• 22 Apr ' 17:40

  BlogMarch2009BlogApril2008 BlogMay2009 Monday 13th April 2009 Bill's A couple of people recommended this place to me. There's no table reservations, just a long queue but luckily I jumped this by turning up late, allowing my friends to do the queueing! They do very nice food, in a relaxed atmosphere, with amazing looking cakes. Unfortunately I was so full from all the other great food that I didn't sample them. Side by Side Peered in through the windows of what I think was an art college at an exhibition called "Side by Side - Fine Art Sculpture", and spotted a couple of interesting pieces. One of which reminds me of Antony Gormley's Field Homage to Field? Lose yourself in a cup of tea Scrambled Eggs The eggs at Paskin's Town House persuaded me that my egg scrambling skills were in need of improvement. A quick bit of research pointed me at Mr Breakfast's in-depth egg-scrambling experiments . I needed to cook on a lower heat and with less stirring. Now I can do perfect eggs! Sunday 12th April 2009 Terre a Terre I'd heard of Terre a Terre before - the Observer featured it (along with Birmingham's The Warehouse Cafe and Kitchen Garden) as one of the best ethical restaurants in the UK. So I booked ahead to ensure somewhere nice to eat on Sunday night Decor-wise, it's warm and bright, the staff are friendly and helpful and the food is excellent (with quite generous portions too). I got to try the Arapas Mojo - cornmeal / sweetcorn cakes; the Smoked Sakuri Soba - a spiral pile of soba noodles and vegetable spaghetti, with smoked tofu , wasabi cashews and a thick satay sauce; the Tikka Kachumber - Halloumi kebab in indian spices; the Porcini Pudding - steamed suet-style pudding filled with wild mushrooms in a red-wine sauce, served with truffled mashed potatoes - delicious. Arapas Mojo Haloumi Kebab Porcini Mushroom Pudding Soba and Tofu Graffiti Brighton has some great Graffiti, mainly commercial / council sponsored, though there is an independent sticker scene. Chimney Totem Pole Grand Master Chess Map Please do not feed the Humans Heroin Vending Machine Poster Dog Stickers Pavilion The "oriental" style pavilion is striking building, and has had an obvious influence on other architecture in the city. There are also some lovely gardens, which are even open at night. Forget-Me-Nots, Brighton Pavilion Gardens Pompoko Driven by a paucity of Japanese restaurants in Birmingham, I ate Japanese for the second time in two days, this time at Pompoko. I got a nice Unagi Don (eel and rice with shredded ommlette) and a cup of green tea for about £5. Pompoko, Brighton Ebi Don Unagi Don Sat 11th April 2009 Brighton I've never visited Brighton before, but I've heard good things about it, so this Easter weekend I headed down there. It's four hours on the train from Brum, though on the way back we made it in closer to three. I booked a guest house using Trip-Advisor, which always seems to have trustworth reviews of even the most obscure places, even if it doesn't know the availability for the smaller ones. I ended up as Paskin's Town House, quite a posh place, which sells itself on it's Art Deco styling. The other great thing about Paskin's is the breakfasts. Have a look at the menu online, it's not your standard "greasy eggs and squeeky toast". There's homemade marmalade, duck's eggs, some of the best scrambled eggs (with or without smoked salmon or anchovies), and the veggie and vegan breakfast options feature home made sausages and patties. To be honest, it was rather a disappointment having to leave the breakfast table to go out and explore the town. Vegi breakfast Perfect Scrambled Eggs The Lanes, and North Laine The Lane's were the main thing I'd heard about in Brighton, aside of course from the pier and the "rock". The Lanes and North Laine ("Laine" being an old world for a field, I discovered) have lots of small, independent, shops and cafes. Much of it is pedestrianised, and the cafe's spill out across the streets. There's a general sense of relaxed, slightly trendy, fun. Typical shops are Jewellers ("craft","hippy" and "trashy"), trendy clothing boutiques and nick-nacky gift shops. When the outline planning permission for the new Bullring came up, my submission suggested that we have something similar in Brum, rather than a single monolithic building which would need demolishing in 30 years or so, but sadly, these niceties are not for Brum Moomins Overload Pick and Mix Religion TV is Evil T-shirt Il Bistro Looking for a quick meal on Saturday afternoon, I popped into Il Bistro on (or in?) The Lanes. They had a fixed price two course menu for about £7/8, I got a nice soup and some good quality (though not stunning) fish and chips. It's a pretty looking place, and won a Brighton City in Bloom award for it's frontage. Oki-Nami This Japanese restaurant is very close to the pavilion. They served some nice sushi and sashimi, and interesting Japan inspired cocktails. Unfortunately, I was too interested in the food to remember to take photos of it I did capture the matcha ice cream tempura though! Deep Fried Macha Ice Cream Brighton Pier at Night Brighton Pier - Long Exposure, Waterfall Brighton Pier - Long Exposure, Swirl and Ghost BlogMarch2009BlogApril2008 BlogMay2009

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