Chanterelle Risotto at Sarti's in Glasgow

My husband and I were going back to Lisbon for holiday shortly. Food in Lisbon is just heavenly, not to mentioning the weather.... that being said, I have never come across any good pizzas in Lisbon. Obviously you don't go to Lisbon to eat pizza really, but after having so many fish/seafoods and custard pastries every day, one sometimes needs a change, hence a notion of good stone baked pizza, even in Lisbon. For such a ubiquitous dish like pizza, one would think 'you can't go wrong with pizza, anywhere', albeit pizza in Italy being still the best in the world. Alas, not in Lisbon, or at places we have been to in Lisbon ...

So, naturally, we decided to go to Sarti, our favourite restaurant in Glasgow, to have a really good pizza before we go back to Lisbon for imminent holiday. Yes, we love pizza at Sarti's. In fact, the first time we went to Florence, we went to this restaurant to order some stone baked pizza. It was really good but also we said to each other, 'just like the one at Sarti's!'

Anyway, before we got to Sarti, I had already decided that I was going to have a tuna and red onion pizza.  Then, one of the chefs, Martin, came over and told us that chanterelle risotto was really good that day ....

I had a big dilemma ... do I have a pizza or the risotto.... the chef said it was really good .... and I had never tried chanterelle mushroom properly before.
In the end we were persuaded; we could have pizza any time but not the chanterelle mushroom risotto, and we did not regretted our decisions.

The risotto was really delicious, so creamy and with lovely flavoursome mushrooms!!!  How could they make the dish so beautifully ...
If they had this on a special menu in future, we would definitely have this again!

This was half-portion size risotto, sprinkled with freshly grated Parmesan cheese;
there were lots of chanterelle mushrooms, mmmmmm.

Well, just as well I only ordered as a half size portion so that at least I could manage to finish this, because we already had some focaccia whilst waiting for starter, and then had roasted red peppers with mozzarella cheese for starters, both were fantastic!

Mozzarella cheese was really soft and creamy with lovely and warm roasted peppers with balsamic glaze 

Ok, we are not going to have a pizza for a while but we can still look forward to going Sarti's pizza when we come back from our holiday in Lisbon, unless they create another scrumptious dish that would make it difficult for us not to have their pizza...

That's all forks!

Dinner at Browns in Glasgow

I have just gone to Glasgow for haircut yesterday. Every time, I explain how I want my hair done to a hairdresser.  Each time I ask for a different hair-style, specifically request that I DO NOT WANT A BOB. I even sometime produce a magazine clipping to show to make a point; I know you can't make my hair exactly look like this but you get the idea...? They all give me a nod of perfect understanding. Then every time I leave a salon, I end up with the same haircut - bob! Why is this happening to me?  What have I not explained properly? So I go home, wash my hair to style it in my own way. Somehow I manage to have my hair style look less like a Bob. At least my current hairdresser gives me a very good cut so I can fix it to my liking later... she is the best one I have ever found in Glasgow so far....

Never mind, the difference of bad and ok hair cut is only 2 weeks, after that no one cares including me. I can handle it.

Why am I talking about this whereas my blog is about food? No reason, other than that on my way to the salon I have passed by George Square and have noticed that Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games logo is still there, which reminded me that I have forgotten about talking about Browns Bar & Brasserie (http://www.browns-restaurants.co.uk/locations/glasgow/) which is right on George Square as we went there before the Game started.

Glasgow's George Square.  Browns is at the corner of the building on the right.

I subscribe Browns e-newsletters and one day I got an email about 3 course dinner for two just less than £30!  So my husband and I decided to try this restaurant.

It was a lovely Tuesday evening with warm sunshine. Being during the week day, the restaurant was not too busy but there were some graduates celebrating their graduation day with their friends and families in the restaurant, so there was happy atmosphere.

They do live Jazz on Thursdays - we must try it!

We were seated without any problem and were also given a normal a la carte menu to peruse. The menu looks nice, with lots to choose from (http://www.browns-restaurants.co.uk/media/ugc/menus/2014/05/01/Browns-Main-Menu-U.pdf). 

We first of all ordered a glass of wine each - Mamaku, New Zealand's Sauvignon Blanc, described on the wine menu as classic kiwi Sauvignon with gooseberry, passionfruit and a racy citrus finish. It's great with goat's cheese, it says. I don't like goat's cheese but apart from that, it sounds nice.  £6.2 per glass, it'd better be more than nice... and yes, it was a lovely wine.

For starters, I had Crab & Avocado Stack with mustard creme fraiche and a mildly spiced coriander and chilli salsa with an avocado and potato salad.  My husband had King Prawn Cocktail with fresh seeded wholemeal bread and butter. 

My crab & avocado was nice, refreshing.  For some reason my husband pictured king prawns to be decorated around the rim of a cocktail glass, instead they came in a bowl with endive leaves sticking out like a rabbit's ear. I think the taste was fine, and they were king prawns not wee shrimps, though funny how the perception or presentation of a dish could influence one's palate.

Next, for the main course, I had Lobster Tagliatelle with flaked lobster, parmesan, cream and white wine topped with grilled half lobster tail.

Your eyes are always bigger than your stomach - you think there was not much in it but actually the portion size was just right, especially the sauce was rather rich.  It was lovely, I actually enjoyed it and managed it all.

My husband had Roast Fillet of Fresh Cod with a brown shrimp, caper and parsley butter served with spinach and sautéed potatoes.  This one looked really nice and he said it was delicious. He finished all too with his stomach satisfied. We did not even need to order side dishes and just as well.



By this time I was full, but determined to go for a dessert since this is a 3-course meal deal and I am too greedy not to find out what they are offering.

I decided to try something simple and straight forward, so I ordered Dairy Ice Cream of choices of three scoops of strawberry, pistachio and chocolate with a home-baked cookie.

My husband had Peach and Cherry Crumble served with custard. Perhaps crumbles were too crumbly and dry but he said custard was nice.

Yes, I also did the toilet check. It's in downstairs. The toilet was very clean with lots of cubicles but each cubicle size is rather narrow. I thought I would become claustrophobic and nearly passed out as the toilet room was far too hot as if the heater were full on.  I had to go back upstairs quickly to get fresh air rather I powder my nose to refresh myself.

Over all, we enjoyed our dinner and the evening. Do we go back and try other dishes from the menu at full price?  Well, not sure yet but they are doing Afternoon Tea for two for £15 and its menu sounds nice (http://www.browns-restaurants.co.uk/media/ugc/files/afternoon-tea-menu.pdf). I am also interested in their Lobster Thursday, and all that Jazz!

We completed online survey once we came home and we got free desert voucher.... Ooops, I have just discovered that it expired on 4th August. Not to worry. I am sure I will receive further emails about other offers from Browns. I can wait. Just like I can wait for my hair to grow back a bit and settle down over the next 2 weeks. I am not looking forward to go back to their toilet though ...

That's all forks!

Fish & Chips in Falkirk

It was my mother-in-law Mary's birthday last Sunday. We were looking for place to go for dinner with her. Mary lives in Stirling. We live in Glasgow and Peter's sister family lives in Edinburgh. It has to be somewhere central for all.  Mary then suggested to go to benny t's (http://www.bennyts.net) in Falkirk.  It's a family-run fish and chips restaurant and takeaway place, not too far away from Falkirk Football Stadium.

I checked the reviews on Tripadvisor before we left home. Some said they do very good pizzas. That's tempting but we are in fish & chip restaurant so I decided to stick to their main products and ordered Classic Haddock Fish Supper (£9.95) that comes with 2 fillets (the menu says approx. 100g each) in crispy butter, served with benny t's tartare sauce, chips and was garnished with benny t's coleslaw.  Also ordered were two picked onions.




2 full fillets were a bit too much after all. My eyes always bigger than my stomach, however I managed to eat 1 1/2 fillets and the rest became a doggy bag for Robbie, Mary's beloved dog.
benny t's coleslaw lacked some sharpness and flavour, I thought, however overall I enjoyed the supper.

Mary's grand daughter Bekky is vegan at the moment so she ordered Vegetable pizza without cheese. It looked really good and was generous in size, smelling of proper stone baked oven pizza. Unfortunately I don't have photo of that. There were 9 of us at the table and Bekky was sitting the opposite end of the table from me. I did not have audacity to ask her not to start eating till I position her plate of pizza to be at the correct angle to take a photo for me.

There is extensive list of pizza on the menu (http://www.bennyts.net/uploads/files/bennyts.seesites.biz_--_590511914.pdf).  Pizza Amalfi sounds nice. If I ever go back there, I may try their pizza next time.

The restaurant decor is bright and colourful. Take away bit and restaurant stand side by side. It also has good size car parking facility.

We arrived at the restaurant at 4pm (it opens at 4pm on Sundays) so we did not have any problem to get a table for 9. By the time we were leaving, the restaurant was getting busier with people waiting for their seats. There are also people driving in to pick up takeaways from the chippies.

After this, Mary, my husband and I went back to Mary's house in Stirling.  I had earlier baked strawberry sponge cake with white chocolate and cream cheese icing for her birthday.  So we decided to eat some slices as dessert at her house. I think I did a fairly good job of this; the sponge was nice and moist, strawberries married well with white chocolate and cream cheese icing. I hope Mary enjoyed it too.  Well, I enjoyed it, blowing my trumpet here.... ha ha ha. 

Scotland has so many great fish and chips shops so to be honest benny t's is not a place we would go to drive all the way from where we live in Glasgow however, we could go back there for pizza next time as there are now The Kelpie near Falkirk,  300-tonne 30m high Kelpie horse's heads, Scotland's biggest art installation built by the artist Andy Scott's.  I fancy go and see them properly.

You can actually see the Kelpies from the motorway.  I am sure they look amazing from the Helix park where they are situated, however even from the motorway, they look awesome.  The stainless steel sculptures look so alive.....

Yes, we shall go and see the Kelpies and then go back to benny t's for pizza!

Anyway, hope Mary has enjoyed her birthday. Bekky and her boyfriend Don gave her a lovely card which they bought when they were travelling Vietnam.  I could not resist taking the photo of this. It's just so lovely and intricate.

Anyway, it was lovely for the family to get together. Happy Birthday, Mary.

That's all forks.

Da Luciano in Bothwell

The Commonwealth Games in Glasgow is coming into an end tommorow. I heard on the radio the other day that about 800,000 people flocking into the city of Glasgow!  Wow, lots of people.  I have managed to stay away from the city during the games and have been watching the actions on TV.

This also means that we don't go to Glasgow for almost weekly fix of Italian food at Sarti. So where else do we go....?

I have recently gone out for dinner with my friend, Dace. We originally thought about meeting up in Glasgow for dinner but decided to avoid it all together as we thought it would be very busy because of the games.

Dace found this Italian restaurant in Bothwell called Da Luciano (http://daluciano.co.uk) in Bothwell. We don't need to drive through the town, in fact totally avoids Glasgow; that would work.

I was driving to get to the restaurant after work. It was allegedly the most hottest day in Scotland. I know as I could feel my make up melting, even if my windows were open whilst driving (the air con does not work that well in my car...).


Dace and I decided to dine alfresco - in fact there was no one eating inside anyway. I don't usually do this as it's too cold to sit outside (if in Scotland) or I don't want to get sun tanned. But I made an exception that day. It was really hot but the garden canopies gave us a nice shelter with occasional pleasant breeze. My make up was already melted so I might as well get some colour to my cheeks.

The restaurant had bar snack menu. Interesting... many items are not really Italian, for example Chicken Pakora, King Prawn Tempura. I guess they would be nice if you just want to have light bites to eat with drinks.  But I was hungry.  I found it also has Teble D'Hote menu, for £13.95 for two courses and £15.95 for three courses including a large glass of House Wine (http://daluciano.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/august-tdh-menu.pdf).  That sounds nice too. Knowing me, probably I can't handle full three courses. I pictured myself driving home with full fat belly, feeling uncomfortable. Better be with something lighter.

In the end, Dace and I decided to go for pasta for main course from A La Carte menu and maybe would have desserts later.

I had Linguine Allo Scoglio (Linguine pasta with king prawn, mussels, calamari, clams in olive oil and garlic sauce) and Dace had Linguine pasta with broccoli, courgettes, peas with goat cheese.

Pasta was good ... I would have liked it with more juice from seafood in my pasta however I enjoyed it. It was colourful (I like that in my food!) and its light taste made it quite perfect for such a hot day. Dining alfresco makes everything tasty anyway.  I am sure Dace enjoyed hers, certainly her pasta looked nice.

We then decided to order desserts after all.  I spotted 'Warm Nutella' and pecan crepes with vanilla ice cream. I like Nutella, so that's what I had.

Dace had Tiramisu. It looked interesting ... it looked more like a 'de-constructed' Tiramisu. Tiramisu (tira meaning pick or pull and misu, I think means me) means "pick me up" or "lift me up" in Italian, made of savoiardi finger biscuits dipped in coffee, layered with a whipped cream, mascarpone and cocoa.  Were there any coffee dipped finger biscuits in the jar of cream? I forgot to ask Dace how was the dessert as we were too busy talking. I hope it did, otherwise, it would be Tiramissed as no coffee dipped biscuits to give a kick... ha ha ha.

We enjoyed our dinner and conversation that night. Weather was also great too and it was really lovely to dine alfresco.  Dace told me that we have not met each other for more than 10 years. 10 years, that long!!!  That's terrible. We had so much to catch up with.  Great thing about our friendship is that, no matter how long we might not have seen each other, we can pick up our friendship where we left off last time to pick up just like that as if we only have seen each other recently.

Well, Dace's Tiramisu might not have pick her up but we surely did pick up our friendship right away and our spirits were lifted up!  We really enjoyed our dinner. Next time we must meet sooner than 10 years time, definitely!


That's all forks.