It is crazy to think that we are already in the month of December and 2016 is coming to an end?! We are ‘up north’ in Flintshire, Wales visiting family. This is not my first visit to Neal’s neck of the woods, but Neal plans to show me a lot more of his home town. It is also Mama G’s birthday, so even though we are not having a barbecue (tis winter!) we are still celebrating by having a buffet lunch at some point over the weekend. We spent the morning visiting the Hawarden estate farm shop which is part of the Hawarden farm / estate that sits on 20 acres of land. For a Londoner, where space is premium, currently loving the feel of the countryside – the space, the slowed down pace and everything in between. One equally important thing I have learnt, northerners are feeders! Neal’s parents are particularly guilty, they are constantly wanting to feed me. It is their love language. I have been watered, fed and whetted since I got here!!! Plus, they are not shy with their portions either!
Being the foodies that we are, we hit the road and made our way to the hand at Llanorman. Neal had heard about it and it was listed in the Michelin guide. What struck me was that the place was the juxtaposition of old charm and new ‘tech’ so to speak. Even though it had a face lift, still had an essence of originality. The quirky arty signs dotted around the place only added to the charm, plus, the daily menu is based on what the kitchen happens to source on any given day.
We were not really hungry but never the less, we had small dishes. Literally had all the starters on the menu and it was delish! The roast tomato and smoked paprika soup served with organic bread was exactly what was needed to complete the scene of comfy chairs and crackling fire on a winter evening – comfort food at it’s finest in a welsh pub! Gotta love it! Bread was a common theme with all the starters which in hindsight now makes sense considering people would usually order a starter and not all starters! Haha! We certainly don’t fit the ‘normal’ customer type, but the kitchen didn’t mind! All the starters (bread included) tasted so good. We also sampled the pudding menu – scoops of creamy homemade ice cream and chocolate! Yep, it’s winter and we are having ice cream! ha!
Cheers
Ndidi
