Hello to 2013 and The Cookhouse Restaurant, East Suffolk

So here we are on the first day of a whole new year.  In the past I've done round ups of some of my blog highlights from the past year, however 2012 didn't see a great deal of action blog-wise for various reasons. This is something I'm hoping to rectify in 2013.

Instead, while I recover from a whirlwind of Christmas cooking and rediscover my kitchen mojo with the help of a new cookbook, I'm going to try and catch up with a few posts I had intended to write last year but never quite got round to. To start with I thought I'd share the details of fantastic lunch we had back in the autumn.

On the way to the East Suffolk coast we stopped of at the Suffolk Food Hall, a haven for foodies just outside Ipswich with an impressive view of the Orwell Bridge. The food shop alone is worth a visit, being jam-packed with goodies from local producers and some more far afield. The sort of place you wish lived close enough to (and had enough money!) to do your weekly shop there.

The main reason for our visit, though, was to try out the new Cookhouse Restaurant. There has been a cafe at the food hall for a long time, but The Cookhouse is a more recent addition, set in a new building just next door.  The restaurant is set on the top floor and the benefits of this were immediately apparent as we reached the top of the stairs and saw the fantastic views out of the large windows and across the estuary. We were soon seated at a nice table for two in the middle of a very attractive, large room. As you can see in the picture below, some of the larger tables had benches for seating, however a couple had large comfy sofa-type benches covered with modern fabrics which broke up the room decor nicely.

So, on to the food. I could have happily chosen anything off the menu, which had a selection of lighter meals to chose from, such as soup, bruschetta or a goats cheese tart, and some more heartier dishes such as a delicious sounding fish pie, venison suet pudding and Brancaster mussels. Mr HaPoC chose the Suffolk Food Hall Stockman's Platter which included flaked ham hock, cheese, bread and a home made scotch egg. Although there didn't look to be a huge amount of food on the trendy wooden board it turned out to be very filling and everything tasted fresh and homemade.

After a great deal of indecision, I opted for the Duck leg hash, with mushrooms, spinach and topped with a pan-fried duck egg. I have to say the photos below really don't do this dish justice as this was genuinely one of, if not the, nicest things I ate all year. Generous chunks of flaked duck leg were mixed with crushed potato and the spinach and mushroom both added the most amazing savoury flavour, topped off by the gooey duck egg. If we ever return I will really struggle to choose something different. It was just perfect! 

We were very tempted by the deserts but in the end went for the takeaway option and selected a couple of delicious cakes from the bakery downstairs to accompany us on our walk around Dunwich Heath.

All in all, we were very impressed with our lunch. The setting is lovely, the food was delicious and the service was good. I really hope we have the opportunity to make a return visit at some point in 2013.

Bill's Cafe - Cambridge

So, following on from my post yesterday, the second no-cooking-required event I wanted to write about was a trip I took to Bill's Cafe in Cambridge. I'd seen it reviewed by a couple of local bloggers recently (The Secluded Tea Party, for one) and thought it sounded like a good destination for lunch during a rare, solitary shopping trip.

Bill's Cafe is located on one of Cambridge's lovely back streets, in a building that used to house a Slug & Lettuce pub, one of those slightly bland chain pub/restaurants that I never found particularly appealing. My first impression of the new occupant was a space full of colour with the walls lined with shelves and crammed with various tins, bottles, jars and bags of food (Bill's also sells a wide variety of foodstuffs, a lot of which are own-brand products such as jams, chutneys, salad dressings etc). It was only just noon but the place was already very busy and it wasn't long before they were turning people away.

I was sat at one of the communal tables, which was decorated with pots of red flowers and metal buckets providing cutlery, napkins etc. There was also a "menu" of the aforementioned foodstuffs so diners could tick off the items they wanted to take away with them and hand it to a member of staff. Their shopping would then be gathered together, with the cost added to the bill, ready to take away at the end of their meal - quite a clever touch I thought.

The menu offered lots of tempting choices (have a look here) and after much umming and ahhing I plumped for the Halloumi and Hummous Burger. You can't really tell from the picture below but it arrived on a smallish rectangular wooden board topped with a sheet of greaseproof paper. Quite a novel method of serving but not ideal for those of us prone to losing half the contents of their burger during the eating process! Luckily I managed to get through with the minimum of mess and I had definitely made the right choice as the burger was delicious. Slices of halloumi were sat on top of some nice, chunky hummous, with salad, mayo and sweet chilli sauce, all served in a brioche bun. The chips were served in a metal pudding mould which made the portion look a bit on the small side but looks can be deceiving and I had more than enough.

I'll definitely be back here when I'm next in Cambridge. If nothing else I have to try their Chocolate Brownie Milkshake, topped with a mountain of cream, which I enviously watched being served to someone else while I was there.

Restaurant Review - Jamie's Italian, Cambridge

Prior to a recent trip to Cambridge I was reminded that a new branch of Jamie Oliver's Italian restaurant had opened at the end of February so I added it to my list of lunch options. As I ended up in the right place at the right time I went to investigate. My heart sank a little as I rounded the corner and was confronted by a sizeable queue as I didn't have a great deal of time on my hands. However, it turned out that they had just opened for lunch and were just taking their time getting people seated so as not to swamp the kitchen (it's worth noting that they don't take bookings for parties of less than 8). So my wait turned out to be acceptably brief and I was soon seated, menued and ready to go.

The first thing that struck me were the pretty impressive surroundings. The restaurant is situated in a grade 2 listed building and the majority of tables sit in a marvellouslly high-ceilinged room with ornate columns dotted around the edges (no doubt there are more technial terms out there but an architect I am not!). One wall is devoted to the open plan kitchens, part of which are hung with dried and cured legs of meat and sausages where they prepare the antipasti. It all adds up to pretty much what you would expect from Mr O - a big combination of classic and modern. I guess some cynics might sniff at the marketing opportunities that have been taken advantage of - a note at the foot of the menu detailing branded items available to purchase, rows of Jamie's books tucked into alcoves here and there - but I didn't find it overly intrusive.

Before I carry on, I should apologise for the lack of photos - I know that from a blogging point of view this is Just Not On. I didn't have a camera with me though and, annoyingly, it didn't occur to me to dig out my mobile and use that. If you want some pictures have a look at the Jamie's Italian website - a link to the Cambridge page is here.

Anyway, if you take a look at the menu here you'll see why it took me so long to decide. In the end though I decided to stick with two classic dishes - Bucatini Carbonara and Mozarella and Tomato salad. Both turned out to be wonderful - the carbonara wasn't drowning in cream as some restaurants tend to do and the added courgette was a nice touch. The tomatoes in the salad were obviously well sourced as they were full of flavour and, combined with the mozzarella and a light dressing, made for a lovely side dish.

I wasn't planning on having a dessert however I decided that in the interests of my blog I should really make the effort and squeeze one in - it's a hard life! Again I went for a classic - chocolate brownie and ice cream. There are two things I expect from a brownie when served as a dessert - it should be fudgy in the middle and it should be slightly warm. Luckily this one scored on both counts. It also earned a few more brownie points (sorry) thanks to the addition of raspberries and amaretto biscuits. Gorgeous.

So, all in all I had a very enjoyable lunchtime experience and have every intention of returning when I get the chance. I'd recommend it to anyone who fancies some good, reasonably priced food in vibrant, lively surroundings.