the restaurant and introduced the mission statement of wanting to take all the good elements of a buffet and make them better. The emphasis is on service and quality of food, and he illustrated the ways in which the food is replenished and cooked with a focus on the customer being able to watch the dishes being created in front of their eyes.

In comparison to other Cardiff buffets there is logic to Red Hot that seems designed to prevent you from the usual all you can eat sin of throwing together random dishes onto a plate. A macaroni cheese taco experienced this year in America is a fine example of such culinary confusion. The flow of the food area presents salads and the sushi and fish first, before moving fairly logically from the Italian section of fresh from the oven pizzas and a live cooking pasta bar through to the British section (including some tasty cottage pie), the more typical fare of Indian and Chinese dishes, to the Tex Mex section and to the ready prepared desserts. The only lack of logic seemed to me to be that the live cooking dessert section was oddly located on the opposite side of the food area to the smaller desserts.

So, to the food. In the press release before the launch Helen Dhaliwal, Director of Red Hot World Buffet & Bar gave this comment; “At Red Hot, we aim to turn the image of the all-you-can-eat buffet on its head. Many people associate buffets with sub-standard cuisine, with vast vats of food that have been stewing all day. At Red Hot, our five-star chefs will cook food freshly to order in front of our customers’ eyes, so they can enjoy food of a very high standard.” How much does the restaurant live up to this aim?

Well, it's certainly better than any current buffet in Cardiff. Some dishes are obviously better than others but highlights were a freshly prepared creamy pesto pasta, the fresh salads, the Tex Mex tacos, and a small dish of lamb with spicy couscous. The sushi was slightly disappointing, however, and was the only thing that seemed like it had been sat out on display for a while. There had also been a case of shrimp theft by over-zealous eaters since the mooted shrimp and vegetable noodle dish only contained vegetables when I began to eat it. Not being a dessert lover I don’t feel qualified to pass judgement but my partner enjoyed the fresh waffle and banana ice-cream.

I’d return to Red Hot again in the future and its certainly somewhere I’d chose to go for a meal before the theatre or cinema, or whilst on a shopping trip. I like the policy of offering dishes in small ready-sized portions in bowls , like canapés, and there’s enough variety to ensure that a future visit would allow me to try the other cuisines on offer. It seemed to be very busy and I’m sure it’ll be a success. It may not be to everyone’s taste but it’s certainly a promising alternative to the existing buffets in the Cardiff area.

Costs: from £7.99 for lunch and from £12.99 for dinner.

• In the interest of transparency, our food and drink was complimentary on the night of our visit.

Masterchef Experience, Filini @ Radisson Blu

Radisson Blu Hotel
Cardiff,
Meridian Gate,
Bute Terrace,
Cardiff,
Cf10 2FL

As a newcomer to the world of food blogging, I was delighted and surprised to be invited to take part in a Masterchef experience at the Filini restaurant within Cardiff's Radisson Blu hotel. The invite promised a live cooking session with the head chef Mattias Wenngren and the chance to sample both dishes from the Filini menu and some of chef's other creations.

I somewhat nervously set off for the Radisson Blu, wondering whether my culinary skills were up to it. I needn't have worried since it was a wonderfully informative and fun evening throughout. There was a small group of people taking part, fellow food bloggers Cardiff Bites and Ur Last Mouthful, a journalist, and two of the PR team who set the event up. The small size of the group meant that the experience was informal but chatty and it was great to talk to the rest of the people there about cookery, restaurants and so on.

The evening began with a glass of Rose Prosecco and a wide range of antipasti including cheeses, meat, rosemary bread, olives, sundried tomatoes, some delicious piquant balsamic onions. Yum. After watching our desserts of panna cotta being made, chef Mattias knocked up a very simple salad of grated courgette, almonds, lemon and parmesan. This is something I could definitely try to recreate at home and was delicious and simple with some fresh flavours and bite from the almonds.

We moved on to make a squid salad – a dish that is on the Filini restaurant menu. Again, this was a simple but tasty dish of hot squid cooked in olive oil and lemon with chilli flakes and served on a bed of rocket, parmesan and sundried tomatoes. I was entrusted with mixing the salad ingredients and the dish overall was fabulous – the combination of squid and parmesan with the salty tomatoes was a taste revelation.

Our fourth dish was a pizza made by Mattias who added some rosemary oil, sea salt and pepper to a pizza base before topping it off with honey! When cooked it was topped with prosciutto and parmesan and to my surprise, the sweetness of the honey and the saltiness of the ham did work well together. Another very successful sample.

The next recipe was a bit of a challenge and was, by chef’s own admission, thrown in to challenge us and push our boundaries of taste. He rustled up a strawberry risotto which is as odd as it sounds. Mixing risotto rice with strawberry jus and chicken stock sounds weird and when it was finished off with some mascarpone cheese, parmesan and small pieces of strawberry soaked in balsamic vinegar it was a truly different taste experience. The texture and colour were not to my taste and the group remained divided over the success of this particular dish. One I’m glad to have tried but not something I’ll need to try again!

Although approaching the point of being very full, the food continued to arrive. Next up was another dish that can be found on the restaurant menu – a delicious spinozi pasta with crab, cream and mussel jus, and some wine, tomato and parsley. This was my dish of the night and I could happily have taken the leftovers home and carried on eating. The pasta was perfectly cooked and the sauce and crab were delicious. I’d absolutely order this dish if at Filini.

The final course of the savoury dishes was lamb with mixed forest mushrooms. The lamb was tender and pink (as it should be) and the mushrooms had great flavour despite being cooked fairly simply.

After our journey through the savoury courses, we retired to the restaurant for a coffee and our desserts. Not normally a dessert fan, I found these to be sweet and creamy and just the right size to finish the meal. After some further chatting, I made my way home, stuffed but happy and having picked up a few cooking tips along the way.

Overall, this was a wonderful evening and a real privilege to be able to spend time with the chef who not only produced some fabulous food for us but was a pleasure to talk to. Whilst I remain unconvinced by strawberry risotto, I’d certainly visit Filini to try some of the other dishes on the menu in the future.

Review: Severnshed, Bristol

Severnshed
The Grove
Bristol
BS1 4RB
For Reservationst: 0117 925 1212
info@severnshedrestaurant.co.uk
http://www.severnshedrestaurant.co.uk/

The weekend before last I ventured over the bridge - well, under the Bristol Channel - to meet up with a friend of mine, the lovely Project: Goddess for lunch. Since we needed somewhere within walking distance of Temple Meads train station, we decided to visit Severnshed on the waterfront. I went there a few years ago for a hen do and remembered the food being fairly good, so we were happy to give it a try.

Before lunch we stopped for a mid-morning hot chocolate at the Mud Dock Cafe which is just a few steps away from Severnshed. An unusual place, located above a bike shop the menu looked great, offering some tempting brunch treats and some interesting specials. Next time I'm in Bristol I'm planning to try out their food.

To lunch itself then, Severnshed was as nice as I had recalled and offered a relaxing lunch in some well decorated surroundings. It was quiet for a Saturday lunch time and the staff were just attentive enough without us feeling like we were being rushed out of the door.

To start we shared a bread board of freshly baked bread served with extra virgin oil and balsamic (£3.95) which was much larger than we imagined but which offered a good range of breads. We werent too sure about the point of the breadsticks which were fairly useless at soaking up the accompanying oil and vinegar though.



For our mains, Project: Goddess opted for the chicken supreme of cornfed chicken breast with pancetta, savoy cabbage and carrots topped with a white wine sauce for£10.95. This was well presented and a good size portion, accompanied by some amazingly cheesy and rich potato gratin. I was quite jealous.



My own Achilles heel compelled me to order the House Fajitas, offered with cajun chicken, beef rump or tiger prawns. I opted for the chicken which came with the usual fajita accompaniments of mixed peppers , chillies , onions and garlic with flour tortillas spicy salsa, grated cheese, guacamole + sour cream. At £14.95 it was a little more pricey but an ample portion with extremely well cooked moist chicken, some tangy fresh guacamole and crunchy peppers.



Our only real complaint was with the state of the bathrooms which were far below what you'd expect in a place like this. Entering the shared bathrooms, seperating women from men with flimsy partitions more likely to be found in school toilets felt like walking into another, poorer, establishment. A real shame and, whilst it didn't detract from the overall success of the lunch, it's details like this which could do with some attention.

Overall, though, a good place for a casual lunch or dinner with solid, good-quality food and a good ambience.

Eating in America: Food is a theme park

I’ve recently returned from two wonderful weeks in Florida, doing the theme parks and generally having a brilliant time. Food was, of course, a key part of the trip and although I removed my foodie blogger hat for much of the time there were a few thoughts I wanted to share and some places I wanted to recommend for any intrepid traveller heading to Orlando any time soon. This post focuses on the food experiences within the parks themselves, primarily Disney. We sampled a range of food from the exquisite in EPCOT’s Coral Reef (see below) to the truly dreadful (giant mutant turkey legs sold for $10 from carts). Here, I share some of these experiences…

San Angel Inn, EPCOT, World Showcase
Website: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/san-angel-inn/

The San Angel Inn, based in Mexico within EPCOT is one of many highly recommended restaurants within World Showcase. The big names currently are the always highly mooted Chefs de Paris in France and the more recently acclaimed Le Cellier in Canada. As fans of Mexican cuisine, however, we opted for this experience and were not disappointed. Whilst the counter service option in Mexico churns out the typical nachos and chips we would expect, the San Angel offers an entirely different Mexican cuisine experience. With many menu items taken from its parent restaurant the San Angel in Mexico City it seeks to offer a more authentic taste of the country than the fajitas, tacos and burritos offered in the UK might suggest.

Having a close friend from Mexico who opened our eyes to dishes such as Green Nachos, Sopa di Lima and other bona fide culinary delights, we were pleased to find that our main courses of Sirloin con Chilaquiles (Grilled sirloin with chilaquiles (layers of fried corn tortilla, green tomatillo sauce, topped with queso fresco, onion, and sour cream) and served with black refried beans reminded us of our friend’s cooking in the best possible way. The steak was perfectly cooked and the accompanying tortillas added a subtle spice and warmth to the dish. My Dad’s Enchiladas Verdes con Pollo (Corn tortillas filled with pulled chicken, covered with green tomatillo sauce, topped with sour cream, queso fresco and onion) and my Mum’s Pollo a las Rajas(Grilled chicken breast served with a cream sauce of red peppers and onion strips, poblano rice, and queso fresco) looked good and received positive feedback. The steak dish cost $23 whilst the two chicken dishes were priced at $16-$17.

For those on a budget there is a set lunch which costs $25 for 3 courses. The San Angel is not a cheap experience (even at lunchtime when we visited) but it is good value for what you get and is also incredibly romantic, being located inside but under a permanently starry sky. It’s also one of the only places we came across that offered what we have come to know as ‘proper’ Mexican cuisine.


Coral Reef, EPCOT Future World
Location: The Seas with Nemo & Friends Pavilion
Website: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/coral-reef-restaurant/

Another of EPCOT’s prime eateries is the magnificent Coral Reef, a seafood restaurant whose big lure is that the dining room faces onto the giant aquarium that forms part of the theme parks’ The Seas exhibit. The chance to watch fish, turtles and other underwater inhabitants whilst you eat seafood could seem somewhat perverse but the restaurant is actually a relaxing and impressive spot. We couldn’t have been sat further away from the aquarium, sadly, which since we booked online the very day that bookings for our date became available was disappointing. Once wonders who you have to bribe at Disney to be sat right in front of the giant fish tanks! Service, however, was efficient but friendly and the food was out of this world. Across the group we opted for lobster soup with tarragon and brandy ($7.99), fish tostadas with lime ($8.99) and crab cakes with tropical fruit salsa ($11.99), and each dish was a triumph, offering both the flavour of the sea and some other complementary tastes. The lobster soup was rich and distinctive whilst the tostadas were both textured and soft. The crab cakes were so nice I didn’t get a sample but am assured that they were equally delicious.

Fish tostadas


For our main courses we all selected different types of fish to sample, choosing Lobster Ravioli with Rock Shrimp, fresh Tarragon, and Lobster Cream ($26.49), Seared Rainbow Trout with Warm Salad of White Beans, Arugula, Tomatoes, Crispy Bacon, Aged Balsamic Vinegar, and Brown Butter ($19.99), Seared Scottish Salmon with Black Rice, Fennel, and Cardamom-Cashew Butter ($22.99) and my own selection of the Grilled Mahi Mahi with Rock Shrimp, Hearts of Palm, Jasmine Rice, Cilantro, and a Coconut-Lime Sauce ($24.99). Having never tried Mahi Mahi before I was impressed, it’s a firm fish that was more than able to withstand the other flavours on the plate, working especially well with the coconut and lime combination. There are steak and chicken options on the menu but, in a place specialising in seafood, it seems remiss to try anything else. The menu offers wine recommendations to accompany your chosen main course and my Riseling did work well with the mahi mahi. I’d suggest trusting the recommendation even if, as I found, the wine is not something you’d normally chose to drink.

Mahi mahi


Salmon (front) and trout (back)


Lobster ravioli


Despite being full of wonderful fish, I forced myself to try the Baileys and Jack Daniel’s Mousse which came with a Caramel Crisp ($7.99) whilst my Mum opted for Cheesecake Napoleon served with Berry Compote ($7.99). The mousse was rich in flavour, both creamy and with the slightly sharp cut of whisky through it whilst the cheesecake was, sadly, devoured before I could try it.

Coral Reef is at the upper end of what you might pay in a Disney restaurant and I was deeply disappointed in our table given the promptness of our booking but this didn’t tarnish what was otherwise an unusual and interesting dining experience.

Portobello, Downtown Disney
Walt Disney World® Resort
1650 Buena Vista Drive
Lake Buena Vista,
Florida 32830
Phone: 407-934-8888
Disney line: 407-WDW-DINE
Wesbite: http://www.portobellorestaurant.com/

I heard about Portobello in a guidebook, urging the Disney visitor not to overlook it since it’s located near the Fulton’s Crab House restaurant, impressively located on an old steam boat, and the T-Rex Café with its gaudy yet fun giant dinosaur skeletons luring you in. Portobello, on the other hand, is a relatively unassuming neutral building with little gimmick to attract the busy tourist as they navigate Downtown Disney. Convinced, however, by the recommendation we visited on our final night and experience what, for me, was a definite tie with Coral Reef for best meal of the holiday. Portobello offers Italian dishes with a modern twist although many classics can also be found on the menu. As with many eateries on Disney property, the place was heaving with people but we never felt crowded or rushed despite it also being a busy Friday evening.

Two of us selected starters; I went for calamari, whilst the soup was also selected. The calamari was plentiful but not overwhelming as many American platefuls of food can be, and was served with a tart tomato basil sauce. My main course was also delicious, black linguine with Florida rock shrimp and a sauce of garlic, tomato and asparagus. The flavours were unusual together since this was my first experience of black pasta, but the textures and tastes worked well together. Am definitely buying myself some black pasta to experiment with at home. My partner’s Chicken Farfalle of Wood roasted chicken, snow peas, asparagus, tomatoes, parmigiano cream sauce was creamy but not cloyingly rich whilst my parents choices of Ravioli Gigante (ricotta and spinach filled pasta, tomato, basil, toasted garlic) and Penne Bolognese (in which you could really taste the flavours of both the beef and pork) offered further evidence of some of the excellent dishes on offer. Alas, too stuffed for dessert, the total bill for 2 starters, 4 mains and 4 drinks was, with currency conversion, under £80. When the bill arrived, we felt a little like we had robbed the place.

Black linguine & rock shrimp


Chicken farfalle


Raglan Road Irish Pub, Downtown Disney
1640 E Buena Vista Drive
Lake Buena Vista
Florida
32830
USATel: Work (407) 938-0300
Fax: Fax (407) 938-0310
Email: hello@raglanroad.com
Website: http://www.raglanroad.com/

Whilst the familiar dishes of bangers and mash, fish and chips, and Irish stew looked tempting, we only had drinks at Raglan Road. It’s a huge monolith of a pub, boasting an authentic bar that was shipped to America from Ireland and is a lively and bustling place to stop for a drink. It’s expensive as all Disney bars are at around $8 for a 175ml glass of wine but a nice place to watch the world go by from. It’s also attached to Cooke’s of Dublin, a sit-down or takeaway fish & chip shop which smelled divine but, alas, was not something we had the chance to experience. Next time, though…

Yak & Yeti Café, Animal Kingdom

In the theme park homogeneity of burgers, hot dogs, fries and doughnuts this little fast-food outlet, located in the Asia part of the park, brought a smile to all our faces. Mass-produced it may still be but I’ve never been so happy to be faced with options such as sweet & sour chicken with boiled rice or orange beef. The Yak & Yeti restaurant is also supposed to be excellent and it’s definitely on my to-eat list on the next trip.

Giant turkey leg carts, Various Disney Parks

Carts that sell turkey legs should have been avoided at all costs but curiosity got the better of me on our final day. If you find yourself feeling similarly curious, please don’t. Ten dollars would have been better spent on anything other than this greasy, salty-but-otherwise-tasteless lump of meat, the size of which borders on the absurd. Avoid.

Happy birthday ffresh

ffresh restaurant
Wales Millennium Centre
Cardiff Bay
Tel no: 029 2063 6465
http://www.wmc.org.uk/eatanddrink/ffresh/45151/

Despite only being what can loosely be called a 'food blogger' for a few months, I was lucky enough to be invited along as a guest to ffresh restaurant in the Wales Millennium Centre to celebrate the restaurant's second birthday. I've only visited once before - at an academic conference dinner - but had been impressed by the quality and consistency of the food and the helpful staff both before and after the evening.

I was also very excited to hear that the meal would be overseen by the restaurant's consultant chef Shaun Hill, from the Michelin-starred Walnut Tree in Abergavenney. I hoped we'd be in for a special night and were not disappointed.

The evening kicked off with some gorgeous canapaes of crisp warm blue cheese and sesame biscuits (as my Cheese loving other half exclaimed " you can actually taste the cheese!") and warm and moist Arancini with a lovely taste of mushroom. This was served with a fruity and fizzy wine from the Ancre Hill Vineyard and kicked the evening off in style.

We were lucky enough to have a seat in front of the kitchen and, along with chatting to fellow bloggers and other guests, this provided a great deal of entertainment. It was wonderful to see the chefs working and to feel part of the action.



The first course was red mullet with anchovies and herb crème fraiche. It was my first experience of this fish and I was impressed; the creme fraiche was creamy but light and the dish was a wonderful introduction to red mullet.



The main course consisted of roasted partridge with its own pudding, hispi cabbage and lentils and what I think, in my ignorance, was a potato fondant. Whilst I'm sure the cooking skills here were good I wasn't taken with the taste of partridge (another first for me), finding its gamey meatiness too strong for my palette. Strangely, it reminded me of liver in its strength and I'm not sure I'd order it from a menu out of choice. The sauce with the dish was lovely and rich but a little more would have been nice - the meat was also a little dry for me and some more sauce would have compensated for this. I was also confused by the pudding - it seemed eggy in texture to me and, again, was too strong for my tastes.



The dessert of hot chocolate fondant, hazelnut praline sauce and vanilla ice cream however, was a masterpiece. A hush descended on the room as we ate the soft pudding, oozing with chocolate sauce and the sticky nut sauce. Despite the apparent obsession of Masterchef contestants with making chocolate fondant I had never had one before. Even as a non-dessert lover I was utterly converted. Truly one of the best puddings I've ever experienced.



Overall, the evening was a great experience and it was also lovely to see and meet some of the Cardiff foodies I follow or chat to on Twitter in the flesh. As a newbie to the world of food blogging - and as something I do for fun - I felt privileged to have been allowed to go along to this. Whilst I'm not sure I'll try partridge again, I'm now on the hunt for a chocolate fondant to rival Shaun Hill's and am also about to place an order for some Welsh wine from Ancre Hill. We'll also be returning to ffresh in the very near future to try out some more of their food. I sincerely hope they get to celebrate more birthdays in the coming years.