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Lolo Cafe – best eggs in town
We stumbled across Lolo’s Cafe a few weeks ago when our cooker blew up and our regular coffee place was full.
Lolo’s Cafe is in the High Street in Stevenage, it is a small Cafe with a lovely family atmosphere and very welcoming staff.
They serve breakfast all day and I can honestly say they are the best eggs I’ve ever had.
We have returned several times and has now become our regular lunch spot.
They serve lunch items as well, a range of wraps and burgers.
Also very popular are their range of smoothies and deserts.
It is very much worth a visit.
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The Fox
Roasted beetroot tartare As you may be aware we quite like eating out. I know you would never guessed !! We have some friends we like to go out for dinners with, The fox is situated right in the middle of where we all live.
https://www.foxatwillian.co.uk/
Willian is a small village just off the A1 right in between Stevenage, Hitchin and Letchworth. It is surrounded by popular walking routes so can get very busy in the summer.
The Fox is a dog friendly pub with a large garden and accommodation. The bar section is open to first come first served if you want to eat in the restaurant you need to book.
We had a table booked for 6 but unfortunately due to some unfortunate circumstances the others had to cancel. We decided to go just the two of us, largely because our cooker blew up the night before and we couldn’t get a new one delivered for 4 days.
It was a Saturday night so the restaurant was very busy. Despite this the staff were very warm and friendly.
Bread with parsley oil They brought us some home made bread and oil to share while we looked over the menu.
They do not have a huge menu but I am a firm believer I’m quality over quantity.
This is not a restaurant for your burger and chips, but for more fine dining in a country pub setting. I chose the roasted beetroot tartare (as main image above) as a starter and steak for main. Ashley went for the duck liver parfait and pork belly ( his photo’s did not come out great. I very naughtily had pudding too
The food was absolutely spot on. Service was really good, attentive without being over bearing. We will be returning, hopefully with friends in toe next time.
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Golden Siam Thai Restaurant – Thai Cuisine – Stevenage
Pineapple rice
We found us with an evening on our own and decided to go out for dinner.
We couldn’t work out where to go so decided to go somewhere we had not been before. So we searched and landed on the Golden Siam a relatively new Thai restaurant in the High Street Stevenage.
Despite it being last minute and a Saturday night, they seated us very quickly without any hesitation.
The staff were freindly and polite, and took our order promptly.
Our food came our really quickly and was absolutely delicious.
I had the Chicken Massman curry, Ashley had Duck curry and we shared a pineapple rice.
It was one of the best Thai curries I have had.
I would highly recommend.
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A Cruise to remember
All aboard the beautiful Bolette
The beautiful Bolette I had always been a little dubious when it came to cruises. I think a combination of the misconception that they were for older people and years of watching Carry on cruising with my grandparents when I was a kid put me off.
However!
I went to a presentation about cruises a while back and those involved were so enthusiastic about cruises that I thought I would give it a go.
Ashley didn’t need much convincing.
So we looked at the cruises available when we were both off work and chose the Norwegian Fjords with Fred Olsen cruises. Neither us of had been to Norway before so this was ideal for us.
https://www.fredolsencruises.com
Once we chose our holiday, It was very simple and easy to manage with the app. We received an information booklet with the details of the boat, the itinerary and the available on shore tours for us to choose from. This came with our luggage labels, to which there were 3 each and were a grey which indicated our time to check in.
A few weeks before we received notification that the tours were open to book and the tickets arrived by email. Any other information regarding departure was available on the app.
We were sailing from Newcastle so stayed overnight the night before in the local budget hotel and got a taxi to the port where we met a freind for breakfast that morning eagerly awaiting our time to board.
Check in and boarding was also simple, we got to the ferry terminal with our bags all tagged up handed them over and then went to check in. They gave us our key card, which were told would get us on and off the ship, in our room and for charging things to the room. We went through security and onto a shuttle bus and to the ship.
As it was our first cruise we opted for the basic room and did not go for the drinks package, as Ashley is not a huge drinker.
We arrived on board and started trying to familiarise ourselves with the ships 9 decks comprising of an indoor and outdoor pool, jacuzzi, spa and multiple bars and restaurants.
Then with cocktail in hand we set sail.
In the evening we went to the main restaurant where we sat at our table with another couple who we were paired with for our evening meals. Which we were a bit apprehensive about as we did not know who we would get but we were keen to meet mew people, we were so fortunate we were paired with a lovely couple who we got on very well with and conversation flowed well from day 1 to the end. You also have the same serving staff at your set table everyday which makes it much more personal as they get to know you very quickly and know what your personal preferences are.
That night before and after dinner we went to the bar and watched the fabulous singer Hazel I beleive her name was and her live band, who was there every night.
Day 2 was a full day at sea. It took us a while to get used to relaxing and not being online, or having to dash here and there entertaining people. We decided not to pay for WiFi so we were truley switched off whilst on holiday. There were a huge amount of activities on board from quizzes and talks to dance classes, sports games shows and all.
We sat by the pool everyday and read our daily times, which is the ship newsletter with all the details of goings on around the ship and where to be that day.
That night we also had the formal event, where we were all invited to dress in our best dresses and suits and go to the auditorium and meet the senior crew members with complimentary canapes and drinks. Following that we went to the restaurant for our meal. Fabulously presented and served as always.
After our dinner we went up to the observation deck bar where they had a silent disco, where we got chatting to some other passengers and having a few drinks before the DJ started.
At just after midnight we went up on deck which is when Ashley got down on one knee and asked me to marry him (btw I said yes just in case anyone was wondering) so back to the bar we went for a bottle of bubbly.
The next day we docked a Flam. We had a pre booked a trip on the Flam railway. It was an absolutely beautiful trip up into the mountains, stopping at waterfalls to the top where it was snowing.
We spent the day docked at Flam for some free time and had to be back to the ship for a 5pm so that we could set sail overnight for Stavenger.
Next day was a day in Stavanger, the weather was beautiful and although there were lots of tours on we chose to just explore, we had a nice coffee and walked around the shops and parks taking in the sights
After leaving Stavanger the ship then travelled down the fjords
We then went had another fabulous evening of dinner and drinks.
The final day and another day at sea. We joined in with the quizes and watched the cha cha cha lesson. Then went to the pool bar for lunch, expecting it to be just burgers and chips but the food really surprised us. There were burgers and chips too, but the quality of the food like with everywhere else was amazing.
All in all it was an amazing and relaxing experience. The food was spectacular and you could literally eat and drink all day. As for the other passengers I was surprised by the ranges of people and ages with lots of children on board.
One thing I have not commented on which deserves a special mention are the staff, the staff are the most hard working professonal people I have met. They could not do enough for you everyone one was polite and happy. From the cleaners, to the waiting staff and crew all of them were happy to stop say hello and ask how we were.
Those who spring to mind were Paulo our waiter in the Terrace restaurant, Bunny who seemed to be at just about every bar we were at serving our drinks and Dennis who liked to sing Rick Astley too us. What a lovely bunch of people.
We are definitely both cruise converts and will definitely be planning a cruise in the future.
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Back in time for all that Jazz
Fab host “Belle Livingstone ” shining on stage Off for another evening out care of https://thelostestate.com/, the lost estate is an immersive theatre company where you are treated to dinner and show and the action is going on all around you. Each show is themed and runs for a period of time changing every few months. We have previously been to a Sherlock Holmes themed evening as in Dinner and a show? It’s Elementary!
This time we were taken back to 1930’s New York set in a speakeasy during prohibition.
Despite my inability to smile I do love dressing up honest Anyone who has read my blogs before is well aware i like a good dress up, while dressing up is encouraged it is not essential.
There were a few different ticket options for this event, varying in price and experience, from drinks at the bar, dining and VIP seats.
We opted for “rail dining” this was a mid range ticket. which meant we were not right down in the action with the VIP’s or at the bar but we were sitting in seats raised and around the edge, I actually really liked this option as although we were not really in the mix of things we had a great view of all the action as it unfolded.
We had a great view of all of the stages and could see everyone dressed to impress in their sparkly 1930’s glamour.
These scene was set and as everyone was seated and the show began . The show tells the story of Belle Livingstone the proprietor of 58th Street Country club, speakeasy in New York. I did not know this at the time but the story is based the a life story.
Jazz band getting the room dancing In true prohibition fashion the band were playing and the drinks were flowing, the cocktails were more traditional of that era so mainly gin and whisky cocktails.
The food was a fixed menu which you are given in advance so that you can inform them of any dietary requirements.
The starter was a traditional American clam chowder served with cornbread, i have never had either before and was reasonably impressed – Ashely loved the cornbread, i now feel that this will be on the list of things he will like me to make.
The main was a surf and turf and desert apple pie. for full menu include vegetarian and vegan options see the link jazzage.thelostestate.
The only critique i have is that the food and drinks service was a little chaotic, you had to be order drinks via a QR code and the drinks took a long time and this may have just been a rail dining issue as i am sure that the service at the normal tables was ok, but when the drinks did come they asked every single person if they were their drinks. At one point everyone was ordering bottles of beer and wine as the cocktails took a while and they took a while to find you then brought you the bottle and went back to get glasses which took another 5 minutes.
The same with the food, they rolled out the food to the tables first which is to be expected and then they got to the rail diners they were very confused with who was with who on rail dining we ended up with two of somethings and missing others.
All in all though it was a very enjoyable evening and will look forward to their next event,
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Midsummer in Mid Winter
For my birthday as a special treat, Ashley took me for a fine dining taster menu at Midsummer House https://midsummerhouse.co.uk/
Midsummer house is a 2 Michelin star restaurant on the river in Cambridge owned and run by chef Daniel Clifford.
From the moment you walk through the door the experience begins, and what an experience!
Met at the door by a very professional and smart looking young lady, who took our coats and led us up the stairs in an old but beautifully decorated Victorian house and into the bar for drinks over looking the river.
Obviously drinks came a few nibbles and once our table was ready we were escorted to the dining room to our table. Where they had left a birthday card for me – nice touch
The sommelier came over and we selected our first glass and we were off.
Each course had multiple items of perfectly created food which were in equal parts delicious and creative.
The selection of bite size tasters were amazing, all very different flavours and textures. From Salmon, to their take on cheese on toast, rabbit bonbon (centre) Mac and cheese and a chicken wing in smoked candy floss.
And this was just the first course!!!
The mains were this fabulous fish dish and pigeon which I have never had before.
With every dish came a full description of what was in them the list of ingredients was immense.
I have had taster menus before but this experience was something else.
Each course came with a wine carefully selected by the sommelier and paired perfectly. You could tell he not only knew his wine but also knew details of the regions and vineyards that they were from.
Deserts were equally as fantastic and decadent, with 4 different desserts
I cannot talk about Midsummer House without talking more about the staff.
The staff were very professional but also very friendly and knowledgeable.
We had interactions with each member of the front of house staff at some point during our meal. They were all very attentive but not busying around too much.
I went to the bathroom at one point again impeccably clean and well decorated.
When I got back to the table there was a gift waiting for me. It was a signed copy of Daniel Clifford’s book.
Which is well worth a read. It is part cook book part biography.
While I was away from the table Ashley had been talking to the waiter and had arranged for me to go and visit the kitchen at the end of service.
So I got to go in and say hello to all of the kitchen staff which was lovely.
All in all it was a lovely day and experience they even sent me home with a bag with some lovely little carrot cakes and a copy of the menu.
Overall an amazing day, and we very much needed the walk back to the train station. I would recommend to anyone wanting a special treat or just looking for an amazing experience.
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Rusty Gun
The Rusty Gun https://www.therustygun.co.uk/ is a pub just on the outskirts of St Ippolyts, on the London Road, is in the middle of many lovely walking routes.
It is a large pub with a garden and a some pigs on site. They have a little shop which sells homemade produce.
I have been there a few times over the years and the food was always really excellent but I had not been back since covid.
We decided to pop in one sunny
Saturday afternoon for a bite to eat.
We did not have a reservation but managed to get seated in the restaurant.
We were greeted and directed to our seats whilst being warned about some of the low beams (not a problem for me).
They told us the items that were not available and any substitutions were.
We like to try a few things so decided to
get a selection of the small plates.
Right: Chicken Ceasar Skewers
Duck Bonbons
Dipping Sausages
The food came out very quickly and all was delicious, I would recommended all of the dishes we tried as they were delicious.
We will definitely be returning to try their evening menu and some of the delicious looking puddings we saw being delivered to the tables surrounding us.
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CSI – Welwyn
I’m not entirely sure how it came about but I came across a Cluedupp games voucher a few months ago and signed up with a team. https://www.cluedupp.com/
Not entirely sure what was involved all I knew it was like a puzzle game.
I knew I wouldn’t be able to pin down a team that far in advance but I looked at the website and it said you could have a team of up to 6 and kids were welcome and were at no extra cost. The standard price for a team is £60, I had a 50% off voucher so managed to get early bird booking for £30 I mean that was a bargain and I knew if nothing else Ashley and I would enjoy it.
They run events all over the world and currently have 2 events running in over 80 countries so I will not divulge any details of the actual story within the event. We were told where to start and that we could start at any time between 9am & 2pm and it would take approximately 3 hours but you had to be finished by 5pm.
They encouraged fancy dress but as it was our first time we chose not to, there were very few teams dressed up as it was a very hot day.
We ended up just being a team of 3 – Me, Ashley and Jo. We met at the designated place, had our briefing ( which was virtual) and then was off.
Huge tip – a smart phone is an absolute essential in the game and best to have more than one per team as the whole thing is a fully immersive game and it is handy for more than one person to be able to to read the clues and puzzles at any one point in time. All the clues and puzzles are completed virtually.
You basically run around collecting clues and solving puzzles until you have completed the game. This particular game was solving a murder but that is all I am going to give away about the plot.
You can take it at whatever pace is good for you as long as you have completed it by 5pm. It did involve a lot of walking so be prepared for this. You do not have to go into any shops or businesses the whole event is outside.
It was actually quite amusing to see how many teams of people there were milling around looking for clues (around 50 teams we believe). We were approached by a few people on the residential streets including a couple who were confused as to why so many people were wandering around their usually quiet street staring at their phones, they were quite amused when we told them it was a game.
There are time penalties if you get the answer wrong but also you can pick up time bonuses along the way too.
We came 18th overall which is not bad going, completing in 2hrs and 42 mins (although the last 20 mins we were deliberating in the pub). We had come to the right conclusion about an hour earlier but made sure we collected all of our evidence before submitting our verdict. After all you never know if there is a twist.
All in all a good day out if you like quizzes and puzzles and a bit of walking (we did about 7K)
then I would recommend.
I am looking forward to our next adventure.
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Festival time for me means food
Now I know it has been a while since last blogged, I have had a few huge amount going on in my personal life, including a job change. I have still been going out and enjoying myself so I will catch up on my meals out reviews and all sorts over the coming weeks
Summer brings festivals and as you can imagine for me a food festival is key. I thought I would kick of my motivation with the Knebworth food festival as it is local I thought it would be a fitting way to get back into the swing of things with my. https://greatbritishfoodfestival.com/knebworth/
I have been to the food festival at Knebworth before and such a lovely time, but has been cancelled the last 2 years as Covid.
So along with 4 of my best friends we set off to investigate.
Set in the ground of the beautiful Knebworth house, the food festival is an event be a festival of food Live music and fun for the family.
Now the entrance fee is pretty reasonable really £11.50 for a single ticket but there is a family ticket available for 4 persons at £42.00 saving £4.
I assume that this is they would rather people come and spent their money on the lovely food.
We were fortunate to have the glorious sunshine, so my friends made there way straight for the Pimms, I was driving but also can’t have Pimms so I settled for a nice mint Choc Chip
Ice cream from one of the stalls.
We found ourselves a bench and tried to decide what was for lunch. We were surrounded by food from all around the world from Caribbean, Greek, Mexican, Vietnamese, Japanese, Simons sausage, a huge list of Vegan options.
The hard job was deciding what we wanted to eat. I was starving by this point so went for the one with the shortest queue, so opted for a Mexican burrito, as did 2 of my friends, we had 1 veggie option 1 chicken and one beef, re made right in from of you and were lovely, though possibly not the smartest idea as we made a bit of a mess. But if you don’t make a mess eating street food you are
Other friends had Vegetarian bao buns and pastrami toastie.
We sat in the sun listening to the live music and eating our lunch.
There were a few different band and singers on throughout the day, I’m impressed at how well everyone carried on, both the vendors singer and all staff coped so well in the heat. We were also impressed with added extras in place in order to cope with the heat, including drinking water station and sun cream available near the toilets.
After lunch we had a wander around the stalls, there were stalls for meal plans, cookware demos, homemade ice cream, coffee, chocolate, cakes as well as some crafts stall and lots and lots of home made alcohol, gins, vodkas, ciders . some things were purchased.
And even some treats for pets, homemade oat dog biscuits like the one to the right picked up for my friends dog Nigel.
Lastly we stopped for some homemade Lemonade
it was a fitting end to a lovely day in the sun.
A definite recommendation, Knebworth was the first location for the year see website https://greatbritishfoodfestival.com/tickets.php for other dates and locations
Special thanks to my Friends Jo and Fatima for the pictures as my phone decided to have a melt down (no pun intended) in the sun.
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Out in London – Climbing the Shard, A Museum Skate & Diner at Circus
For Ashley’s birthday this year I decided to surprise him with a trip to London.
Now we don’t live that far from London so I needed to make a real day of it. I wanted it to be a surprise as I like surprises, but Ashley likes to see if he can guess everything which was very annoying.
I got to work planning, we had a “100 things to do after lockdown” poster bought for my birthday by my lovely friend Jo and so wanted to knock a few off the list in the process.
Somehow I managed to keep it a secret only telling Ashley’s daughter. I had it all planned and written down, from the train there to which tube stations we had to go to between locations. I had to work out what to wear for the day as we had some activities planned and also a very posh dinner.
After a very lovely breakfast at a new local café we were all set for the days events.
First stop – The Shard at sunset
Neither of us had been to the shard before and I thought it would be nice to go at Sunset.
We got on the train direct to London Bridge station, by this time Ashley had worked out where we were going.
We had pre booked tickets for The Shard and a cocktail each.
It was a cold day so didn’t stay outside on the upper deck for long, we managed to position ourselves by a window where we could look out over London and watch the sunset and all the lights of the city gradually light up the skyline.
Next – Ice Skating at the Natural History Museum
Next we hot-footed it across London on the tube to the Natural History Museum for Ashley’s next surprise. This was a bit of a risky one for me as I wasn’t entirely sure if Ashley would like ice-skating or not.
I love ice skating and this was the last year the Natural History Museum were going to have their ice skating rink.
Luckily Ashley was up for it.
Though after getting on the ice it was apparent that he was, let’s say, not that confident on the ice.
It was a lovely evening skating under the big Christmas tree to the music.
I managed to hold him up for the full 45 minutes and neither of us fell on our bums.
Last stop – Circus
For our next and final stop we headed to Covent Garden to Circus. Now I first went Circus a few years ago for a work even and have been dying to come back ever since. Circus is a Japanese fusion fine dining restaurant which literally has the entertainment on your table.
I will do a full review of the restaurant separately as the food and entertainment are worthy of their own blog
CIRCUS| Restaurant and Cocktail bar in Covent Garden London (circus-london.co.uk) It is an amazing experience and I am so glad I got to go back again I was concerned how Covid may have change the way the acts were able to perform but it was just as spectacular as I remembered and the food was also just as on point. Definitely one to put on the special evenings out list.
All in all a lovely time out in London, Hopefully a good time had by all
Dear Jenny - Food & Travel 