Eat Like Ushi

With a food reputation based upon the many chains and repetitive Chinese restaurants, there isn't much web information about where is recommended in Cambridge.

Urban Larder is a little off-track, moving away from town when walking from the train station. It is known for bakery good, deli items and reputedly soup served in bread bowls.

A morning brunch of pea soup was a little disappointing. It was a decent soup served with slices of sourdough topped with butter. What didn't impress me was the soup was taken out of a plastic container in the fridge, microwaved and served in a plastic (not a bread) bowl and the sourdough slices lacked the acidic tang.

What was much better were the delicious pasteis de nata (Portegeuse egg custard tarts) they sell from Norfolk Street Bakery and the bread loaves from Loaf For Life which included a delicious Russian Seeded Rye sourdough with sunflower & pumpkin seeds. I'd return to Urban Larder for the bakery items but not the soup. However a better idea might be to head to the actual Norfolk Street Bakery and the next-door deli, for the tarts, bread and sandwich lunches.

The other brunch option in town mentioned is Massaro's (for coffee and sandwiches).

Magdalen Arms received a huge newspaper review in 2010 that proclaimed it as not only the best food in Oxford (which it admitted wasn't a huge accolade) but also as some of the best food in the UK. As a result lots of people have made their way here when in town, and because it is a short bus or a 15min walk from central Oxford it does take a small dedicated effort to make it.

Some of the reviews recently have been mixed about the dishes recently being average, duck overcooked and strongly overly salted. But of course some reviews were positively glowing. As usual who better to test than to know for myself? Part of the reason was the lack of other choices that piqued my interest (the other was The Anchor Inn, which I'd possibly try if I visit Oxford again).

- rosemary bread - complimentary first serve, and very highly salted crust, perhaps a little too much. Nonetheless very nice;
- Fish soup & rouille gruyere crouton - a tasty fish soup with small clams and lots of dill. The crouton was more a piece of bread but the rouille & gruyere were quite good toppings;
- Two-way Kerry Hill lamb, mashed potatoes & pickled red cabbage - firstly loin meat picked and set into a terrine mold then deep fried, and beautifully medium-rare lamb loin wrapped in belly. The fried lamb had a rich fatty flavour whilst the roll was soft and tender with a well-salted belly exterior. Excellent;
- Baked vanilla cheesecake & rhubarb compote - dense cheesecake with a few fruit pieces for healthiness.

All dishes were decent, but only the two-way lamb was superb. I chose it based on the fact it was the only single main that was similar to the choices for shared mains, and I have had some of the best meat experiences as shared dishes.

Next time I would order the lamb for myself or ideally to share with others. Mussels are the only other entree and the Toffee or Marmalade Puddings the only other desserts that sound good. Otherwise an extra main could be a better option, since the mains from other tables looked great too.

During the Easter break, overseas travel sadly wasn't an option. As a result I had to look at the domestic offerings of places to explore. After much internal turmoil, I eventually decided upon a weekend in Oxford and Cambridge. Neither are particularly known for food. Oxford at least does has a better reputation, although much of what I read seemed to follow the theme of 'this place is good, but not London good'.

The Big Bang has nothing to do with the TV show, science nor the creation of the universe. It actually refers to the restaurants specialty in sausages or 'bangers'. Apparently it is much nicer in summer when the sausage range is BBQ'd outdoors on the patio, drinks flow freely and in the evenings there is either live music or a dj. However I went in the midst of cold during the day, so had nothing to look forward to except a rest from the weather and some decent sausages.

The menu is quite clever and comes as a newspaper combining some history of the restaurant, the menu and also some recent news regarding the restaurant.

Considering the restaurant name, you really shouldn't choose anything other than sausages. The Big Bang selection of your choice of 3 sausages, mash and gravy is really the only thing worth getting on your first (and if it likely will be your last) trip due to the ability to sample variety. My sausages were the classic Oxford (pork, sage), Wild Boar & Pigeon, and a special of Curried Pork recommended by the waiter. This was served with carrot & swede mash and red wine gravy.

The Curry Pork was the most distinctively flavoured with a powerful curry hit (and a little spice); the Oxford is a soft blend of tasty meat; Wild Boar & Pigeon had a firmer texture and a nice but not special flavour. The mash and gravy were fine as extra filler and flavours, but I much prefer my sausages on their own and without the gravy (otherwise I like ketchup and mustard usually).

Next time I would order any Curry sausage and try a few of the other different specialty ones on offer. For a first time, I suppose the city's own Oxford sausage should be mandatory too. Overall the meal was satisfactory without being anything to go out of the way for. Maybe in the sun with some atmospheric music might make it more of an experience.

The burger craze hit London. After the opening of MEATliquor and franchises, every food van and American company was suddenly announcing new venues. Not many of them are located in 5 star hotels in Knightsbridge and so it seemed reasonable to see if paying all that extra for a gourmet burger was worth it.

Although the burgers read like a dream of ingredients (BB - beef patty, foie gras, red-wine braised short ribs, truffle, frisee, horseradish mayonnaise, confit tomato, black onion seed bun; Piggie - beef patty, BBQ pulled pork, green chili mayonnaise, bibb lettuce, red cabbage slaw, cheddar bun), the sheer number and differing items made it difficult to appreciate. In fact, the much simpler green chilli cheeseburger at MEATliquor gave me distinct quality flavours, more enjoyment and at 1/2 to 1/3 the price.

The thick medium rare patties at Boulud were welcome but it seemed hard to justify the price in the end (especially when no sides are included).

My preference lies in MEATliquor and Tommi's.

My favourite London food place of 2012 had to be Pitt Cue Co. Neil Rankin was the ex-head chef of Pitt Cue Co before moving on to other ventures. His latest was moving into the bar John Salt in Angel. Although the menu didn't seem to feature the complete meat focus of Pitt Cue Co, it looked like a great reason to try for a special occasion in February.

Their is a large bar downstairs for casual stragglers and a more formal dining area upstairs for bookings.

- Raw beef, pear, sesame - cubes of nice chewy beef and pear with an Asian inspiration;
- Cod, foie gras, tempura, blood orange - perfectly cooked cod complemented well by tart blood orange. Couldn't detect any foie gras;
- Crab & fennel on pork skin - salty crisp pork skin was a bit too powerful to eat with the salad of crab meat, fennel, dill;
- Mussels - unfortunately small meat but cooked in a delicious orange spicy sauce of white wine and nduja (a southern Italian pork spread);
- Pork hash - pork belly, shoulder and shin, crispy fried potatoes, egg yolk. Beautiful flavour and textures in all ingredients;
- Skirt steak with kimchi hollandaise - beautifully tender medium-rare beef cutting easily, a rich spicy kimchi sauce of magic;
- Aged dripping frites with pulled pork, kimchi, cheese - not the best fries themselves, but topped nicely with pork slivers, cheese, spice;
- Keveral salad - raw greens, nothing more, nothing less;

After the feast above for 3, dessert was tempting. We only ordered the trifle, but as it was a busy night we were complemented another for the wait.

- The banana dog - squishy banner, an incredibly sweet caramel coating and some refreshing ice-cream;
- Old fashioned trifle - sweet cream topping blood orange, meringue pieces and sprinkles.

Next time I would order with my focus on the mails. For me the Pork Hash and Skirt Steak were easily the best two dishes, and the Mussel sauce equally great. I imagine the Rib for 2 would be fantastic - just like every meat dish from Pitt Cue Co.

BLINIt is a small cafe specialising in Russian blinis. They are large buckwheat pancakes cooked fresh on a hot plate, topped with a variety of ingredients before being folded and served as a parcel.

Mine was topped with pork mince, lettuce, tomato and a savoury mayonnaise. It was served with piping hot pancake and meat and contrasted by the cold rich mayonnaise. A delicious snack indeed.

Being extremely cold and in a Russian cafe, I also had their borcht, which was rich red riddled with beetroot slivers, minced beef and hearty meat-based stock.

The prices are cheap, the servings are large and the food is certainly winter satisfying.

For an unknown reason, someone decided it would be a good idea to put a rice paper roll stand inside an eco-friendly design store in the middle of Helsinki. It certainly wasn't a bad idea and seems to reinforce a small trend of Asian-concepts/Finnish-versions of food.

The place is popular with elderly ladies gossiping over rolls and coffee, families out shopping with their children, and the occasional trendy young females eating healthy. Their is a variety of rolls to pick from, the focal ingredient being beef, pork, prawn, tofu etc. You can order the rolls on their own or as a lunch set with a salad.

On my day, I selected 3 rolls - prawn & mango, raw salmon & beetroot, rare beef. Each was filled with vermicelli, lettuce and a sliver of herbs. A nice thin nuoc mam dipping sauce was provided for authenticity. I partnered it with a salad of sweet potato, greens & walnuts and some warm green tea for my chilled blood.

It served a nice healthy breakfast in a relaxing mini-cafe setting. The rolls are tasty without being superb but certainly provide a nice change from the food of mainland Europe.

The first tapas experience of the trip was met with much anticipation. Honestly I thought the venue would be more a typical tapas bar, when in fact turned out to be a sit down restaurant. It was a reasonable warm winter day so we sat outside in a specially erected tent. 

I ordered off the Catalan menu which shocked the waiter who couldn't understand why I wouldn't order from the English menu, even telling me at one point the prices are the same. What can I say - I like reading Spanish menus and find it useful to learn for those times that menus are only in Spanish. Tossa seems to be suggested for their croquettes. Other than that I liked the look of the larger dishes on the menu than the tapas.

- Pan con Tomate - complimentary/service-charged bread with tomato drizzle excellently salted and simple delicious. The best version I had in Barcelona all trip;
- Les Croquetes Foie €1.6pp - foie gras fried croquettes with a nice delicate crisp shell & a soft filling that didn't quite remind me of foie gras. Still tasty;
- Cloises salsa verda €10.5 - steamed clams in a gorgeous strong buttery garlic sauce that I had to stop myself from drinking off the plate;
- Tortilla Patatas €2 - Spanish silky egg omelette with soft potato chunks. A well made version of the simple classic;
- Polpo a la Gallega €11.5 - tender octopus Galician-style (boiled with paprika) although the method isn't one of my favourites. Vowed to stay with grilled or fried from now on;
- Chorizo a la Sidra €6 - sliced chorizo cooked in cider. Typical chorizo with the cider adding a slight sweetness, but I wouldn't get it again as it seemed to mask the flavour rather than enhance it. 

Next time I would order Ceps Croquettes (likely to be stronger flavour than the Foie) and the Clams (can't see it on the menu, perhaps it was a special?). The bread should be automatic but if not, specifically request it. They offer grilled octopus, prawns and calamari which I find generally to be safe bets.

In a quieter area outside the main ring, Quimet y Quimet is listed on every tapas list I could find online. The location near Parallel station makes it convenient just prior to taking the cable car up to Montjuic. 

The place is small and cosy, with neither the staff nor menu in English. It didn't stop me from ordering confidently although there was one surprise due to my poor translation. 

- Langostinos pleads 6 u - 6 succulent cleaned peeled prawns with a touch of pepper for merely €4.70;
- Navajas - nicely chewy razor clams steamed with a touch of paprika;
- Anchoas con Piquillo Montaditos - bread topped with red pepper, anchovy, garlic & olive which was as good as it sounds;
- Salmon, Yogourt y Miel Trufada Montaditos - misinterpreted trufada as truffle/mushroom when it is actually honey, dripped onto smoked salmon & cream cheese. Different but sweet & smoked;
- Carrillada de Cerdo Ibirico - wasn't sure what this was other than something to do with pork so ordered it wanting to be surprised. It was cold boiled slightly dry pork leg with mushrooms & chips. More filling rather than memorable as such but I'm glad I tried it. 

The food quality is great especially at the prices. It probably reflects the location outside of the main centre and dedication to travel there. High recommendation - if you can't read any Spanish menu, be happy to be creative.

Next time I would order any selection of prawns, razor clams, anchovies, mussels, oysters etc. (which are my seafood staples with tapas). Their is a large variety of montaditos all similarly priced and every one I saw other people eating looked delectable.

Los Toreros has the fortune of being one of the very few tapas recommendations that is actually right in the heart of the tourist centre of Barcelona. It is just north of the market and very close to Las Ramblas. Judging by the guests and recommendations from stickers at the front door, it seems popular with the French.

They are particularly renowned for serving Rabo del Toro - bull tail stew as their famous tapas. Unfortunately on this evening they didn't have any available. Initially that turned me away, but after a short walk around and careful reconsideration of the area I returned hungrier. It was a good decision at reasonable value also. The sangria washed the food down well.

- Boquerones Rebozadoes a la Andaluza (breaded anchovies) €5.9 - great meaty anchovies lightly fried;
- Chipirones Rebozados (small fried calamaries) €5.95 - really juicy calamari pieces with the best light wispy batter that melted in your mouth. Sensational;
- Lomo a la Gallega (pork fillet specialty of Galicia) €4.9 - the only slight let down with dry slices of boiled pork fillet, olive oil and a sprinkle of paprika. Like Galician-style octopus (which I also am not a fan of) except with pork;
- Paella de Mariscos (seafood paella for 2) €25.8 - nice collection of prawns, mussels and lots of calamari chunks embedded into smoky paella rice. My only criticism would be there was no crunchy burnt rice parts. 

I would definitely come back for the food and especially location.

Next time I would order Fried Calamari and Seafood Paella. If available, the Rabo del Toro should be tried. Additionally there is a large variety of tapas to choose from at reasonable prices.