During the family’s roadtrip, we managed to stop by Cambridge and my dear Sui Seng, a college mate, decided to be our wonderful tour guide for the day!
See? He’s like these mini-angels okay, so nice!! (Picture taken in Christ College, Cambridge)
So he decided to bring us to this restaurant where he brought his family too, during his convocation. It must be good, then. We were in for a shock at first, because right outside the restaurant was this really freaky thingie!!
“Have you come to eat me? I’m Headless Nick- Boo!“
It’s called The Wine Shop, such an unusual name for a restaurant, but very memorable! The exterior gave a villagy feel to the place, made cuter by the balls of greenery hanging suspended in front of the signboard, take a look!
An exterior which betrays its interior design
Now why did I say that? It’s because the interior is made in pure class! The front area is formed out of plush cushion and low tables, wherelse the place where we sat which was right behind was made of high seats and a really tall table. Everything else looked so classy with the glossy table finishing, bar-ish atmosphere (it used to be a famous bar before it got renovated) and the staff were really professional. I’d say it’s definitely a high-class but decently priced restaurant to go to! Well then, let’s get on with the main course: pictures ahoy!
Entry #1: Fish & Chips with Mashed Beans. – What do I have to say? Crispy but not too thick batter coating a large, silky piece of cod that could melt in your mouth. The chips were as authentic as it could get, though I found it a tad too thick for my palate. The interesting bit was the mashed peas: it has a real rough texture to it, something I haven’t encountered before! I kind of liked it, weird as it may since it was laced with coriander (top of my least favourite taste) and something else… but it was amazing how I could still like it! A MUST try 😀
Entry #2: 16oz Rib-eye Steak with Onion Rings. – Cooked medium rare, I thought it was exceptionally tender. Apparently famed for its steak, I wasn’t at all disappointed by its taste (definitely beats Max, a grill bar located at Covent Garden which served us terrible steaks!) and I liked the little bit or char-grilled moments in between bites. I thought, though, that the Onion Rings were simply SUPERB, an unforgettable experience, I swear! It clearly outshined the main attraction in this dish, so don’t take my word for it, go ahead and try for yourself!
Entry #3: Avocado Prawn Salad: O.M.G. This was a dish that I can, until now, recall every single ingredient used to create such a spendid blend of tastes. All it needed was avocado cubes, fresh prawns, smoked salmon, rocket leaves, some pesto and garlic mayo, and suddenly it transformed into what you see in the picture above. There’s probably more to it, something special that I can’t quite define, but it definitely caused an atomic orgasm within the tender flesh of my mouth. I’ll most probably recreate this dish sometime in the future and dedicate a post specially to it, so do tune in until then!
Entry #4: Duck Salad – I’m pretty sure it had a more exotic name to it, but after having the previous 3 dishes this seemed like the most mediocre dish ever made on this planet. Alright, I could be exaggerating, but then that was how I felt! We had to order it anyway under the recommendation of Sui Seng (that, and because he does’t eat beef so this was HIS main meal =P). The duck meat were a little hard, the hoi-sin sauce a usual accompanyment to this British-style duck dish, throw in a little sesame seed and rocket leaves and there you have it.
I’ve got to thank Sui Seng for this experience. It really redefined my tastebuds a little, improving my ability to be able to locate distinctive flavours within a dish. I feel like a step ahead towards my goal of being able to appreciate the best of foods as found in these restaurants, which is a dream i hope may come true one fine day. 😀
lol i thought they only sell wine ahha
I wanna die..!! It so torturing to see and not taste T__T
They look so yummy!!!
michy: apparently not, though they do recommend great wines to go with the dishes!
Eve: you finally read it hahhaa.. cannot give to temptation, must try one bwahaha
zthon: I know! They also TASTE yummy! Must try if you’re visiting Cambridge 😀
That looks pretty inventive for british food!…I like the look of it. I lived in London years ago, i bet foodie things have changed a lot!
Zenchef: I’m sure it did! Well I’ll let you know how it goes, at the rate I’m visiting well-known restaurants here in London 😀
Then maybe you could analyze them and form up the recipes at the top of your head! that’ll be way cool =)