Ruea Thong, Bangkok

Arriving in Bangkok to celebrate ten years of happy marriage to my beautiful wife, our adventures on the first night was an instant reminder of one of the most important ingredients for a long and happy union... compromise.

Wanting different things from an ideal second honeymoon, the destination itself had already been a compromise. My wife wanted somewhere with sunshine and water (a sea, lake or pool would do)... I wanted somewhere with food. Good food... and a restaurant with Michelin stars and or listings in the World's Top 50 List would be a good start.

Our first honeymoon involved staying at a five star Riu hotel in the Mexican tourist resort of Playa del Carmen. Returning there was our first idea and it seemed to fit my wife's criteria perfectly. As lovely as this was at the time, it no longer suited my foodist ideals. A compromise of Mexico City seemed the prefect solution... for it boasts two restaurants in the Top 50 list (compromise was starting to swing once again in my favour).

Checking the list I suddenly had a brainwave... What if we went to Bangkok via Singapore? We could visit Nahm (number 50) and my stepson's newly opened cocktail bar 'The Cufflink Club' - naturally, my wife could not resist a chance to see her first born. The dates were set, the flights were booked... now for accommodation.

For me, there was only ever one choice, 'The Metropolitan' a modern, swish and swanky boutique hotel that we booked through Mr and Mrs Smith. For my wife it had an idyllic palm tree lined pool and for me it also happened to be the hotel that housed Nahm.

Sitting poolside as the sun was setting on our first night, my wife was in her element... Totally relaxed having enjoyed the last couple of hours of sunshine. I was getting itchy feet... We were in a new city, which was waiting to be explored... There were restaurants and food stalls out there with fabulous Thai food, just waiting to be eaten.

My wife suggested somewhere local. I suggested somewhere buzzing so we could take in the atmosphere and flavour of what was going to be our home for the next week. A taxi to Thong Lor... and, hopefully, a small, decades old family run restaurant that had been suggested to me via Twitter by @theskinnybib called ‘Ruea Thong’ (although this name only appears in Thai on the signage).

After slowly making away through Bangkok's perpetual traffic jam we arrived in Thong Lor - not knowing which way to go, we guessed and turned left. We walked for a couple of hundred metres so I could get what I thought were my bearings. We passed a few roadside vendors that sold 'things on sticks' as well as big bowls of rice, noodle and curry dishes and alike... these looked like a good back up plan if we failed to find the restaurant.

This was now looking more likely... We had walked for another few hundred yards and were now hot, tired, hungry and despondent. I got the distinct impression that this wasn't quite how my wife had planned the first night of our second honeymoon.

Then I spotted, what I hoped was a 'friendly western face' - it turned out to be the face of a rather inebriated old Australian fella who I assumed was a sex tourist (he looked the sort). However, not wanting to completely judge this book by its cover, coupled with the fact we were lost, I asked him for advice.

He took a look at my map; swayed a little, then slurred that we needed to get on the 'Sky Train' and head for, what he called, 'No Shit' (actually Mo Chit), head three stops in the direction he pointed. No probs... we like an adventure.

We climbed the stairs, bought our tickets, entered the barrier and waited on the platform... where I took the time to take another another look at the map. The train arrived and we stepped on... just as the doors were about to close, I grabbed my wife's arm and pulled her off... "I think it's back that way." I said, pointing at the direction we had just walked.

Fortunately, at that moment, another western face came up the stairs towards us. This time, it was a young (sober) American (not, according to my judgment, a sex tourist). He confirmed my hunch.

Just twenty minutes or so later we made it to the corner where the restaurant was supposed to be according to the Lonely Planet guide had 'no English sign' as was located 'next door to a Family Mart, near the corner of Soi Thong Lor 17'.

Unconvinced that the place we were stood in front of was indeed the place we were looking for but seeing no other likely candidates nearby and noticing that it had air conditioning, we went inside.

It was now just before closing time and the restaurant was occupied by just a couple of Thai chaps watching Arsenal vs QPR with the sound off and another group of locals. The waitress looked a little surprised to see two sorry looking, sweaty and tired tourists clutching their Lonely Planet guide.

We too, must have looked surprised, mainly from the strong smell of damp and the general ‘décor’; most strikingly featuring tiger print tablecloths (sarongs used as tabl’cloths), hand drawn nudes on the walls and a large blackboard menu, conveniently written in Thai. The guidebook had described the restaurant as 'homey'. We reminded ourselves that we hadn't come for the ambience... We had come to discover authentic, home cooked Thai cuisine... "What the locals eat."

The first dish to arrive was a rather disappointing ‘Crab Salad’ with a generic seafood sauce... Looking underneath, we knew if we found crabsticks then we must be in the wrong place. Fortunately, we discovered proper crabmeat... lots of it and very all fresh. For 100 Baht (about £2) we didn't grumble!

Next up, ‘Yum Pla Duke Foo’ or ‘Crispy Catfish’ topped with peanuts and an accompanying sour mango dip / dressing. The dish was certainly more crispy than fishy but the real star was the delightful sour mango sauce.

‘Yum Poh Tairg’ - a 'hot', fresh and flavoursome ‘Seafood Salad’ came next with white fish, more crabmeat and squid with lettuce, tomatoes and celery.  

The final dish to arrive was the winner! ‘Kiew Whan Gob’ - a Green Curry containing frogs. Not just common ol’ frogs legs like in those French restaurants that try so desperately to appear all Gallic and authentic but the whole kit and kaboodle... froggie arms, froggie legs, froggie spines, froggie innards and their dapple green skins... all chopped up into tasty bite sized pieces.  Fab rice too!

For dessert, ‘Toddy palm in syrup’ and ‘Mango with sweet shrimp dip’ – the toddy palm seeds served with crushed ice and syrup were deliciously sweet and refreshing. The mango was young, crisp and fibrous and was amazingly moreish with the tangy sweet shrimp dip.

A great end to a memorable meal of authentic Thai food in an authentic Thai setting – massive thanks to @theskinnybib for the recommendation! 

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Victory Chop & Ale House, Cheadle

Being a teacher is not something I often bang on about in my blog as I generally like to keep my work and home life separate. Teaching is one of those jobs which it can be difficult to 'switch off' from; I am constantly thinking of ideas for lessons, ways to make lessons exciting and engaging or about social issues and relationships which may be effecting the learning and happiness of those in my care.

Most days, I am up at six and in school by seven. Like many teachers, I will often work through my lunch and break times and not leave school until at least five. When I get home I can then spend most of the evening planning and marking.

It can take a good five minutes to mark a literacy book properly; multiply this by 24, then add a set of Maths books, plus the books from at least one other subject and the result can easily equal a further four hours of work at home. Five, when you also include some planning for the next day.

I know many chefs and business types that read my blog may be thinking, "Pah, 15 hours a day is nothing." and they may well be right. I have a lot of respect for the hours which people in the hospitality trade put in (especially when you consider the unsociable hours these include) and, having once worked in the City for Sedgwick Insurance, I also know that teachers are far from the only ones that work hard.

To be fair, I may have painted this picture a little less rosy than it could have been; for sure, there are some long days but there are also days when I manage to get away closer to three thirty and may not have any marking to do that day. Then of course there are the school holidays were the most I would probably do is spend a couple of days planning for the next term and maybe marking a set of test papers.

The week before this recent half term was one of those weeks! Going away, I had lots to do at home - the usual stuff: packing, ordering currency, booking restaurants and cleaning out my chickens. I also had lots to do at and for school.

Not planning on taking my homework away with me, I had to prepare next half term's work early; mark several sets of test papers; make sure that general marking was up to date; attend a governors meeting; meet with junior colleagues as their 'performance management’ mentor and write a set of class reports.

Therefore, the night before we went away, we needed somewhere quick, easy and local to eat. (I rarely find time to cook properly at home these days; refuse to eat 'ready meals' and am not a huge fan of takeaways - I have eaten from the few that are good locally that many times that I am mostly bored of their menus; unless I get that particular hankering, say for fish and chips from Foster's.) 

On my way into school one morning, I had stopped at my local Village Hotel (in Cheadle) to visit their Starbucks for a Grande Cappuccino with an extra shot (no sugar) and had noticed that they had completed work on their new restaurant the Victory Chop & Ale House.

Eating at a Village Hotel is not something I'd generally consider. In fact, even when we have stayed at them (in Leeds, Birmingham and Bournemouth) I have never actually eaten in one.

However, this new Victory Chop & Ale House certainly looked swish; had a great looking menu (small and well balanced - something for everyone and a few stand out specials) and, most importantly, was local - great as we didn't really have the time to drive into town.

My wife looked less than convinced when I suggested the Village (it's somewhere we have driven by a thousand times before and I have never once suggested eating there). Once inside, we were both impressed - it had the feel of a 'proper restaurant' (not a 'hotel restaurant'). With its heavily American influenced menu and general ambience, it reminded us of a 'posh TGI Friday’s' or a TGI's "for grown ups" as I suggested.

The greeting had been friendly, but not overly so in that faux American way. Our waitress was chatty and even sat down to take the order (something I know others have strong opinions on) but it came across as genuine. In my opinion, the absence of silly braces, badges and 'tat' in the restaurant along with the far superior menu make the similarity a little unfair - I'd much rather return here than a TGI's - a small Victory for the Chop & Ale House.

We ordered:

Bread & Olives - the olives were decent quality, a generous portion and the bread was freshly cut. A great start.

Tuna Carpaccio with Lime & Coriander - better if it had been cut a little thinner but is was well flavoured with a tasty dressing and, most importantly, served at a pleasing temperature not too chilled.

Crispy Parmesan Courgettes - my wife loved these little crispy snacks, finding them incredibly moreish. Personally, as a side and not a 'bar snack' I'd have liked them a little bigger so to get a greater sense of the 'courgette'.

Salt & Pepper Squid with lime and chilli jam - this is a simple dish that is so easy to get wrong. This had been cooked well. I liked the balance of salt and pepper and did not find the chilli jam too sweet. Great effort!

Bucket of BBQ ribs with Asian slaw and fries - I was intrigued by this dish enough to order it, as I was swayed by the almost primitive method of serving meat in a bucket but I'd had my concerns that the BBQ sauce would be that sickly sweet stuff from a jar and the meat would either be too dry and chewy or too fatty. I was overjoyed then to receive meaty ribs which literally fell from the bone (so much so that it was difficult to pick them up) and a deep, rich, smoky sauce. Tasty, messy, fun!

Sirloin Steak with Oysters (Carpetbag Steak / Carpetbagger) - my wife had planned to order the very keenly priced flat iron steak (which also features on their weekday set menu, 3 courses for £11.95) but was swayed when she saw this on the specials board. I was tempted by the raw oysters on the menu (but we had already ordered too much so will save them for next time) and it was interesting to see / taste these cooked ones paired with the steak - they added a pleasant saltiness and a smattering of indulgence.

Chop House Burger with relish and fries - 250g beef pattie, served on a brioche bun with cured bacon, lettuce, tomato, red onion salsa and Swiss cheese. The pattie itself was well cooked, meaty and not too greasy. My one criticism is that I found the little bucket of thousand island dressing far too sweet - especially when paired with the already sweet combination of brioche, tomato and red onion salsa - at least it was served at the side and not slathered on top.

Black Forest Gateau Sundae - chocolate and cherry ice cream, chocolate brownie and boozy Griottine cherries. You can't go wrong with a sundae, especially when it is served impressively in a tall glass with two long spoons for sharing if, like us, you are a couple in love or with one spoon if you are a greedy.

I took a stroll around the restaurant to snap a few pics for the blog and to check out the impressive 'showpiece' open kitchen and grill pit. There seemed a great atmosphere and vibe - couples looked happy, families interacted with each other and groups of colleagues and friends seemed to be enjoying themselves. With good food and good vibes and a great location for us we will certainly be back - another victory for the Victory Chop & Ale House.

Guests at the hotel and the good people of Cheadle, Cheadle Hulme, Gatley, Bramhall, Heald Green and even as far as Stockport or Wythenshawe should check out the Victory Chop & Ale House for I think it serves some of the best food in the area.  

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French at The Midland, Manchester

1975 - Margaret Thatcher became the first female head of any political party. Phil Collins replaced Peter Gabriel as the lead singer of Genesis and Muhammad Ali defeated Joe Frazier in the ‘Thriller in Manila’… closer to home, and more relevant to this blog, it was the last time that a Manchester restaurant held a Michelin star and, more importantly, I was born!

The restaurant in question was of course The French Restaurant at the Midland Hotel.

Times have changed since then but perhaps not too much at ‘The French’. Some may see this as a good thing; others not so.

The setting, reminiscent of grand Parisian dining rooms of the likes of Le Meurice, l’Ambroisie, Lasserre, and Le Bristol, certainly cannot be faulted.

But, sadly, we found faults with the food and the service and fairly or unfairly with its failure to provide an experience fitting of the building’s history and heritage. I couldn’t help but feel that The Midland deserves better… the people of Manchester deserve better… we want Michelin stars once again and, in its present guise, The French Restaurant at the Midland Hotel seems unlikely to deliver.

We found the service not only ‘too formal’ for this day and age but bordering on obsequiousness. Other niggles included drink requests going unfulfilled. The staff seemed to have a system where they focused on one table at a time to the point where they were oblivious to the rest of the diners.

The food, good enough to earn a Michelin star all those years ago, unfortunately does not live match up to the setting.

Wholemeal and Blue Cheese Rolls – the rolls had good flavour but we found them a little chewy. 

Amuse bouche – Mushroom soup with bacon velouté. A great soup -good flavour, seasoning and temperature.

Smoked Haddock with savoury egg custard, leek and cheese – classic flavour combinations but overall the dish appeared dated and too unnecessarily contrived on the plate.

Mackerel cannelloni with smoked velouté and clams – the velouté had a well balanced smoky flavour but the clams were served too cold and the piece of Mackerel underwhelmed.

Chateaubriand (for two people to share) with seasonal vegetables and potatoes: carved at the table – the meat was flavoursome and cooked to our liking. The red wine sauce, rich and well balanced. The vegetables seemed under seasoned and bland. A tomato sorbet seemed oddly placed as a failed attempt to modernise the dish.

Tasting of Apple (for two people to share) of doughnuts, strudel, parfait, jelly and cider – sadly the dish just came across as a chef trying too hard to be modern. Swipes, jellies, things standing up or scattered in a precisely haphazard manner – the presentation would not have mattered so much if the flavours had spoken for themselves. ‘Hot’ elements were barely warm.

It’s a difficult one this one, as I love The Midland Hotel and the ambience of The French but do wonder how long can it go on trading on the setting and past glories alone?

With chefs such as Aiden Byrne and Simon Rogan set to bring their ‘Michelin pedigree’ to city centre, the hope is Manchester’s thirty seven years without a Michelin star will be also be history – here’s to Manchester’s Michelin future!  

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