freshly shucked oysters – 6 for £6

as we were driving by loch harport on the way to fairy pools @ glenbrittle on 11.6.2017,

we saw a sign pointing to the oyster shed…we thought “that’s our next stop”…

as it was, after leaving fairy pools, it started to rain, and quite heavily, so we might as well have a rest stop…

the sign led us past talisker distillery, and shortly the oyster shed.

we did not see many cars on the road, but evidently they all had the same idea, and the small carpark was literally full as we parked.

a short dash in the rain to the shed!

we ordered the freshly shucked oysters – 6 for £6. it was good – fresh, sweet, no  lingering metallic taste. we ordered a second serving.

half lobster = £8

we were also attracted to the chilled 1/2 lobster.

generally we are not so attracted the this preparation of chilled lobster, crab or seafood platter as they are usually quite tasteless.

half lobster = £8

this 1/2 lobster though was sweet, juicy, tasty.

grilled scallopsr = £6.50

it was still raining and very cold, so we decided to order the grilled scallops, 4 for £6.50. it came with the thai sweet chilli dip (like the lobster also), a lettuce & couple triangular toast.

scallops not great as we expected, still passable.

rested & quite satisfied, we got back to our car in the rain, and drove to our next hotel, skeabost hotel & checked in.

c.h.e.f andy

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breakfast @ duisdale house hotel

we had a good breakfast the next morning on 11.6.2017. ^^

though not as good as breakfast at gantocks, a fraction of the price!

duisdale is a nice luxury boutique hotel of course. nice room, nice view etc.

the wifi totally sucks, but that seems to be the general case all hotels & B&B during our stay in isle of skye with the exception of UIG lodge.

for me i think the tariff for a night stay with dinner & breakfast is quite ridiculous at £428!

breakfast @ duisdale house hotel

anyhow, since we already booked & paid, might as well enjoyed it!

for breakfast, we both picked fresh fruit salad. & the toast & juice came. service was ok,

but be it food or service, they were just nothing like what we had at the gantocks (at <<< than 1/2 the  price)!

given a choice i would NOT stay here….

full scottish breakfast

the full scottish breakfast was wholly competent,

but then again, just looking at the photos of the breakfast at gantocks & here at duisdale (& even the plating & presentation), it is quite evident the gantocks is better la… 🙂

loch fyne kippers

the kippers was a large serving, and wife liked it.

it was not too salty, and nicely flavourful smoking. among the better kippers i had. very well done.

after breakfast we checked out. we had already decided on our itinerary – the first visit was to fairy pools at glenbrittle. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

starters – amuse bouche

our stay package at duisdale house hotel included a £55 5-course dinner at duisdale restaurant on 10.6.2017. ^^

duisdale restaurant 2 AA rosette, so ok place…5-course dinner price looked ok too depending on the quality of food…that turned out to be very good!

the b&b stay though was ridiculously expensive but the alternatives are equally expensive in this sleat peninsula location..there is no need to stay here though as a lot of cheap b&b in isles of skye eg broadford near the straits…

starters – amuse bouche

the amuse bouche of salmon bruschetta, a croquette & a beetroot foam was quite good.

bread & brioche

bread was nice, but nothing great…

#1 beetroot ensemble

the beetroot ensemble was fantastic, very exciting!

quite special, all differnt texture from crisp to a mousse & very tasty! all the different presentation of beetroot.

#1 beetroot ensemble

since jaan days i have never had such a great beetroot dish!

#2 pan seared scallops

scallop was excellent…very good standard…

#2 pan seared scallops

of course i have taken good pan seared scallops in many places, but this was still very good. & very large scallops too. a great side of asparagus…

#3 pigeon breast

pigeon breast was good too. tender, probably sous vide, and sweet.

#3 pigeon breast

again a very good standard!

#4 halibut was excellent

& i loved the halibut!

#4 halibut was excellent

halibut is among the top quality fish, and this was a good preparation.

fish texture was firm, nicely seared, sweet & tasty, and good vegetable sides.

#4 sous vide duck breast

the other choice of main was duck breast.

#4 sous vide duck breast

it was very well done.

seems odd to have pigeon as appetiser & duck breast as main. anyhow, duck was very tender & flavourful.

#4 sous vide duck breast

the fat did not feel oily & gave the meat a very smooth and flavourful taste.

#5 dessert

#5 dessert

dessert was less our thing.

can’t really recall now..this one looks like some fig, ice crea, and perhaps a mousee.

though presentation was great, the overall experience was a nice ok dessert. nothing special..

#6 dessert 

this one looks like some strawberry, terrine & ice cream.

#6 dessert

both dessert were competent.

for  £55, i would consider this 5-course dinner very good standard, and very enjoyable & worthwhile dinner.

terrace outside restaurant

the service was a little less so.

we came for the later session at 8pm, and though we have booked the table & time & obviously we had prepaid for the dinner at the time of booking, we were taken to an inner table in a small hall with poor ambience. fortunately some diners vacated & we were able to get a good table by the window looking out to the terrace. still bright at 8.15pm

c.h.e.f andy

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

duisdale restaurant

dining room

we were at three sisters carpark contemplating if we should hike the lost valley.

weather was unpredictable & it looked like we just about having some sunshine, and we were uncertain of the weather the next day & whether we should just get on with the hike. but it was 3.30pm & the return hike would take us 3-4hrs.

so we picked the easy option & decided to drive on to the falls of glencoe down the road A82,

and then to glencoe lochan to take a leisurely lakeside stroll before moving on to fort williams where we booked a bed & breakfast at the Gantocks for the evening.

after glencoe lochan, we arrived at the Gantocks about 5.30pm. earlier in the day, sandra had messaged us if we could arrive earlier so they could leave for a dinner evening out with i think her sister. once we decided that we were not hiking the lost valley, we messaged that we would be early. sandra greeted us and informed that she decided to stay & greet us & not to go out for the evening in any case should we be late. 🙂

the room and ensuite toilet was good size & comfortable, and facing loch linhe. i think they only have 3 rooms including ours & they were all taken this evening.

we got some details of dining places & drove the short 2mins drive to lime tree restaurant & fort williams town centre,

and managed to dine at the lime tree restaurant, among the best dinner we had during this trip at fort williams & isles of skye.

dining room

next morning we had among the best breakfast i had in b&b in uk on 10.6.2017! ^^

dining room is nicely appointed & has many books.

breakfast at the Gantocks

2 other couples joined us later, a younger couple from germany & another older couple from liverpool if i remembered correctly…great folks & we had nice chat during breakfast..

freshly baked scones, bread & shortcakes

allan made excellent scones & bread, and i may say everything else! 🙂

freshly baked scones

scones were great with butter & homemade jam.

quality museli

& very good quality museli which i took.

oven grilled red grapefruit

wife took the oven grilled red grapefruit. it was truly excellent. warm, just slight sweet combining well with the naturally sour taste.

raspberry mousse palate cleanser

& we even had a palate cleanser – a raspberry mousse…this truly restaurant standard.

scottish full breakfast

& an excellent scottish full breakfast- good quality back bacon, good farm sausages, and musrroms & potatoes. great stuff.

i have had good breakfast in cornwall & exmoor b&b, average 0r above ones at conwy. this one is really good, and the additional touches of grapefruit, palate cleanser, & freshly baked scones & bread would make it the best!

=============================

we were kind of not high in case, and had wanted to pay for the b&b stay with credit card. allan said there was a charge of 5% or £7 added to the  £140 tariff. he said they were ok if we pay later using debit card when we were back in london! as we were travelling to iceland the next day upon arrival in london, we somehow forgot to do this & we did first thing immediately upon return to london 2 weeks later. good folks, allan & sandra, and great hosts.

c.h.e.f andy

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The Gantocks

Buachaille Etive Mor

after a 1hr+ scenic drive of glen etive,

we drove further down A82 (in the direction of fort williams) to the Buachaille Etive Mor viewpoint on 9.6.2017. ^^.

Buachaille Etive Mor viewpoint

from Buachaille Etive Mor viewpoint 

we sat on a bench facing the mountain & relaxed & took pictures. 🙂

Buachaille Etive Mor

there’s some hikinhg trail up the mountain.

from Buachaille Etive Mor viewpoint

from Buachaille Etive Mor viewpoint

road leading to Buachaille Etive Mor viewpoint & lost valley

road leading to Buachaille Etive Mor viewpoint & lost valley

we took a short stroll along the road.

bridge leading to Buachaille Etive Mor viewpoint & lost valley

to the bridge across the stream.

from Buachaille Etive Mor viewpoint

Buachaille Etive Mor on the other side.

this the landmark we saw driving up A82 towards glen etive. now it was ahead of us.

the 3 sisters viewpoint

we drove a short distance down the road A82 to three sisters viewpoint.

the 3 sisters viewpoint

the 3 sisters viewpoint carpark is the start of the lost valley trail head.

the lost valley Coire Gabhail is supposedly a popular short walk (around 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) each way, ascent 230 metres (750 ft)),

for our standard of hiking, that would probably took us 3 to 4hrs…haha!

it was like 3.30pm. the weather had cleared after the early afternoon drizzle. we were uncertain of the weather the next day & whether we should just get on with the hike.

still we had all the excuses, so we decided to go for a lakeside stroll at glencoe lochan instead. haha! ^^

the 3 sisters viewpoint

The Three Sisters: Beinn Fhada, Gearr Aonach, and Aonach Dubh are three steeply-sided ridges that extend north into the Glen.

3 sisters & lost valley

3 sisters & lost valley

a popular spot indeed!

falls of glencoe

we drove further along A82 & came to the falls of glencoe.

falls of glencoe

another tiny falls, and good for a few pictures.

falls of glencoe

falls of glencoe

after the falls, we drove on to glencoe lochan for a leisurely 45mins round the lakeside stroll. quite fun too la!

c.h.e.f andy

A82, Ballachulish PH49 4HX, UK

tian of orkney brown crab in clear gazpacho £6.95

the lime tree restaurant & crannog were 2 restaurants recommended by our b&b host.

wife innitially booked the lime tree at 8pm. we were uncertain of our schedule as we were driving to fort williams from glasgow & stopping by a few places, so we canceled it.

in the end we arrived early & checked in around 5pm+ at our b&b gantocks, and decided to go to fort williams town centre & walked a bit.

the lime tree fort williams

Crannog was fully booked. we managed to get a table at the lime tree, which also filled up quickly!

menu=the lime tree fort williams

the menu looks ok…

amuse bouche = smoked salmon

was surprised that the restaurant served amuse bouche, the practice of fine dining restaurants.

amuse bouche = smoked salmon

presentation was great!

the smoked salmon was competent, not very salty, not the lightly cured type, still a good smoked salmon, and a great start to dinner.

bread

bread was ordinary…

tian of orkney brown crab in clear gazpacho £6.95

the tian of orkney brown crab was outstanding…very wow dish! 🙂

later i had chance to compared with the very good crab dish as part of a degustation menu at three chimneys at isles of skye, a one star michelin in 2014. i think this still came out better!

crab meat was very fresh & sweet & a large helping, and the clear gazpacho was excellent, the combination superb.

smoked haddock soufle £6.95

the smoked hadock soufle was an unusual dish as usually soufle is dessert & not savoury, so quite inventive!

this turned out really good. wife liked it a lot. so do i. 🙂

smoked haddock soufle £6.95

i guess if i had to compare, the tian of crab was still better for me, but this was really quite an excellent dish.

salmon fillet £19.95

the salmon fillet was good standard, very competent, but i guess not really a stand out dish.

scottish highland salmon £19.95

presentation was good too.

pheasant breast with chicken haggis £19.95

pheasant breast with chicken haggis £19.95

the pheasant breast was more pedestrian.

pheasant breast with chicken haggis

wife found one portion of it dry. the other pieces were quite ok actually, but they are not the very tender chicken breast you get in a goof=d french restaurant.

the lime tree fort williams

dinner for 2pax was £64, quite ok.

we did not care much for the mains, but the 2 appetisers were outstanding.

the next day after hiking at steall falls, we actually came to see if we could have lunch & just eat the appetisers but alas lime tree was closed.

c.h.e.f andy

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carrot & parsnip soup £4.75

Luss a tiny place. it started to drizzle soon after we parked. then the rain got slightly heavier.

coach house coffeeshop= makan stop @ Luss

our park & pay was for 1 hr. so we just had a little time for a makan stop at coach house coffeeshop to stay out of the rain.

carrot & parsnip soup £4.75

we ordered one carrot & parsnip soup £4.75 to share. it was a nice & homely soup & very nice crusty brown bread.

we also ordered a flat white to take away our car park was expiring,

it was a nice makan break, soup very sweet & homely & we thoroughly enjoyed it.

c.h.e.f andy

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four seasons chinatown 1/2 roast duck = £14.50

had a really nice four seasons chinatown 1/2 roast duck takeaway for £14.50 on 8.6.2017. 🙂

taking the 2350hrs sleeper from euston station to glasgow central station arriving tomorrow at 7.20am. so no plans to eat out this evening.

after our excellent £29 3-course express lunch at l’atelier joel robuchon, we walked over to chinatown to buy some frozen pork & chicken dumplings (guotie 锅贴).

and decided to takeaway 1/2 roast duck from four seasons.

the last time i came to four seasons with son was on 25.8.2014!

four seasons chinatown 1/2 roast duck = £14.50

duck was really fragrant (“pang”) & the dipping sauce was excellent too.

really, really shiok!

c.h.e.f andy

beef medium rare – main course 

l’atelier joel robuchon at covent garden is serving a £29 3-course express lunch.

i was here last month when traveling london/wales with my 2 RI bros and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

it was supposedly 45mins express lunch, and hence you have to prebook & pre-select each course online, rather than choosing from the menu at the restaurant.

chefs at l’atelier joel robuchon 

wife had been here several times on previous occasions but not for this express lunch, so we booked this lunch here today on 8.6.2017. ^^

l’atelier joel robuchon 

i booked the entire restaurant!

sad that they are serving these fabulous food & even with this £29 promotion, there are very few patrons…must be making lots of money elsewhere?

only 2 other customers came during the entire lunch!

chefs at l’atelier joel robuchon 

the atelier (workshop) concept is you can see the chefs preparing your meal. more interactive? not really…maybe participative?

chefs at l’atelier joel robuchon

whatever…but it’s quite fun to watch the dishes taking shape.

bread basket 

the bread were the really good restaurant category…

burrata in tomato gazpacho 

my burrata in tomato gazpacho was simply fabulous,

the food here are not just that they look like works of art!

there are combination of many different ingredients & mostly importantly the taste & texture combine perfectly, so exqusite & fine!

salmon cured in beetroot 

wife had the slamon cured in beetroot.

i had this last time & it was really good..still is. this time though i like the burrata even better.

beef medium rare – main course 

the beef was like last time, very competently done.

it was not the best cut of beef (very decent already for this price), so it’s not in the prime portico or top steak restaurant category…but it was ery good class for this beef cut.

seabream – main course 

my seabream dish was what my RI bro had last time.

it was very very good. like the best seabream i had? almost, anyway among the best,,,

seabream – main course 

& so beautiful to behold..

JR famous for their mash 

JR famous for their mash. it was very good, just that i don’t take much & didn’t…

rum baca outstanding cos rum was excellent 

the rum baba was excellent, because of the rum, really fragrant & nice.

rum baca outstanding cos rum was excellent 

the texture of baba infuse the rum well …

wild berries tart like work of art but just ordinary good taste 

wife had the wild berries tart. looked like work of art but just ordinary good taste…

They gave complimentary petite four becos i had to wait for the rum 

They gave complimentary petite four becos i had to wait for the rum. nice too!

well, i think handsdown this the best ever & best-value £29 3-course lunch. i had anywhere la..

c.h.e.f andy

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very nice korean food at kimchee 

son booked a cab for us from heathrow terminal 2 to king’s cross.

took us 1.5hrs through the evening traffice. we arrived apartment about 7.05pm.

decided to go for dinner, so we could retire after dinner to recover from the jetlag. 🙂

kimchee restaurant opposite google building 

i saw that there were several new restaurants around the google building when i was here last month.

son had tried the kimchee restaurant & thought it was good, so we walked over to pancras square.

kimchee restaurant opposite google building 

kimchee is oppostie google building at king’s cross st pancras.

very nice ambience, high ceiling & quite a large place well patronised. 🙂

kimchee’s menu 

the menu is quite comprehensive.

kimchee’s menu 

has bbq meat, also bibimbap. bibimen etc.

galbi £10.80

we ordered 2 meats.

the galbi was very good, very nicely barbequed & nicely flavoured, tasty meat.

ribeye £12 

the ribeye was also very good. a good steak restaurant quality.

& served korean style, they came with lettuce & a mildly sweet chilli paste so you could wrap the bbq meat with the lettuce.

kimchi jjigae 

the kimchi jjigae was quite authentic flavours.

it was good, though our favourite singapore restaurant aburiya is unbeatable in this department, so this one still not comparable! 🙂

seafood pancake 

the seafood pancake was very good too.

this the crispy & starchy version, which we like. but anyhow this dish not really my favourite item.

jap chae 

the jap chae was tasty but a bit on the salty side.

wife thought it was alright when taken with rice.

fried chicken 

we also had fried chicken.

this was the poorest dish, nothing like korean fried chicken, more like a pedestrian sweet sour chicken with too much batter!

the bill

galbi & ribeye 

wife & son shared a large beer. i as usual didn’t drink.

the bill for 3pax included beer came to £64. very good price actually for the dishes we had, and cheaoer than greek larder & dishoom.

i can come back here for dinner! will do la when we return to london after iceland!

this a VERY GOOD FIND INDEED!

c.h.e.f andy

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Kimchee Restaurant

Address:

2 Pancras Square, King’s Cross, London, N1C 4AG

Contact:

Telephone: 020 3907 8474
Email: kimchee_pancras@kimchee.uk.com

OPENING HOURS:

Monday – Saturday, lunch: 11:45am – 3pm
Monday – Friday, evening: 5pm – 11pm
Saturday, evening: 5pm – 10:30pm
Sunday: 12pm – 9pm

SQ308 Sin-London 7Jun2017

this time i was able to get SQ economy return at S$1382 for my travel dates.

for my last trip to london & wales 27apr-11may with my 2 RI bros, i had to travel by qatar airways as SQ fare for the dates were S$2200! and qatar was S$1034 for the same dates, no brainer la!…

too bad now qatar has all these problems, airspace etc…

SQ A380 seat leg space & screen is smaller than qatar’s A350-900

SQ A380 aircraft aging…economy leg space & screen much smaller c/w qatar’s A350-900 aircraft i took last trip for the sector Sin-Doha..

breakfast -dimsum items

for breakfast, they served dimsum.

it was quite poor la…

breakfast -dimsum items

siew mai i supposed edible, carrot cake less so, the lor mai gai i took the mushrooms & chicken just a bit of rice.

how to describ this breakfast? pedestrian?

anyway for me considered edible, not by much…

lunch – rogan josh &; bismati rice very good

for lunch, i chose rogan josh.

lunch – rogan josh &; bismati rice very good

this was good!

nice herb flavours, mutton was tasty with the gravy, tender enough, more so c/w qatar’s mutton meal.

bismati rice was good, loose & fragrant..

vegetables also good!

lunch – rogan josh &; bismati rice very good

i had a tomato juice.

the salmon was quite ok too.

lunch – rogan josh &; bismati rice very good

the movie program on board quite poor, not many newer movies, noothing exciting to watch.

had some peanuts & coffee in between. it’s a day flight, did not sleep much.

we arrived maybe 19mins late at heathrow terminal 2.

we had our red fastlane card. the normal lane no much queue so looked about as fast.

we had 3 checked in luggage. so we prebooked a cab. took about 1.5hrs to get to king’s quarters apartment, about 7.05pm.

after that we went dinner with son at kimchee opposite google building at king’s cross st pancras.

c.h.e.f andy