I’ve been lucky enough to sample quite a few of Dublin’s offerings and, I have to admit, haven’t really had a very bad meal at all. There are plenty of options to choose from including your ubiquitous burrito joints, to sushi, malaysian and everything in between. Rather than list all the details for each restaurant (which would take much longer than time I have available), I will list some of the highlights over the past couple of weeks.

Restaurant at Donnybrook Fair (European restaurant)
You’ll often see a lot of locals carrying the white, D|F-labelled bags that belong to this up-scale market place. They also happen to have a restaurant upstairs to one of their (flagship?) stores. I read about their BBQ nights where they offer a decent value platter to share between two. Four of us popped in after work and it wasn’t hard to get a table at about 7pm although it filled up quickly after that. The dining room is bright, airy and the meal deal very great value. Appetiser samplers were a great appetite kickstarter with my favourite being the wholesome grilled mushroom and the prosciutto-wrapped fig. The BBQ meat platter soon arrived with grilled chicken, salmon, quail and a steak. I’ll admit the chicken probably had a bit too much time on the grill, but all the other bits were divine. A clever, light strawberry and coconut-lime mousse was served as dessert.

BBQ meal cost €25 for the 3 courses.

+353 1 668 3556, 89 Morehampton Road, Donnybrook, Dublin 4, https://www.donnybrookfair.ie/restaurant/home

Bloom Brasserie (European Restaurant)
Located in the basement, my colleague recommended this nice brasserie serving fresh continental foods that was also pretty decent value. Not many vegetarian options on the set menu. Creamy, beautify mushroom soup to start followed by a perfectly cooked sea bream, carrot and butternut squash puree and lightly wilted baby spinach. A light chocolate mousse, raspberry coulis, topped with chopped hazelnuts for me to follow.

3 course set menu for €25

11 Baggot Street Upper Dublin 4, Co. Dublin, Ireland, http://www.bloombrasserie.ie/

Cornucopia (Vegetarian Cafe/Restaurant)
A popular restaurant located on busy Wicklow Street, this place is slightly more cafe than restaurant (you order at the counter, collect your food and then hunt for a table because it’s so popular). A fresh water dispenser is located by the door and you have options that all looked pretty tempting. I was tempted by the Cashew baked aubergine with smoked paprika mash and pea sauce but then succumbed to the sounds of a daily special of smoked tofu parcels with two side salads that was really great value at €12.95.

19-20 Wicklow St Dublin 2, Ireland, http://www.cornucopia.ie/

The Exchequer (Gastropub)
Voted one of Ireland’s best gastropubs I have to agree that the food here was so good, I came back on one of the weekends to sample a few of the other dishes. They do an amazing selection of cocktails as well (all recorded in the “Ledger of Liquor”) and I can highly recommend the Smoky Old Fashioned. Beautifully prepared, balanced and accompanied by an ice-cube ball that is guaranteed to outlast your drink. All of the food is fabulously presented, tasty and the only down-side I have to admit is the side of potato skins/fries that failed to be as crisp as they could be. Desserts (at least the gingerbread tea cake) is totally worth trying and massive enough to share between two. Definitely come here if you want some good food and drink. I’ll be back again if I can make it.

2 courses for €19.95 or 3 for €23.95 (choose any starter, main or dessert) only Sunday-Wednesday

3-5 Exchequer Street, Dublin 2, http://www.theexchequer.ie/

The Green Hen (French)

A popular French brasserie that fills up quickly, I was able to nab a seat at the bar as I was early enough and dining alone. Had I arrived only half an hour later, it would have been impossible and I saw them turn away quite a few people. Cocktails are expertly made, with lots of care and perfected and they have an early bird menu at 3 courses for €22 from 5:30-7pm Sunday to Thursday.

33 Exchequer St Dublin 2, Co. Dublin, Ireland, http://www.greenhen.ie

Michie Sushi (Japanese)
Located a bit in the ‘burbs, this tiny little sushi place is apparently more popular with take-away. Partly because there are only something like six or seven tables for two or four and located in a tiny little alleyway, hardly any parking. Unagi nigiri (my favourite type) was a generous portion of fish, lightly slathered in the traditional BBQ sauce and perfectly delicious. A couple of good rolls and you could roll me out of there. Good decent sushi that I haven’t had for a long time although not sure if I would make a trip out of the city specifically for that (if I was visiting Dublin). I think they do delivery and I’d probably opt for that if I lived in Dublin.

11 Chelmsford Lane, Ranelagh, Dublin 6, http://www.michiesushi.com/

We went for the spring “From the Garden” tasting menu. Five courses for only £48. Yes, you still have to pay service, and yes the drinks are extra on top of that. For the quality of the food though, it’s still great value.

Here’s our menu details but I won’t bother trying to write about each dish beacuse each was really great, and was focused on chatting and catching up with everyone that I didn’t really have a chance to take any notes.

Mojette Bean Soup, Carrot, Basil Leaf, Parsley Oil

Early spring salad of artichoke soubise, broad bean and confit tomato, pine nuts and lambs lettuce

Canneloni of “Paris” mushroom julienne, Parsley root Purêe and Broth

Beetroot Glazed with balsamic vinegar, goat’s cheese and pine nuts biscuit

Rhubarb Confit, Pain de Genoa, Rhubarb and Jurançon Ice-cream strawberry coulis

I’m glad to see that they were very busy on a Saturday evening. Much busier than when I went here last time on a Monday evening.

Though not cheap at €24, the breakfast is a buffet spread with the proper white clothed dining experience. Lead to my table, I was asked about tea and coffee, and I was first offered a pot of tea. The tea arrived in an impressive looking tea pot, complete with tea light caddy to help keep it warm. When I later went to the buffet spread, I could see the dozen or so high quality teas they also had on offer. I later switched to the coffee and the attendants were nice enough to even switch the glasses before bringing a pot of their classic German dark and strong coffee.

On to the buffet.

Though not the biggest selection, everything was pretty high quality. There are the usual cereal spread (a choice of about eight different types of mueslis and cereals), breads, fruit, cheeses and meats, and even a omellette/pancake station. Although tempted, I didn’t really want to wait in line and although I would normally love a pancake, this was more the crepe-style pancakes that do nothing for me.

Name: Steigenberger Hotel, Hamburg
Found at: Heiligengeistbrücke 4, 20459 Hamburg, Germany
Website: http://www.steigenberger.com/en/hamburg

There wasn’t really much room to sit, but that was fine since we either normally have a coffee standing up, or at least take away.

The cakes, muffins and brownies looked pretty tempting.

But I managed to stop myself

It's easy to miss the entrance since it's up a small set of stairs and opposite another store.

Name: Coffeeshop Milchglas
Found at: Alter Steinweg 11, 20459 Hamburg
Website: http://www.milchglas-catering.de/

I went at an off peak time, figuring I might get a table easier between lunch and dinner, with a late lunch at 3pm. I was seated immediately, but there was plenty of other people eating. Even half an hour later, there were no more tables, and I was even asked to share.

Fortunatly I see why this place is popular. The pho was pretty tasty. Not quite like Monsieur Vuong special, but definitely tasty. It’s a place I’ll definitely come back to at some point.

Name: Quan Do: Vietnamese Street Kitchen
Found at: Georgsplatz 16 (Corner of Rosenstraße 3), 20099 Hamburg
Website: http://www.quan-do.com/

Firstly the flat white was pretty good. I got it to take away. The milk wasn’t too hot, there wasn’t much of it, and they did a very fantastic micro foam. The first location, Mühlenkamp 6 is in a lively, fantastic area thriving with people. The cafe, even on a cold winter days reflects this with no spot empty.

They did a great selection of sandwiches (on that famous dark German bread), pastries and cakes although I managed to hold back from indulging.

Their other location is tucked away near the popular Sternschanze. You have to go up a set of stairs, around the back of a building and you’ll eventually find it. Just walk amongst the other warehouse like buildings and wait to find the crowds of people there.

This location has a tonne more space, and is much better for sitting outside in their courtyard. On a nice day, you’ll still probably battle everyone else who wants to sit outside, but at least you’ll have a better chance of getting one.

Name: Elbgold
Website: http://www.elbgold.com/

Name: Hawksmoor Air Street
Website: http://thehawksmoor.com/airstreet
Found at: 5a Air St London W1J 0AD

In order to make a good roast pork belly, you want to ensure the meat is soft. That means slow cooking the meat for a long time. However, you also want a crisp skin. A crisp skin only works with a high temperature, but you have to balance out both of these aspects. Here are a couple of principles worth noting after doing some reading on the internet:

• Dry the skin – There are many different ways of drying the skin. Scoring the skin helps more heat get in, and more fat to escape, leading to crisper skin. Salt naturally draws out moisture and will help. Some argue that oil is not needed. I tried a little bit figuring at high temperatures, it’s slightly like frying. Pouring freshly boiled water onto the skin “shocks” and helps draw out more moisture, if you then follow it up by leaving it in the fridge uncovered for a while.
• Roast the skin at high temperature – I cooked the pork belly at high heat to start off with to start the skin drying out. I protected the rest of the meat from the heat by putting foil around everything but the skin. I then dropped the temperature, and then towards the end, raised it again.

Here’s a picture of the pork belly, skin sliced, having been drenched with boiling water and then rubbed with salt and left in the fridge to uncover. Before putting into the oven, I patted it down with kitchen paper, added more salt and a little bit of oil before putting it into a hot oven.

Serve with some roasted vegetables and greens!

There are plenty of variations worth trying including stewing the fruit beforehand to produce a crumble with more sauce, or try cloves *and* cinnamon for a very festive treat. Here’s the recipe that I have used for a crumble pretty reliably:

Ingredients for the base

• 6 pears (for four people) – Find good cooking pears if you want more texture
• 20g brown sugar

Ingredients for the topping

• 100g butter
• 100g flour
• 3 tablespoons oats
• 1 tsp cinammon
• 30g brown sugar

Method:

• Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips. Or cut the butter into the flour with a knife. It should look a little like breadcrumbs afterwards.
• Mix in the oats, cinnamon and brown sugar. The oats give the crumble more texture. Try Demerara sugar for some more bite.
• Peel, core, and slice the pears into fan-like fingers. Arrange in layers until you at least cover the bottom of the dish you are using
• Sprinkle the 20g of brown sugar on top (not too much otherwise it’ll be too sweet)
• Cover the pears with the crumble topping and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes at 180oC until it’s brown
• Serve with your choice of accompaniment. Serves four people.

And now in pictures:

Measure out the butter.

Add the flour in.

With some cinammon.

Now with a knife, cut the butter into the flour, or rub it in with your fingertips. Your goal is to coat the butter with flour and minimise the amount of gluten.

Now add the brown sugar.

And muesli. Mix together, and top your cut up fruit.

After baking, enjoy the result. Serve with custard. I prefer the hot-cold contrast and decadence to have crumble served with ice cream.

It is definitely one of those places where you need to book in advance. Luca was good enough to also organise that on our latest trip. They do two sittings, and we ended up with the later sitting at 20:30 although you can turn up for a drink at the bar whilst waiting. We did see quite a number of people enter, only to be turned away because they didn’t have a booking. If you’re in Rome, get your hotel to make the reservation for you. It’s very worth it.

You also have to be careful because there are two places in Rome called La Carbonara, and they aren’t even related.

We started by sharing some fritto misto (mixed fried stuff) – almost very much like a tempura coating.

We also shared a fried artichoke (it’s one of those things in Italy where I’m surprised they fry a lot of things). Of course, it tastes pretty good because they do it with olive oil, and the ingredients are super-fresh.

Of course, the star of the show is the carbonara, and it would be wrong to order any other pasta dish as a first course, unless you have a dairy intolerance, or just don’t like bacon (who doesn’t?!) Like classic Roman style, the dish is creamy without the addition of real cream, just an egg yolk to bind it all together, plenty of black pepper. Just perfect.

The other classic dish to have in Rome, is the Saltimbocca, or pieces of veal topped with some prosciutto. Good to have a couple of green sides to go along with this as the main dish.

And what would an Italian meal be without any tiramisu? A nice, light way to finish the meal.

Name: La Carbonara
Website: www.lacarbonara.it
Found at: (Viminal Hill) Via Panisperna, 214, Rome (it’s not the one in Piazza Campo Dè Fiori)