http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/video/2010/may/11/sake-cherry-blossom-hanami

A very Japanese tradition. Not many days left before the blossom is all gone!

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14 May 2010

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/may/13/seasonal-food-broad-fava-beans

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May 2010

http://blog.japancentre.com/2010/05/12/recipe-hiyayakko-chilled-tofu/

You can also buy top quality tofu on Japan Centre’s web site.

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May 2010

Address: 93 Caversham Road, Reading RG1 8AN

Telephone number: 0118 9393111

Website: www.altarboush.com

Date of visit: 13 May 2010

Approximate cost per head: Around £20 for several courses

Comments on wine list/beer: Very extensive list of Lebanese wines

Summary:

I would never believe that a Lebanese Restaurant would open up in Reading. This one has apparently been here for nearly 6 months.

There had been several restaurants on this site over the past years but none has survived. It’s on the main road between Reading Town Centre and Caversham.

There is no car park. Nearest place to park is across the road near TGI Friday or in one of the side streets behind the restaurant.

They have a sitting area outside to accommodate the smokers. On the day I went two people were smoking the “water pipes”.

The room is large with tables well spaced apart. The menu is basically divided into, cold mezze, hot mezze, grills, fish, vegetables and deserts.

The lunch time I went, I had falafel (chick pea fritters), kebbeh – kebe, or kebbi - (minced lamb croquette with burghul wheat and pine nuts) and kellage halloumi. Kellage halloumi is thin Arabic bread stuffed with a thin layer of  halloumi and toasted – in fact it is a thin toasted cheese sandwich. The falafel and kebbeh were both crisp and hot in the middle – you can over cook this if it’s frozen. The dishes were served with a small side salad of shredded lettuce leaves – similar to what you get with an onion bajee.

The meal with 3 bottles of Almaza (Lebanese beer) came to just over £20.

I will go back and test the grills but as far as I can tell, it is pretty authentic.

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Restaurant Pyxida

Location: 5 Menandrou Street, Nicosia, Cyprus

Telephone: Cyprus 22 44 56 36

Website:

Cost per head: from 22.50 Euros

Wine list: Very reasonable.

Date of visit: 22 March 2010

Summary:

We visit Cyprus at least once a year and since we were introduced to Pyxida (it means compass in Greek) a few years ago we return every year either with Cypriot friends or with other visiting friends. Pyxida is an excellent fish tavern restaurant in the middle of Nicosia and no matter whether you go for lunch or for dinner the place is always buzzing with business people and politicians; we therefore always make a reservation a few days in advance.  Although the restaurant offers an extensive menu of fish dishes we have always opted for the excellent fish meze; the restaurant also offers a good and very reasonably priced wine list of mainly new generation Cypriot wines and a few imported ones.

On our last visit we were with two local friends and when we arrived we were greeted by Giannos, one of the waiters we have known for a few years, who led us to our table. After a chat he asked if we were going for the meze and we all opted for that. He also made some good suggestions for wines to complement the meal and after reviewing the wine list we opted for Petritis, a dry white wine made by the Kyperounda Winery from the local Xinisteri grape; this was crisp, dry and very refreshing with a longish finish and with hints of wild flowers and plenty of fruit.  As it was still the “winter” season, the first course was a fish soup and, although I never have soup, this was pronounced excellent by my wife and two guests; the serving bowl was left on the table for people to have second helpings, but nobody did because all of us knew how much more food was still to come! A few minutes after the table was cleared, there followed a selection of dips – tahini, taramosalata, melitzanosalata (aubergine dip) and tirokafteri (a very spicy local hard cheese dip), very tasty black and green olives and choriatiki salata (traditional Greek “village” salad including black olives and feta cheese); excellent “village” bread and pitta bread were served at the same time. Sometime later and with all this still on the table for “revisiting” later the various hot fish courses started arriving but with good “spacing” between them (which was needed!).

At this point a second bottle of wine was called for and again Giannos offered advice and this time we chose the red Andesitis  again from the Kyperounda Winery and made from a blend of the Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache and Mourvedre grape varieties; this turned out to be a smooth, balanced, fruity and light red wine that went well with the fish dishes. There were 11 fish dishes including squid, octopus, salt cod, mussels, red  mullet, and baby crabs finishing with an large grilled sea bass which was excellent. This was followed by a selection of fresh fruit and Cypriot desserts and we finished the meal with Cypriot coffees.

On this, as with all other previous visits, we were not disappointed!  The cost of the meze was 22.50 Euros per person; you might ask whether we have finished all the food and the answer to this is a definite no because there was so much of it!  Many diners leave with a “doggy bag” but since we were going to be out again during the following days we did not consider leaving with one! The bill for the four of us came to a very reasonable 126 Euros i.e. less than 32 Euros per person! All in all, a very good evening and we look forward to our next visit!

It is worth remembering to make a reservation since it is very unlikely that you will get a table without one! There is a small car park next to the restaurant and street parking is also possible but if you arrive late you may have to park at a short distance away along the one-way Menandrou Street or in one of the roads nearby.

Enjoy!

Demetris Savva

Address: Riverside, Oracle Shopping Centre, RG1 2AG

Telephone number: 0118 90708078

Website: http://www.jamieoliver.com/italian/

Date of visit: 10 May 2010

Approximate cost per head: £15 for 2 courses

Comments on wine list/beer: Basic wines list with most wines around £15-25

Summary:

Jamie’s Italian has taken over from what used to be Chillies on the Kennet Canal in the Oracle complex.

When I tried this place a week ago, customers were made to queue outside – I didn’t – even though the whole of upstairs was empty. This time, I was invited to go upstairs even though the ground floor was half empty.

The building is circular and has a glass wall on the side facing the Kennet. Inside, they have a counter which is lined  with bottles of wine and crates of vegetables as well as legs of Parma ham and salamis. However, unlike Carluccio’s they do not sell deli products. They only sell mugs, tea towel and books etc.

The menu is dived into antipasti, pasta and main courses. Today’s special is chalked up on several blackboards.

We had tomato bruschetta to start with – it was not what I expected. Instead of it covered in tomatoes, we had sliced of tomatoes covered with cream cheese on 2 small slices of toasted bread – wrong order? Then we had starter portions of ravioli and truffled tagliatell with green side salads and a bowl of polenta chips. They are all priced at £4-£6. The polenta chips were chunks of deep fried polenta – very crispy but tasted of  nothing – to be fair, polenta tastes very bland and I usually jazz it up with grated cheese or bacon. The two pastas were ok. We also had a bottle of Primitivo 2008 (£16.25). The whole bill came to £40 – no service charge included.

I have heard lots of goods reviews about the place but to me, it trades strongly on Jamnie’s name. It’s very similar to Carluccio’s and in the same price bracket. For a similar amount of money, you can get a better meal at Pepe Salle (Queens Walk, Reading) or if you want to blow money, go to Caldesi in Bray. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong about the place its just NOT special. Its not a cheap version of the River Cafe where Jamnie was trained.

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PS they do not take bookings. Just turn up and try your luck.

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Address: 126 West Street, Marlow , SL7 2BP

Telephone number: 01628 482277

Website: www.thehandandflowers.co.uk

Date of visit: 8 May 2010

Approximate cost per head: Approx £40 for 3 courses

Comments on wine list/beer: Excellent list.

Summary:

I have been here on 4 separate occasions during lunch time. I thought that it is time to test out their evening performance.

To start with, the place was packed and on some tables, they managed 2 sittings. I was told that their busiest night is Saturday.

Lets start with the positives: the bread is as good as ever and is served ward. You get  the complimentary deep fried whitebaits which were excellent – in fact, I have had this on every visit. So it does not change. Service was good.

On the negative side, the chips were not as crisp as they normally are. The description on the menu is also not 100% accurate. However, these were minor faults.

We had a mixture of starters, salmon tartar, mouls, omelette with smoke haddock. The omelette was in fact the famous Arnold Bennet omelette (invented in the Savoy Grill for the great man) served in a small frying pan. It was pretty filling and was as expected. The moules  were served with a Guinness foam – we were warned about this – I am not sure this works as it add a bitterness to the sweet mussels cooked as moules a la marinier. The salmon tartar turned out to be a salmon mousse sitting on a bed of finely chopped raw salmon mixed with vegetables – much like a mirepoix. In fact there was more mousse than raw salmon.

For main courses, we had the fillet steak, braised shin of beef, pork loin and plaice. The shin of beef was covered in a heavily reduced gelatinous dark sauce and shelled broad beans. The meat fell apart when I touched it with a fork. The steaks were given top marks except that it was done British style – the rare turned out to be medium and medium became well done. The fish and pork also went down well with the side order of “selection of vegetables”.

All these were washed down with two bottles of wine – Abarino (£38.20) and Faugeres (£59). Both wines were excellent.

For desert we had crème brulee and chocolate tart. The came brulee came in a bowl the size of a Chinese rice bowl and the chocolate tart was a wonderful invention. The base was a piece of biscuit. On top of this was a runny chocolate mousse encaed in dark chocolate. This was the covered by layers of chocolates – dark, white, milk and in it sat a white chocolate malted ice cream. Deserts were £8 each.

For 7 the bill came to just over £385 (incl service charge). It was a  pretty good meal for just over £50 a head including booze.

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PS They do not serve their famous fish and chips on a Saturday night.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/wine/7676520/Does-the-moon-affect-how-a-wine-tastes.html

Biodynamic viticulture has been practiced for years in conjunction of the phasing of the moon. One of the most famous one is Ch Beaucastel (Chateau Neuf du Pepe).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodynamic_wine

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May 2010

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/may/08/grassy-tones-wine-review

I have to admit, this is a new concept to me. I can smell cut grass but do not know what grass taste like. I always thought that sauvignon blanc is a bit  goosebury.

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May 2010

Address: Binfield Heath, Oxfordshire, RG9 4JI

Telephone number: 01491575755

Website: http://www.thebottleandglassinn.com/

Date of visit: 7 May 2010

Approximate cost per head:  Nearly all main meals under £10 except sea bass at £12.95 and steak at £17.95

Comments on wine list/beer: Didn’t see a wine list, wines available by the glass, Breakspear £3 a pint

Summary:

I used to come here on a regular basis in the mid 70s when I was a postgrad at Reading University.

In those days, they did scampi and chips and steak and chips – both under a fiver and significantly better than those served at Berni Inns.

Alias, Berni Inn is no more although the next generation of cheap steakhouses- Beefeaters – are still around.

Bottle and Glass’s cuisine has already moved on as they are under new management although the décor and furniture (inside and outside) have stayed nearly the same. There are two bars, the public one has long tables and benches or chairs and there is a sofa in the lounge bar (that’s new!). There are only one set of toilets accessed via the lounge bar.

The menu is a simple one and there is a lunch as well as a supper version. Sandwiches at £4 and all puds also priced at £4. The main courses range from spaghetti bolognese to sausage and mash. I had the fish and chips off the lunch menu priced at £6.60 (£9.50 in the evening).

The fish – a pretty big piece – and chips were excellent. To start with, you get proper french fries not chunky chips. The batter was light and the peas were previously frozen – more and more places are introducing sweetened pea puree or mushy peas. Mushy I like but not the sweetened puree. In fact the Hand and Flowers (Marlow) serves sweetened pea puree with their “famous” fish and chips. You also get pea puree at the St George and Dragon (Wargrave) and The Royal Oak (Paley Street).

It’s certainly worth a visit.

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