http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2011/jun/08/top-10-tapas-bars-barcelona

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June 2011

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/jun/19/el-bulli-ferran-adria

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June 2011

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/executive-lifestyle/the-new-power-lunch-30-minutes/story-e6frg9zo-1226072140988

If you can discuss everything in 30 minutes, why bother to meet over lunch?
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June 2011

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth

Read the “food to die for” – triple bypass burger!

In my view, nothing beats a real Philli chheese steak with deep fried bread – around 5000 calories per sandwich.

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June 2011

Address: Peppard Common Oxon  RF9 5JU (B481, north side of Peppard Common)

Telephone number: 01491 628 343

Website: www.Ruchetta.com

Date of visit: 19 June 2011

Approximate cost per head:  Around £20 for 2 courses. Sunday BBQ (£18.50). Please note that as I didn’t pay, the prices are from memory. I will check and make corrections in due course.

Comments on wine list/beer: Pretty good Italian list – surprisingly, it is slightly different from the Wokingham branch.

Cuisine: Italian

Likes and dislikes: steak a bit over cooked but then the chef was prepared to cook a fresh one to your liking in front of you. I would also have preferred my bruschetta hot rather than cold, otherwise, a pretty decent meal for £18.50.

Summary:

I was trying to book somewhere for Fathers day and found that most places were fully booked. I tried this place as I had a decent meal at their sister branch in Wokingham. I rang on Friday and was told : no problem.

Anyway, I went off on a Sunday not expecting much as I was expecting a half empty place.

This branch of Ruchetta is housed in a pub – gents still outside, ladies are inside. To my surprise, the place was packed and they have tables in the garden.

On Sundays, they serve an all you can eat BBQ and the usual a la carte menu (similar to the Wokingham branch).

Two of us went for the BBQ whilst a third member went for the rigatoni with meat balls.

The BBQ was cooked in the garden and offered a good range of food – visit as many times as you like.

There were bruschetta – country bread with chopped tomatoes on it. Three types of salads – rocket with sliced tomatoes and shaved parmesan, herby sliced mixed peppers and green beans. All the above were served cold. They also served a dish of pan fried mushrooms.

Three types of grilled fish were on offer; prawns with garlic, plain grilled sword fish and sea bass. For meat: steak and a very spicy sausage. New potatoes or chips were also available.

A – who had the rigatoni (£8) – with zucchini fries on the side – though very highly of the pasta.  The zucchini fries were slightly on the thick side.

All this was washed down with a bottle of red at £38. I noticed that they offered a tignalello 2006 at over £130. This was a £30 a bottle wine that is now selling at around £45.

Overall, I preferr the Wokingham branch as the wine list is more interesting and they have table cloths – for the same price.

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-13748635

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June 2011

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/jun/15/taste-of-london-first-bite

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Address: Lodge Road, Whistley Green, Hurst,  Berks RG10 0EH

Telephone number: 0118 9340886

Website: N/A

Date of visit: 15 June 2011

Approximate cost per head: Most main courses under £10

Comments on wine list/beer: Greene King. However, they have Morlands and Mild. Wine is on offer but limited.

Cuisine: basic pub fare – traditional food. Ok, they do a curry – is that traditional British food now?

Likes and dislikes: very good food and value for the budget end.

Summary:

Penny – I presume from The Elephant and Castle – commented on my article on The Greene Man (9 May 2011). I decided to visit the place visit.

I have to admit that very little has changed in this place since I visited in the 70s. However, the toilets has been upgraded.

The place is now managed by a “new” family. I will start by thanking the landlords as an honest man as I dropped my wallet when I left the car. He found it and returned it to me.

There are two menus – printed and on the blackboard.

I settled for the bread crumbed plaice and chips  (£8.25) and a pint of Morlands (£3.20). Morlands used to be based in Abingdon and it was not a bad pint – bit weak but ok. This is now brewed in Bury St Edmunds (Greene King). The taste is fuller and the beer is stronger. Not a bad pint but not the Morlands I used to know. Why do people resurrecting these old brands (Brakspear, Morlands, Courage etc) when they can’t make it taste the same?

The plaice was a piece of previously frozen commercially prepared fish – Iceland or Youngs. To be fair, it was not bad but you can’t get fresh plaice anymore, definitely not in a fish and chips shop.The chips and peas were again frozen commercially made but they cook it well. The tartare sauce was bottled. It was as I expected for that sort of price.

The Elephant and Castle offer all the traditional pub foods – cottage pie, gammon etc.

For the price they charge, they offer decent food. Next time, I’ll try the cottage pie which “promised” to be home made.

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Address: Upstairs, Kings Walk, Kings Street, Reading RG1 2HG

Telephone number: 0118 951 2600

Website: http://www.artofsiamuk.com/b1/index.html

Date of visit: 14 June 2011

Approximate cost per head: Set lunch £10.95 for 2 courses, various set meals around £20-£30 a head (min 2). A la carte around £20 plus a head.

Comments on wine list/beer: Chang beer (£3.45 a bottle), cheap selection of wine. Try the wines made in Thailand – its drinkable!

Cuisine: Thai

Likes and dislikes: Bring back some of the non deep fried starters – otherwise fine!

Summary:

This is a small chain – Newcastle, Reading and Newbury.

This place changed hands around 5 years ago. Before that it was the Old Siam and was listed in the Michelin Guide. I saw the first Mrs Burton Race ate there when John Burton Race was running the l’Orolan. Then, it was the best Thai in Reading.

I have eaten here since it changed hands – still good, but not a match on the previous cooking.

I was first introduced to Thai food by Nigel Almond who now owns one of the top spot buying agency in the land.

Art of Siam is another one of those restaurants that is covered in teak. In fact the décor and tables have not changed since Sri Siam opened up here in the 90s.

The menu has again changed. There are lots of deep fried starters but nothing steamed. I was drawn here because I had nice Thai dumplings here some years ago.

Instead of going for the set meal, I had the mushroom tom yum (£5.15), followed by the golden basket – deep fried onion rings and prawns (£5.80). I finished with Khao Pad Siam – fried rice (£7.95).

Everything here was exquisitely presented. All the food had a lily flower on it – how much lily do they go through every day?

The tom yum came in a bowl with a spoon shaped into a duck’s head. The soup was thick with straw mushrooms and it was really hot and sour. In fact it was hotter and more sour (lime) than I expected.

There were 3 king prawn and 2 huge onion rings with freshly shredded carrots and cabbage. It was served with a sweet chilli dip. The batter was uneven which meant that it was freshly done.

The fried rice was brown (sweet soy sauce) and the grains were separated. There were bits of chicken and prawns in it.

It was a good meal not the best but probably a top one outside London. By the way, I discovered that Chang means elephant and 2 white elephants means peace and tranquillity. The total bill including 2 Chang but excluding service came to just under £26.

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/jun/11/pepper-squid-potato-salad-recipes

Although Ottolenghi is a great chef, I find that his recipies are too complicated – too many ingredients!

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June 2011