Whilst out (yes out! A rare thing nowadays!) shopping around North Weald Market I came across these little bundles of yumminess!
Now, being a little piggy I popped a whole one into my mouth later that afternoon….. mistake! These are most certainly not clouds! I suppose if I had bothered to read the packaging properly I would of seen the word ‘crunchy’ though I believe ‘rock hard jaw breakers’ may of been a better description bit not necessarily a good selling point huh!
Right,after the initial shock of near breaking my teeth, these are really reaaally nice! Solid chocolate(swiss) with small pieces of salted caramel-almond-nougat and cornflakes. They remind me of the old school cornflake cakes but with a much better chocolate to cornflake ratio!
I will admit I sat and ate these until I felt sick (please note this was not the whole 300g bag, I’m not that piggy) and then had to get Mr Foodie to take them away as I have no self control!
Now as you can see from the cover photo, these were also a hit with the littlest foodie and with only having 12 teeth that you mustn’t let the hardness put you off, anyone can eat these but just don’t expect clouds like some idiot did (me).
So if anyone goes to North Weald Market or sees these any where else, I would like 12 packs please!
I think all has been said that can be. Hard, yummy… Very yummy. A definite must for any chocolate lover and most definitely not a soft fluffy cloud! I’m now off to fight the littlest foodie for what’s left in the bag but she will most likely win. It’s the face you see, can’t argue with the cute face!argh!
Well one last dinner out before tier 3! I dread to think the impact all this is having on poor people’s business’s. Anyway, lets talk fooood!
Dirrrrrty burger!
Miller’s dirty burger
Skipped the started and went straight for the mains. I planned on having a dessert and that’s way more important than the starter! Although this is a steak restaurant, I happen to prefer how Mr Foodie cooks our steaks at home so I wanted to see what else was on the menu…..and there it was. The dirtiest, yummiest creation I have seen for a long while.
Prime beef burger, tender sliced fillet tails (cooked to your liking), cheddar cheese sauce, pulled beef barnbacoa bearnaise, smoked streaky bacon, Monterey jack, chorizo and burger sauce!
We both opted for the fillet tails to be rare and it didn’t disappoint. The whole burger just melted in my mouth ( obviously I don’t mean I put the whole burger in my mouth at once. However I am more than happy to take that challenge another time!). Seasoned fries were pretty standard but good and then there was the slaw. Sadly that little pot of slaw was the down point (no big deal though, its a minor fault!), it was completely lacking flavour and could tell straight away that this was most definitely bought in from outside suppliers by the tub load. A real homemade slaw would of been so much better and isn’t that hard to be honest. Mr Foodie was particularly sulking over his slaw as only received half a pot whilst mine was overflowing! As I said though, minor fault and not really that fussed.
Onion loaf
Well being the Foodies that we are, we couldn’t go without sharing a side order of their amazing onion loaf. 3 large pieces and very yummy. This is something we definitely must try at home one day. Crisp on the outside and moist on the inside. It was a perfect accompaniment to our burger.
Sticky toffee pudding apple and rhubarb crumble
We finished the meal with 2 desserts. When I say 2 I don’t mean each! (Though certainly possible). I opted for the sticky toffee pudding and Mr Foodie went for the apple and rhubarb crumble. We then ate half of each (it’s good to share) and I definitely think I had the better deal with the pudding. Just the right amount of sweetness, sticky and moist it definitely finished off the meal nicely. The crumble too was nice but fruit filling a little watery but thats to be expected sometimes with rhubarb. However the custard tasted like tinned custard which is again a shame because a basic recipe for fresh custard really isnt that hard and makes all the difference. Now there’s nothing wrong with tinned, I’m no food snob but when your paying fresh custard prices, you expect fresh custard!
Virgin mojito
I opted for a virgin mojito to drink given that I was designated driver and also because mojito is a favourite of mine. I really enjoyed it. Very refreshing, light and who doesn’t enjoy nibbling on a bit of mint at the end of it all?!….oh, ok thats just me?
So, over all very satisfied and will definitely be happy to return……soon hopefully! I can still taste that burger. Mmmm. It won’t be for a little while unfortunately due to now being in tier 3 and all restaurants closed for dining in. Is it for the best? ….I certainly hope so!
After what seems like an eternity of lockdown, mr foodie jumped at the chance to book our favourite place on the first night of re-opening and they didn’t disappoint.
Fish fritter starter. Ok,no pics im afraid. After months of lockdown the cocktails and starters disappeared quicker than a camera can flash!….. It was most definitely gooooood 🙂
Fried chicken
The mains lasted just long enough for pics this time!fried chicken,mac n cheese with pickled vegetables. Not mentioning any names but this fried chicken beats any fast food chain and makes incredible comfort food. The mac n cheese could of done with a little extra sauce but still amazing and worth suffering the carb effects! As for the pickled vegetables, the best way I can describe it is like pickled slaw. Really, really nice! Definitely sole food, Im one happy foodie.
Halloumi fries
Being piggies we had a side aswell (I know, I know, calorie and carb overload! But do I care? Not one little bit!). These are by far the best halloumi fries in the world!!! I don’t need a little pot …… I need a bucket of things things!!! Ok, in reality I really don’t. Just 2 of these chunky yummies each is enough but if it isn’t for you then don’t share!
Rum and raisin pudding
I could cry tears of happiness just thinking about this little beauty. If by some miracle you have room for dessert then this is the way to go! Packed with juicy rum soaked raisins it really is joy with every bite (the ice cream isn’t bad either but for me its all about the pudding). Soft,juicy and packed full of flavour I would happily pop in just for dessert intact I think I may just do that one day! (Who am I kidding, with so many yummies no way could I have just one course!)
Big thank you to Turtle bay for the best escaping lockdown meal I could ever ask for….oh and drinks, I highly recommend UB40 cocktail and for non drinkers the Virgin raspberry reggae!!! Thanks again, see you again soon!
The starter of bayou shrimp was pretty good though it seemed to be lacking a little wedge of lime that our foodie friends seemed to have been served with. Once over my lime jealousy, it was enjoyable and would definitely order again(second already really as this was mr.foodies starter last time).
Fiesta burger
My first car was a fiesta and it never let me down so I was hoping the same fir the burger and it didn’t disappoint. A really nice chilli with plenty of cheese and a good quality meat burger.
We heard their burger chef is just 17yrs old so well done to him. If he’s doing this well at 17yrs then he’s going to be something special in another 10 yrs or so.
Halloumi fries
The side……WHY did I order the side!!!!!!
BIG letdown. It almost ruins the whole great rating. Once again it’s ‘mangetout what did you do!’ They looked more like fish fingers , cooled down really quickly and of course became rubbery because of that. Definitely NOT one to order again!
So, yes I will be back but I’m definitely learning there are some things you should and shouldn’t order!
I’m not afraid to admit I HATE coffee….*gasp* I said it! I just do. Maybe one day I will warm to it….maybe.
This place isn’t just about the coffee though. There’s hot chocolates, amazing crispy bacon rolls aswell as other savory items and cakes.
Right now lets get to point. You can select whatever you desire!!! I opted for a dark chocolate with a caramel shot and all the trimmings. It was amazing!!!!! ( So much so I’m pretty sure it’s becoming a regular stop). It’s made with actually chocolate,none of this powder nonsense and my choice of the bitterness of the dark chocolate and the sweet from the caramel seemed to work well. As for the coffee lovers like Mr.Foodie (crazy) there us a whole variety of beans to choose from and how you would like your coffee. There’s something for everyone!
So many yummies but I opted for the caramel world waffle. Bare in mind I have a stinking cold and a foul mood and it still got a good rating. I haven’t had a waffle this good for a long while and wasn’t expecting one either. It definitely exceded expectations. Perfectly done with caramel gelato,sauce and fudge pieces. It definitely melted my cold, moody heart a little.
Ferrero rocher hot chocolate
Really smooth hot chocolate with cream, 2 ferrero rocher on top and chocolate buttons, chocolate shavings and caramel sauce (I asked for the sauce, it was 50p so what the hey, I’m poorly,give me extra sugar!). Thoroughly enjoyed!
Given that all was fantastic with only 50% of my taste buds working, I’m definitely going to have to come back to get the full impact!
Upon deciding we were going to be greedy piggies and go for 3 courses I opted for the crab claw sliders hoping to be a slightly lighter option and they didn’t disappoint. Light,fresh and very appetising. A great starter.
12oz USDA smoked prime brisket
And this is where it all went wrong. I’ll start with the slow cooked brisket. Cooked for 18hrs, this meat was amazing and just melted away. Perfect!
Sadly that’s where the awesomeness ends…. No matter what I tried the pickles just didn’t work flavour wise but still good. The real issue here was the ‘buttered’ corn. I can’t say I noticed any butter but worst of all I think it cooked for 18hrs too. It looked how I felt. Ok on the outside but really just about holding it together and complete mush on the inside. Taste had gone from it and it’s watery mush failed to sit right.urgh.
Meat WIN everything else FAIL!!
Not the best picture but I’m glad I took it for notes and to read it properly later because I completely missed the Alabama white sauce! However I wasn’t the only one as this never appeared at our table. For £17 I definitely want my Alabama white sauce!!…….FAIL!
Sticky toffee pudding
Top marks for presentation but this dish needed it. The pudding was dark in colour but lacked flavour. It certainly wasn’t your traditional sticky toffee pudding as the only toffee sauce it had ,was definitely added after and not cooked with the pudding. Very disappointed, I love a good sticky toffee pudding. Then there’s the ice cream. Yellow in colour (yes I’m aware some good icreams are but this was not natural)and more resembling Tesco’s value tub rather than homemade. It didn’t say homemade but from a decent restaurant you would expect it or at least being in the home town of mr rossi’s ice-cream they would of used that but it definitely tasted like bottom end ice-cream. FAIL
Mangetout started well then went downhill. Even Mr. Foodie’s starter of Bayou shrimp was awesome (I should know,I stole some!) . The brisket was fantastic but the rest of the food was a big let down and service was a little slow. I will give them a second chance in the hope it was an ‘off’ night and not just cut backs due to costs in changing location!
Dark chocolate and salted caramel cottage
Omg omg omg
This may take 8 hours to defrost in the fridge but most certainly worth the wait! However, definitely not for the faint hearted. It’s chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate.
Now I’m not sure how many this is meant to serve but it served 3 greedy foodies and baby foodie had a taste too so I’m presuming 6-8 but i won’t check as my stomach is trying to tell my brain we were good ‘ it serves 2 and we stretched it to 3’ (most definitely wasn’t the case but makes me feel better!)
Its only downfall in my opinion was the biscuit base could do with being only half the thickness. Everything else was spot on though I might add, father in law foodie emerged looking a little ‘over indulged’ shall we say. But that was mainly down to our overly generous portion sizes.eek.
I’m pretty sure this was just a Christmas item but I will definitely, definitely be looking out for this again.
One very happy, round foodie 🙂
‘ looks aren’t everything’
Ignore the brand as I’m pretty sure there’s a few out there very much the same. Also, ignore the look. The fact it looks a bit like frogs spawn doesn’t make it very appealing and basil seeds in a drink doesn’t sound that great either HOWEVER!!! I think they are pretty amazing. They taste great and come in pretty much every fruit flavour you could think of. It is a little weird at first not knowing whether to drink or eat it but you soon adjust and end up going back for more.
Ok,very rarely will I accept fruit in chocolate but I like to keep an open mind and just aswell because this took me by surprise… it’s nice!I mean really nice, good enough to eat again nice….I know, I’m shocked too!
I didn’t notice the reduced sugar content nor did it have that artificial taste like some reduced sugar items have. The raspberry and hazelnuts (tiny pieces) worked really well with the KitKat chunky.
Please note this was based on just tasting a third of the actual bar due to the fact I shared it with Mr Foodie who,might I add, finished it off whilst I sat there expecting the last bite!Not to worry though, I’m pretty sure he’s lost a few things to me in the past too!
