Restaurant Review - The Old Vine, Wadhurst

Restaurant name: The Old Vine Inn

Location: Wadhurst, East Sussex

Description: Pretty country pub established in 1515 with a nice restaurant and garden and rooms if you want to stay overnight.

Reason for visit: My boyfriend took me llama trekking as a treat - we went to Bluecaps Llama and spent an hour walking through the woods with two very friendly llamas in tow. We went here for lunch afterwards as it was nearby and had been recommended by the owner of Bluecaps.

Me and my llama

I ate: seafood platter, that was designed for sharing as a (large) starter, but I had it to myself as a main course. It came with crusty bread and butter, mackerel pate, prawn and crayfish cocktail, smoked salmon and prawns in filo pastry, anchovies, capers and salad. I think it cost £15.

My companion ate: ham, egg and chips.

The food was: Mine was a really nice change from what I would normally order as a main course. I know it was designed for sharing but I thought there was too much smoked salmon and I would have liked a little more bread - you can see four pieces in the photo but they were tiny. The crayfish cocktail was served in shot glasses which was a nice touch; the prawns wrapped in filo were very nice but I would have liked something to dip them in. I tried a little of the anchovies but didn't really like them. My boyfriend enjoyed his main course but said it was so filling he would have been happy with just egg and chips without the ham.

The service/atmosphere was: Very good, the bar staff were friendly and when I asked if we could sit outside - having noticed they had a few tables out front near the road, though people were smoking - they showed us to a pretty garden out the back.

ham, egg and chips

Price range/value for money: Good value as portions were large and the food was very good quality.

Would I recommend it? Yes, definitely if you are in the area or fancy a drive in the country. I also recommend Bluecaps Llamas!

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Meal Planning 2013 - Week 39

I've been on holiday for eight days so was really pleased to weigh in at Slimming World when I came back and find I'd lost a pound! It must be all the walking.... I also didn't have particularly big meals while I was in Cambodia, and I was so busy sightseeing in Singapore - and so hot, that I drank lots but never really felt hungry, that one day I skipped both breakfast and dinner, and only had lunch! But it was a good lunch, in the famous Raffles Hotel... I'll have to write a review soon!



Anyway I'm trying to catch up on everything now I'm back and am still in the middle of unpacking but thought I had better work out what I'm going to eat over the coming week (and do some food shopping!).



Monday

Breakfast yogurt

Lunch Tuna roll

Dinner Out at choir rehearsal so I will take leftover pizza from my weekend treat - the amount I ate the weekend I got back, I will probably have put back on the pound that I lost!



Tuesday

Breakfast cereal

Lunch out on a teambuilding day with work colleagues

Dinner toad in the hole



Wednesday

Breakfast yogurt

Lunch sandwich

Dinner salmon and veg for me, chicken kiev or similar for the OH (he doesn't eat fish)



Thursday

Breakfast cereal

Lunch baked potato

Dinner out at a colleague's leaving do



Friday

Breakfast yogurt

Lunch sandwich

Dinner Minute steaks marinated with Nando's hot sauce



Saturday

Breakfast yogurt

Lunch bacon sandwich

Dinner formal dinner at Christ's College, Cambridge - it's my 15 year university reunion!



Sunday

Breakfast in college canteen

Lunch possibly a sandwich on the train, not sure what time I will be back

Dinner chicken/pork schnitzel

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Black Eyed Pea with Pork Belly, Pinablad a Pusi

Black Eyed Pea with Pork Belly, Pinablad a Pusi. I have searched high and low for the correct Pilipino word for black eyed peas but it seems there is not in the Google at least. I still remember when I was a kid we call it pusi in Ilocano, but pusi sometimes refer to all dried beans. Pinablad is the Ilocano word for boiled beans similar to Ginisang Mungo – Pinablad a Balatong or KBL – Kadyos, Baboy at Langka.

Pinablad a Pusi is a very popular boiled beans soup dish usually with pork or beef hocks or bones. To make the dish it is basically the same with ginisang mungo. Here is the recipe of my Black Eyed Pea with Pork Belly, Pinablad a Pusi.





Ingredients:



1 kilo pork belly cut into large pieces

3 cups dried black eyed pea, soaked with water for at least 15 minutes

2 large bag baby spinach

3-4 pieces long green chili

1/2 head garlic, chopped

2 thumb size ginger, peeled, cut into thin strips

1 large size onion, chopped

2 large size tomato, chopped

1/2 cup fish sauce

cooking oil

salt

Cooking procedure:



In a large sauce pan put the black eyed peas and add in enough water to about 2 to 3 inches above the beans line, bring to a boil then add the pork belly and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until the pork are tender and the black eyed peas start to disintegrate and the desired liquid consistency is achieved. Take out all scum that rises to the surface and add more water as necessary. In a separate wok sauté the garlic and ginger until fragrant add in the onion and tomato and continue to stir cook for about a minute. Add in the fish sauce and continue to stir cook for about a minute the add to the the simmering black eyed peas, continue to cook for about 3 to 5 minutes. Correct saltines if required. Add in the long chili, cook for about 1 to 2 minutes. Now add in the spinach and cook for another half a minute. Serve hot with a lot of rice.

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