Easter Sunday Lunch at Hotel Colessio, Stirling

On Easter Sunday, we spent time with family. This year we decided to have a lunch at Hotel Colessio (http://www.hotelcolessio.com) in Stirling. The hotel opened in summer 2014.

We were wondering what this building was used to be. The building next door to this hotel, now Stirling Highland Hotel, was used to be a high school that my mother-in-law, Mary went when she was a teenager. So we asked her what this building used to be, to which she replied old Royal Infirmary.

Well, the building itself may be old, however you step inside and it is decorated modern. You immediately see the bar on the left and the restaurant on the right before you notice there is a check-in desk right in front of you.

Our table for 9 was booked for 12.30pm however we arrived too early so we decided to sit in the bar to have some drinks till the rest of our party arrived.

Craig, Emily's husband, kindly offered to drive for us so Emily and I had some cocktails to try. We checked the drink menu ...

I ordered Elderflower Cosmopolitan - vodka, shaken with elderflower, cranberry and lemon.  Emily ordered Scottish Mule - gin and ginger mixed with elderflower, fresh mint, topped with ginger beer.  Both were very refreshing and lovely cocktails.

Once everyone arrived, we moved to the restaurant - Grill Room - and were seated. There was Easter Sunday menu which we all tried. Everyone ordered different things ....

The restaurant was still quiet so we were served fairly quickly.

My husband and I tried Hot smoked salmon and Horseradish Tart.

  

Mary, Craig and Paul had Carrot and Coriander Soup, which I thought was really tasty.

Emily and Kaylee had Chicken Liver Pate..

 

For main course, I had Roasted Cod Loin (I asked without Parma Ham) with mushroom, spring risotto and rocket pesto.  Cod was quite a good size, cooked nicely - flaked easily but still moist and not dry. Risotto was actually Orzo pasta, shaped like a large grain of rice.

Some had Roasted Loin of Marmalade-glazed Smoked Gammon. They found it a bit salty but it looked nice.....

Some had Roasted Sirloin of Scottish Beef. Emily and Craig thought this was really lovely ...

My husband had Butternut Squash Ravioli with smoked Applewood garlic cream sauce. Unfortunately he found this to be over powered by far too much cheese sauce ...

After the main course most people decided not to have any desserts except Andrew, Emily, Craig and myself.  Andrew, Emily and Craig tried Creme Egg Ice Cream Sundae with fresh strawberry coulis. I forgot to ask them what it meant by 'Creme Egg' ice cream....

I tried Chocolate Mini Egg Cheesecake with vanilla ice cream.  Chocolate cheesecake was quite delicious, not too sweet with Cadburys' Mini Eggs on it. Chocolate Cheesecake egg was sitting on chocolate coconut, which was really hard to crack (no pun intended...). It would have been nicer if they were chocolate flakes instead.

Overall I enjoyed my lunch however it was hit or miss for some people. I have seen some photographs of their Afternoon Tea on Instagram and it looks nice. Perhaps we may come back for that to try before we make any judgement....  My mother-in-law Mary comes here for lunch with her friends as they also do weekday lunch menu.

Comfy seats in the bar ....

Well, it's always good to try different places, however most of all, it's lovely to get together as a family and have lunch on Easter Sunday. I certainly did have a lovely Sunday.

See you till next time ....? 

Where shall we try for next Easter Sunday ....? Still 51 weeks away to think about.

Hope you too have had a lovely Easter Sunday.

That's all forks.

Thai Afternoon Tea at Chaophraya, Glasgow

Last weekend, Emily and Maria took me to Chaophraya (http://chaophraya.co.uk/venues/chaophraya-glasgow/) for Mothers Day's Thai afternoon tea treat.

I had no idea what they planned for me on the day or where we were going, if we were going anywhere at all. I asked, 'What's the dress code?' They said, 'Smart casual'. So I gathered that we were going somewhere instead of staying at home.

They gave me a box of present and a bunch of Tulip which is one of my favourite flowers.

Yuki being nosy what's in the box .....

When I opened the box, there is a set of lovely teacup and saucer with my favourite Lindor chocolate. This was a clue ... we were going for an afternoon tea. Wonderful! Anything that involves food, that's me!

I still did not know where we were going at that stage. We got into Emily's car and headed toward Glasgow. I listed all possible afternoon tea places on Sunday in the city that we have not been in my head.  We parked the car, started walking on Buchanan Street. I was wondering if we were heading toward Princes Square. Next thing, Emily and Maria pointed at the entrance of Chaophraya. Here we were.

I did not expect this at all. What a lovely surprised and what Thai afternoon would be like!!!

We stepped inside. We checked in at the reception and were taken into our table.

Our table was in Palm Sugar bar lounge. The place was bustling with other Afternoon tea parties already.

A nice corner with my personal throne ....

 

 Table is all set and we were waiting for our food ...

The next thing, our afternoon tea stand arrived!!!

Instead of normal sections of sandwiches, you get Thai style spring rolls, satays and fritter and fish cakes, etc....

These are my vegetarian options....

I had these with a pot of Jasmin tea which went very well with these food... 

We then had scones with Thai infused jam ...

Then moved on to cakes too .... cup cakes, chocolate brownies with peanut butter and mini macaroons.

To be honest, by this time we were full and could not finish all the cakes. We asked for doggy bag ...

That was a lovely afternoon tea. We did not have any cocktails to go with it but we could if we wanted. Maybe next time...  I really enjoyed the afternoon tea.

It was a lovely Mother's Day present - Thank you Emily, Maria, Craig and Dale!!!

And I surely did have a lovely day!

You can also read my earlier blog about the lunch I had at Chaophraya ....

That's all forks!

Excellent brunch at Montgomerys Cafe, West End, Glasgow

You got to try Egg Florentine for brunch at Montgomerys Cafe (9 Radnor Street, Glasgow) in West End. My husband is quite particular about coffee and even he has admitted that Montgomerys does a very good coffee. I love their Egg Florentine so much I have managed to coax my husband into going back there again two consecutive Sundays!

The cafe is very near to Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery and Radnor Street is sandwiched between Sauchiehall Street and Argyll Street. As we went there on Sunday, there is no problem to find parking spaces.

It's a lovely place. The decor itself makes you feel happy.

and when you look up, you see a colourful map of the world on the ceiling.

As soon as we were seated, the staff brought you a bottle of water, which was well cooled. 

Before we went to the cafe, I had already decided to order their Egg Florentine and a Vietnamese Coffee, however I checked the menu anyway to see what else they have to eat. Well, there are so many delicious sounding dishes on the menu it could be quite difficult to choose ...

... Yes, Portobello Burger sounds nice but so as Mushroom Salad, and Hot Smoked Salmon Salad too.

Tuna Melt also sounds good.... Haggis Melter!  That would suit Emily's husband Craig, definitely!

Well, I shall have Egg Florentine - the dish I came to the cafe for and my husband had Veg Stack when we went to the cafe for the first time.

He then ordered large cappuccino and I ordered Vietnamese Coffee. It uses a small coffee pot that looks like a hat and sits on the top of a coffee cup. Coffee and hot water slowly trickles through into the cup with condensed milk. Why condensed milk?  French colonists introduced coffee to Vietnam and in those days the French could not easily get fresh milk so they used condensed milk instead.

So I shall just wait for the black liquid trickled into the glass cup. When it's ready, I just stir up all the condensed milk to enjoy but you could leave it for the end.

And my Egg Florentine has arrived!!! Two big thick and fluffy slices of toasted brioche bread with buttered spinach atopped with two perfectly poached eggs with delicious hollandaise sauce that has some kick to it. It's just perfect!

This is my husband's Veg Stack - There is a big portobello mushroom hidden behind the stack ...

I enjoyed my Egg Florentine so much during our last visit, we both ordered this again this morning... and for me, with a cup of Vietnamese Coffee again too ...

I love it ... there are lots of spinach in between the toasted brioche and the brioche is just perfect - big chunky slices yet so fluffy and sweet and delicious.

My husband quickly checked internet to see what's in the brioche or how to bake it. He found Paul Hollywood's recipe on line and I noticed a photo of his book cover. I said, "I think I got this book at home." He said, "I am sure you do.", hinting that I shall start thinking of kneading the dough and bake a lovely brioche loaf. Nice try, but I do have a bread maker and I am sure I have seen the setting for brioche in its recipe book. I may try it....

Anyway, after our first visit to this cafe, we went to Tantrum Doughnuts shop nearby and bought a box of 10 doughnuts, which I will promise that I talk about in my blog another time but soon.

View from downstairs ....

Today, I said to my husband that I want to 'cake away' desserts instead of going for doughnuts as I can see delectable looking cakes are beckoning me ...

So, we then walked over to the counter and see what we can try ....

We got to try those big strawberry tarts ....

and Salted caramel tart with pistachios ....

There are just too many to choose from ....

My husband want to try Mango and Raspberry Delice ...

So these are our desserts at home ....

I have just had the strawberry tart and it was yummy. There are lots of cream in the tart, glazed all over with sweet and sticky strawberry sauce, AND, I found a huge whole strawberry right in the centre hidden amongst the cream. What a lovely surprise. 

I can't get enough of their Egg Florentine. I want to eat it again... 

It's definitely a trip worthwhile for brunch. Staff are very attentive and service is very quick. All the dishes they are carrying to tables look all fantastic. We need to go back again .... yummy ....

That's all forks.