Hammet House Llechryd Cardigan

This Food with the 4 J's was actually with 3 J's owing to work commitments of the 4th but a tasty lunch was enjoyed at Hammet House http://www.hammethouse.co.uk/

It was a lovely August day as we drove down the tree lined drive towards Hammet House. We were a little early so had coffee in the sitting room which was very grey and large. We all decided we liked grey but felt something was missing. During lunch the decor was discussed again and thought that perhaps some soft furnishings would 'soften' the grey.
In the bar area where we had lunch the decor and interiors were a little 'warmer' and whilst the chairs were a design statement they were actually very comfortable.

Now to the food....

 Carmarthenshire cheese & spinach lasagne

 Confit of duck on puy lentils & red cabbage

 Pork belly on mash with apples

 Chocolate mousse & chocolate sort of ice creamy scoop...yum

 Eton mess with strawberries & a raspberry coulis

 'Deconstructed' lemon meringue with strawberry champagne, strawberries & a strawberry ice creamy scoop

Flowers from the garden ...a lovely touch ....perhaps fresh flowers could have softened the grey???

Restaurant Sat Bains Nottingham

The original plan was that two of the 4 J's were to visit Sat Bain's restaurant with rooms http://www.restaurantsatbains.com/
Just before the planned trip one of the 4 J's fell very badly and had to go to hospital and have a new hip! Disaster!
Fortunately for the other J the trip took place and a fabulous meal unfolded before their eyes and tummies!
The seven course menu was chosen...

Pembrokeshire County Show 2012 Recipes by Angela Gray

One of our J's went along to the Pembrokeshire County Show this year http://www.pembsshow.org/ unfortunately she chose a rainy day, fortunately, she decided to take cover and watch a couple of cookery demonstrations from Angela Gray of Llanerch Vineyard Cookery school http://llanerch-vineyard.co.uk/angela-gray-s-cookery-school/

One of the recipes was Shredded Asian style chicken with spring onion pancakes and coriander relish and the other was Poussin simply roasted with onions,garlic and bacon - served with a herb salsa...yummy!

Recipes....

Trip to Stoke on Trent!

Pottery is a passion for more than one of the 4 J's, however one J took a trip to Stoke on Trent to visit the Emma Bridgewater factory http://www.emmabridgewater.co.uk/
No surprise that along the way food was eaten.....

The first stop en route was the Wildlife Centre at Cilgerran http://www.welshwildlife.org/visitor-centres/the-welsh-wildlife-centre/ This was to view a timber frame building that had recently been erected by MC Rustics http://www.mc-rustics.co.uk/ with wood supplied by Atheston Firewood http://www.athestonfirewood.co.uk/  The cafe is in the big glass house and the food is freshly cooked. As it was only elevenses cake & drinks were ordered. J had 'indian' spiced carrot cake and bottle green elderflower cordial and her husband had baked chocolate and strawberry cheesecake and coffee. The cakes were delicious but as it was time to hit the road there was no chance to sample the home cooked meals.


Dinner was at an Italian restaurant in Stoke on Trent, La Bella Napoli http://www.labellanapoli.co.uk/
A bottle of house red was ordered and enjoyed, J had a starter of aubergines in a tomato sauce and her husband had gnocchi
For mains J had gnocchi with tomato sauce and her husband had sea bream in a white wine sauce
Deserts were some irrestible chocolate profiteroles!
If ever in the area again, another visit would take place.

Apologies for no pics.....need to get this J in the 21st century!!

J and her husband  stayed at The Graythwaite B & B in Newcastle under Lyme http://www.thegraythwaite.co.uk/  they were served local speciality Staffordshire Oatcakes with their full breakfast which was very good indeed...

The Cafe at No 4 Queen Street, Carmarthen

Yesterday one of the J's took the bus with a friend to Carmarthen to check out The Cafe at No 4 Queen Street, Carmarthen. Only opened a couple of weeks ago by Andrew (brother of Alex from http://diablosnarberth.co.uk/ )

This J had visited the cafe with the previous owners quite a few times and had enjoyed the food.
J ordered a warm butternut and feta cheese salad and friend ordered goats cheese salad. Very tasty indeed!

As we knew Andrew is very good at his deserts we ordered the lemon posset with homemade shortbread......heavenly!

Andrew currently has no web site but is soon to have a facebook page. We hope he is successful at No 4.

Nant y Coy Mill Cafe Treffgarne Haverfordwest

One day last week one of the J's visited Nant y Coy Mill Cafe  http://nantycoymill.co.uk/ with her mother for lunch.

The waitress greeted us the second we walked through the door and through the whole time we were there was chatty and efficient the whole time. Her banter with customers added to the experience.

The main course we chose from the ever changing specials board, always with seasonal additions was the herb crusted hake on a bed of mash and broad beans with a salsa verde.....extremely tasty!

Feeling naughty and decided to sin and both chose the homemade hazulnut meringue with whipped cream and raspberry coulis.....

The overall experience left a very satisfactory well fed memory, one which will be repeated one day very soon!

The Moorings Restaurant @ Dale, Pembrokeshire

On a sunny day a couple of weeks ago one of the J's took her folks for lunch to The Moorings restaurant in Dale (above Dale Yacht club) http://www.daleyc.co.uk/Restaurant.html
What a treat! The view was stunning looking out to sea and the food was a really nice surprise.

On arrival the menu seemed a bit limited with two or three specials on the board and a small selection on the menu. This was actually one of the best things about it as what we got was really fresh, really real, good quality food. Our three mains were, one sea bass and two fish pies, freshly prepared and using local produce. Feeling a little full when it came to deserts we ordered two chocolate brownies, not expecting much. Well another surprise and a delight! Light, soft, sticky homemade brownie...a jug of warm chocolate sauce to pour over and a scoop of homemade chocolate ice cream!!

There is also a small deli with a variety of food stuffs on sale including homemade bread.
The owners of The Moorings have only been in residence since March 2012. As the restaurant is upstairs it may be a while until the 4 J's can visit owing to the fact that one of the J's has had a fall and subsequently a hip replacement! Rest assured, at the soonest opportunity the 4 J's will be there.