Address: 23a St Mary’s Row, Moseley, Birmingham B13 8HW

Telephone number: 0121 442 22 22

Website: N/A

Date of visit: 17 December 2009

Approximate cost per head: £15

Comments on wine list/beer: Small wine list at lowish mark up, cobra on tap

Summary:
This is my daughter’s local – she and her friends eat here regularly so it should be good value for money.

The room looks like a converted warehouse with exposed brick works and wooden beams. This is another one of those places that has no table clothes but you get a decent napkin. It is otherwise pretty smart and they don’t do dosa or table naan. ( My daughter informed me that she has never come across table naan in Birmingham.)

The menu is quite extensive and it includes a whole page (inside cover) on what Deolali is or means –  sent to jail. You have to read the long version yourself if you go there.

The most interesting part of the menu are:

They offered food cooked in the tandoori oven but you can’t get plain tandoori chicken or mixed grill.

They offer a variety of seafood (not just prawns).

Coming back to the food, we had green masala salmon, chicken pathia with aloo gobi and sag on the side, pilau rice and a naan. The popadoms to start with were warm.

Lets start with the naan, it was thin and slightly crispy instead of the usual doughy version. Very nice. All the food came in rice bowls – mains and starters except the naan and popadoms. Now the interesting thing is that they charge £7.50 if you have the side dish as a main and £4 if it is on the side. So if you order it as a side dish, you will get as much as a main at significantly lower price.

All the main meat and fish courses are around £10 or over. The salmon was nice so was the chicken pathia. The sag was cooked and not wilted. Another interesting observation was that the dishes came with a toping of green onions instead of coriander.

The total bill including a bottle of pinot grigio and a pint of cobra came to £53.85 (service not included). I like the place but I think this place caters to non Indians rather than Indians. However, there was a table with 4 Indians  (male businessmen in suits). I have to go to Southhall and eat with the real McCoy to see what the real ethnic scene is all about.

Eddie

Location: Birmingham City Centre (from New Street all the way up to Council House)

Opening Hours: 10am – 9pm from mid November – 23 December every year.

Website:http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/frankfurtmarket

Summary:

This is my second vist to this market – came last year. Its a hugh market with around 100 stalls selling anything from craft to food. The arrangements seemed identical (who and where) to last year.

There is a food court at the Colemore Row end of Council House. There you can eat  (hot food) and drink beer and wine.

The hot food stands include: burgers or mushrooms with fried potatoes – not McDonald and chips, crepes, flamed grilled hams with coleslaw etc – this is a very impressive stand jsut to watch, pretzels filled with various fillings, garlic bread, grilled german sausages in buns etc…

The drinks stands offers a variety of german beers (which you will not easily get here) on draft. There are also a variety of mulled wines. With drinks you pay a deposit of £3.00 or £3.50 on your glass or mug which you will get back when you return your glass. You are also encouraged to walk away with the glass as a souvenir. The food range from about £3- £7 depending on what you are buying.

At the otherend of the Council House, you can sample German wine and if you go right up to Paradise Circus, you can find a few interesting non German stalls selling organic cider and various crafts.

There is also another “pub” selling beer half way up New Street. You can also find a baker (various type of country and rye bread with a selection of cakes) and a German Deli up this end of the street. The Brockwursts are excellent – £20 for 20 – I buy them every year. They also sell cheese.

Throughout the market you can get all sorts of sweet things from chocolates to stollen etc……

Most of the shops are craft shops selling games, pottery and art deco type products.

This is a fun place to come – if it stays dry, as its all out doors.

Eddie

Dec 2009

Address: Unit K2, Birmingham Bullring, (outside on Park St) Birmingham

Telephone number: 0121 633 9853

Website: www.mountfuji.co.uk

Date of visit: 17 December 2009

Approximate cost per head: Less than £10

Comments on wine list/beer: None on the menu but the loyalty card offers Asahi beer

Summary:
I was killing time in the Bullring when I came across this small restaurant.

There are no individual tables but long bars with bar stools.

The menu has all usual “common” Japanese dishes: bento box, yakisoba, deep fried cutlets with penko, Japanese curry and rice………sushi and tempura.

I tried the chef selection of sushi at £5.95. It turned out to be thin slabs of fish on a lump of vinegary rice. The fishes were prawn, eel (both cooked) , raw salmon and a white fish – no tuna. It was ok – much better than the packed stuff you buy in supermarket and significantly cheaper and about the same quality as Yo! Sushi in the basement floor of Selfridges (also in the Bullring).

The mixed tempura – vegetables and prawn – was a bit greasy but again fine for £6.65.

The bill with sencha (tea) came to under £15. They also have an online shop (see website)

Park under Bullring or any other city car park.

Eddie

Name of publication: Times Online

Web address: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article6912665.ece

Date: 17 December 2009

Title of article: Chefs and their mums

Review:
Very interesting. Recommended.

Eddie

Name of publication: Daily telegraph

Web address: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/6817867/Chardonnay-descendant-of-peasant-grape.html

Date: 17 December 2009

Title of article: Chardonnay

Review:
Interesting article re the origin of Chardonnay. The author is obviously not a wine buff as he didn’t point out that
(i) nobles in the “old days” prefer sweet wines and (ii) the great white wines of burgundy are nearly all chardonnay based – the difference being the terroir.

Eddie

Name of publication: The Guardian

Web address: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/dec/17/food-waste-campaign-climate-change

Date: 17/12/2009

Title of article: Food waste: food for thought

Review:
Not wasting food will not save the planet. But it could make a real contribution. Wrap, the anti-waste organisation, has just updated the startling evidence it uncovered two years ago that showed how every household wasted on average £420-worth of perfectly good food a year (and more if there were children at home).

Damian@bottlesandcooks.com

Name of restaurant or pub: New Four Seasons

Location: 18 Malvern Road, Powick, WR2 4RU

Web site: www.fourseasonsrestaurant.co.uk

Telephone number: 01905830 238

Date of visit: 16 December 2009

Approx. cost per head: £17.50

Comments on wine list/beer: Better than average for an oriental restaurant

Media link:

Review:
I went there with a group of friends and we had the set meal A at £17.50 per head. There was a set meal B at £22.50 per head and an a la carte that includes thai and malaysian dishes.

The set meal A offers a starter of “dim sum” followed by 5 other dishes including a fried rice.

To cut the story short, this is a place for westernised oriental food.The starter consisted of ribs coated with a yogurty sauce – sharp and sour, the spring rolls were filled with a cheesy curd, the deep fried prawn and the sea weed (cabbage) were ok.

The main course of 4 dishes were, beef, prawn, duck and pork. 2 taste of sweet (not sour) and the other two savory.Nearly everything came with brocolli florets and carrots – which made it look very pretty. We also added a portion of crispy duck which was ok.

Althought the place was pretty full, this is the sort of place that ethnic chinese are unlikely to eat in as there were too much sugar and MSG in the cooking.

We had 2 bottles of sparking chardonny brut at £16 each. It was drinkable and taste like cheap supermarket champagne.

The portions are generous and thats about the only good thing.

There is a car park outside which can take 20 cars.

Eddie

Hello. We shall begin publishing in this section just as soon as we start receiving your comments about or reviews of foodie newpapers articles or magazines. To contribute to this section please click here.

This is a very easy recipe.

Get some de-bone salmon steaks – farmed. As this has a strong flavour, wild will be a waste of money. Cut it into 2 inch or 5cm slabs. This works best if the skin is left on or it could fall apart when you turn it.

Marinate this in the special marinade.

Heat an oiled heavy bottom frying pan that can go in the oven – cast iron is best. When it is sizzling hot – a drop of water will evaporate.

Put the salmon skin side down for 5 minutes. Turn the salmon so the skin is now facing up and put the frying pan in a very hot oven (200 degrees C) for 8 minutes. Rest for 2 minutes and serve with a green salad using a balsamic dressing.

Marinade:

Blend one pack of brown (savory) miso with one cup of sake, one cup of mirin, quater cup of “dark” soy sauce – light will also work but does not give it the colour – a piece of ginger (approx the size of your thumb), quarter cup of brown sugar, quarter cup of fish sauce and two clover of garlic. Blend this till smoothish. Marinate fish in this for 2 hours, turn regularly. You can buy miso from Chinese and Japanese supermarkets or the clearspring jar from Waitrose or Sainsbury.

The marinade will keep of 3 months if you freeze it after use.

Location: Ombersley, Worcester, WR9 0EW

Telephone number: 01905 620552

Approx. cost per head: £26

Comments on wine list/beer: Interesting list based mainly on New world wines

Summary:

I am back with a group of friends for  Xmas lunch, I thought that it merits a new write up.

The set lunch – starter, main course, desert and coffee – is now £26.

I have been told that the chef was the head chef at the Worcester Golf and Country Club – a bastion of middle England, no riff rafts. However, his cooking was deemed too fancy so he was replaced. He then came here and along the way, recruited staff from Brown’s. This place is now deemed to be one of the top three restaurants around Worcester. The others being Brown’s and Glasshouse. They all get 2 knives and forks in the Michelin Guide.

We chose the Roquefort soufflé and confit of duck. The soufflé (all 5 of them) came same time as the confit and was light and well liked. I had the confit which was served with red cabbage, it was ok – I would have liked the cabbage to be less sweet and the duck skin crispy. There is a trick to this. If you want you confit crispy, cook it separately in a very hot oven and do not cook it in the sauce. This also squeezes out the fat from the confit.

For main course, we had the pheasant with faggots, sole, braised beef and wild mushroom and stilton tart. I had the tart which was top marks. The surprising thing was that it came with deep fried gnocchi which was a first for me and it is like a firmer version of croquette potatoes, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The sole was served as a cross (2 pieces) resting in a vegetable narge. The beef was a thick lump cooked untill it is just falling apart in a reduced red wine sauce. I tried a bit of the pheasant and the faggot and was slightly disappointed to discover that the caul was still fatty. Caul is used in a lot of French cooking to keep the bits together and to moisten it. It is basically a “net” of fat. However, the trick is to finish anything – pate, meat balls etc in a high temperature oven so the fat melts away.

For desert, we had the usual suspects – crème brulee, sticky toffee pudding. Cheese was £1.50 extra and it was a nice selection of local and French cheese.

The meal was washed down with house red and white – Chilean. Very drinkable at less than £20 a bottle.

Overall, I liked the place and it is extremely good value for money – I would however like the chef to check the temperature of his oven.

Eddie