Daily Archives: September 5, 2017

Excellent £45 3-course Lunch at One Michelin Star Kinloch on 14Jun2017(Day 6 Fort Williams/Isle of Skye Trip 9-14Jun2017)

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first amuse bouche

sligachan was a enchanting stop & short walk…

3-course £40 4-course £45 set lunch menu

we had prebooked for lunch at one michelin star kinloch on 14.6.2017. ^^

very good lunch…we had 3-course £40 lunch then added 1 dessert for 4-course £45 lunch,

first amuse bouche

first amuse bouche

& there were 2 amuse bouche 👍👍

there is some thai influence here…we had croquette & some like prawn cake or fritters, maybe with seaweed, cannot remember, with tahi sweet chili sauce dip. it was good.

2nd amuse bouche

& the 2nd amuse bouche=this was awesome..a pea mousse, prosciutto, caramelised onions=the best la! 🙂

kinloch drawing room

we were led first the nice drawing room with good natural light & views, to wait for the table to be set.

we had our first amuse bouche here.

kinloch drawing room

we looked at the menu, selected the order, then we were led to our table at the dining hall.

butternut squash soup very creamy buttery unfortunately too sweet!

butternut squash soup very creamy buttery unfortunately too sweet!

butternut squash soup very creamy buttery & unfortunately too sweet!

pigeon ok, good standard NOT special

pigeon ok, good standard NOT special

pigeon was ok, quite good standard just not special…

scallops excellent=duisdale standard not as good as three chimney

scallops were excellent here=duisdale standard not as good as three chimneys.

nicely seared, tender, plump, sweet scallops and wonderful sauce…

Tenderloin as good as can be..great sides

plating was faultless. tenderloin as good as can be..really great sides too…not the best beef but certainly more than competent…

hake was excellent mussels by the way

hake was excellent mussels by the way

restaurant apologised for not having cod as written in the menu. they replaced by hake.

and the hake was excellent, firm, sweet, tasty… mussels were just by the way…

parfait competent really not my kind of dessert…

we added one dessert just to try.

the parfait was competent but really it’s just not my kind of dessert…& both of us not so dessert persons to start with…

taste-wise total experience-wise, this far far below the standards of japanese parfait.

for the price of £40, this 3-course lunch was really very good standard, and if i am back in isle of skye i will definitely come again for lunch…quite superb!

kinloch grounds..a serene wilderness …

kinloch grounds..a serene wilderness …

kinloch grounds..a serene wilderness …

kinloch grounds..a serene wilderness …

kinloch grounds..a serene wilderness …

kinloch grounds..a serene wilderness …

kinloch grounds..a serene wilderness …

after the excellent lunch at kinloch, we walked around the grounds..a serene wilderness …nice!

c.h.e.f andy

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

Kinloch Restaurant
Address:
A851, Sleat, Isle of Skye IV43 8QY, UK
Contact:
+44 1471 833333

Enchanted Waters, Sligachan Bridge & Cullins Landscape on 14Jun2017 (Day 6 Fort Williams/Isle of Skye Trip 9-14Jun2017)

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sligachan hotel

leaving for inverness today on 14.6.2017. ^^

wife chose to go inverness as we then did not have to make a 6-hr drive back to glasgow. we had booked an easyjet flight from inverness to london luton the next day.

inverness is a 3hr drive. so we need not rush…we had a nice lunch booked already at one michelin star kinloch at the sleat peninsula.

 

sligachan bridge

we were early, with time (about 1.5hrs) to spare. 🙂

sligachan bridge

we stopped at sligachan to take in the beautiful sligachan bridge & landscape of the cullins.

sligachan bridge

sligachan bridge

Sligachan is located at the junction of the roads from portree, dunvegan & bradford. the hotel (top photo) was built around 1830. many early climbers chose this as a spot to start ascents of the cuillin.

we were here 3days ago when we were going to fairy pools on 11.6.2017.

we stopped but it was pouring, so we left and did not walk around…

sligachan bridge

there were groups of students doing their field study trips. 🙂

the enchanting waters of sligachan

& below flows the enchanted waters of sligachan, with all its magical powers.

the enchanting waters of sligachan

to confer eternal beauty for the ladies.

you need to kneel down, bend over let your face immerse into the flowing river, and then let it air dry, cannot cup the water & cannot wipe dry!

freezing cold it must be, so good luck to you all! 🙂

the enchanting waters of sligachan

the cuillin

the cuillin mountain range in the background.

wife thought she could see fairy pools glistening in the distance…

the cullins

lots of flora & fauna of course! 🙂

the cullins

the cullins

the cullins

the cullins

there is a swing gate & trek on the southern side of the river.

but it was starting to rain again, and our car was parked at the hotel grounds for short while.

the cuillin backdrop from sligachan

the cuillin backdrop from sligachan

the cuillin backdrop from sligachan

the cuillin backdrop from sligachan

trail at sligachan

trail at sligachan 

we returned to the car, but it was still too early for lunch maybe another 45mins. so we drove over and parked at the carpark south side of sligachan bridge. we dressed up in rain gears & went to take a short walk along the trail.

trail at sligachan

trail at sligachan

enchanted waters of sligachan 

we couldn’t go far also, so we turned back after a short walk, and headed to kinloch, much looking forward to our lunch.

c.h.e.f andy

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Sligachan,

Isle of Skye IV47 8SW, UK

 

Another Hearty Breakfast @ Pienmore House on 14Jun2017 (Day 6 Fort Williams/Isle of Skye Trip 9-14Jun2017)

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smoked salmon, scrambled eggs & buttered bread 

woke up looking forward to a nice breakfast this morning on 14.6.2017.

of course if you take the same old stuff for full cooked breakfast everyday, you get tired of it. so we skipped kippers the other day.

for this morning’s breakfast, we had the usual “help yourself” cereals, cold cuts, juice, toast etc. & coffee was served at the table also as usual. 🙂

smoked salmon, scrambled eggs & buttered bread 

for the main selection, we had a choice of smoked salmon, scrambled eggs & buttered bread.

nothing much to talk about, just the salmon was lightly smoked & good.

smoked kippers

smoked salmon, scrambled eggs & buttered bread 

it was kippers again for the other choice.

wife finished one piece with my help. it was good too, but i did not want to take a second piece.

pleasant dining room, pleasant host & servers & a nice breakfast – what we needed to start our journey to inverness (later in the afternoon).

c.h.e.f andy

Great Stay & Location @ Pienmore House B&B on 13Jun2017 (Day 5 Fort Williams/Isle of Skye Trip 9-14Jun2017)

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peinmore house 

stayed at peinmore house b&b this evening on 13.6.2017. ^^

peinmore house – view from car park

peinmore house car park

an excellent b&b! just £140/night, nice room, great lounge, free parking, great breakfast, and very importantly good wifi…

peinmore is 4km & 6mins drive from portree town centre, quite a perfect location really.

after returning from the spectacular scenery at neist point,

we decided to go light for dinner this evening..in fact we were light on lunch as well…so that’s why having a huge satisfying breakfast like we had at uig lodge this morning is so important https://chefquak.com/2017/09/03/great-stay-good-breakfast-uig-lodge-on-13jun2017-day-5-fort-williamsisle-of-skye-trip-9-14jun2017/(& when travelling in UK every breakfast is huge & almost w/o fail satisfying!)

went to buy takeaway fish & chips from the same portree stall we had 2 days back on 11.6.2017. it was just so good! ^^

so we had one £6.50 fish & chips to share, added a fried fish (the guy only charged me £3.50 for the extra fish) & a king rib (£4) =our dinner today no lunch…

btw, the king rib was a “fake” rib, some processed thingy like crab cake is, so not worth taking!…

peinmore house room

peinmore house room & toilet

and peinmore has decent sized room nicely appointed, nice ensuite toilet.

& location is convenient base to explore the northern signts like old man of storr, kilt rock & mealt falls, brothers point, quiraing. and also to go west to neist point etc..and of course south…quite an ideal base.

there is no need to pay £328 for skeabost & the like for duisdale, and the wifi at both these places basically don’t work!

>we had another packet of instant noodles, so i took one for myself. wife had enough of that. 🙂

peinmore house common lounge

peinmore house common lounge

view from peinmore house common lounge bay window

peinmore had a good size common lounge, very nicely appointed. we sat there & drank coffee & chilled.

i would stay at peinmore any time. it basically offers everything a traveller need in terms of good location, convenience, free parking, nice room & toilets, great breakfast & good wifi.

c.h.e.f andy

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Peinmore House B&B

Address:
B883, Isle of Skye IV51 9LG, UK
Contact:
+44 1478 612574

 

 

Breathtaking Neist Point on 13Jun2017 (Day 5 Fort Williams/Isle of Skye Trip 9-14Jun2017)

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breathtaking neist point

old man of storr to dunvegan castle to neist point

drove to neist point after dunvegan castle gardens on 13.6.2017…

really wonderful walk enjoying the beautiful breathtaking scenery….

breathtaking neist point

breathtaking neist point

breathtaking neist point

breathtaking neist point

breathtaking neist point

the carpark for neist point is located at very end of the single track road about 30mins from Dunvegan Castle..

tiny carpark was full & we parked like many cars by the roadside.

breathtaking neist point

the path leads all the way to the lighthouse.

it’s an easy stroll. we took about 1 hr overall including stopping for pictures..

breathtaking neist point

breathtaking neist point

breathtaking neist point

Neist Point (Scottish Gaelic: Rubha na h-Eist) is at the most westerly point of Skye. Neist Point Lighthouse has been located there since 1909. 

breathtaking neist point

breathtaking neist point

breathtaking neist point

outside the dirt track, the fields were like carpet-bombed with sheep droppings…lol! 🙂

breathtaking neist point

breathtaking neist point

breathtaking neist point

breathtaking neist point

breathtaking neist point

breathtaking neist point

neist point lighthouse

The lighthouse is 43 meters above sea level and can be seen up to 16 nautical miles offshore. 

breathtaking neist point

breathtaking neist point

breathtaking neist point

breathtaking neist point

breathtaking neist point

neist point has awesome views on both sides of the protruding rock shelves.

breathtaking neist point

we walked over to the east side of the rock shelves.

this the view of the coastline behind us looking back..

breathtaking neist point

& this is looking forward at the east side of the protruding shelves.

 

breathtaking neist point

breathtaking neist point

breathtaking neist point

breathtaking neist point

we walked further back & took some selfies & wefies with the breathtaking scenery in the background.

a beautiful place…so many beautiful places…very happy that we drove the distance here, even if it’s more than an hours drive from portree. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Neist Point Lighthouse

Address:
Isle of Skye IV55 8WU, UK
Contact:

 

 

Visiting Dunvegan Castle Gardens on 13Jun2017 (Day 5 Fort Williams/Isle of Skye Trip 9-14Jun2017)

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dunvegan castle gardens

today we are moving to a b&b peinmore at portree..we have done most of what we wanted to see on the east coast.

old man of storr to dunvegan castle to neist point

so after the exhilarating climb at old man of storr,

we decided to drive to neist point…that takes about 1hr 15mins…so we thought to drop by dunvegan castle to vist the gardens also on 13.6.2017..

dunvegan castle garden

dunvegan castle garden

dunvegan castle garden

dunvegan castle garden

dunvegan castle

entrance to the gardens was £11each for gardens only (£13 for castle & gardens)..

nothing much to see for me non-botantist just consider as donating to the upkeep of the place 🙏😎 

dunvegan castle garden

dunvegan castle garden

dunvegan castle garden

dunvegan castle garden

dunvegan castle garden

dunvegan castle garden

dunvegan castle garden

the gardens have various setting – like water gardens, wooded gardens, round gardens, walled gardens etc.

with a variety of water features, plants, flowers & trees…

dunvegan castle garden

dunvegan castle garden

dunvegan castle garden 

it was a pleasant stroll..

not quite the scenery that we would look out for in isle of skye but since it was on the way to neist point, it was a good break stop as well. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

++++++++++++++++++++++

Duvegan Castle & Gardens

Address:
MacLeod Estate, Dunvegan House, Dunvegan, Isle of Skye IV55 8WF, UK
Contact:
+44 1470 521206
Opening Hours:
daily
  • 10AM–5:30PM