Manchester House Spinningfields Manchester - 26th June 2015

I have been to Manchester House twice, the first visit I enjoyed, the second visit was most disappointing and this, my third visit, was for a friend's 50th birthday who wanted to visit Manchester House after seeing the TV programme "Restaurant Wars".   She wanted to dine from the extended A La Carte and although a vegan version had been arranged, many of the dishes were on the tasting menus I had dined from previously.   I was very disappointed, not only by the unimaginative dishes, but very much so by the flavour and lack of consistency and bearing in mind the prices, it really should be spot on.   The best dishes were the sourdough and the pea mousse, but interestingly the remaining three in our party (all meat and fish eaters) were even more disappointed than me, which was rather a surprise.

As is normal, we were asked several times if we had enjoyed the meal, to which we replied yes everything was okay, but by the starter course, it was pretty evident that we would not be returning.   What was the point of making a fuss, complaining and spoiling our friends celebration and we did not want remuneration but expectations were high and we left rather underwhelmed.   I know Manchester House is aiming for a Michelin Star, but to be honest I would be surprised if they gain this accolade.   I know that vegans just by the nature of our diet, can be considered uneducated in fine dining but having experienced some of the finest Michelin restaurants in the UK over the years, I do feel qualified to critique and sadly this will be my last visit to Manchester House.

Sourdough bread with olive oil

Celeriac & apple remoulade with pommery mustard

Pea mousse with cep mushroom

Charred gem lettuce, truffle, artichoke 

Pearl barley, pumpkin seed granola

Roasted carrot, potato fondant

Roasted apricot, pecan & raspberry

Salut Wines Cooper Street Manchester - 26th June 2015

I found Salut Wines via Manchester Eat and Drink on Twitter and most appealing were their vegan dishes and the wine list highlights vegan wines, with the wines stored in a Enomatic wine machine, which keeps the wine in optimum drinking condition.   You top a "wine card" up with money and then purchase the wines, available in different sizes from the machine, which is good if you want to sample a few wines.   If you do not use all the money on the card you can save it for another visit.

I ordered the bread and dipping oils, crisps and olives which was shared between four and then I had the vegan board consisting of houmous, sundried tomatoes, stuffed vine leaves, olives and pitta bread which was spot on for a light lunch, I had no complaints.

I think the wine selections change on a daily basis with some interesting choices so I sampled excellent wines including a Spanish Rias Baixas Albarino, an Hungarian Chateau Dereszla Dry Tokaji and a French Seresin Sauvignon Blanc and they were all vegan!    I will definitely be revisiting Salut Wines on my next trip to Manchester.

The Hearth of the Ram Peel Brow Ramsbottom - 20th June 2015

I rarely post negative reviews, but I'm afraid The Hearth of the Ram is one to avoid for vegan diners which is a real shame as the place itself is really nice.

Friends had asked if we would like to visit The Hearth of the Ram so I emailed a good month prior to visiting to ask about vegan options.  I had a long chat with Euan, who I presume is the owner, who sold me on the fact that everything was made to order, vegan options were no problem even if you walked in without notice.   I checked out their vegetarian menu the week before our visit and noticed that vegan options were now on the menu, but both starter and mains were mushroom based.   So I emailed to question whether other options would be available and I was assured they would be.

My expectations were high, especially as The Hearth of the Ram is one of the contenders as Restaurant of the Year, in the Manchester Food and Drink Awards 2015.   Sadly our visit, even for the meat eaters in our party, was not the dining experience we expected, with expensive food and drinks and dishes which were just okay and abysmal service.

Trying to get a bottle of white Rioja and glasses of water served (apparently they do not serve jugs) was a marathon.   It took four attempts to get the right wine and similarly the water which was an hour in coming to the table.

I presumed, as in most of the places we dine at,  that having given plenty of notice, that I would be offered a vegan menu not just something cobbled together on the night, how wrong was I.   A chap who I presume is one of the floor managers, came over with the vegetarian menu and offered me the two mushroom dishes one being risotto I had already queried and when I did so again he suggested alternative asparagus dishes, including another risotto.   Not much thought there then!   Do they think vegans do not know what good food is all about and dine out?    I decided to go for the asparagus salad thinking maybe chef had some tricks up his sleeve and salads can be a really good course if done well!!   I ordered the mushroom risotto and said to the Manager that I had high expectations, but he did not seem particularly bothered what I thought and when Euan came over,  I said that offering a salad was a cop out, but he did not seem bothered either.

So here is the salad they served and I have to ask what chef would be proud to send that out of the kitchen and charge £6.95 for my pleasure.

Mains was not much better, quite a sloppy small portion of mushroom risotto and the only exceptional thing about it was the price tag of £12.95.    

Dessert was an elderflower jelly with sorbet at £6.95.   I left the jelly for my husband to eat, because I was unsure whether the jelly was totally vegan or whether it was made with gelatine.

The Hearth of the Ram would be better saying they cannot cater for vegans, instead of offering unimaginative, uninspiring dishes, it really was quite poor.

The Parkers Arms Hall Gate Hill Newton - 13th June 2015

I love the Parkers Arms and every time I visit I cannot wait to return, so being as our last visit was a month or two ago, I was really looking forward to seeing what chef Stosie had on the vegan menu.   Its a rural pub in the village of Newton in Bowland in the beautiful Ribble Valley and has a dual purpose, as the local village pub but also, luckily for us, one of the best gastro pubs in the area.

"Strawberry Fizz" was advertised on the blackboard made from fresh strawberries mixed with Prosecco, I was sold it was delicious and kicked off what was to be a good night.

We had "tweet treats" a big basket of crispy potato skins with salsa with plenty of salt, these you really could nibble on ALL night.

My starter was tomato salad with watercress, radish and onion with homemade focaccia bread and oodles of herb dressing.   The Parkers prides itself on locally grown produce which they proudly tell you about on their menu, the tomatoes were from Blackpool, the watercress from Great Eccleston near Preston, so they keep their carbon foot print to a minimum and support local producers.   The salad was simple but  "less is more" and the ingredients speak for themselves and with the bread to mop up every morsel I loved it. 

Mains was vegetable pie with chips or salad, I opted for salad because I wanted room for pudding!   The pie looked great with a fantastic golden crust served with tomato sauce and samphire, it was delicious packed with loads of vegetables.  

Chef Stosie really stars on the pudding front, she kicks into touch many of the "fine dining/Michelin" star places I have eaten at, where vegan puddings have been an insult like kiwi and strawberries on a cocktail stick of all things.  What chef would consider that acceptable?   My chocolate and peanut butter tart with caramel shard, edible flower, strawberries and a little jug of soya cream was a winner it was awesome.   Vegan food is boring!  NONSENSE!

And to finish I asked Ben who does a great job front of house, had they any mint tea.   You cant get much fresher, he went and picked some from their herb garden and made me a lovely pot (the photo is a little blurry due to the steam) but it was very refreshing.   

You have to admire the Parkers ethos, commitment and dedication, I don't think I have ever dined anywhere that has so much passion and you always get a warm welcome from AJ, Kathy and Ben. 

Astonish Cleaning Products

I had only ever used Astonish oven and cookware cleaner until recently, but a couple of months ago wandering around our local hardware store, I noticed they had started stocking all the Astonish products and decided to try them.   I started off by gradually replacing all my existing products with Astonish, starting with the handwash, I particularly like the coconut, smells good enough to eat.

Two things that stand out about these products is the quality and price.   I recently bought a laundry liquid, multi surface spray and washing up liquid which were less than the laundry liquid I used to use and yet they are as good if not better than their more expensive rivals.

I am also very aware of how airmiles and transportation impacts on the enivironment, here Astonish really score as they are a family business based at Bradford in Yorkshire.   They implement a policy of back hauling if at all possible, where customers collect their own stock using their own delivery vehicles which is an excellent idea.   All products are made on site with no animal testing, in fact their cruelty credentials are exceptional, no animal products or derivatives and certified by the Vegan Society.

What's not to love about Astonish Cleaning Products, I am a convert and big fan.

P And O Cruise D510 On Adonia 9th - 29th May 2015

I have done more than 28 cruises with P&O Cruises all as a vegan passenger and although there have been a few hiccups along the way over the years, in the main the experience has been good, very good and this time excellent, so I thought it was about time I wrote a review.

Prior to my cruise I contacted the diet reservations team to ask if they could get me almond milk instead of soya milk, which I have developed an intolerance to.   I was very impressed with how quickly Karen responded back, giving me a choice of almond milks including my favourite Alpro.  She asked how many cartons I would like and placed my order and said the almond milk would be on board when I embarked, she was right the milk was brought to our cabin on the first sea day after departure.   When you book the cruise you are asked about dietary requirements as P&O cater for every type of diet, as they have a dedicated diet chef on board, who prepares everything from scratch for each passenger.   This is pretty impressive as on this cruise diet chef Ezle was catering for 80 passengers on his own on first and second sitting.

A Head Waiter, in my case Shilish,  looks after you the entire cruise and each evening gives you both the lunch and dinner menus for the following day, alongwith the vegetarian menu (there are a couple of vegetarian menus which are rotated throughout the cruise).  You can choose/adapt dishes from any of the menus and in some instances I just made up a dish and Ezle kindly made it for me.

Breakfasts on board are easy, there is a wide choice of fresh and dried fruits, cereals, bread rolls, toast and although I did not have them this time, they also carry soya yogurts onboard for those that want them.   Satya looking after us in our cabin liased with Ezle who made to order mushrooms and tomatoes as a hot breakfast option for me on many mornings.   I am not a big eater at lunchtime because I like to be hungry for my dinner, but lunches can also be organised with Shilish to eat in the restaurant or you can ask any of the staff whether lunch options available in the buffet are vegan.   I did sometimes have a baked potato with ratatouille and salad for lunch or vegetarian paella and many a time I could not resist good old french fries and made "chip butties"!!!

We also wanted to dine in the alternative Italian dining venue Sorrento, so after perusing the menus, Satya had a word with the Restaurant Manager there and they organised a vegan menu for me on two occasions.

I had so many lovely dishes including vegan curries, which I asked for extra hot, as I am a proper chilli head and Ezle certainly starred in the curry department, they were delicious.   I cannot list all the dishes here but below is an example with photos in list order:-

Tofu fish fingers, chips and mushy peas
Harissa couscous, aubergine caviar, wilted spinach, palm hearts and tomato concasse
Shepherds pie with red cabbage
Bean hotpot with vegetables
Cabbage cannelloni filled with mint pea puree with balsamic reduction
Timbale of potato, aubergine, courgette with a rasaman tomato sauce
Spicy tofu and vegetable stirfry with rice
Smoky butterbean cassoulet with chargrilled bread and dill pickle
Vegan sushi with sweet chilli dipping sauce
Avocado and warm tomato bruschetta with rocket
Aubergine croquettes with guacamole
Polenta cakes with tomato sauce
Chargrilled courgettes, white bean houmous and tomato salsa
Vegetable curry, rice and chapatis

I also had many different soups like chilled potato, gazpacho, sweet potato all made specially, some lovely starter salads and sometimes melon if I felt like something light.  I am not a big dessert fan and chef would have been happy to make me anything if possible,  but even so I still managed caramelised pineapple, flambeed fruits, Swedish Glace ice-cream or sorbet. 

Many of the vegetarian menu dishes I have had many times, but Ezle's versions were some of the best and his interpretation of dishes I asked for off the main menus, like the tofu fish and chips were absolutely spot on.

P&O Cruises also list on their website, which wines are vegan friendly which is fantastic and I hope they extend the range in future.

I met Ezle just before we came home, it was only his second cruise as diet chef and I was his first vegan passenger, so he did a stunning job.   He obviously has a good knowledge of what a vegan diet is and I was very impressed and look forward to cruising with P&O again as a vegan dietary passenger.

Princesa Da Castelo Rua do Salvador Lisbon Portugal - 26th May 2015

I found Princesa Da Castelo on Tripadvisor which had rave reviews and I had also checked out their Facebook page.   We wanted a vegan lunch whilst visiting Lisbon on a cruise and Princesa was easy to find as it is right next to the castle and inside has a peaceful cosy ambience.

We ordered a seitan and bean stew with rice and a tofu Thai green curry with noodles with a side order of flatbreads.   Both dishes were really tasty and full of flavour and the seitan was a first for me (apart from my own homemade which was a bit of a disaster) and we mopped up the juices with the flatbreads.   We could not resist pudding so shared a homemade sorbet with fruits, whipped soya cream and toasted nuts.   We shall certainly revisit if we ever have the opportunity of visiting Lisbon again.

Torteria Da Gagarin Via del Cardinale Livorno Italy- 21st May 2015

Torteria Da Gagarin is renowned for its "Cinque e Cinque" or Five and Five which is a pancake made from chickpea flour, water and olive oil sandwiched between two pieces of bread, either focaccia or Italian baguette.   Its name originates from when focaccia bread and chickpeas cost 5 liras each

We had read the reviews on Tripadvisor which were excellent, so on a recent visit to Livorno one of the ports of call on a cruise, we had to pay this place a visit.   From the outside, I have to say, it is not impressive, in fact we would normally walk right on past, the only clue to it being the right place is the name "Viva Gagarin" written in red graffiti on the wall outside but peeking through the fly-screen we could see the place was packed, so in we went.

They only serve two types of "Cinque e Cinque" with or without "Melanzane" chargrilled aubergine.  The place is quite small with a counter top round the outside of the room with a few high stools for seating, with a serving counter at the far end and a big wood burning oven in the wall behind.   A lady was taking orders and a chap was making the pancakes in huge round pans.   We ordered two made with focaccia and aubergine with the only other accompaniment being black pepper.   Luckily we managed to get a seat inside and sat down with anticipation.   The "Cinque e Cinque" did not disappoint it was awesome.   The pancake was so moist with tons of olive oil and the aubergine was delicious soaked in garlic, olive oil, red chillies and herbs.   The place was a hive of activity with people coming and going, finally queuing outside the door, a sure sign of good food.   We are still talking about our visit even though a week has gone by, this place is definitely on the revisit list if we ever return to Livorno.