Dhoom, Dunfermline
Dhoom 19 – 25 New Row, Dunfermline KY127EA 01383 223340 www.dhoomuk.co.uk The Bill 7 Course Taster Menu (Lunch Only) £16.95 10 Course Taster Menu £28.95 A la carte Starters £7.50 – £9.95 | Mains £10.95 – £18.95 Desserts £4.95 – £5.95 The Score Cooking 6/10 | Service 5/5 Flavour 4/5 | Value 5/5 TOTAL 20/25 In the restaurant…
Read MoreScotland’s National Dish – Steak Pie
As autumn sets in, we return from exotic climes and contemplate food from home. Now hands up those of you who thought that the national dish of Scotland was haggis? Nay, my lovelies, you are sadly mistaken. Special occasions here and it has to be steak pie. Weddings, funerals and, for all I know, bar…
Read MoreDiana Thompson on Wine – Portugal
In a new feature for Tom’s Food! award winning wine expert and writer Diana Thompson has agreed to contribute an occasional series of articles. This month she is in Portugal, ahead of next week’s Wines of Portugal Fair in Edinburgh Home to 250 indigenous grape varieties, Portugal produces wines from tip to toe of this…
Read MoreBagna Cauda, NOT Salsa di Noci
This will, I promise, be the last article to stem directly from the September trip to Italy. For some bizarre reason, not all of you are Italophiles. Pansotti con Salsa ai Noci In a recent article about the food of Liguria, I mentioned salsa ai noci. The plan was to give you a recipe for this…
Read MoreLocanda Terramare, Turin
Locanda Terramare Via Silvio Pellico 2B. 10125 Turin +39 011 1903 2953 www.terramarelocanda.it The Bill (Euros) Antipasti €11.00 – €22.00 | Primi Piatti €15.00 – €24.00 Secondi Piatti €16.00 – €26.00 | Dolci €6.00 – €7.50 The Score Cooking 8/10 | Service 5/5 Flavour 4.5/5 | Value 4.5/5 TOTAL 22/25 Trip Advisor has…
Read MoreLiguria and Piedmont – Some Food Memories Part 2
This is the second in a series of two short articles with some food memories of a month spent in Liguria and Piedmont. Last week we were reminiscing about Ligurian pasta. Travel north to Piedmont and it’s a very different story. In Turin, they will enthuse about their tarajin. They’re a variation on tagliatelle, cut more…
Read MoreVitello Tonnato (Veal with Tuna Mayonnaise)
In this week’s On The Side column (part 2 next Wednesday) I was being a little smug at having uncovered some of the regional food secrets of Liguria and Piedmont. I’ve always been fond of vitello tonnato and am describing it as a Piedmont specialty. As an aside, I have no idea why that should…
Read MoreIl Tucano 2, Pegli, Genoa
Il Tucano 2 Via Pegli 10 rosso 16156, Pegli, Genoa 010 696 9780 Website – click here The Bill (Euros) Antipasti €8.00 – €16.00 | Primi Piatti €14.00 – €16.00 Secondi Piatti €14.00 – €25.00 | Dolci €6.00 – €7.00 The Score Cooking 5/10 | Service 4/5 Flavour 4/5 | Value…
Read MoreLiguria and Piedmont – Some Food Memories Part 1
Liguria Think global, act local. That’s one of the mantras of Patrick Geddes, a great hero of mine. Without him, half of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile would have been demolished a century ago. I suppose my twist on it would be, travel global, eat local. Today’s article is inspired by having spent most of last month…
Read MoreRistorante Miro, Genoa
Ristorante Miro Viale Giorgio Modugno 33r,16156 Pegli, Genoa +39 010 696 9351 www.ristorantemiroge.com The Bill (Euros) Antipasti €13.00 – €17.00 | Primi Piatti €11.00 – €14.00 Secondi Piatti €12.00 – €27.00 | Dolci €4.00 – €6.00 The Score Cooking 6/10 | Service 4/5 Flavour 4.5/5 | Value 5/5 TOTAL 19.5/25 Truth be told,…
Read MoreMake Your Own Thai Curry
With us having spent the best part of September in Genoa, you would be forgiven for expecting a string of Italian recipes. Fret not, they’re coming soon. But you may remember a review of Ting Thai, and its wonderful, authentic Thai curries. That’s a dish which is almost up there with chicken tikka masala on…
Read MoreTom’s Food! Roll on 2034
Some things just creep up on you, don’t they? Old age is the most pernicious one, but at least you have the advantage of an annual excuse to celebrate. I knew I had been punting out these columns for a while, but I didn’t half get a start the other day. Searching for something or…
Read Morethe West Room, Edinburgh
the West Room 3 Melville Place Edinburgh EH3 7PR 0131 629 9868 www.thewestroom.co.uk The Bill Savoury Plates £6.00 – £16.00 Desserts £5.00 – £7.00 The Score Cooking 5.5/10 | Service 4/5 Flavour 4/5 | Value 5/5 TOTAL 18.5/25 What’s in a name, eh? I suspect I may have used this opening…
Read MorePork Fillet “A La De Freitas”
We all do it from time to time, don’t we? Pick up a familiar ingredient from the shop or the freezer and do the same old thing with it. In this case, half of a pork fillet. I was blown away by the food at Macau Kitchen. In particular I raved about the aromatic crispy…
Read MoreChef Watch featuring Kei de Freitas of Macau Kitchen, Edinburgh
Chef Watch Featuring Kei de Freitas of Macau Kitchen, Edinburgh How long have you been a chef? On and off for about 10 years, and full on for the last 10 years. So 20 years. Why did you become a chef? I enjoy cooking food for people, and seeing them enjoy that food. Food is very…
Read MoreMoussaka
On Wednesday, I touched on some of the problems of recipe writing. Other issues can involve sheer carelessness, which brought this particular one to mind. It’s broadly based on a recipe which I found online. Step 2 instructed the reader to add the garlic, oregano, cinnamon and chilli. The observant among you will note that…
Read MoreMacau Kitchen, Progressive Macanese Kitchen, Edinburgh
Macau Kitchen Progressive Macanese Cuisine 93 St Leonard’s Street, Edinburgh EH8 9QY 07577 667334 www.macaukitchen.uk The Bill Small Plates £8.00 – £13.00 | Mains £16.50 – £30.00 Desserts £10.00 The Score Cooking 8/10 | Service 5/5 Flavour 5/5 | Value 5/5 TOTAL 23/25 To paraphrase the words of Hill Street Blues Sgt…
Read MoreWrite A Recipe? Take Some Onions
Sorry, Jay. For once you’re getting no sympathy from me. My food hero Jay Rayner has written a cookbook*. In a recent article in the Observer Food Monthly he writes about the problems of a bish-bash-bosh cook trying to explain to his readership how to make a particular dish. Tell me about it, mate. When I set out…
Read MoreDauphinoise Potatoes
Chefs! You just have to speak sharply to them. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve eaten a dish in a restaurant, recreated it at home, and discovered that my version wasn’t as good as theirs! Whose fault was that? The answer is obvious, hence the need for sharp talk. Folk will tell…
Read MoreTing Thai Times Two, Edinburgh
Ting Thai 55 – 57 Lothian Road, Edinburgh EH1 2DJ 0131 466 7283 19 – 20 Teviot Place, Edinburgh EH1 2QZ 0131 623 0384 www.tingthai.co.uk The Bill Small Box £4.40 – £6.40 | Soup £7.40 – £8.60 Curry/Rice/Noodle/Other Box £8.70 – £12.60 The Score Cooking 7/10 | Service 4/5 Flavour 4.5/5 | Value 5/5 TOTAL 20.5/25 It’s not…
Read MoreThe Times, They Never Stop A-Changin’
Well, we all do it, don’t we? Get beyond the age of, say, 40 and the way you were taught things generally remains the way you do them. For many it remains the only way to do them, all others being heresy. In the context of cooking, how easy is it for professionally trained people…
Read MorePesto and Variations
With a forthcoming trip to Genoa and a burgeoning basil plant, pesto seemed an appropriate candidate for Tom Cooks! this week. Looking at the city’s many attractions, I note that there is a plethora of classes are available to teach you how to make this sauce which the Genoese call their own. Two things won’t…
Read MoreCafé Marlayne, Edinburgh
Café Marlayne 76 Thistle Street, Edinburgh EH2 1EN 0131 226 2230 www.cafemarlayne.com The Bill Lunch 2 courses £18.90 | Desserts £7.50 Dinner 2 courses £32.50 | Desserts £7.50 The Score Cooking 6.5/10 | Service 3.5/5 Flavour 4/5 | Value 5/5 TOTAL 19/25 Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain…
Read MoreIf It’s Broon, It’s Cooked…
Where do you get your ideas from? I’m often asked. Well, today the inspiration came from a pinny (that’s an apron for you non Scots.) I had a chuckle when I saw this in a shop the other day. Sound advice, probably, for the average man in the Scottish barbecue season. Note that I used…
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