Because my old macbook died completely on me. Because I’m using a new Macbook Air. Because I was busy backing up every single file I have/had. Because SCHOOL STARTED and Equity and Trusts is incredibly difficult.. the list could go on and on, but anyway, the most important thing is: UPDATE FROM TUMMYTAY! Tummy Tay and Double Chin Chay went on an epic ~sista~ trip down south before school started, visiting Brighton & Dorset – places that we wouldn’t really go during school term just because it’s too far away (and we would rather go overseas too.) This is dedicated to Tessa who is 1x loyal fan of Tummy Tay cos she kept bugging me for updates!

The best part about both? That they were both coastside towns! So we got to see the sea, something that doesn’t happen at all here in cold and rainy Manchester.

yummy seafood on the pier! £3

cod & chips, £5.50 – this was where i first tried malt vinegar, and it is AMAZING, especially with loads of salt.

PEBBLE BEACH

Local ice cream store! I love locally made products, feel like they’re representative of a city/town’s culture. This ice cream store had really interesting flavours, particularly outstanding was Tessa’s banana icecream, and I had the cinnamon. £2.50

Rock oysters, smoked salmon, crème fraîche, caper breadcrumb salsa, £6.95 for 3

Creme Brulee with Espresso Icecream and Pistacho Shortbread

WEYMOUTH

cod and chips opposite the beach, £5 – incredibly yummy beer batter when hot, but when cold it becomes disgustingly hard 😦

ice cream along the beach, £1.5/2 each

lyme regis beach – home of the jurassic fossils

FLOODS: Monkfish wrapped in bacon, seared scallops – £17

Trio of fish, £17

Bread and Butter Pudding: £4.95

Floods has got to be one of the BEST restaurants I’ve ever dined at (even better than Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen trattoria). It’s homey and warm, well literally. Tess and I were completely drained from the 1.5hr bus ride from Lyme Regis back to Weymouth and chancing upon Floods was.. a GODSEND. We ambled in at 9.45pm and they told us their kitchen was already closed, but would make a special order for us. AND THEY WERE AMAZING. It’s actually really difficult to get fresh seafood in the UK – and biting into the scallops I was incredibly happy! The monkfish was great, who would have thought fish and bacon would go? But the combination worked. The seared scallop with balsic glaze was YUMMY. I also enjoyed the enormous platter of vegetables on the side that came with our dishes. Tessa’s trio of fish was MASSIVE. We nearly died finishing it, and yet still HAD to order a dessert because we saw someone ordering the pudding… and we just had to have it. No regrets there, except the pudding was a bit on the dry side. Nonetheless, excellent meal and.. we were full till the next morning.

One last picture of Weymouth:

Sailing site of the 2012 Olympics!

LONDON

Fifteen Trattoria, by Jamie Oliver.

Seafood Risotto, £9

Mafalde with beef and pork ragu, £10

Um honestly? It was a bit overrated. Nonetheless I will come back just for the atmosphere itself. When we went we were both too full from what we had ate that afternoon at the Malaysian fair at Trafalgar Square. The seafood risotto was well done and filled me up promptly, but I was expecting more? Perhaps it is all hype behind fifteen. However the cause for which it stands for is incredibly noble and I would still encourage people to go just to have a look at what fifteen is trying to achieve.

L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, £25 for 2 courses, £29 for 3 courses.
Joel Robuchon was EXTREMELY posh, and the service is very, very good. The waiters weren’t snotty whatsoever, and took the effort to explain each dish to us. (even though they just repeated what we read on the menu HAHAHA). Every table had a tuna pate (was it tuna?) with a biscuit-like toast to begin, and this was amazeballs!!!!!! Zhuoxuan, Fengshuo & Tessa all started with salmon while I chose the eggs cocotte. The eggs cocotte were good, but I felt like I was drinking a bit of foam cos of the texture. I still miss the one I had in France though! The fish with lemongrass pasta stole the show. I don’t know how to describe it except the fish was very well done and the lemongrass went well with the fish? IT’S LIKE HAVING A COMPLETELY GASTRONOMICAL EXPERIENCE MAN. IT WAS WORTH THE ££. Every cent of it! I won’t be going back anytime soon because I’ve got more restaurants to conquer BUT this set menu is a good place to start.

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English’s of Brighton
29-31 East Street
Brighton BN1 1HL

Floods
19 Custom House Quay
Weymouth
DT4 8BG

L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon
13-15 West Street
London WC2H 9NE, United Kingdom