A fine time had by all

I've just got back from a long weekend in Falmouth, and boy oh boy do they make some stinky cheese down there! Hailing from Penryn (or 'ryn to locals) Menallack Farm make some particularly fine cheese, as sampled by me from David's plate (sorry David), at Ratho.

I really like eating at Ratho as they always seem to go that little bit further than others. For example, in offering fine cheese made about 5 miles outside of Falmouth, served with handmade biscuits made on the premises - superb!

Sadly Menallack Farm do not seem to have a website, however they do offer a mail order service boasting a wopping 36 Cornish cheeses, 16 of which are made at the farm, in addition to another 5 from outside the county such as good ol' Montgomery's Cheddar.

No piccie, but I hope you'll forgive me... I seem to have been quite slack on the photo front recently, but promise to make it up to you.

On another note, dates for this year's Oyster Festival (again, in Falmouth) are 16-19 October. I should be teaching by then (all being well) so I do hope that falls in the half term!

Birthday goodness

Two books The River Cottage Fish Book and Ottolenghi: The Cookbook. Both look absolutely awesome and I can tell will get a lot of use. I have found my River Cottage Meat Book indispensable over the past year, and with eight weeks off this summer am looking forward to catching as much with my fishing rod as possible!

Also, last night we went out to have dinner at Ottolenghi in Islington with my Dad and Aunty Stella - it was so good, I highly recommend it. The food was delicious, (washed down with a particularly fine Sancerre I might add) and I also loved the fact that the atmosphere was relaxed: it made for a very lovely meal had by all. I did actually take my camera, but like all good meals when it came down to taking pics I thought "Sod that, I'm eating!"

There you go, one very good reason why I am no good at restaurant reviews: too gushy by far. And so, looking forward to the continuation of birthday goodness this evening amongst friends at the Royal Oak. Hurrah.

Hotel Ammos

I forgot to mention where we went on holiday - Hotel Ammos - it was absolutely lovely and perfect for two such worn out people as David and I were when we arrived. The staff went beyond what would normally constitute good service, accommodation was comfortable and luxurious, and of course the restaurant did not disappoint. Highlights included Spinach Pies (pictured above), Zucchini Balls, Fennel Pie and the best Greek sweets I've ever eaten.

I felt so inspired upon return that I instantly ordered this book from Amazon.

The Rosé's alright

On Friday I somehow (thank you Asi) found myself one of the lucky guinea pigs requested to try out Shoreditch House's new restaurant and kitchen. It's a little different up there to how I'd imagine - the restaurant is laid out as a canteen, with a large farmhouse style French dresser running down the entire length of one wall. All in all though I'd say it was really good.

The food was excellent - I had Beef Carpaccio in Venetian sauce, followed by Roast Suckling Pig. In true student-style, not content with this for my lunch I managed to get a whole other course in my belly, and finished off with the Italian Cheese Board! Some habits die hard.

Personally, I still cannot justify the cost of joining or the enormous annual fee, but I'm sure this place will have no end of fans when it opens later this week.

PS - The rosé was rather alright too!

Yummy Vietnamese

I ate out at Namo on Saturday night. It's the best Vietnamese I have ever had, although admittedly I have only ever eaten at three restaurants. The other two were both on Kingsland Road and not a patch on Namo. If you aren't near to Victoria Park they also have a restaurant in Dalston, called Huong-Viet. If it's anything like this I'd say well worth checking out.

Check out Time Out's review

Best steak in town

Mmmm... my weekend got off to a good start on Friday evening with a 10oz Fillet steak at Buen Ayre on Broadway Market. If you live anywhere nearby I would definitely recommend heading there.