Last night's dinner

I got home from work last night with a head ache that I'd had all day and though HELL NO I am not cooking! SO we ordered a takeaway from the new Keralan/Goan takeaway that recently opened in Chatham - Coco Diner. 45 minutes later an intriguing smelling bag came through the front door ~

As a main course we ordered Kozhi Ishtew - tender chicken breast with vegetables in a coconut broth ... could have been hotter - and Attu Thakali Kari - slow cooked lamb with fennel and turmeric which was probably (along with the rice - how did it taste so good??) the star dish. The lamb was moist & tender and even with the over-laying flavour of the smoky spices and turmeric tasted of lamb.

Excitingly, the Coco Diner serves Dosa - paper thin rice or semolina pancakes sandwiched around a spicy potato filling, so we had one of those ... which came with 3 little pots of sauce - a spicy ketchupy mixture, a fermented prawn paste and something that looked like taramasalata kept 3 weeks too long. To round off the bread selection we also asked for a roti and a poori and 2 side dishes some batat keerai soung aka potato and spinach and some of the best raitha I've tasted in a long time.

Well ... what do I say? I eat a lot of northern Indian food, have my own masala dabba and always cook curries from scratch - thanks to cookery lessons from Shisho and Harpreet - this was unlike any curry I'd ever tasted. There were delicious flavours - the fennel with the spiced smoky lamb was genius BUT where was the heat and intensity? Where was the creaminess that coconut should impart? And finally the crispness was missing from the spiced, battered aubergine and king prawns we ordered to start. So, whilst I was incredibly glad that someone else did the cooking I don't think I shall be calling on the Coco Diner again anytime soon.

p.s. my saag aloo is better than theirs!!

Reads at Faversham part 2

I realise that if I was any kind of a real foodie that I would have had my fantastic food and photos all written up and posted on Sunday morning - right after my visit to Reads - BUT there's been problems with the faithful old warhorse of a PC chez moi. Every time I turn on a TV channel ... iPlayer, Channel4 Catch Up or ITV.com (well who'd miss Coleen's Real Women?) - poof, it/the fuse dies!!

So my strange but satisfying addicition to Supernanny and a series of "big poofs" have killed off any chance of finishing the review! Yes, that last sentence was for comic effect - what about it? Just enjoy the food photos why don't you??

Discs of deliciously light seafood mousse in a feuilette of puff pastry, with al dente asparagus and a butter sauce.

Ham hock terrine with piccalilli and warm sourdough toast.

Halibut on a bed of spinach and fennel ribbons with a herb gnocchi, cheese gougere and bisque sauce.

Lamb on buttered savoy cabbage with fondant potato a rosemary jus and roasted garlic served with sprouting broccoli and hollandaise.

The cheese basket - a selection of English and British cheeses with a variety of crackers and homemade bread with the best (ie saltiest farm churned butter) you've ever tasted!

Rhubarb souffle, lemon tart with a blackcurrant coulis, rhubarb ripple ice cream and coconut ice with a mango dab - yep that's right 4 desserts! Count them - 1, 2, 3, 4!

Right, now that I've wiped away the dribbles, I'd better go and have a bite to eat! p.s. Anyone know what might be wrong with my PC??

Reads at Faversham part 1

Last Saturday night I joined the other ladies in the poker coven and off we trooped to Reads at Macknade Manor, Faversham for a slap-up-meal out of the proceeds of the poker pot - we've been collecting since July 2007 and in huge anticipation we were all looking forward to the "Tasting Menu!" Two of our number had visited previously but Chris, Suzanne and I were Reads' virgins there on the recommendations of both Brid and Tracy.

No sooner had we arrived than we were shown into the elegant and comfortable drawing room. Lovely, quietly faded couches and armchairs, quietly hovering without being in your face waiters with cute French accents. We were quietly offered menus to peruse and decided on the tasting menu. Once we'd ordered, menus were replace with glasses and nibbles - their words not mine, as they were amazingly superior to what nibbles are in my mind!

Anchovy dotted cheese straws, sizzlingly hot 2-bite Welsh rarebits made with really pokey cheese and delicious olives. A good start!

After requesting a 15 minute break between each course we were shown to our table where we were offered a choice of black olive, white sourdough or pecan & raisin bread. The butter was patted and sprinkled with flaky sea-salt if that wasn't good enough on it's own - and trust me the pecan/raisin bread was - then something arrived to dunk the delicious bread into. We were presented with cup-fulls of delicious carrot and orange soup with just enough miniature croutons to get you to beg (knees were considered) for more! The orange hit just the right note - citrus without too much punch. For the first time in the evening I realised how lucky giraffes are to have such a long tongue!!