Visited 5th August 2009
After the excitement of Shrewsbury the next stop on my summer holiday was a visit to the Island of Brac on Croatia's Dalmatian coast. The four days we spent in Brac's main town of Bol were great and a part of our enjoyment came from the great local food. On our last evening we dined at Restaurant Jadranka. Slightly back from the beach and through the square where the post office is; the restaurant sprawls through a couple of large, open-aired, walled gardens. The setting is fantastic, especially when lit by candle light of an evening. The owner is an accomplished carver and a series of interesting wood sculptures decorate the restaurant.
Croatia food echoes Italian cuisine in many ways. Pizza, pasta, grilled meat, simple seafood, salad and bread all have an obvious presence as does the importance attributed to the quality and freshness off the ingredients. Before we had even ordered we were presented with bread, butter and pesto. The thick, heavy bread was delicious and the pile of bright pesto had obviously been freshly made; excellent stuff. For our main we decided upon a platter of grilled meat and were presented with a towering pile of lamb chops, chicken, steak, kebabs and pork fillets, all simply grilled. Accompanying this feast of flesh were a few simple fries, lemon for squeezing and a delicious capsicum based sauce, again homemade. We ordered a side salad and the simple dish of lettuce, onion and tomatoes impressed me with its freshness and I wasn't surprised when I was told that the lettuce had been grown in the proprietor's garden. To drink we did our usual and ordered a carafe of the highly drinkable local wine. 
I really liked Restaurant Jadranka. The courtyard made for a relaxing setting and the staff were friendly and welcoming; however what impressed me the most was the freshness of the ingredients and the quality of the obviously homemade food. I'm not a bit fan of fluffy foam and sparkly garnishes so well prepared, simple food is a recipe for success in my book. We ate lots of good grub while in Bol, but Restaurant Jadranka would have to take the award for the most memorable meal of stay.Visit restaurant website.
I never went to uni in the UK, but occasionally it feels like it did. I had an extensive stint living in the Glasgow Uni Halls of Residence in 2001 and for a lot of 2003 - while teaching in a miserable South Shields school - I took great joy flatting with a group of Newcastle uni students. I was in Shrewsbury for the weekend for a reunion with the girls who I shared with while I 'attended' Newcastle Uni; the first time we'd all been together for six years. It was going to be a big weekend, but things started off rather civilised with lunch at The Armoury; a stylish pub on the banks of River Severn. Located in an 18th Century former armoury building (yep you guessed it) the pub has been well renovated and offers a comfortable light, airy setting. When I visited the pub had attracted a bit of hype as Prince William had been sighted having the odd pint on break from his posting at a nearby military base.
I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to The Armoury. Sure special friends made a difference, but excellent food, a lovely riverside setting and great service all contributed to a very memorable lunch. If for some reason you're happen to find yourself in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England head down to the river for a feed at The Armoury; it's well worth it, even if you don't happen to see a Prince.
The train journey from Interlaken to Grindelwald is an awesome affair.
View from the centre of town with the 
Grindelwald's tiny six hole 
Not sure if I'm in particularly good form here... 
A big plate of delicious, dripping raclette. 
Apart from big views Grindelwald is all about skiing in winter and walking in summer. After cycling, canyoning and paragliding in Interlaken, Wednesday was walking day. We began our trek over the 
Wildflowers were everywhere.
The trail passes the Bachalpsee; this lake is one of the most spectacular spots on the walk.
Descending into the valley the views were just as good, though one wonders how these guys would fair in winter.
Another wine from Valais. This time a bottle of 
This is very light and in colour with just a hint of spritzy bubbles. There's not much intensity to the nose, but what I do smell is perfumed and aromatic. There's a sniff of pear, red apple and musk. It's a nicely textured wine, with a bit of palate weight, but unfortunately it's pretty tasteless. There's a slight echo of apple juice, but not much else. While Dame de Sion Fendant du Valais 2008 is smooth and refreshing, it lacks flavour, it lacks excitement and makes very little impact.
You've really got to love an address that's just grid coordinates; no road, no street just a hotel atop a Swiss mountain. To get to the Faulhorn Mountain Lodge from 
The menu's got a bit of all the classic Swiss stuff, though to be honest we really weren't that interested in food. A couple of cold soft drinks followed by a couple of cold beers were the order of the day. As they're stuck on a mountain, resources are scarce and everything, apart from solar energy and glacier melt water, is imported. Food and drink isn't cheap, but that's more than fair as everything is either hand cared in or air freighted by helicopter.
Even though I didn't eat a thing I can still recommend a meal at the Faulhorn Mountain Lodge. I know it's a bit of a long shot for a Hong Kong food blog, but 'if you're ever in the area' I'm definitely telling you to put in the effort and trek up the Faulhorn. The beers are cold and the view is absolutely superb.
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Not a bad view for the centre of town.
Flowers were everywhere; both wild and cultivated.
On our first afternoon we cycled around the beautiful 
Giessbach Falls on the lake's north shore.
It was time for adventure with a canyoning trip down the Grimsel Canyon. Things started with a decent abseil.
Here we go! The journey down the canyon involved rappelling, sliding, jumping and swinging.
When the action calmed down the views were magnificent.
Probably the best way to appreciate the spectacular nature of the area is from the air; paragliding anyone?
Interlaken town with the 
Yes this palce so spectacular it even has a rainbow.
This is light and delicate in colour; a change from the usual inky monsters. Having a sniff and it appears the nose is just as delicate. There are a whiffs of red fruits - think cherry and cranberry - and freshly milled white pepper; quite nice really. The palate light, simple and tastes of red cherries. While it's light bodied Fleur du Rhone Pinot Noir 2008 has a surprisingly long finish. Simple and easy it reminds me of a faint summer breeze; it's a pleasant wine that would probably benefit from being served chilled.
My Cousin's new home in Launceston has great views of the 11th Century Norman Castle.
We didn't just 
Surf rips into rugged cliffs north of Widemouth Bay
Adequate footwear for walking?
The pretty little fishing town and port of Boscastle. The sheltered harbour is protected by walls and steep cliffs and the village straddles the small tidal river. 
Summer blooms; spectacular hydrangeas better than my father could ever grow.
The 14th Century Old Post Office in Tintagel.
We called this fellow David.
Sometimes you've just got to write a place up because of its postcard. Being a Yuen Long restaurant certainly helps your chances of getting a mention here but there's a couple of other places that are just as likely to get you the gig. The suburban paradise of 
Cajun styled dishes using local Cornish produce is the flavour of the day at La Bouche Creole. The menu only has a choice of six starters, mains and dessert that give the impression of fresh and local ingredients. To start there were Creole favourites like gumbo and crab cakes, but I went with roasted pork belly, followed by seafood thermidor and pecan pie. The tender pork was outstanding; the richness of the Cajun spice seasoning and a sticky chilli dressing was balanced by fresh, chunky pineapple salsa. The thermidor was, too be honest, a bit disappointing; it was thin and over cooked, though the quality of the local prawns, mussels, scallops, crab and fish was obvious. Despite not loving the thermidor the steaks, chicken, salmon and pork being eaten around me all looked great. I'm not a big one for dessert but I couldn't resist a slice of pecan pie; packed with chunky nuts and dressed with a rich caramel sauce it was a sweet finish to a sweet meal. As you'd expect we drunk wine, lots of wine; our hoard slurped a Bergerac Rose, Argentine Malbec and Rioja which all went down well and offered decent value at between £11.50 and £16 a bottle.
Four generations of family and old friends always make for a special evening, yet there was more to our visit than the company. The atmosphere was welcoming and homely, while the tasty food was reasonable priced at £20 for two courses and £23 for three; perfect for a party like ours. La Bouche Creole is more than just a venue with a Launceston postcode, it's a great little restaurant that offers something rather different and just luckily happens to be in Launceston.
It's a lovely dark golden colour with medium sized bubbles that offer plenty of fizz. The nose took a little time to grow on me, but when it opened up it was certainly in the big 'n' fruity style. There were aromas of red berries, straw, honey and raisin toast. The palate was rich and complex with plenty of rich fruit and touch of sweetness. I tasted red berries, lemon butter, pear and nuts. This is a big, ballsy style of sparkling wine that worked better alongside food. It's got a lovely rich flavour and good length, but I felt that is was perhaps missing the freshness and acidity to be a really blow my mind. Lanson Black Label Champagne; tasty, but not amazing.
For me a trip to Europe always starts with a visit to my mother's family in Cornwall. Apart from sipping sherry with Granny and causing a bit of trouble with my cousin it's also a chance to reacquaint myself with the places and traditions that bind my mother's family. One of the things we tend to love dearly round my neck of the woods is a Cornish pasty. The Cornish are extremely serious about their pasties, so serious in fact they're in the process of getting it registered with the EU, as a 'Protected Geographical Indicator'.
The original Fook Moon Lam has been a Wan Chai institution for nearly forty years, gaining a reputation as one of Hong Kong's best and priciest Cantonese restaurants. With a mate visiting from out of town we decided to try the TST branch. Our group ended up being a sizable party of ten and we were seated at an out of the way corner table. One thing that struck me as strange was that for a place with good reputation it was basically empty, never a good sign on a Friday night.
The menu is pretty traditional with the usual emphasis on cruel 'delicacies' like shark fin. We ordered up a pile of dishes that included roast pigeon, fried salt and pepper squid and pork ribs, fried crispy skin chicken with shrimp paste, chilli prawns, baked fatty pork with cabbage, fried milk, beef with onions, broccoli, a whole duck and sticky rice. The first to arrive were the pigeons and fried dishes all of which were really tasty. The juicy little birds had an obvious smoked tea flavour that 
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