Another trip around the sun for little ol’ me! Hip! Hip! Hip! Hooray!!! Morning was spent exploring more sights and sounds of the city! The Royal mile is such a delight, packed with shops, a flea market, beautiful buildings with stained glass windows! Edinburgh I am loving you so much right now.
Birthday dinner was at the Pompadour by Galvin at the Waldorf Astoria, (did you just say oohhhhh.. very snazzy)? ha ha! so did I! You can feel my excitement, right? We had the menu gourmand which was a 7 course menu, by executive chef Fraser Allen. When our first course – salad of poached winter fruits, bayonet ham and toasted macadamia served with reisling wine, I knew I was in for a treat. Reisling is definitely my favorite wine and it is on par with Muscat! Any restaurant that serves these, gets a tick in my book!
Vichyssoise soup & smoked eel is a traditional french soup cooked with leeks, potatoes, onions (mine came without as I don’t do onions) in chicken stock. I have expected it to be good ol’ fashioned broth. Instead, the soup was light and foamy. The smokiness of the eel added a layer of depth and taste. The riberio wine which is bold in body and flavour, provided a ‘thickness’ making the soup taste more wholesome. We loved how we had a picture in our head of what a dish would look like and how completely wring we were lol. It was better, wayyy better! Like the roast fillet of peter head sea brim, saffron braised squid and bitter beans. I expected a ‘dry’ dish. what I mean is, you know, the sea brim plated up with the squid (as a garnish) and the beans serving as some kind of veg! essentially, like a Sunday roast? This dish came out as a soup, no, more like a broth and it was so good. A glass of vintage chateau ferran pessac-leognan that was fruity and had a hint of spice made the fish so delish. The same goes for the old spot pork cheek and jowl, crackling and pickled cabbage and shitakedashi. Firstly, the crackling got me, I love a good crackling. I was expecting it to sit within a plate of pork cheek with the cabbage on the side. Well I was wrong. This dish was again was a soup with the crackling ever so delicately perched in it! I was like errrr? lol..
Neal could not get enough of the cheese course which was truffled brie de meaux, thyme poached apricots & oatcakes, that we asked for a second helping! Chef must have been amused to say the least. I on the other hand, could not get enough of the wine that accompanied the cheese course. Well, it wasn’t a wine per se, but a port from Portugal – the Port Krohn Colheita. It is a single vintage port that has been aged in barrel for about 7 years prior to release. I generally do not like wine / port that has been aged in a barrel for too long but this I liked. The long ageing process added more depth and intense taste which was magic with the cheese. I could barely get my head around the deliciousness of the port and cheese, when we got the dessert course – cheese cake of Yorkshire rhubarb, hibiscus & cuddybridge apple sorbet. It was served with Moscato de Pantelleria from Sicily! I love me a moscato and this one did not disappoint, if I could have reisling and / or moscato every day? I totally would.
Ahh Scotland, you have been good to me, thank ye.
Slainte
Ndidi
Love it 😍
thank you
Love this one
Ha ha.. sounds very up your alley!