http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/wine/7966430/Beers-not-to-blame-for-weight-gain.html

Can’t add to this except that Asahi beer is well worth trying expecially if you have a Costco Card. Its about £16 + VAT for 24x330ml.

You can  buy Asahi from an oriental supermarket. Also try Sapporo and Kirin – all good.

E

August 2010

Address: Gallowstree Road, Rotherfield Peppard, Oxfordshire , RG9 5HT . Follow signs to Gallowtree Common from B481

Telephone number: 0118 9722227

Website: http://www.awtrestaurants.com/

Date of visit: 27 August 2010

Approximate cost per head: Around £20 for 2 courses

Comments on wine list/beer: Very extensive and reasonably priced list. From £14.50 for a basic red or white to £175 for a bottle of 82 Ch. Beychevelle.  Good range of beer on tap including Rebellion IPA.

Summary:

I was taken there by my good friends D and C.

As we pulled into the car park, we noticed that the great man – AWT himself was in his chef gear coming out of the back of the pub. He greeted us with a smile and informed us that he works there quite regularly. By the way, we noticed that he has slimmed down a lot from his former self since he declared that he is a diabetic. Glad to see that he is taking good care of himself.

The pub is well know for its 8 for eight policy – £8 for a main course (special menu) before 8pm (Tue – Fri lunch time). No restaurant service on a Monday.

I have eaten here before and had the tartare steak which was very good.

Bottles and Cooks  received a complaint about this place from a reader  as well as a supportive comment. See comments linked to article on 5^th Feb 2010.  http://www.bottlesandcooks.com/?s=greyhound

This time we were house in the main restaurant which is quite cluttered on the wall and around the ceiling with interesting bits and prints. Two chandeliers lit the place with funny white and purple light shades.

For starters my friends has the pang pang chicken and the field mushroom on toasts (starters are around £7). I was offered a bit of the pang pang chicken to taste and it was good but I am used to a more spicy and nutty (tahina paste is better) version served in Chinese restaurants.

For main courses, I had the Southern Fried chicken (£13.95) whilst my friends had the lamb and duck (both at £14.95) – all dishes were from the a la carte menu. I also asked for some bacon greens (£3) on the side.

The Southern fried chickens turned out to be goujons of filleted chicken coated in Cajun spice and  it came with corn fritters, chips and chicken chips. The chicken chips were deep fried skins (I think!). There were two line of tomato ketchup and mayonnaise to make the plate look pretty. My friends told me that their dishes were excellent. Beware! They are not big on veg here so you may need to order sides. The lamb did came with a few courgette fritters and potatoes, the duck came with a spinach pancake and potatoes.

We washed down the meal with a bottle of 2008 Argentinean Malbec – it was a little bit light but at under £16 is very good value.

All in all it was a very nice meal, I would certainly become a regular. AWT’s style of cooking is basically upmarket meat and potato, low on plate decorations but nicely cooked with good meat.

The down side of the evening was that a child pulled down a giant teddy bear (called  Anthony) which landed near (on?) my friend C. Luckily by then, she had finished her meal. The father of the child did apologise.

As we left, we noticed that the place was nearly full.

E

PS Service was also good!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/26/sherry-revival-wine

When I was young you get a glass of  Bristol Cream (Spanish) over a Christmas visit if someone is rich and Emva Cream (Cypriot sherry) if they are poor. As all my friens were poor students, we drank a lot of Cypriot Sherry.

Try cooking with dry sherry. Its a great substitude for chinese wine in all chinese recipes. Sherry is also good in coq au vin.

Another trick is to flambe with brandy then add a dose of medium sherry over meat.

E

August 2010

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/7964075/Ludlow-Food-Festival-is-a-feast-for-thesenses.html

I recommend this for all foodies. I shall try to make it this year. I first went to the famous Hibiscus  in Ludlow before they moved up to London. Since then I had an excellent meal there some 14 months ago. I shall be there next week to give you an update on what it is like since it got into the top 50 restaurants in the world – reported in Bottles and Cooks on 28 April http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/7635677/The-Worlds-50-Best-Restaurants-2010.html

E

August 2010

http://www.independent.co.uk/extras/indybest/food-drink/the-ten-best-organic-wines-2062768.html

I have a big problem with this as most of the wine chosen were at the bottom end of the market.

I know that most competitions are on a submission basis. Nearly all “top” wines refuse to enter just in case they didn’t win.

In my view, one of the top organic wine is Ch Beaucastel and  it is not listed in this article.  A lot of the top US cabernets retailing at $80 and above are organic.

I’ll go into W H Smith and check out this month’s Decanter to see how the wines were chosen.

E

August 2010

Address: Shepherds Green, Rotherfield Greys, Nr Henley-on-Thames, Oxon RG9 4 QZ.  Sign posted off B481.

Telephone number: 01491 628 482

Website: www.thelambpub.net

Date of visit: 26 August, 2010

Approximate cost per head: Around £20 for 2 courses

Comments on wine list/beer: Large selection of wine by the glass. 6 reds, 6 whites, rose and prosecco. From £4 for 125ml to over £8 for 275 ml. Most wines by the glass are from Italy. They also have a very interesting bottle list – from £13.95 for a basic Italian red to  Dom Perignon 2000 at £120 (pretty good value). Beer is from Loddon and they have a bitter brewed specially for them at £3.30 a pint.

Summary:

This used to be part of AWT’s empire and is listed in Sawday’s guide. It is an old building with exposed beams and low ceilings – beware if you are around six foot six. There are hens in the garden that provides the place with fresh eggs. This seemed to be a new approach as this is the third pub that I have come across in the Berks/Oxon area that farms chicken.

When we got there at 12.15, we were the only customers. When we left at 1.30pm, the place was more than half full.

My daughter who was with me noticed that the window stills had a few dead flies on it and that put her off the place.

The menu is of a modern British approach. They offer a lunch menu as well as an a la carte (steak, guinea fowl etc). For the lunch menu, you can have a starter and a brunch dish for just over £10 – see web site. On the other hand, you can have a starter, main course and half a bottle of wine for £20. We settled for 2 main courses – pork chop, colcannon and cider gravy & their famous fish and chips both were priced at £10.50. On the a la carte menu, I noticed that you can have a whole suckling pig (enough to feed 10 plus) with all the trimmings for £250 – pre-ordering is required.

The pork chop came spiked with slivers of garlic and sat on top of a generous helping of colcannon (they used leek). The fish and chips came with two small tubs – home made tartare sauce and mushy peas. The haddock was cooked in beer batter and the chips were fat chip. It was fine but a better version can be found at The Hand and Flower at Marlow for just under £15.

Re the pork chop and colcannon, the colcannon was deemed excellent but the pork chop just an ordinary fried chop. I had a pint of their special brew and it was nothing special.

Our conclusion was that, it was nice food but pretty average and the place could do with a bit of a clean around the windows.

E

I came across this whilst surfing.

http://www.firepit-and-grilling-guru.com/suckling-pig.html

E

August 2010

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-10773893

Interesting.

E

August 2010

Web site: www.manoir.com

Date of visit: 8 Aug 2010

Approx. cost per head: GBP125 for the tasting menu

Comments on wine list/beer: Comprehensive and balanced – good selection of second wines

Media link:

Review:

We booked a mid-week package which included one night’s accommodation, dinner and breakfast.
The service from the moment we arrived to the moment we left was exceptional.
The tasting menu (Les Classiques du Manoir) was full of dishes which celebrated the fresh seasonal ingredients that are grown in Le Manoir’s own garden.
Every dish was unpretentious, elegant and delicious. In addition, the skilled sommelier advised us of a wine that we would not have chosen ourselves, but suited the food impeccably.
Our review would not be complete without some comment about the breakfast. In a word, exquisite.
We were greeted with an array of  everything you would wish for in a breakfast including the most delicate and fluffy tomato and herb omelette.
Again the staff exceeded themselves.

Address: Orta Pinar Caddesi 23, Icmeler, Turkey

Telephone number: +905322435946

Website: No Website. Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=8664066798

Date of visit: 13/08/10

Approximate cost per head: 60 Turkish Lira (£30) for 3 courses

Comments on wine list/beer: House wine (50 Turkish Lira) is ok but then this is Turkey, not a place for wine

Summary:

The most unique and individual restaurant I have ever visited.

The experience started when we were picked up from our hotel in a minibus and taken to Mona Titti at no extra cost, simply because “a taxi would have been too expensive”.

The setting is beautiful. There were tables both outside and in, but as it was the height of summer all the guests were seated outside next to the pool. The many paintings around of ‘Mona Titti’ along with a small boat hidden amongst the plants gives a stunning view. We were told that there had been (if I remember correctly) 92 proposals there last year and each had been a yes. Not only this, but the children at the restaurant seemed very happy exploring; there was even a very content baby making waves in the pool.

I could not fault the service in any way. We did not get the feeling that we were being watched over yet could get the waitress’ attention at anytime. Not only this, but the owner was extremely friendly if not slightly eccentric, and chatted with each table multiple times throughout the night. Upon arrival we were given a tour of the outside, inside, comfortable area for a drink after our meal if we so wished, and the shop which sold all original artwork and jewellery. The whole evening was given a very personal feel.

What made the restaurant so special for me, was the fact that it was not only a peaceful yet extremely entertaining night with a wonderful ambience and service, but also served the best food we had in Turkey.

The menu (which was fully explained to us) has a good variation of traditionally Turkish food alongside pastas, grills, fish, salads and curries. To start the group had a mixture of ‘Tarhana’ (Turkish Nomad’s soup topped with a huge variety of herbs) and the Turkish ‘Borek Mona Titti’ (thin fried pastry filled with meat, vegetables and cheese). Both of which were extremely tasty however my only criticism of the night would be that the borek was slightly dry.

Our mains were delicious: Turkish lamb which came with vegetables and rice (all Turkish rice really is extremely tasty and I believe cooked in chicken stock); chicken wings with two different sauces as she could not decide so was brought both; and “chicken tits” in honey and bbq sauce. Everyone was extremely happy with their dishes and could not fault them.

Dessert also did not disappoint. We had a rich chocolate tart and a very artistically displayed fruit pancake.

Without a doubt, this was our best meal in Turkey, both in terms of food and enjoyment. I would highly, HIGHLY recommend it.

Alex Cheng