Review: Usquabae, West End, Edinburgh

Whisky lovers, there's a new playground in town!

Usquabae is underneath Ryan's Bar in the West End. The door is on Hope Street, across from the Angel's Share if you don't want to walk through Ryan's.

I'd heard about this new whisky bar last year and had been eagerly awaiting its arrival. After having drinks in the West End with friends, I thought I'd pop down and see if it might have opened while I was away. I was glad to discover they'd been open a week already.

At 9ish on a Friday night, there were a couple of groups in already. We sat at the bar and I found it a little noisy and hard to have a quiet conversation. 

There are plenty of low tables as well as little booths to sit in which might have been a better choice.

They also have two whisky rooms which would be quite fun for an intimate tasting or just hanging out for a couple of drinks.

The main draw is the 400 whiskies they have. There's also a few gins and a selection of beers on tap and in bottles.

I can see this place being popular with the after work crowd in the West End. They also have a menu full of Scottish food, from cullen skink, to Balmoral chicken and cranachan. 

I look forward to coming back at some stage soon for a meal and to try some more of the whiskies on offer.

Review: Ox184, Cowgate, Edinburgh

Already a fan of Holyrood 9A and The Southern, I was excited to hear Fuller Thomson had opened a new venue in the Cowgate. I had been warned that it was 'very red'. It did not disappoint!

I was surprised there were only a couple of people there when I arrived at 7pm on a Thursday. The large cavernous room felt empty and I was worried it would lack atmosphere. I needn't have worried; it steadily filled up with a good mix of big and small groups. The vibe was very laid back and the volume stayed at a low hum, so while it got busy, it never got too loud to have a conversation.

Service was polite and attentive. We were seated by the window which seemed like a great idea, but made me feel a bit like an animal at the zoo with lots of Cowgate's foot traffic peering in.

We ate bacon and corn muffins and pork cheek nuggets from the bites menu, the muffins were mini morsels of fluffy, bacon'y deliciousness. I felt the coating on the nuggets were a little too hard but the pork cheek filling was tasty and my dining companion had no complaints.

Next came lobster and pork belly burger along with the smoked chicken waffle sandwich from the mains menu. I prefer my waffles with a bit of crunch but otherwise couldn't fault the light airy batter. The sweetness of the dough worked well with the slightly spicy sauce and I got my crunch from the fried chicken which I felt was a little dry. No complaints about the lobster and pork belly burger though and the brioche bun really stepped it up a notch.

Due to a slight error, I also ended up with the vege option of the waffle sandwich which has a mushroom and spinach filling. I'd let it get a bit cold before I got to trying it so I'm surely not doing it justice, but I thought it needed added texture.

Our mains were accompanied by cheese fries and charred corn. The corn was done to perfection and the home made cheese sauce on the mountain of fries had a nice spiced kick. We also tried the burnt end beans which I found too salty but can see them doing well with big flavour drinks.

Draft beers come in 1/3, 2/3, pint and demijohns (8 pints). I took full advantage of the mini servings and tried three different beers from Tempest brewery. The companion had a Bristol Vice then a New Zealand sour wheat beer. Draft beers are rotating and are accompanied by a large selection of canned beers as well as a spirit list that spans two pages. They also offer a selection of whisky flights which I'd love to try.

The meal was concluded with the Smoked Banoffee, I was absolutely full to the brim but too intrigued not to order it. I have no regrets. The bruleed banana slices on top were revolutionary. I only want to eat my bananas bruleed from now on! The homemade gingerbread is soaked in house made toffee to absorb lots of caramel'y goodness before being popped in a jam jar with smoked banana which is puréed. It's rich, it's decadent and it absolutely defeated me.

The bathrooms are upstairs and you get to walk past the open fire pit and grill where a lot of the food is cooked. It's definitely worth checking out and stop for a chat with Greg the sous chef if there's anything you want to know about the food. There's also little nooks and booth seating upstairs which would be great for small and large groups.

We had a fantastic time and look forward to returning with a group so we can try the rest of the menu and order demijohns of beer! They're open until 3am and serve food until 2.30am. Which I'll be taking full advantage of at some stage!!

Overall, I feel like there's still a few things still to tweak and the menu is ever evolving, so I look forward to many trips back and having new things to try all the time.



[On this occasion we were guests of Ox184. Many thanks for their hospitality. All opinions are my own.]

Happiness is...

a leisurely lie in on a Saturday but still getting up at a reasonable hour...

getting my passport back after 6 months & having visa SORTED!

a restorative yoga class to lengthen and stretch out all the tired aching muscles from gymming and trampolining...

followed by an aerial yoga class which really worked out all the kinks, and getting to hang upside down!

delicious coffee from a local independent coffee shop..

a great photo viewing session from a fun photoshoot..

fab pub dinner with a delectable craft brewed wheat beer..

finished off with apple and blackberry crumble with custard in pjs on the couch!

I wouldn't complain if Saturdays for the rest of the year went something like today!

Today was absolute BLISS!!

Hope you're having a great weekend!!

Sustainable Restaurant Association's - Ingredients for Success

Earlier this month, I was lucky enough to attend the SRA's event held at The Scottish Cafe. Many thanks to Mrs Monkfish from Mymonkfish for taking me as her guest. It was very much appreciated!

Guy Grieve, Ethical Shellfish Co.

The keynote speakers were Richard Lochhead MSP, James Withers, Carina Contini and Guy Grieve. The most memorable thing to take away was Guy's speech regarding sustainable fishing practices and needing to protect our oceans and seabeds. A point which really rang true for me was that people often don't realise the damage which is done by trawling as the bottom of the ocean is not somewhere which is visible to most people. As a recreational diver I'm lucky enough to have seen how gorgeous the bottom of the sea can be and to have a little understanding of the impact of some fishing practices.

IQ Chocolate, Heritage Potato, Summer Harvest Rapeseed Oil, Peelham Farms & Cuddybridge Apple Juice. 

It was great to get a chance to meet some local sustainable suppliers as well as sample some of their amazing product. Who knew there are so many different types of potatoes!!??!! Seabuckthorn is officially something I'm in love with as well... It's just so.damn.TASTY!

Top left: Peelham Farm slow cooked mutton stew with Phantassie cavolo nero, organic prune creme fraiche and rosti potato from Carroll’s Heritage Potatoes

 Top right : Doves Farm organic spelt risotto with Phantassie Squash, crispy Jerusalem artichokes and Scottish Kitchen Garden sage

Bottom left : Pan seared grouse breast from Ochil foods with honeyed Phantassie celeriac puree and red cabbage pickled in Summer Harvest bramble vinegar

 Bottom right : IQ chocolate pots with Speyside 12 YO Glenlivet Whisky with Innis & Gunn and organic oatmeal biscuits and Phantassie spiced quince jam 

The Scottish Cafe did a great job showcasing the ingredients in canapés and small bowls throughout the evening and Liberty Wines brought along some delightful wines as well. With their wines travelling by sea and rail to reduce their carbon footprint!

Thanks very much to The SRA and The Scottish Cafe for hosting such a great event and again to Mrs Monkfish for taking me along.

Blasda, Scotland's Local Food Festival @ Drill Hall, Edinburgh

A few weeks ago The Mister and I headed along to Blasda at the Out of the Blue, Drill Hall.

I didn't really know what to expect as it wasn't overly well advertised, but the Drill Hall is a great venue, very close to home so we decided to head along and check it out.

{Not sure what the scary face is from up in the loft!}

There weren't very many stalls there.. but one of them was the fabulous people from Breadshare, a community supported bakery based outside of Edinburgh in the Scottish Borders. They are totally not for profit and striving to create a viable, sustainable business supported by the community. We had bought bread from them previously at St Mary's Market and loved it. I was sad they didn't have their fruit & nut loaf (with FIGS!) at the event, but settled for another nut loaf which was equally delicious.

{photo taken from Breadshare Bakery's Facebook page}

Right next door was a pedal powered flour mill! From the people at Greener Leith.

There was a stall from Changeworks talking about food waste which had very interesting information. Apparently the average UK family throws out £430 worth of food a year!!

By far the highlight of the day was the pedal powered smoothie maker!! The fruit all came from local community gardens, which made it doubly special. They were even making blackberry jam from all the berries they'd brought along. It was delicious and we even got to bring some home!!

The smoothie maker even had an adorable multicoloured umbrella top!

There was a fabulous table from Leith World Kitchens (you see them in the yellow aprons!) showcasing three different dishes made with potatoes, from Spain, Africa and India. They were all delicious and the unanimous favourite was the Spanish dish with chorizo. I was obviously too busy feeding my face to take any photos!

There was even some live music...

All in all it was quite informative and it's always great to find out about things that happen in the local communities!

Cravin' : Corn Dogs!

One of the perks of having lived on different continents and travelled to many countries is tall the tasty
morsels I've managed to eat!

Things such as :
- homemade empanadas from a little boy who would come by the dive shops with a massive pot of them when I lived in Roatan..
- curry udon in Japan..
- tasty tagines in Morocco..
- delicious roadside schwarmas in Oman..
- corn dogs at Capital Ex in Edmonton...

@Capital Ex, Edmonton '08
I love Fair food! Well, I love Fairs in general!!

The downside is, once I'm away from these delightful places with their decadent delights, it can be hard to come across these taste morsels again!!

A few weeks ago, I had a hankering for corn dogs.. but as hot dogs (the kind on a stick) are pretty hard to come by in the UK.. I knew I'd have to make my own corn dogs if I really wanted to eat'em... so I turned to the trusty interwebs and let my fingers do the walking...

I found this recipe and was super stoked when I realised I actually had all the ingredients necessary.. apart from the hot dogs and skewers.. oh and milk.. (we usually have rice milk as regular milk doesn't always get along with my stomach...) I text the mister to find some hot dogs on the way home (and milk) and he did not disappoint!

These were seriously so easy to make, the hot dogs took less time than the curly fries I threw in the oven to go with them! If only hot dogs weren't so hideously bad, I'd probably make these all the time... oh... and the deep frying.. that bit's not really good for you either... damn...

what I used : (for 6 hot dogs)

1/2 c cornmeal
1/2 c plain flour
1/8 t salt
couple of twists with the pepper grinder
1/8 c golden granulated sugar
2 t baking powder
1 egg
1/2 c milk

vege oil for frying
6 hot dogs/frankfurters
corn flour for dusting

what I did :

1. Dry hot dogs and roll in a thin layer of cornflour in a shallow dish.
2. Combine dry ingredients.
3. Stir in egg and milk.
4. Preheat oil in a deep saucepan over medium heat.
5. Roll franks in batter until well coated.
6. Fry 1 or 2 corn dogs at a time until lightly browned, around 3 minutes.
7. Drain on paper towels.

8. Enjoy!!

I had some batter leftover, so I diced up some onion, dropped it into the batter then dropped spoonfuls of the onion batter into the hot oil and made myself some hush puppies!! I didn't get any photos of the hush puppies... but they were deeeelish!!

They were so super simple and were pretty darned tasty and totally satiated my craving for Corn Dogs! If I can find better quality hot dogs around town, then I might make them again... As a little treat to myself... :]

And because corn dogs remind me of fairs and carnivals... Here's a picture of some carnie folk...

@Capital Ex, Edmonton '08

Happy Eating!!

Tasty treats from Taste of London

Hey lovelies

I am super sad because Taste of Edinburgh was rained off last weekend... I was so super excited to go.. I had my little menu all planned out for the restaurant stalls I wanted to eat from.. but alas... it wasn't meant to be... considering the Meadows looked more like a pond than a park!

{Photo taken from facebook page for Edinburgh's Hogmanay}

I am consoling myself by reminiscing about my time at Taste of London a few weekends ago with Ms Sok... Sadly, most of the tasty treats I managed to haul back to Edinburgh with me are just about all goneskies... and as I spent the better part of this evening trying desperately hard NOT to eat the entire jar of Isle of Wight tomato relish I brought home, I thought I'd do a quick write up of the all yummy things I actually managed to bring home with me.

{Photo from the Propercorn website}

The first thing to disappear (into my belly!) was the sweet & salty Propercorn.. mostly because we only discovered them at the end of the day and I only had enough cash left to buy one bag... they reminded of the kettle corn I loved so much when I lived in Canada... they were just the right mix of sweet and savoury and the popcorn was perfectly crunchy and fluffy! I wasn't overly crazy about the sour cream & chives.. personally I think that's a flavour more suited to potato chips.. 

{taken from Vegesentials website}

The folks at Vegesentials launched at the event and were super duper generous with their samples.. There were plenty of people walking around with entire 6 packs of juice, myself and Sok included! I also walked away with an extra 3 bottles of varying flavours as they opened new bottles to let people test out the different varieties. Their juices are 100% natural and taste like it.. in a good way! They taste healthy as opposed to sugary which gets a big thumbs up in my books! I had the Perky Bliss, Groovy Mellow and Groovy Roots juices and they were all delicious! The Perky Bliss was quite 'earthy' tasting which I attributed to the beetroot, I quite liked it after the first few sips, but may be an acquired taste for others. Big thanks to Vegesentials for being so bountiful with their product!! Much appreciated!! Just waiting for them to stock it somewhere local....

{Photo from The Tomato Stall website}

The lovely folk from The Tomato Stall had all sorts of delicious tomatoes from the Isle of Wight along with relishes, ketchups, sauces and juices. If I lived in London, I seriously would have bought lots of tomatoes from these people... they were so delectable! I had trouble deciding between the red and green relishes, ultimately going with the red though Ms Sok bought the green and we gobbled up half the jar that night. I was so busy trying to rearrange all my stuff that I left my jar of relish on the table after I bought it... I literally turned around, as we were leaving, and ran back across half the grounds when I realised it was missing from my bags! They were very gracious and I didn't have to leave the event heartbroken at being relish'less.

{Compiled from images from Flour Power City website}

I also, rather outlandishly, bought a loaf of walnut and sundried apricot bread from the lovely people at Flour Power City Bakery.. only outlandish for the fact that they don't use any preservatives in their breads and I had to transport it all the way to Edinburgh! Ms Sok also bought two pieces of delicious decadent brownie from them.. They had lots and lots of samples of all their different types of breads and they were all fabulous! I have yet to discover an artisan bakery in Edinburgh so I'm super sad that they don't stock anywhere in Scotland at all.

{Compiled from images from Black Garlic website}

Ms Sok also bought a handful of Black Garlic and we had a fabulous chat with one of the guys, who we were pretty sure was also a Kiwi! To be honest I was rather hesitant when we were offered this stuff to try. They just had the peeled cloves in a pile on a board... so I really had no idea what it was I was about to consume... but I gave it a go and was glad I did! The taste is only slightly reminiscent of regular garlic... they are quite sweet with a tangy hint of balsamic. As we stumbled upon them quite close to closing time, they gave Sok LOADS of black garlic and I benefited from their hospitality! There is a recipe for mushroom and black garlic risotto on their website that I'm pretty keen to try.

We sampled lots of other food and drink during our 5 hours at the event and if I could remember them all to give them all a mention, I would.. but there were just too many!! We also saw chef Michael Roux Jnr and ate tasty morsels from restaurants headed by Jaime Oliver, Gordon Ramsay, Heston Blumenthal and various other Michelin starred chefs.

It was a marvellous afternoon, even though Regents Park was a bit muddy and we had a few showers, we had an incredible time. If I can find the photos I took of the tasty morsels we ate from the restaurant stalls, I shall do a write up about them too.

Thanks to Ms Sok for being great foodie company and to all the fantastic peeps that exhibited at Taste of London! With Taste of Edinburgh rained off, I'm not looking forward to the Foodie Festival in Edinburgh in August! I think festivals are such a superb way to discover new (and local) places to find tasty treats and who doesn't like to support local!?!


Happy Eating!!

Foodie Alphabet!

So I'm still in a funk after being told off for my tardiness this morning and all I have on my agenda today is filing.. so I'm going to fill in another meme to try and lift my mood before I tackle X's overflowing filing tray... *sigh* nothing cheers me up like food!! 


ABC
A: is for Apple, what’s your favorite variety? Granny Smith... crunchy and sharp! yummo!! If green apples aren't available, then Braeburns.. they are almost always crunchy and that is VERY important! mushy apples are yuck!

B: is for Bread, regardless of nutrition, calories, or whole grains what is your favorite type to have a nice big piece of? Brown bread with seeds and nuts.. nom nom nom.. or focacia... dipped in olive oil and balsamic.. or dukkah... nom nom nom... 

C: is for Cereal what is your favorite kind currently (just one!) muesli! muesli from real foods.. om nom nom nom... 

D: is for Doughnuts, you might not currently be eating them but what kind do you fancy? boston creme from tim hortons... but I'm not really picky.. I love doughnuts.. ooh oooh.. or those mini ones from the street stalls.. drowning in cinnamon sugar... mmmmmmmmini doughnuts.. 

E: is for Eggs, how would you like yours prepared? any way! I love eggs.. 

F: is for Fat Free, what is your favorite fat free product? yoghurt.. it's about the only fat free thing I do because fat free usually involves sweetners and I think it's far worse to eat things that are chemically manufactured rather than just eat sugar which is a natural product! 


G: is for Groceries, where do you purchase yours at? mostly Tesco... sometimes Sainsbury's.. bits and pieces from real foods... I wish we had a proper green grocer or butcher nearby.. 

H: is for Hot Beverages, what is your favorite hot drink? flat white if there's an espresso machine involved.. otherwise I'm not overly picky.. depends on my mood... I go between coffee and tea.. or Turkish Apple Tea.. sometimes hot chocolate.. 

I: is for Ice Cream, pick a favorite flavor and add a fun topping. hokey pokey! or stracciatella.. with crushed almonds on top.. or chocolate sauce.. 

{via}

J: is for Jams or Jellies, do you eat them, and if so what kind and flavor? Berries.. anything berry flavour.. strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, boysenberry... ooh.. and grape!! I don't like marmalade tho.. ick! I agree with Mrs Biscuit that the Bonne Maman jams are pretty yummy!

K: is for Kashi, name your favorite Kashi product? I think the only Kashi product I've eaten is the Strawberry Fields cereal.. we don't get Kashi here.. so I say K is for Kellog's.. and my fave Kellog's product is probably Crunchy Nut.. I eat it outta the box like chips.. haha.. or pop tarts, tho they are so sweet they make my teeth hurt... but they are a fun treat.. 

L: is for Lunch, what was yours today? leftover sausage and spinach pasta bake from dins last night.. 

M: is for microwave, what is your favorite microwave meal/snack? popcorn.. that's about the only thing I cook in the microwave.. otherwise microwave lasagne is good too.. 


N: is for nutrients, do you likes carbs, fats, or proteins best? what does fruit and veges count as?? probably carbs? I love chips.. I've gone weeks without meat and dairy but chips are absolutely my weakness.. 

O: is for oil, what kind do you like to use? EVOO.. just OO..  

P: is for protein, how do you get yours? Steak, bacon.. pork chops.. lamb.. chicken.. I have no qualms with eating animals.. whale, zebra, kangaroo, ostrich, alligator, rabbit, boar, caribou, deer, reindeer.. I've eaten them all..  

Q: is for Quaker, how do you like your oats? baked in muffins!! 

R: is for roasting, what is your favorite thing to roast? sweet potato/kumara or pumpkin... 

S: is for sandwich, what’s your favorite kind? depends on my mood.. but anything that contains bacon usually wins my vote! 

T: is for travel, how do you handle eating while traveling? junk food!! road trips are for junk food!! otherwise I like to eat local when I'm travelling.. I'm game to try just about anything.. (bugs and insects.. not so much).. I ate iguana once when I lived in Honduras.. 

U: is for unique, what is one of your weirdest food combos? erm... nothing?? banana and peanut butter? or apple and peanut butter?? I thought it was weird when I saw my roomy Ash do it.. but I've seen other people eat it since.. so it can't be that weird! 

V: is for vitamins, what kind do you take? I take cod liver oil and some vitamin C.. when I remember.. when I'm feeling a bit down or can't sleep well, I take St John's Wort.. but that's about it.. 

W: is for wasabi, yay or nay? Yum! but only on sushi and sashimi.. or wasabi peas! nom nom nom... 

X: is for Xmas time treats, what is your favorite type? umm.. I don't think I have one.. candy canes? :D 

Y: is for youth, what food reminds you of your childhood? My mum or granny's cooking.. I ate loads of stuff as a kid.. maybe plum discs.. or Morinaga caramels.. or Chelsea Candy.. and Koala cookies!!  

Z: is for zucchini, how do you prepare it? Zucchini/Courgettes aren't something that I'd buy... I'll eat em if they show up on my plate.. but a couple of weeks ago was the first time I've bought them for myself.. I just sliced them up and put them in George (the mister's George Foreman grill).. they were yum! 







Thanks Mrs Biscuit for posting~


nb: I am happy to report that I am feeling quite a bit better after consuming a bacon & egg roll... and a wander around the charity shops at lunch time!! :)