Christmas dinner with the folks

A very traditional christmas dinner this year as we opted for turkey over the goose we've had in recent years. Should admit now that goose is my all time favourite roasted bird but the turkey was fantastic this year, really moist breast and the stuffing filled legs topped it over. All the mandatory accompaniments were there with goose fat roasted potatoes, brussels sprouts with chestnuts, cranberry sauce, carrots and breaded fried parsnips. Was really excellent as usual when cooked by my dad, such a shame my brother was stuck in Copenhagen after his flight cancelled and we couldn't experience his starter this year.

We stayed traditional with the pudding also and had christmas pudding with brandy butter, definitely my mums best ever and probably beat the one we had last weekend. We finished with a selection of cheese and biscuits with the Yorkshire blue getting demolished very quickly indeed.

Christmas carols and beer barrels

Palm Tree, Mile End, E3 5BH

Hidden away off Grove Road, walking up to and into the Palm Tree on a snowy winters day is like going 40 years back in time - carpets on the floor, plates and pictures of old celebrities on the walls - I even managed to spot a signed Jim Bowen one. It is a proper east end boozer and certainly has character, a little stage sits in the corner with a piano and drum kit - think Chaz & Dave. That was why we were here to drink beer and sing seasonal songs with vigour.

The evening was an annual christmas singalong for charity, the place must never get as busy and seemed to annoy the barmaid having to do so much work. The landlord was very friendly though but the beer was really not much to write home about and the ales I tried were bland and flat tasting, so much so that I even resorted to drinking Stella Artois after trying them. Unfortunately due to the Stella drinking I misplaced my notes with the beer names on!

The Palm Tree is really a pub to experience just to remind yourself was pubs used to be like, but I feel there is a reason pubs aren't like this anymore

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British food with a view of Tate Modern

Northbank, St Pauls, EC4V 3QH

Really wanted to eat some modern British food tonight and to show my foreign friends how good it can be when done right. Unfortunately couldn't get a table at Hix which I've wanted to visit for a while and seemingly every other restaurant I tried was fully booked up but I suppose its the time of year. Settled at visiting here after seeing their website and the menu sounded excellent with not too simple and not too fancy takes of British classics. The building situated by the Millennium Bridge looks across the thames to the Globe Theatre and the Tate Modern - pretty impressive really.

Chicken liver and foie gras paté, fig chutney and toast

The pate was served in a ramekin with a butter seal over the meat. Extremely smooth texture and nice chicken liver taste but I couldn't really detect the foie gras at all. The fig chutney was mild and partnered the pate well.

Grilled Hogs Pudding with Apple and Caper

I didn't really get this dish... was basically a un-skinned sausage with a caper sauce and it just tasted like is was; a sausage without skin! The caper sauce neither complimented nor contrasted the hog pudding (sausage).

Pan-fried turbot with braised leeks

I wanted to try the turbot after looking at the menu online but a little disappointed that it didn't come with braised lettuce and foie gras like the online menu said, I decided to give it a go anyway, the turbot had been browned precisely but probably a touch overcooked in the middle, this didn't take away from the flavour though and having a great love of leeks already I liked the strong flavour coming through, but I think it probably was a little too strong for the turbot for most people.

Roasted pigeon with chestnut

I choose this for my friend hoping it would be a good example of the style of food, the pigeon was succulent and the roughly chopped chestnuts added depth to the overall strong flavours. What didn't work was the crushed potato is was served with - just seemed like a badly executed after thought.

Christmas pudding with custard

A quintessential British christmas dish, this had to be tried. A disc of pudding was served swimming in not too sweet custard with a dollop of cream on top. Was surprising absolutely superb and probably the best example of British christmas food my friend could have tried.

West Country Cheese Board with Fig Preserve, Celery and Crackers

Same preserve as my starter, slight annoyance as it wasn't that good any way. The brie style cheese was cold which especially for brie this is total no-no - I'd quite happily eat most English style cheeses straight from the fridge but you can't do that with brie. The cheddar was very good as was the blue (sorry can't remember what it exactly was). I personally don't see the point of celery with cheese, I love pears and apples on a cheeseboard but I'm not going to touch celery unless starvation looms.

Really lovely evening, I like the venue and the booth style seating down the side of the restaurant gives intimate atmosphere, it was only about half full though on our visit and for the Friday before christmas this surprised me, especially considering all the places I'd spoken to without any room at all earlier in the day. I would go back but I'd probably check that the menu had changed first.

Wine details to follow...

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Kosher food in the City

Bevis Marks Restaurant, City of London, Ec3A 5DQ

The only option really in the City when needing to eat kosher food, have been once before and thought overpriced even for the area and unremarkable food. But ended up here again and since I wasn't paying I was little concerned about the price, but knew to try something different than the salt beef I'd had last time. The building the restaurant sits in is attached to the attractive Bevis Marks Synagogue just tucked away from the massive buildings around here like the Gherkin and Lloyds.

Confit of Duck Leg on aubergine risotto with green beans and red wine jus

This was much better than what I ate on my last visit, the duck was tender and the risotto rice was cooked to just retain a little bite like it should, where the aubergine came into it I don't know but I liked the dish on the whole and was good for not too heavy a lunch.

Barkan Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, Israel

An improvement over other Israeli wines I've tried, it was fully bodied and strong. Not a very good depth of flavour but a nice tannin balance and blackcurrent undertones. Not bad at all really.

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Snowy evening in north london

The Angel Inn, Highgate, N6 5JT

Stuck in a pub because of snowy blizzards at least makes it feel like christmas, first time I've been to Highgate and seems like a nice quiet area with a bit of character. We went to the Angel Inn which has good selection of european beers on tap but not quite as good for the real ales. Being about -1 degrees outside I didn't really fancy a chilled lager so opted to try what ales they had. First up was pint of Adnams Broadside - bought this a few times and don't know why I keep trying it as just a bog standard bitter really but this was no worse or better than I've had before. The service was pretty slow at the bar and even though not busy did take a while to get served. Had a pint of London Pride next which was good if head a little weak. Having been uninspired by the ales I thought I'd try one of the continental brews on offer and had a pint of Erdinger Weissbräu which is always a good fruity wheat beer - this tasted much better although did feel unusual to have in standard pint glass and not the vase type glasses you get in most places serving it.

Slow roasted pork belly, with glazed apples, black pudding, mashed potatoes

A real slab of pork belly, it was superbly slow cooked so melted in mouth to right degree. Also good was the creamy mash the belly was laid upon. The black pudding was cheap though and the glazed apples were just like two slices of apple that had been put under grill for 2 mins - didn't add anything to meal at all, they would have definitely worked if they were done properly.

Sirloin steak with chips and side salad

I love the way chips look when still got skin on the potatoes - I think they actually look tastier. They tasted good too, the steak was a little over medium rare for me but I think I was only person who thought that. The salad was nice and fresh but cheap olive oil didn't elevate it from just a bit of lettuce and tomato.

This pub is a nice place which I would go back to, preferably in the summer though when you'd want to drink all those chilled foreign beers and not freeze on the way home.

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