One of the things I was most looking forward to about visiting New Zealand was the wine. We arranged to stay overnight at a small vineyard in Martinborough where we could relax and really enjoy some of New Zealand’s finest. After driving down from Lake Taupo we pulled up alongside Gladstone Vineyard on a sunny afternoon, just in time for a tasting! Continue reading “Gladstone Vineyard”
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New Zealand – Beer
In the couple of weeks we spent in New Zealand we managed to visit most corners of the North Island and one thing stood out to me with regards to the beer down there. Good beer is everywhere! Surprisingly every bar and restaurant we visited had its taps dominated by New Zealand brews and not big multi-national brands (although Guinness was widely available in many bars as well). Continue reading “New Zealand – Beer”
Tolbooth Restaurant, Stonehaven
We were given a voucher for Stonehaven’s Tolbooth restaurant at Christmas and have waited for a sunny weekend all summer to use it. Our thinking is that it would be a shame to waste the trip to Stoney without being able to sit outside afterwords having a few speciality beers from The Marine. Well, summer came and went with barely a glimmer of sunshine on a free Saturday to get us over the hill so we decided to just book a table and hope for the best.
The restaurant lives right on the harbour in the upstairs of the old tolbooth jailhouse. Every seaside town needs to have a good seafood restaurant sitting right on the pier. Certainly every town with a fishing heritage like Stonehaven’s deserves one. Continue reading “Tolbooth Restaurant, Stonehaven”
Yorokobi by CJ
Last week I finally got to eat at a restaurant I’ve wanted to try for ages. Yorokobi by CJ opened on Huntly Street in Aberdeen after Korean Chef Jang had been operating a very successful wee sushi stall at Aberdeen Indoor Market for years. I visited the stall several times and it was my first taste of sushi. I was keen to try the full restaurant experience but for some reason I haven’t got around to visiting until now. Continue reading “Yorokobi by CJ”
Sea Breezes, Portree
When we spent the weekend in Skye recently top of our list was checking out some first class seafood. There’s no shortage of places to choose from, especially in Portree. While we were waiting for our sea eagle boat trip (if you’re ever in Portree go on this trip!) we eyed up the restaurants around the harbour and decided to check out a small one with a nice specials board outside advertising locally caught shellfish called Sea Breezes. Continue reading “Sea Breezes, Portree”
Mince and Skirlie 