Milan-Milan last Easter

Easter 2010, we travelled down Southwest to Torquay for a long weekend.

During that trip, we accidentally came across this wonderful restaurant hidden in a little town called Babbacombe, "a beautiful coastal  suburb of Torquay". We were looking for a place to have dinner, and thanks to 'yell.com' we found Milan-Milan tucked in the corner of a row of very quiet looking shops.

The menu of this restaurant changes according to season. They serve only fresh local produce daily. This is the reason why the food tastes so wonderfully delicious no matter what the season is!

 I can still remember the taste of the juicy succulent lamb, cooked to perfection, that melts in your mouth as you slowly chew it. The sauce is just wonderfully delicious and brings out the natural taste of lamb meat. Even though it was served as a side, the sweet potato gratin is out of this world!

South Devon Lamb cooked in rosemary, mint and brandy sauce, served with sweet potato gratin and fennel leaves.

And of course the fish was very fresh and smells absolutely delicious with the aroma of bacon and white wine. Even the grilled cherry tomatoes was very tasteful and burst with flavours in your mouth!

Cod fish wrapped in Bacon...cooked in white wine and fennel sauce..served with mashed potatoes, veg and grilled cherry tomatoes

Anybody going to Torquay or near Torquay? This is one place I will definitely recommened a visit for food!

Ruby Tuesday on a Saturday

The very first Ruby Tuesday in the UK has opened up in Cardiff!

With some anticipation we went to taste the American cuisine on Saturday. After a 45 minutes wait we were seated, the place looks like a bistro, rather contemporary deco.

We started our meal with the Wings Sampler. Followed by main courses that include steak, fish and crab cakes. Then finished off with a New York style cheesecake for our complete American cuisine journey.

Broiled fish with sauteed shrimp in rich parmesan sauce

Crab cake seared to golden brown served with a spicy sauce

Shrimp and Steak served with brocolli

The medium to well-done steak

New York style cheesecake served with raspberry compote

The photos look very good, but sadly, that's where it all ends. We were a bit disappointed with the taste after a long anticipated wait to try this new cuisine in town.  The chicken wings were over-fried and didn't absorb the sauces well into the meat. The sauteed shrimps were still a bit raw. All is not lost as the steak was well cooked to order. Overall, the food was alright but wasn't up to the standard for the asking price.

I must say that my very own home-made NY style vanilla cheesecake looks and tastes much nicer! ;-)

Homemade NY style vanilla cheesecake

NB: This of course brings me to the next post which reminds me of what really good food is all about!- Milan-milan last Easter

Food adventure weekend 14-15 August 2010

Saturday

What was supposedly a trip to the annual Bristol Balloon Fiesta 2010 has turned into 'food fiesta'. This is due to the ever unpredictably predictable wet British weather.

The day started with the sun shining above us. As we were driving along the M4 towards Bristol, it started to drizzle and by the time we reached Water Sky restaurant in Bristol it POURED down with rain!

Since it was raining heavily we decided to head back to a friend's place and wait the rain out. Sun came out sooner than we thought so we head out to Aston Court - venue for the balloon fiesta.

Rainbow above Ashton Court Estate

Lo and behold, as we started tracking down the hill towards the funfare, the sky begin to darken and few water droplets turned into another bout of heavy rain.

So we all decided to head to another eating place - HKD, for FOOD!

Kari Laksa

Red Bean with Iced Milk

Sunday

And of course, the weekend must end perfectly with another trip to a good food place in the town of Pontypridd.

Bunch of Grapes  boasts a menu serving different food daily from local produce that is available on that day.

Bunch of Grapes menu

Oxtail soup with grilled pancetta and organic tomato

Terrine of chicken and pork with toasted bread and marrow chutney

Roasted leg of lamb with pearl barley and Bristol sunrise and rosemary jus

Roast leg of Welsh pork with smoked paprika with perry jus, apple sauce and crackling

Hand cut chips - crispy on the outside, silky soft on the inside