Posted by mattc at Mar 14, 09 03:31 PM
... Comments (0)
I was tipped off by The Dorking Blog (manic depressive local blogger with an ear to the ground) that the local chocolate shop, which as he rightly says hardly ever opened, had changed hands. Since I am a big fan of good local stuff, I thought I'd drop in and check it out.
The chap (owner?) serving us was charming and offered a taster before we bought. We had:-
Liquorice Fudge: intense, black, salty-sweet fudge that is something different
and
Maple Syrup & Walnut Fudge: sweet and complex taste, dense and with the classic slightly bitter walnut after taste.
We bought a little of each (fudge is something like £1.60/100g) and as you can see from my pic above, it looks as good as it sounds. Other things they had were coconut ice as well as about 20-30 different fudge favours and chocolate.
Go in and treat yourself (or someone else):)
It looks like they are sharing a website with another company based in Arundel:
Arundel Chocolate and Fudge Shop
Nom.
Posted by mattc at Feb 3, 09 08:36 PM
... Comments (0)
The Gingerman restaurant group appear to have originated in Brighton giving birth to two other ginger entities, namely the Ginger Fox and the Ginger Pig.
We visited the Ginger Fox on saturday lunchtime, on our way to see The Wrestler at Crawley (having been booted out last time we tried because of a fire in the cinema!). In a lovely country setting, the drive to the Ginger Fox was fun, however I wouldn't like to attempt it today given that we are a foot in snow round this way.
Service and ambience: Great, relaxed and relatively fast, lovely stripey furniture
Nibbles: They served some bread in a little wood carton thing, it was delicious
Drinks: I had a Fentimans Seville Orange Jigger, which was just on the safe side of gingeriness, Husb had some kind of apple blackberry juice thing which he disapproved of
Starters: we skipped this in favour of dessert
Mains: I had the Phesant White Pudding with mash (it was sausage shaped, not pudding basin shaped), Husb had Steak and Kidney pudding (which he confirmed as 'lovela' in a yorkshire accent)
Dessert: treacle tart for me (not to sweet, which was good as it was quite big and Husb had Plum cheesecake (the light and whipped kind with a thick layer of jellied plums atop)
Clientele: well-off, good food lovers out in the country. Some lady who was shouting conversation at her husband about expensive cars, to the extent where I couldn't hear my own husband speaking!
If you are passing by either this or its sister restaurants, drop in, enjoy the atmosphere and lap up some tasty food
Posted by pop at Jan 25, 09 10:17 PM
... Comments (0)
We dined at the The Westerley some time ago with family and on a drive back from Wimbledon, we decided that we had to go again.
Husb is one for trying anything and that anything that night was calves brain for starters. I didn't want him to order it, so I suggested that I'd prefer it if he ordered something else. He ordered them. I wondered how I might talk to him while he's chowing down on brain. I wondered how it would be served. I felt a bit ill. Last time I saw anyone eating brain it was in Hannibal and that scarred me for life. I have the odd flashback when I want to torture myself.
The brain arrived breadcrumbed, which meant at least that I didn't have to catch a glimpse of it in its full squiggly splendor. Either calves have small brains, or it was only a portion, perhaps a frontal lobe or so. He started to cut into it. I decided at that stage he wasn't kissing me until he'd brushed his teeth and washed his mouth out with something strong. I focussed very carefully on a piece of modern art on the wall behind him, only looking at him now and again. I struggled to enjoy my starter (I can't even remember what it was!) and only accidentally caught sight of the de-crumbed brain when I saw the knife and fork pressing down into a bulging pink blob of yuck.
On the bright side Husb did not seem too taken with the brain, so at least he probably will not order it again. He reckoned it tasted like like soft meaty fois gras. Nuff said, let us not go there. Even now I get a gagging reflex problem writing this. I'm not cut-out for offal.
Posted by pop at Jan 25, 09 09:47 PM
... Comments (0)
Having spent years with a handheld blender, ineffectively whisking, blending and chopping and splattering food everywhere, I decided it was time to find something a little better. I needed one that did everything rather than add to the pile of large powerful individual machines piling up in the kitchen (juicer, breadmaker). My crafty pal of mine said that the Kenwood Major was the machine to have, should I want one to last me for life and be super multi-purpose.
So for Christmas we splashed out and bought the beast:
What can I say? Its fantastic - no mess, plenty of attachments and very powerful. In the past month we've cooked more than in any other month. Here are some of the lovely things we've made so far:
Blueberry pancakes
Sweetcorn fritters
Cupcakes
Pear smoothie
Coleslaw
Nom nom!
Posted by pop at Aug 9, 08 03:08 PM
... Comments (2)
We have been waiting quite a long time for venue to pop-up in Dorking that would tick the boxes of:
a) not an old man's pub
b) not a young man's pub
c) preferably called a 'wine bar'
d) has good nibbles
e) isn't pretentious
Finally yesterday we managed to test out the new Wine Bar on South Street along with the in-laws. Though the bar has a light food menu, we concluded that we could always order in multiples to be sated.
Food
Between the four of us we ordered four 1-person sized platters, namely 'seafood' (smoked salmon, roe, prawn spring roll, mackerel) 'charcuterie' (ham, chorizo, salami, jambon iberico) 'hot and spicy' (spicy chicken, sausage, very powerful chilli sauce to dip into) and 'crumpini' (homemade crumpets topped with cheese, tomato salsa, scrambled egg and mushrooms) and some chips. The chips were good I might add.
It was all rather lush and made for a very social meal, not unlike tapas.
Wine:
Yummy Beaujolais, light on the head, warming to the heart. The wine list was comprehensive enough to keep us entertained for a long time..
Ambience:
Chilled, mix of older furniture with warm red wall and a funky red chandelier. We weren't totally convinced by the choice of music (cheesy 60s stuff) and would recommend some Northern Soul to cure that.
Staff
We were really well looked after and made to feel at home - no rushing and a little bit of background on the crumpini made by the owner's mother - she makes good crumpet :)
The Conversation
Waterboarding, execution, family gatherings...but not all in the same breath
We will be going again soon, but next time for some late afternoon scones and jam.
Go there/Don't go there??
Please do! But what is it called - does anyone know?
Posted by pop at Jul 9, 08 04:18 PM
... Comments (0)
Scoop opened during Easter 2008. I love it!
What a great idea to have something like that near to Dorking Halls so you (or your little ones) can get an interesting ice-cream or pick-n-mix (don't worry its not like Woolworths). They serve Italian ice-cream (fruits of the forest, banana, mint icecream and apple, pear mango sorbet to name but a few) and make smoothies with fantastic names.
They also do hot food and drinks (paninis, coffee etc), which is probably estute for the autumn/winter months.
This is a really great addition to what was the 'duff' end of town, which is gradually moving in the right direction.
Grab yourself a cone (with free sprinkles) sometime!
Posted by pop at Nov 10, 07 01:50 PM
... Comments (1)
The Brockham Bonfire is one of the largest in the country. Brockham itself is a gorgeous little village between Dorking and Reigate with the classic village green and is overlooked by the Surrey Hills. This annual event is a big deal here - they shut down the local roads and you have to walk a mile or so before you reach the village.
First-off was the parade...perhaps someone from Brockham could explain, but there was the 'Brockham Fire Engine' (a painted wooden cart) and lots of locals dressed-up in strange outfits (harlequin-like smocks) all carrying fire-sticks walking around the village. We joined the procession half-way around which was all very tribal (see pic below) though trusting teens (some intoxicated) with any sort of naked flame is risky. As the torches started to burn out and smoke profusely, we each inhaled our entire annual carbon footprint, until each torch-holder bashed their torch on the ground scattering large glowing cinders on the tarmac. These glowing embers attached themselves to shoes and trouser hems along the way. The only incidents we spotted was a yoof who somehow melted his headphones wire with is torch and got tangled up with it (but luckly for him they still worked, "even though they were melted - cool!" and a girl whose eyes were rolling around and pointing in the wrong direction as her friends helpfully propped her up and called other friends to tell them that they were waiting for an ambulance as "Vicky is totally wankered."
Then came the lighting of the bonfire. Procession goers placed their torches at the base of the biggest bonfire I have ever seen (check out Fink Angel's 'before' picture here). It must have been about 30 feet high and apparently took 6 weeks to build. A large Guy Fawkes was perched at the top full of fire crackers. It went up with a woof, and made me wish I had some moisturiser as I gently cooked in its radiant heat. Then there was a succession of announcements with a firework for each - a proposal (Wayne proposing to Jane) and endless others for lovers and the deceased. Finally the fireworks commenced with ferocity. Here's my best picture:
All in all plenty of walking involved and a very cute village atmosphere about it. I'd do it again, but not the procession - I walked with trepidious concern that my hair would catch on fire courtesy of one of the many young buffoons surrounding me.
Posted by pop at Nov 10, 07 01:30 PM
... Comments (0)
I have always intended not to bring fish and chips home, and stink out the house, and Superdish in Dorking has a little cafe style restaurant next to it's fish bar.
Last weekend we went to Brockham Bonfire and Fireworks but needed some quick food to take with us. While waiting for my fish and chips, a man walks into Superdish and leans against the door to the counter and addresses a member of staff at the far end, saying:-
"Did you know that a diabetic nurse is coming in here for fish and chips tonight?"
The staff carry on serving and cooking. The man then decides to speak to the guy serving me, and said:
"Did you know that a diabetic nurse is coming in here for fish and chips tonight?"
"Did you know that a diabetic nurse is coming in here for fish and chips tonight?"
"Did you know that a diabetic nurse is coming in here for fish and chips tonight?"
The serving guy focusses very strongly on his customer care skills and completes my transaction in the face of the other man saying:-
"Did you know that a diabetic nurse is coming in here for fish and chips tonight?"
"Only joking"
I decided it was time to leave, before I went crazy and promptly left with out a couple of those little wooden fish and chip forks. Ooops.
At this point I should mention that the fish and chips were quite acceptable but not overwhelming in nature and that I like Superdish because they have a very old fashioned wall-mounted menu (I'll have to get a picture for you soon).
Posted by pop at Nov 8, 07 11:58 PM
... Comments (0)
For a third anniversary celebration, we took ourselves to (Royal) Tunbridge Wells to check out what it had to offer. It has similarities with Guildford to some extent but the new (commercial) and old ('Pantiles') ends of town were very separate, different kettles of fish.
We pre-booked a table at Thackery's at 1.30pm so wandered around the new end of town for half an hour or so. Nothing jump-out and bite-you special, but I did over hear a conversation in the pet shop about how they'd like to make the punishment fit the crime and bring back stoning or something - very 'Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells' I thought!
Anyhow, Thackery's is a villa built c.1660 to serve the people using the spas in the town. Here's a pic:
Inside we are very well looked after and join a number of other diners (an old couple next too us blatently listening to our coversation and two old boys on the otherside talking about falling off step-ladders). Here's what we chose:-
Amuse Bouche
Amused we were, with a lovely pumpkin ravoili
Starters
Me: 'BALLOTINE' OF GRESINGHAM DUCK with Green Bean and Autumn Truffle Salad, Celeriac 'Remoulade' (rather subtle flavours (perhaps a little too much so) but just the right size for a starter, all served on a long rectangular glass plate
Husb: LAYERS OF 'OAK' SMOKED SALMON, YOUNG SPINACH AND LIME CRÈME FRÂICHE with Horseradish Cream, Deep Fried Breaded Oysters, Dill Toast (Husb was delighted with this - the layered salmon looked fantastic)
Mains
Me: BUTTER ROASTED "GNOCCHI" Sautéed Wild Mushrooms and Tarragon Roast Globe Artichokes, Parmesan Crisp ('hmm very novelle cuisine' as the woman on the next table said when our food was brought out)
Husb: Haddock (tbc)
Dessert
Me: Carrot and Macerated Raisin Cake with pumpkin parfait and carrot and orange sorbet (not overly sweet, but very interesting indeed)
Husb: Cheese board (with about 1000 crackers to choose from, but the waiter didn't tell him what the cheeses were)
Coffee & Petit Fours
This was great fun - a pretty little raspberry tart, a piece of nougat, a homemade chocolate and the pièce de résistance had to be two little chocolate balls on cocktail sticks resting in a shot glass full of what looked like sherbert. They turned out to contain ice-cream, though I have no idea how this is physically possible to achieve. We did have some debate about whether we were supposed to eat the 'sherbert', and after a quick dab it was found to be coloured sugar...which was a shame:)
We were incredibly well looked after, service was prompt, food presentation was excellent, and overall I would say the seafood lovers amongst you would be better served by Thackery's in terms of choice from their various menus, but nevertheless it was thoroughly enjoyable.
The bill came to c.£100 (without wine).
Posted by pop at Nov 8, 07 11:31 PM
... Comments (0)
Husb decided we should take dinner at The Parrot after our trip to Horsham. The Parrot is part pub, part restaurant part farm-shop and ticks many boxes next to words such as snug and friendly.
Picture courtest of the Parrot website
We found a particularly nook to sit in, but realised there was a bit of a gale blowing down my neck which forced me to order a cup of tea, and another, and another. Fortunately when food was being served we managed to nab the table by the fire from a group of local business men (farmers?) who were just working through the last item on the agenda - at least one pint of ale. We began to warm up nicely. The shop section looked rather good, but was closed at that time of night. There were large blocks of homemade quince paste, freshly cooked muffins on wire racks and plenty of fantastic looking cheese and meats in a chiller.
Starter: pork terrine/pate with toast and salad leaves
Mains
Me: Pork Rib Eye, puy lentils, carrots and cabbage (meat rather dry but otherwise good and very filling)
Husb: Free Range Chicken breast with a mushroom risotto (lovely risotto, chicken tender)
Dessert
Me: Banoffee Pie with chocolate coated strawberries (in terms of proportions, in my opinion there was too much cream, not enough banana or toffee)
Husb: Sticky Toffee Pudding with Sticky Toffee Sauce (the pudding was more chewy and dry than sticky and would certainly get a thrashing from almost any other STP we've ever had)
Overheard Conversations
Mostly relating to farming equipment and tractors and a group of men raving about watching war documentaries
Overall I have to say we were a little let down by The Parrot - the concept is excellent, the building is gorgeous, but maybe someone had their eye off the game that night. Maybe next time?