ABEL HEYWOOD: PUB HANGOUTS (UK)

There's one thing that is in abundance in Mnachester, it is definitely pubs. There is always one watering hole somewhere in corner. Their food at times aren't amazing, they aren't actually known for that but at times some pubs serve delicious food. This pub in particular serve not only as a pub and a restaurant but also a boutique hotel. A boutique hotel are very popular at the moment, they are fashionable and they are in the popular part of the town.

Abel Heywood is located near Deansgate at the area famously known as Northern Quarter. It is this big red brick building, probably once a factory in the industrial age. The words Abel Heywood running across the middle of the tall building. It doesn't take very long to get there, and it is very near to Picadilly Station.

We were greeted by a large crowd as it was dinner time. The pub seemed to be a popular destination for many white collars who were socialising after work. The place was bustling with life and it was so crowded we had no idea how to get upstairs to where the restaurant was situated. Eventually we did find it and we were brought to our reserved places immediately.

There was a lovely bar at the front and we all ordered some cocktails. I had strawberry daiquiri and others were mojitos and cider. It was definitely spring with the festive feel from the drinks ordered.

We decided to share appetisers which were marinated fried chicken and fried cuttlefish. The fried chicken was very similar to the korean version which was sticky and sweet. There was some essence of ginger and lime, which some familiar asian spices.

 It was crunchy even though it was heavily marinated. The cuttlefish was delicious, salted properly and seasoned well. It wasn't so oily and actually was very light.

I had the lamb, harrisa rump of lamb with garlic and rosemary potatoes and grilled courgettes. It was delicious to say the least. It was done medium, still pink on the inside. It was marinated with harissa spices and it really went well with the potatoes and courgettes. I finished it really quickly. It has been awhile since I had such meat.

My friends ordered delicious meals and their meal were all wonderfully prepared. There was a seabass with vegetables and asian pork sliders on pieces of chinese white buns and some chili fries.

I would definitely recommend this place to whoever wishes to try good food with great atmosphere. The prices aren't exorbitant nor are they cheap but I think it's worth the meal.


Opening times:

Sunday	11am–11pm
Monday (Spring Bank Holiday)	11am–11pm Hours might differ
Tuesday	11am–11pm
Wednesday	11am–11pm
Thursday	11am–11pm
Friday	11am–12am
Saturday	11am–12am

Location: 38 Turner St, Manchester M4 1DZ 

This is Sharon, signing off this week's post. Stay tune every week for more posts. 

EATING IN AMSTERDAM PART 2: FOOD ADVENTURES

Amsterdam is well known for a lot of things. Scenery, food, people. Red Light District. Of course we cannot leave out the fact of the legal use of marijuana in Amsterdam. The places known for smoking weed and selling them were nicknamed coffee houses, some of them actually selling coffee as well. Though their joints are infamous, it cannot be overlooked on the fact that their coffee should also deserve the praise. Most of the coffee I tried in Amsterdam is delicious. Smooth to the taste, rich and creamy, aromatic. The most notable place I've been was The Coffee company. I never had such good coffee in my life, and I don't think I'll have any better.

I've also had the chance to eat cold cut sandwiches from a local shop in Amsterdam. It was serve on freshly baked brown bread, with slices of pastrami, sauerkraut, mustard, and pickles. Unfortunately I don't have pictures of the coffee or the deli sandwiches but I do however have a picture of the shop. I also have no idea where this place is located. I was happily following the group and eating the sandwiches before I remembered to take a picture of it, same with the coffee. Forgive me, I was hungry.

Well we spent the day, going about the city. The weather was great, visited cute antique shops, and the flower market as well. We visited the Rijks Musuem, which was wonderful. My feet ached by the time I finished.

For dinner, we dined at this Argentinian Restaurant, ordered a tenderloin steak, and believe me it's been months since I had a steak. I'm a student and I live on a budget. So I rarely have expensive meals, and steak is most definitely one of them.

It was tender, lean. The meat melts in your mouth almost, you don't have to chew very much. It was eaten with bearnaise sauce, a rich buttery sauce, emulsified by egg yolks, white vinegar and herbs. I had baked potato with mine, and a turnip salad dressed with vinaigrette.

I don't know where it is. We were just walking about and we found it in the city. We really like how it looked and went in. It was a spontaneous action and by the time the food came I really didn't care anymore.

If you're ever in Amsterdam, you should really try their coffee. It's absolutely is delicious. And bring back some stroopwaffles for friends and family. It's caramel filling between two waffle crusts. I cannot stop eating it.


This is Sharon posting this week's food adventure. Tune in week after week for more of our posts.

EATING AMSTERDAM PART 1: FOOD ADVENTURES

Last weekend, I had the absolute best time in Amsterdam. My society in the university course I was doing hosted an event that led us all to be brought on a trip to Amsterdam, Netherlands. I could not have such a great time if it weren't for the people who organised it and the friends I've made on the trip and the friends that were on the trip with me. So I like to thank them in this post.

I would like to share some pictures of my trip as well as the restaurant we've been to. It was only two nights so we were only able to go to two restaurants.

The very first one was a total find. It was hidden in between streets as we were walking down the main road. First of all I have to say, the closer you get to the city centre, it gets even more enchanting as time passes. Most of the houses were centuries old, and the streets were made of cobbled stones and there were numerous bridges above the canals of water. I could literally feel being transported back in time as I walked along the stone pavements and the tall streetlights lining across the roads, brought a definite old feel to it.

 

As we walked into the small restaurant, the owner came to greet us warmly, exchanging friendly banter with us, asking about our day and how we were. I think he was very used to tourist as I realized the place was on tripadvisor. It also mean that we were very lucky to stumble across such an authentic and delightful place like this.

We, of course ordered dutch food. Mind you, it was pricey, around 12 euros and above for each dishes. So it would be probably less than ten pounds. We were served very quickly, and the food was in large quantity.

We had beef stew, pork sausage stew called stamppott.The food was sublime. The beef was cooked to where it was so easy to tear the meat apart and was sitting on pool of it's own sauce. The pork sausage stew was the same, cooked well with smashed potatoes and onion and carrots. This was the typical dutch cuisine. Meat mixed with boiled smashed potatoes and onions and vegetables.

Croquettes were also ordered, it's a small ball of minced meat fried in breadcrumbs. This was a dutch veal croquette, something I had never had before in my life. So it was an interesting dish. It had a creamy texture inside, like they had minced the meat along with some potatoes and spices. The outer layer was crunchy, but somehow not oily. Even though I had taken awhile to eat the fries and the croquettes, it was still crispy which tells me that it was freshly made and made well. Not unlike the staleness we get from other fried french fries over a period of time.

Overall I really like the authenticity of the restaurant. It was small but cozy. It had wooden walls as well as furniture. It also had a really cool looking bar, and the decor of the place was nicely done.

I really recommend this place if you ever want to take a visit to Amsterdam. I'll continue my accounts of the trip in another post.

This is a link to their tripadvisor page: https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g188590-d1132828-Reviews-Restaurant_Tomaz-Amsterdam_North_Holland_Province.html


Address:
Begijnensteeg 6-8, 
1012PN Amsterdam, 
The Netherlands

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This is Sharon, signing off this week post. Stay tune for more to check out our food adventures.