Mayochup

Autumn is a great time to go foraging as there are plenty of edible things to collect in and around suburbia. Of course, if you're not careful, there are also a lot of things that can make you quite unwell which I have found to my cost which leads me to the chestnut.

England has several types of chestnut and the one I was searching for is the sweet chestnut - the edible ones. These aren't as common as the inedible ones, the horse chestnut. On the ground, when out of their protective cases, they look exactly the same therefore it is near on impossible to differentiate one from the other so it is highly recommended that you do not pick up any that lie on the forest floor.

As I lie here trying to recover from a bout of horse chestnut poisoning, I shall re-educate forgotten minds. I am lucky that I did not have too many as I have read instances where some people have been hospitalised.

The sweet chestnut, below, bears it's fruit in a prickly case and once cooked, they bear a sweet flavour which is quite similar to the sweet potato. If you were to forage for these, I would recommend that you pick the fruit whilst inside the protective case to avoid any potential mix-up. Gloves would be ideal.

The horse chestnut does not bear it's fruit in a prickly case however, as you can see, the fruit is very similar. Once ingested, the results are a lot different. For starters, the fruit is very bitter to taste even though it has the same consistency as the sweet chestnut variety. Other symptoms include nausea, vomiting, dizziness, plus others. Another key difference, which I learnt later, is that horse chestnuts are very difficult to peel.

Be careful what you pick out there.

After experiencing a Gordon Ramsay restaurant many years ago, I looked at Jamie's Restaurant with disdain thinking it would be another overpriced and underwhelming experience but after I looked at the menu I thought it was worth a go.

This write up is on Jamie's Italian in Reading which is situated overlooking the River Kennet however, don't let the promise of great views entice you, there's plenty to look at once inside the restaurant. The layout is open and the staff are jovial - apart from one surly girl. If you get seated by an American chap with tattoo's, you're in for a great time!

First off, there's a bar which is equipped to cater for every cocktail need. I would avoid anything with gin as they insist on using Beefeater which I find rather tasteless but there's a wonderful selection of wines in which I will indulge next time.

The starters was Bruchetta and I went for the Crispy Squid (pictured). This is just light enough to
whet your appetite and leaves you wanting more. Just perfect.  Next up was the mains, which was the Italian Steak Frites and the Lamb Chops Scottaditto and again, food envy was happening. The lamb chops looked stunning! It is well renowned that you do eat with your eyes and still hold true. Just look at it!
The steak frites was as you expect however, the steak you get is enormous! The chips aren't what you quite expect though. I feel there's too much experimentation with the skins on and too many herbs, what I wanted was good old fashioned fries!
All in all, it is recommended that you do try it at least once. I feel you will be pleasantly surprised. Also there, and this is what a lot of restaurants neglect, is good music. Jamie's play upbeat classics such as Coldplay, U2, Moby The Stone Roses, and the like which makes a refreshing change from nothing.

We went a second time for burgers - avoid. The burgers are too dry but we will return to sample other delights on offer.

Southbank is one of those areas which is blessed with a variety of restaurants to choose from ranging from the sublimely expensive to something more reasonable. Of course, doing what we usually do, turn up to one of these not having booked and see if any table is free. More often than not, especially prime time on a Friday, we end up disappointed but we will learn one day.

After a stroll along the Thames, we ended up in this neat looking place called The Wharf. The menu had a little variety and we were both drawn to the seafood options. We were seated upstairs next to a window which offered great views of the Thames and, as dusk fell, the illuminated London skyline.
Anyhow, starters arrived and as you can see, we opted for seafood.


As you would expect from the mussels, it was a lot of work for not that much food however they were cooked well and we were given a finger bowl instead of cleaning my hands on my trousers. The prawns were amazing. Well seasoned and very generous in size. If there had to be a tiny, and I mean tiny, criticism would be perhaps a tad too oily but I stress that's me being very picky but then again, I'm not John Torode.

Seafood again was the flavour of our mains in the form of a risotto and linguine. The picture should be self explanatory.

Unfortunately, I lost the bet in having the risotto but it was a blessing as I was recovering from a bout of man flu and my appetite hadn't been restored to its former glory so I shall start with the linguine. It did look appetising however it had a little too much tomato sauce for my liking but Parmesan cheese came to the rescue. Lots of it. I did leave most of the linguine but that was due to my lack of appetite more than anything. I did finish off and pick out the seafood elements which, as a seafood lover, did not waste.

The risotto was also presented well and did taste lovely but there was no way I would have finished it. It was quite rich with its creamy sauce and subtle enough to convert even the stoutest of seafood haters.

Normally I would not have opted for dessert however we did catch a glimpse of a rather attractive looking cheesecake that another table was having and that was settled. The Wharf kindly offered us plenty of time (whether we liked it or not) between the end of our main meal and taking our dessert order. It did take quite a while to attract the waitresses attention. Anyhow, after what felt like an eternity, we were greeted with our prize - white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake.

Bloody hell that was nice! Presentation spot on and the taste... wow. Again, if I was being picky, my only teeny criticism would be to question why there is a strawberry on it? A raspberry surely? Anyhow, the cheesecake didn't last long.

The staff were made to wear these t-shirts which, and I can't quite remember exactly, had written on their back of "Taste Me, Love Me,..." there's two others. I would imagine they would have had a lot of comments of a suggestive nature in the past, that would be if they were paying attention which they were not. Never have I seen a disinterested bunch. As we paid up and left, we never got a goodbye. The only acknowledgement was an excuse me as we were inadvertently in the way.
So to sum up, good food, great location but the customer experience could be worked on.