Mayochup

The first course was described as 'Vichyssoise', truffle cream & gougiere. No idea what this was but no matter, we eat anything anyway. When it came, it was a cold soup which was creamy but lacked seasoning. Adding dill would have enhanced the dish and added an extra flavour but as it is, it was a little dull.

Roasted pollock, brandade croquette & watercress veloute

Up next was 'Cornish pie "feather blade", mustard emulsion & pickles. This was the least favourite dish of them all. We couldn't understand why the pickles were there in the fist place, the flavour combination did not work at all. The pie was a bit dry and the pastry was too thick and on the dry side. The mustard emulsion was nice though.

The last savoury course was Baron Bigod, chutney & raisin bread. This was disappointing as it involves no cooking whatsoever and a lazy addition to the menu. A bit of cheese, chutney and bread in a top class restaurant tasting menu?

Baron Bigod, chutney & raisin bread

Dessert was 'Chocolate fondant, caramelised bananas & banana ice cream'. The chocolate fondant was very chocolatey and had the gooey centre however, it completely overpowered the banana ice cream.

If you plan to drive in and park under the Hilton car park, be prepared for the astronomical car park prices. For our 2.5 hour stay we were charged £30 so it may be wise to park elsewhere and walk in.

The Chester Fields

Sandfield Farm

Chester Road

CH2 4JR

http://www.thechesterfields.co.uk/

Bournemouth is a 1.5 hour drive away so when the sun’s out, we can pop down and we did just that. However, when we got there, and this was upon arrival at Bournemouth, it was foggy. No matter though as there are still plenty of things to do other than the beach.

A foggy start

Beaches are empty due to the weather

Being a typical British seaside resort, there’s plenty of amusement arcades, snack shops, restaurants, tourist shops and other places to visit. There’s even a sea life centre should the weather make a turn for the worse. Luckily for us, the fog lifted and we were treated to wonderful views of the English coastline. Baby Tamara loved it and got to touch sand for the first time and was captivated by the sea. However, the sound of the waves lapping the shoreline soon put her to sleep!

Luckily the weather improved

Views of the sea

There are plenty of places to eat but our tip is to walk a little further down the promenade to find ones that are more reasonably priced as the restaurants by the pier (the main entrance) tend to be quite expensive and lacking in quality. Harry Ramsdens being the major culprit. All batter, hardly any fish. So after a 15 minute walk, we found a lovely little place called Chine Side. This place offered seating upstairs on the balcony which is perfect for those sea views and people watching. Being by the sea, we couldn’t resist Fish & Chips and Salmon Fishcakes & Chips. We were pleasantly surprised with the healthy portions too. It's a shame there was no mushy peas but can't have everything.

Fish and Chips

Salmon Fishcakes and Chips

We returned home just before the stag and hen groups would come out to play which is the right time. Also beating the traffic on the way back. This resort is definitely worth the trip and a great place to relax.

Somehow, for reasons that are still unexplained, we won tickets for Cafe de Paris so on a Friday night, we went. Once we were there, unbeknown to us, we were actually entitled the VIP package which allowed us the three courses, a bottle of Prosecco and two free drinks. Unfortunately, or fortunately for me, Mrs Mayochup was pregnant at the time therefore could not drink anything alcoholic so the whole bottle of Prosecco and free Kir Royale was mine. Be rude not to waste it.

Ruby and performing guests

Another picture of the performers

We previously posted about Cafe de Paris and we were pleased to see that Ruby was still the MC who is still at his flamboyant best terrorising the gentlemen who he took a shine to. The acts were truly amazing and it’s hard to comprehend that us human beings can perform like that whether it being balancing on one hand on a raised platform to performing acts with fire. Over the course of the evening, it must have been the first time in its history that there were no hen parties but of course there were other celebrations like birthdays and anniversaries.

Tucked away in a side street in Marble Arch, if that's such a thing, is the welcoming exterior of La Porte des Indes which is best described as an Indian restaurant with French influence. The interior is decorated with Indian art, artifacts and huge plants spanning from the lower ground to the ceiling. Reminded us of the greenhouses in Kew Gardens.

La Porte des Indes exterior

We booked the Jazz Sunday Brunch which is £35 per person and is a buffet spread out on two floors. Which is great as you can go up as many times as you like. You can find the starters and desserts on the lower ground floor and the mains (vegetarian and non) on the ground floor. Price also includes 1/2 pint of beer, glass of red or white or a soft drink.

Now, due to it being a buffet, we went a bit wild on the starters. We tried everything they had to offer and did not leave enough room for the main course buffet. Still, can't complain as each of the starters was amazing apart from the Watermelon and Pepper soup. You would think there's a twist on it but no, it's simply cold Watermelon juice with pepper granules floating on the top. Err right... but we'll let that one slide.

Different types of starters available

The Watermelon and pepper soup

We went for the meat mains and there are four choices, or all four, and on offering was Lamb Bhuna, Murgh Tikka Makhni and white fish curry I can't remember the name of.

The main course buffet

Selection of main courses with rice

Unlimited naan bread brought to your table

Whilst we were enjoying our meal, we were showered in light entertainment in the form of a jazz band and the fire alarm a few times. To mix things up, the jazz band played a few well known TV theme tunes.

Light entertainment

After a well earned break, we eventually waddled to the desserts and what an offering there was! Fresh fruits, belgian chocolate mousse, Panna Cotta and those really really really sicky sweet Indian sweets plus more I can't remember off hand.

Selection of desserts

What did puzzle me was the lack of French influence. We thought we would find it in the food, and especially the desserts as the French are masters of that, however there wasn't any. Belgian mousse is err Belgian and Panna Cotta is Italian. Thinking back to the mains and starters, there's none there either. Still, that's a small gripe considering the wonderful food we were treated to.

If you love Indian food, and lots of it, then this is the place to come. Make sure you're really hungry to get your moneys worth!

The first thing you notice about L'oro Di Napoli is that the restaurant is small, only seating around 20 people, and the second is the shrine to Napoli football club and, in particular, Diego Maradona who is Argentinian. Coincidentally, Maradona is a name for one of their pizzas there. For us football fans out there, we all remember the 'hand of god' goal against England in the 1986 World Cup.

L'oro Di Napoli A-Board

The shrine to Napoli. Diego Maradona in particular

But let's put Maradona to one side and concentrate on L'oro Di Napoli which literally translates to The Gold of Naples. The pizzas are all hand made and they use the freshest of ingredients all cooked in a wood burning clay oven.

As the restaurant is so small, we can peer into the kitchen and it is almost open plan. We got a lovely insight in how are pizzas are made.

Making the dough

Preparing the pizzas

For starters, we ordered the Tomato Bruschetta. Although this is simply made, the ingredients they used makes it stand out from your regular Italian restaurant chains and it was wonderful. The chopped tomatoes had plenty of flavour and it was well seasoned. And it wouldn't be Italian without the lashings of olive oil.

Tomato Bruschetta

For the mains, the menu offered pizza and nothing but pizza. There was so many to choose from that it is a little overwhelming and they have mixed up white and red pizzas together under the same heading. White pizzas are those without the tomato sauce as a base. If they were to redesign their menu, it is suggested that they create these categories to make it easier.

We ordered one white pizza and one red and went for the Massimo Troisi and Caruso respectively.

Massimo Troisi

Caruso

Massimo Troisi consisted of mozzarella, parma ham, rocket, cherry tomatoes,topped with parmesan and olive oil. As you can see, these pizzas are huge and we did not finish them nor did we get anywhere close. Thankfully, they allow you to take away the pizza and with L'oro Di Napoli offering a take-away service too, it was easy for them to accommodate.

The Caruso was a real meaty pizza which was tomato sauce based with mozzarella. The meats were spicy salame, sausages, ham, topped with parmesan, fresh basil and not forgetting the olive oil. Both these pizzas were beautifully flavoured due to the freshness of the ingredients and they are certainly generous with the toppings too! A good quality mozzarella makes or breaks a pizza and thankfully L'oro Di Napoli gets that right.

More olive oil. Just in case you don't have enough!

The cost of the pizzas are very reasonable and remarkably cheaper than Domino's, Pappa Johns and Pizza Express. And much much better too. The most expensive pizza is £10.95 and cheapest is £5.50. If you are keen on having a filling lunch and not wanting to spend that much, one pizza is easily big enough to share for two.

We would definitely come back and we can't wait to try different pizzas next time.