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Not so wet this week.  Walked to work in shirtsleeves most days.  Very brave thing to do when in Scotland.

On Monday met up with Jimmie and had a few pints and a Chinese Meal in that Edinburgh Establishment of Jimmie Chungs, a Chinese buffet chain throughout Edinburgh.  After eating there a visit for another drink and entertainment at the Burke and Hare. Finally Whistle Binkies for a nightcap and some life music.  Must admit Jimmie Chungs was not that bad and quite cheap.  The Burke and Hare also was selling pints of Stella at £3.00 which is not too dear.

Tuesday met with Ed and Mary, where we had some pints at the Doric, and a bite to eat.  Haggis tatties and neaps for me.  Why is there always a drunk trying to tell you there are better places to visit in Edinburgh; the real Edinburgh.

Wednesday was liver rest day.

Flight back on Friday was better than usual, only 30 minutes late, so home by 21.00.

One of those days when it rains, then hot sun and rain again.  Lots of those at the moment.  Managed to miss most of the showers, but was caught in one when on the way to lunch at the Café Royale for a pint of IPA with Mary and Ed.

In the evening I decided to try Shaws.  I had been given a flyer the previous day.  Shaws says they provide Scottish Cuisine with a Mediterranean influence.  They also provide three course meals of good quality for £12.95.  This cannot be bad, especially as I had gone over budget the previous day at the Indian resturant.

Started off with a duck salad.  Small slices of duck breast served with some leaves and reduced balsamic vinegar.  The duck was cooked so that it was very slightly pink.  A good starter.

The main course was chicken breast stuffed with haggis, served with  cream sauce, potatoes carrots and neaps.  Again this was very good.

Finally ate a sticky toffee pudding.

Shaws must be new, it is slightly off the beaten track in that you would not walk past it.  It is on 21 Old Fishmarket Close which is a very narrow alley running between the Royal Mile and Cowgate.  I would recommend the place.  They do the set three course dinners Monday through Thursday, and a cheaper lunch time menu.  There are five or so choices on the set menu.  They also have an A La Carte menu.

Their website is http://www.shawsrestaurant.com

We spent a couple of weeks camping in the South of England and in the South of France.  Got back on Saturday and then rushed over to Ely for a reunion with some Cambridge colleagues.  More information to follow on both these events.  Rosemary will be writing up our fabulous holiday in France, and I will be putting together the website pictures.

Now back in Edinburgh working for the bank.  Arrived in absolute torrential rain.  The evening turned out good though.  Ate at an Indian resturant and had a very good meal indeed.  The place was dry, so no alcohol today. The resturant is called Khushis, located in Victoria street and was established back in 1947 and has a website, though of course not from those dark days.

It’s my fourth week in Edinburgh.  Eaten at the usual places, the Mai Thai, Petit Paris etc.  The weather has been awful, cold and wet.  The longest day has now gone by.  The flights home have always been delayed, such that last week I was not home until gone 10.00pm.

 At least I have a couple of weeks off next week.

[Editor’s notes:  Too long in Scotland must have caused Steve to spell “fourth” as “forth” (as in bridge)] 

I see my last blog entry was a month ago.  We have been doing quite a few things this month.  A visit to Cardiff for a long weekend and a trip around the London Docklands area with the Cambridge Society.  Alas I delegated these write ups to Rosemary who has failed to come up with the goods.

I am back in Edinburgh for a short trip.  Excellent flight up here, we left early and arrived in Edinburgh early.  The flight was full so I can claim it was a Green Flight, Mr Blair.  Lovely and sunny here, but how cold.  Cold East wind blowing all day.

At out at the Mussel and Steak, and had yet again a wonderful Rib Eye Steak, hung for three weeks, and served rare.  They do know what rare is, lovely.

Well that’s it, must get off to work now.  Should be here this year for at least four more months.  So looking forward to the next festival.  Maybe I can persuade Rosemary to come up here again. 

After working all Saturday, decided to have a night out enjoying myself.  Started out with a meal at my favourite Thai Resturant and bar, The Mai Thai.  Had duck for my main course, not the usual spicy duck, but one cooked with tomatoes and pineapple.  It was an excellent change to my usual dish.

Then it was off to Whistle Binkies where I listened to a band called Roadhouse.  A 70s-80s cover band. Excellent renditions of Stefan Wolf, James Brown - Play that Funky Music White Man, Kinks - You Really Got Me  Going, AC/DC - Highway to Hell.  A few pints later it was back to bed, and then an earlyish bus to the airport.

I had to get through security by 09:00, so that I could set up to buy the tickets for Glastonbury.  Both Rosemary and I tried, but by 11.30 we got the message all sold out.  Never once in that time did Rosemary connect to the website.  Who were all these people who were succesful in buying tickets!!

Arrived up in Edinburgh, lovely dry and sunny, but pretty cold outside. I am sitting in the Mai Thai expecting my Tom Yum soup and main course of duck.  Yes it is the duck yet again.  I am getting rather repetitive.

Already someone from work has suggested I be in the office when the changes go into production.  So looks like I will be here again, at least for a short while.

I am counting the days, only two more weeks of travel to Edinburgh.  I must make the most of the time I am here.

Travel from Luton was again a pain, the place was full of people going away.  Still half term in some county or other. The weather was damp and miserable in Edinburgh.

Visited the Mussel and Steak for one of the gorgeous pieces of red meat, cooked just correctly.  I did start off with some hot smoked salmon (cold) with oat cakes.  The salmon was delicious.

Met an Australian IT consultant there, think he had emigrated to the UK because of the jobs in the Health Sector.  He had been recommended the restaurant and was very happy with it.  Somehow we got to talking about flying, and it turns out his grandmother took up gliding at the age of 80.  Fantastic.

 I asked who I think was the owner of the Mussel and Steak, how long they had been open.  I thought it must be about two years, and in fact it is two years in May.

Another day of work, the weather is excellent in Edinburgh.  Ths sun is bright, and I have to close the blinds to keep it out.  Tad chilly in the evening as I walk around. 

Valentines day, so did not feel inclined sitting in a restaurant on my own.  So though of the Mai Thai.  Damn, full of couples eating romantic meals together.  At least the bar had a few people watching Rangers being beaten by Tel Aviv.  Had an excellent meal as usual, left it to the owner to decide for me.  So ate a Beef Rendang with coconut rice.

Their usual excellent service.

I spent what could be my last week with the bank for a while.  Though I expect to be back again .  Not a lot happened.  I did visit a few restaurants.

Ate at the Mussel and Steak, and had yet again a very good rare sirloin steak.  The large steak had not a single piece of ‘chewy meat’, and was totally tender all the way through.

Tried a new Indian restaurant called Voujon.  It was quite a long walk from the hotel, aiming up Nicholson Street.  The place was well lit with trendy ceiling lights, and there was not a sign of flock wallpaper (which is a shame cos R says it is now high fashion).  The plates were all those modern white square dishes.  The food was well-prepared, but was the same menu as most other Indian restaurants.

The other two times, I ate in the hotel. It’s about time the menu was changed.  I did though visit Whistle Binkies on Thursday and saw half a set of a covers band playing Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Sex Pistols and many of the ’70s rock classics.

Slight worry about getting home.  There was snow in Aylesbury, and a small sprinkling in Edinburgh.  Waiting at the airport on Friday (over an hour late), I noticed all the flights to Birmingham were cancelled.

Trying new places, I decided to eat at B’est on Drummond  Street.  I went because Rosemary sent me the article below from The List having seen it praised in the food magazine Olive.

The full menu costs £14.95, though there is a pre-theatre £9.50 one.  The place is conveniently situated near a major theatre.  The £14.95 can be quickly increased.  Vegetables are extra and some dishes also have a supplemental charge.

I started off with a liver au fois gras terrine.  Very nice, and it came with a little tower of something tasty, which to my surprise included one floret of cauliflower.

Mains was a tower of duck breast on some square chips arranged in Jenga fashion.

Finals was chocolate flan.

All the food was very well arranged.  The waitress always asked whether you enjoyed the food.  The word enjoy, though seemed to be number one on her vocabulary.  As she placed the food in front of you, you were commanded to Enjoy!

You could see the chef working, a small part of the restaurant being taken over by the very small kitchen.  Alas there were very few people eating there, which made for a rather poor ambiance.  And then there was the Abba musak.

The List review

 The b’est restaurant in town? Certainly one with a pedigree. Co-owner Jim Brown’s Dock Place bistro in Leith was the first Pierre Victoire franchise in the city, and his new venture (previous site of Khushi’s) revives the PV formula of three courses for little more than the average spend on a Saturday takeaway. It opened in August 2005, and locals and students were first to catch on but increasingly busy tables show word is spreading. Three big rooms do make for a slightly unwieldy space but dark wood and Gallic bits and pieces give some of the lived-in feel of a traditional Parisian estaminet. And if some of the interior design is slightly more Disney than Dijon, it isn’t putting anybody off their seafood pot au feu. Staff are quick to catch your mood with rapid service pre-theatre, or something more leisurely if you’ve time to linger. The half dozen or so choices on offer marry French with fusion, so you might pick Thai fish balls partnered by a silky coconut dressing and crunchy fresh salad leaves followed by pan-fried chicken with classic mushroom and port cream. Pud-wise, crème brûlée or summer pudding make a competent rather than startling finish.

I have been to the Outsider restaurant on George IV bridge before, many years ago with Ed and Mary.  Thought I would pay it a visit on a quiet Monday.  In fact I ended up eating there on Monday and Tuesday.

The restaurant is on multiple levels, and has some reasonable views of the castle through its back windows.  The decor is trendy, and the clientelle (apart from moi) the same.  Food prices are reasonable, quite possible to eat there for £10.

First night I ate there, I had a swordfish steak on a Japanese fish broth.  I had some mashed potatoes on the side to soak up the broth.  I was a little disappointed in this dish.  Not sure the broth did much for the steak.

Next day I was much happier with the fish kebabs.  Salmon chunks, prawns and scallops on a skewer.  Augmented with a salad in pitta bread.

Definitely worth a visit.  I am sure it would be very busy on a Friday.  It was almost full on a winter Monday evening.

Having been somewhat extravagant, and pushing the limit on my expenses, I wanted somewhere close by, i.e. on the way back to the hotel and relatively cheap.  A quick scan on the Internet came up with Hanam’s nearby in Tollcross.  The advertising blurb says it is Edinburgh’s first authentic Kurdish and Middle East Restaurant.

Authentic it is. No alcohol for sale, though it is a BYOB, with no corkage.  The restaurant is small, and set with Ikea cutlery.  It was not busy, just one Kurdish couple eating.  The owner was jolly and chatted to everyone, including me.  He asked why I had come, where I had seen it advertised.  Later he explained about Kurdistan, how it was incorporated into Iran, Iraq, Turkey and another country. 

One interesting story about how he had to provide a takeaway for 100 people in Kent, from Edinburgh!

I started off with stuffed vine leaves, and then went on to the lamb casserole. The lamb casserole, I forget its real name, was served in a deep dish with lots of vegetables, not carrots, but onion and peppers.  It was served on a base of their nan bread which soaked up the juices and sauce.  The flavour was quite tangy. All this was washed down with apple juice.  Next time I think I will have kebabs.  The couple next to be ate Kebab with the Kurdish Nan Bread which is thinner and crispier than Indian bread.

Latish supper in the Petit Paris.  You can tell it is winter, the downstairs was not in use, well it wasn’t until the party of 8 turned up.

Supper, well a boring steak.  Ordered rare, slightly over cooked I think.  Still red, but not totally raw in the middle which is my definition of rare.  Usual 500 ml of wine to wash it down.

I thought I was meant to be meeting Mary tonight, but confusion in text messages without the punctuation meant somehow we missed each other.  So anyway to the Mai Thai for my Wednesday meal.  I needed their free broadband, I had quite a few large uploads and downloads to complete for a number of websites.  I hate those hotels that charge, and then the free ones seem to throttle your bandwidth as well.   So probably have to spend more time at the Mai Thai.

Couple of large glasses of a South African Cabernet Sauvignon and the duck.  Tends to raise a laugh now when I order the same food over and over again.

No snow in Edinburgh, but I believe there were a couple of inches in Buckinghamshire.

Monday, and a normal working day started.  Walked over to the Lothian Road, listening to the sweet tones of Green Day on my new toy.  My whole, well almost, CD collection in a box smaller than a packet of 10 hamlets.  Worked the whole day through, until well after 18.00.  I am sure a sales man would say I worked until 19.00.

Eating, today is a Monday and in the Winter.  So many of my favourite places are closed.  The Petit Paris has its blinds firmly in place. The Mussel and Steak is in darkness, ah a sign, the establishment is under refurbishment! It’s been open only for a couple of years.  So time for new places.  How about Scottish fare? - there is Howies on Victoria Street.

Entered, quite empty at the moment, not surprising for a wintry Monday.  Very industrial style, huge great ventilation pipes over the ceiling taking the fumes from the kitchen,  large cast iron pillars in the restaurant supporting the road and houses above.  Two pretty waitresses though, and some men in the kitchen.  This smoking ban allows you to see the chefs, as they dash outside for a quick nicotine fix.

What did I eat? Well started off with the Cullen Skink, or as I almost said, Cullen Skunk.  It had a nice smokey smell of the smoked haddock flakes, oh and one small bone.

Mains, was Borders pheasant breast wrapped in bacon on crushed potato and some cabbage.  Very nice.

Afters, I missed this, went for the Scottish Illy espresso coffee.

I have to say, there seemed to be lots on the menu which would not have struck me as Scottish, such as the chili sauce, the Banoffee Pie….