The Old Bill - Oldham

This is the second time I have been here now for something to eat and again I was not disappointed. I took my mum for some lunch after we had finished Christmas Shopping. Being the last Friday before Christmas it was absolutely rammed and I hadn't booked a table.  We were made to feel welcome from the minute we walked in and weren't made to feel awkward for not booking or anything, instead Paulo (the owner) advised that he would see what he could do. Within a few moments he was back and showed us to a table for two nicely tucked into the corner.

The place itself is really homely and has a Spanish taverna type feel, it doesn't feel pretentious or anything so you instantly feel comfortable and ready for a good meal. Due to how busy they were there was just the evening menu available but that was fine as there were enough items to choose from.  We both decided to have the sirloin steak and share a couple of starters, so we got the garlic mushrooms and the pate to start. When Paulo came to take our order my mum apologised and said "I know chef's hate this but can I have mine well done as I don't like any blood in it". It'is normally a no no in food places as it's seen as ruining a good piece of meat, but instead the request was met with the usual 'nothing is too much trouble' attitude I have come to expect from here. In fact he said "well they shouldn't be running a restaurant then, you can have it how you want it and when it comes if it's not done enough for you let me know we can cook it for longer".  I asked for mine medium as I don't mind it a bit pink. Quite often when somewhere is busy it is very easy for customer service to go out of the window but that is definitely not the case here. Both times when I have been all the staff have been friendly and and can't do enough for you.

The Garlic Mushrooms:-

The garlic mushrooms were gorgeous and not your boring breaded mushrooms, instead they were almost like a stroganoff In a tasty sauce full of flavour. The portion size was more than enough for us to share.the sauce was so nice my mum said she could of mopped it up with a piece of bread lol.

The Pate:-

The pate was a nice smooth consistency and came with a Cumberland type relish which was a perfect sweet accompaniment to the pate. It also had two toasted and buttered baguette slices and a salad garnish.

The steak:-

Both our steaks were cooked perfectly and were so tender and easy to cut into.  It didn't require loads of chewing like some tough steaks can, it was lovely and soft and had clearly been rested properly. Like all sirloin steaks there was the piece of fat down one side but this was only a little and I didn't waste much (which is good for me as I'm picky and have to leave any slightest bit of fat lol). The chasseur sauce was rich and flavoursome with mushrooms and onions. It would of been very easy to just use the same base as the garlic mushrooms but instead was a lovely red wine sauce.  The vegatables were cooked so they were still aldente and not over cooked. The roast potatoes were crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy inside. He meal as a whole was a definite 10/10. The only thing I would say by way of things they could change is that it seemed a waste to put salad on a dish that had vegetables and a sauce on it. Both my mum and myself left all the salad so it seemed a bit of a waste really but that's not a criticism more a way they could avoid waste. My only slight improvement would be that the table mats have seen better days but I guess that's testiment to how much use they get.

We didn't have a dessert as we were both stuffed but the we did see some being served and I did have one on my last visit.  They are definitely not mean with the portions and you could easily share one :-)

This is a place you should definitely try and I guarentee once you have been you would want to return again and again.

ZSpas - Hottubsuppliers.com

When we had the nice weather (yes I know not a lot in the UK) I decided to get my garden done and treat myself to a hot tub.  Looked online and in various garden centres and for a 6 seater a lot of the prices were in the £8K upwards price bracket which was way above my price range. Just as I was about to give up I came across Zspas when I did a general search for hot tubs.  I found a 6 seater one for a fraction of the price - £3500, I though it was too good to be true but gave them a ring.

The guy I spoke to Arun was really helpful and let me know which they had in stock and could delivery for when I wanted etc.  There was no hard sell or anything and he was really accommodating when I had to keep changing my delivery date as the garden wasn't finished.  I didn't have to pay the balance until I was ready to have it delivered which I thought was really good.

There was a small hiccup with the delivery as the delivery men said they couldn't get in into my back garden down the side passage but this was partly my fault as I hadn't measured the width properly. As soon as I spoke to Arun to explain we had managed to get the hot tub in ourselves, there was no quibbles or anything he offered straight away to refund the £100 delivery charge.  The delivery  men aren't Zspa people and are sub contracted so this didn't tarnish my opinion on Zspa in the slightest. Arun even send me some replacement bits that had been damaged when me and my friends man handled the hot tub into the garden.

I had definitely nder estimated how heavy the hot tub would be as it was a really sturdy frame and definitely feels well built. Be sure to measure the width of your entrance to the place it is going as they are bigger than you think.

The 6 seater included 2 loungers and is really spacious. If everyone is sat up instead you can easily fit 10 people in it (I've tried lol).

I would definitely recommend Zspas to other people as the cost is unbeatable.  You don't lose anything in the quality though as its a tob notch hot tub, including Radio/Cd player, LED lights Cover head rests and a drinks rest.

I have had so much use out of the hot tub already and I'm looking  forward to going in it this winter in the snow :-)

 

 

Quality Street - Green Triangle Dessert by Nestle

If you are a fan of the green triangle chocolate in a tin of quality street you will LOVE these.

They come in a pack of 4 x 70g pots for around £1.79 depending where you get them from. It's a good job you get more than one as one pot definitely isn't enough as they are really moreish.

The consistency is like a thick custard rather than a mouse that's full or air. It has a milk chocolate and hazelnut taste (just like the sweet in a tin of quality street). Its smooth velvety texture makes it easy to wolf down in minutes. Even though it is chocolate and praline it is deceptively light and not at all sickly or too sweet, so much so that I ate 2 one after the other :-/

Definitely something I will be buying again.  They also do one to reflect the toffee penny in the tin of chocolates so I will certainly be giving those a try too.

Port Erin Chippy - Isle of Man

If you only have Fish n Chips once while visiting the Isle of Man, be sure it's at the Port Erin Chippy!

Had been craving fish an chips all day and were disappointed when we got too Port Erin and it was shut.  Not wanting to be deterred we waited the hour at the pub next door until 5pm for it to open.  Let me just say it was worth the wait.

The two of us both had cod and chips with mushy peas. My mum asked for hers lightly battered (as she always does) but usually they take no notice. When her fish came you could clearly see the difference between the two.

The fish was perfectly cooked, bright white cod, a really good size and batter nice and crisp. Sometime you get a fish and it's all batter no fish, Or the batter is soggy, these were just perfect. The chips were lovely and crunchy on the outside and fluffy inside. Also as they were home cut chips you also got lots of small crispy bits which I love. The peas came in a small chip shop carton in the side of the plate. At first I thought this odd and a waste of a carton but then as I thought about it I guess some people like peas all over their dinner and some just on the side etc.

Also I got a regular size chips (above) and my mum got the small, but I think small would of done me to be honest. Although   judging from the next pic you'd never of guessed. 

I think that says it all.

Definitely would go again and a big recommendation from me. 10 out 10.

China Town - Isle of Man

Staying on the isle of man for a few days and didn't fancy cooking after working all day so decided to get a takeaway.

Popped in the China Town restaurant for a take away as it was the closest place to where we were staying. The service was very quick and they even gave us a bag of prawn crackers free with the meal.

I ordered food between two of us:-

Noodles with beansprouts
Chips
Special Curry

Dished it all our between us and was very disappointed in the food.  The chips were really greasy as if they had been cooked in oil that wasn't hot enough and they had absorbed all the grease.

The noodles/beansprouts were fine but cant really go wrong with them I guess.

The special curry had chicken, char su pork and large king prawns, onions and thin slices of carrots.  The curry sauce was very nice and had just enough heat to it.  Sadly the chicken was what I call "plastic chicken" and seemed like some kind of soy/chopped and reformed type chicken.  The curry sauce itself was to die for, but had we eaten the prawns we very may well have (okay maybe not but would of been ill). They weren't cooked properly and were still mostly translucent. It really put me off the rest of the meal and so ended up wasting most of it.

Sometimes with a food establishment you can just fall unlucky but there were too many things wrong with the meal for me to wish to give  it another try. Definitely not somewhere I would recommend.

Groudle Glen Cottages - Isle of Man

As a travelling sales rep covering the Northwest of England, North Wales and the Isle of Man I often have to stay away from home. As well as having worked in Travel for 17 years I think this makes me more than qualified to review hotels and restaurants etc as I have stayed in many accommodations and eaten in many establishments around the world.

This is my first such review but will hopefully be the first of many.

I have stayed in the Groudle Glen cottages on 4 occasions now as they are ideal for me staying away from home as I can take my own food with me and then just stock up on some bits once I get here. It also means that I have the freedom to eat when I like and not be tied to set meal times like is often the case in hotels or B&B's.

Directions

The accommodation is very easy to find.  If you are coming from the Sea Port you simply come out of the terminal and head straight ahead a few hundred yard to the sea front.  Once at the front you turn left and follow the coast line, which will then start to you up a hill with the railway tracks on your left.  You continue up this road with the railway tracks on your left. Eventually you will reach the top of the hill and it will start to level out and then start to go back down the other side. Follow the road round and down and you will eventually come to a sign on the right directing you to Groudle Glen Beach and a sign for the cottages.  It's only a small narrow lane so can be easily missed if you drive too fast so look out for the Train stop on the other side of the road as its directly facing that.

Once you turn in you head down hill and will come to a phone box on the left and will then see the reception where you can check in.

Check in

When I have stayed at the cottages my check in time have always been either early in the morning or late at night due to the ferry crossings.  The staff at the cottages are really helpful and if you let them know when you are due to arrive the will leave your cottage open and the key inside. They also put the heating on for you in winter or if its cold.

The Accommodation

All the cottages are set on the hill and have a few grouped together in rows and go all the way down to the beach where there are some lovely walks.  None of the cottages are suitable for disabled as they all have steps leaving into the different entrances be that front, back or side door.

I have stayed in a different cottage each time I have been and they are all different inside so I can only comment on the ones I have been in.  They have all had a kitchen with all the facilities including microwave, kettle, toaster, iron and ironing board. There is also a small under cupboard type fridge freezer (the kind with a small freezer section on the top).

There are coffee making facilities in the kitchen on arrival, including a carton of fresh milk in the fridge and a pot of Groudle glen Spiced rhubarb Jam.

Wifi is available in some of the cottages depending how far down the hill you are as the office is at the top of the hill so if you are in one of the cottage at the bottom of the hill you might need to request a dongle from the office.

All the rooms have a convection heater in so the rooms can be warm even in winter.  The décor quite traditional in style comprising of leather sofa and two chairs with an electric fire and fireplace as the focal point.

View from the cottages

General Observations

A lot of the cottage have a doorway from the entrance/dining room. into the kitchen but there is no door so the kitchen can feel quite cold as you get the cold coming from the front door.

Also the only light switch in the kitchen is near the side door so when you are going into the lounge and want to turn the light off you have to turn the light off and then walk through the kitchen in the dark.  Similarly when you enter the kitchen you have to find you way over to the lights in the dark.  It would make life easier and make more sense if there was a switch at the  entrance from the lounge too.

These are obviously only little gripes but addressing them would make a difference.