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Smugs · Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:15 pm Post subject: Fat Duck

Oh my God it was amazing!

Not relaxing in the slightests, but my face aches from grinning so much - I can honestly say no meal has ever been as interesting, wierdly delicious and above all, fun!

Even the snail porridge was delish!

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Think of the chickens! Won't somebody please think of the chickens!

otter · Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:17 pm Post subject:

what did you have then?

And where did you stay?

I would like to be made jealous please

Guru · Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:17 pm Post subject:

TWD has been and LOVED it! She said the same - really interesting meal!
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4 stone lost
3 stone to lose to get to IVF weight
6 stone 10lbs to lose to get to goal
Start BMI: 46, Current BMI: 36

Smugs · Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:25 pm Post subject:

The full tasting menu, which I will try and attempt to explain! Had a delicious glass of champagne and some olives (that were just olives!!) when we arrived. The service was amazing - there were about 15 different waiters etc around and it was seamless - things like if you got up to go to the loo and put your napkin on the table, someone would come and fold it within 3 seconds (I counted), and they didn't clutter up yourtable with (God forbid) wine bottles or water - instead, the minute your glass hovered empty, someone popped over and filled it up!

They asked you if you'd prefer white, brown or wholegrain bread, and then salted or unsalted butter!!

First of all we had little amuse bouche type things - first off they wheeled over a tray with a bucket of liquid notrogen, and a bowl of whipped egg whites that had been infused with green tea and lime. They dolloped a blob into the nitro, waited, popped it out onto a plate, dusted it with freeze dried lime powder and spritzed vodka around it. You picked it up, popped it into your mouth where it cracked and just dissolved into a really fresh flavour! Just WOW!

Then had 2 little jellies - one was beetroot and one was orange, so one purple and one orange. They suggested we have the orange one first, which was actually beetroot! The purple one was orange! A total mindfuck and just made us grin!

That was followed by an oyster with passinofruit and lavender - sweet, juicy passionfruit which dissolved into salty, unmistakable oyster, and then a hit of lavender lingering at the end. No idea how or why it worked but was delicious!

After that was mustard ice cream in red cabbage gaspacho. Ice cream was obviously cold, but the mustard made your mouth hot. Soup was vinegary and delicious and just frigging awesome and it just worked!

After that, we got given a pallete cleanser of oak - basically those little strips of plasticy stuff that's usually mint, but this was oak. They also bought out a tray of oak moss, and they poured over water, and oak scented dry ice poured out, so we could smell the oak whist we ate truffle toast (delish) with quail jelly and langoustne cream - which wasn't delicious but was so interesting I had to keep eating it!!
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Think of the chickens! Won't somebody please think of the chickens!

otter · Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:29 pm Post subject:

Sounds crazy - but liovely!

Jools · Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:31 pm Post subject:

more, tell us more
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Guru · Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:31 pm Post subject:

TWD says did you have the beach/seaside thing?
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4 stone lost
3 stone to lose to get to IVF weight
6 stone 10lbs to lose to get to goal
Start BMI: 46, Current BMI: 36

Mrs Manson Purple Carrots · Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:32 pm Post subject:

Sounds fantastic!
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Babies? I love them but I need a bigger oven.
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Smugs · Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:33 pm Post subject:

Then they moved onto bigger courses:

Snail porridge!! It was actually delicious - porridge wasn't like porridge, more a sauce with melt in the mouth oats, that had the flavour of garlic that's been roasted until it's sweet and mellow. Snails were on top - they weren't slimy - more just like little lumps of meat. There were tiny slivers of ham that were intense and smoky and added a real saltiness, and then wafer thin shaved fennel that disolved in your mouth and added a really interesting flavour!

Roasted fois gras (or ceps for me) with almond liquid stuff, shaved truffle, and tiny cubes of intense cherry jelly. Shouldn't have worked but was awesome!!

Liquorice poached salmon (meltingly tender) served on a plate flecked with pink grapefruit (individual little tiny blobs from the segments) tiny drops of balsamic, vanilla mayonnaise, baby artichokes - again, wierd but you had jusicy delicate salmon, sharp tangy fruit, sweet vinegar, mellow mayo - omg it was heaven!

Sound of the sea! You wrre given a big conch shell, with earphones coming out of it... playing the sound of waves crashing and gulls. They served up a glass platter (with sand underneath it) with a beavh on it! Sand, seaweed, shellfish and foam! They came around and sprayed salt water around the table! The sand was edible and dissolved, the foam was salty, the seaweed was tangy and the shellfish beautiful, and it really did taste like being by the sea!

After that there was pigeon that was soo soft - not tough or chewy at all. A rich, spiced sauce, some tiny piquant onions - just delicious!
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Think of the chickens! Won't somebody please think of the chickens!

Guru · Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:35 pm Post subject:

Ah sound of the sea, that's it!
_________________
4 stone lost
3 stone to lose to get to IVF weight
6 stone 10lbs to lose to get to goal
Start BMI: 46, Current BMI: 36

otter · Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:36 pm Post subject:

more more more please!!

Mrs Manson Purple Carrots · Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:37 pm Post subject:

I'm going to be leaving snail trails if this carries on.....
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Babies? I love them but I need a bigger oven.
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Guru · Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:38 pm Post subject:

This is food porn...
_________________
4 stone lost
3 stone to lose to get to IVF weight
6 stone 10lbs to lose to get to goal
Start BMI: 46, Current BMI: 36

Mrs Manson Purple Carrots · Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:38 pm Post subject:

of the highest order
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Babies? I love them but I need a bigger oven.
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otter · Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:40 pm Post subject:

that smugs better be writing the last bit and not be buggered off

Elsie · Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:41 pm Post subject:

Pure Filth.
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Guru · Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:43 pm Post subject:

Dana's pillow talk post has nothing on this. Although if Smugs says she had bouncy bon bons for dessert I will pee myself.
_________________
4 stone lost
3 stone to lose to get to IVF weight
6 stone 10lbs to lose to get to goal
Start BMI: 46, Current BMI: 36

Smugs · Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:43 pm Post subject:

After that a cup of tea. When you drank it, one half was freezing, one half was hot! No idea how they did it but it made me grin!

Then a tiny little ice cream cone, filled with apple sorbet and ginger puree - yum yum yum...

And then - a sherbet fountain! A proper mini sherbet fountain, wrapped up in paper with a straw sticking out of it! The straw was dried vanilla pod, the sherbet tasted of pine, and it made me laugh sooo much!

Two puddings... one was a delicious mango and douglas fir mousse, with tiny cubes of lime jelly like being whacked around the chops with the freshest, fruitiest flavour imaginable...

And THEN...

They appraocked us with a box of cereal - like a mini one you get in a selection box but with Heston's logo on it!

They bid us "good morning" and told us we had some cereal before our breakfast. The cereal was parsnip cereal with a little jug of parsnip milk in a cereal bowl!! I don't even like parsnips that much but it was yummy!!

Then, they approached us with what looked like a fondue set, an old fashioned milk jug and a box of eggs. The jug contained liquid nitrogen, which they poured into the bowl of the foundue like set, and then they broked the eggs, which had been infused with bacon and scrambled them in front of us, so we had bacon and egg ice cream! It was served on eggy bread spread with tomato jam, and a tiny rasher of wafer thin caramel that was made out of a rasher of bacon. It was delicious! It wasn't savoury - it was definitley a pudding - amazing!

After that we had petit fours - carrot and orange lolly, chocolate and violet tart, an aerated chocolate with mandarin jelly, and my favourite, a toffee wrapped in celophane, but the celophane was edible and apple flavoured so it was like a toffee apple!!

Basically, we just had the most fun seeing the showmanship of all these different courses, had the most amazing food with flavours I would have never thought possible and just had a truly fantastic night!

We spent the equivalent of nearly a month's rent on the whole night, but I don't regret a single penny. It was just breathtaking!

We stayed here: http://www.taplowhouse.com/ Had a juniour suite which was beautiful and had the biggest, comfiest bed (had three sets of pillows side by side!! Still managed to eat a yummy breakfast in our room this morning too!

Basically, just the most fun 24 hours I've ever had! Have been grinning like a cheshire cat all day!
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Think of the chickens! Won't somebody please think of the chickens!

Guru · Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:44 pm Post subject:

Woweee! Did you have the wine tasting menu too Smugs?
_________________
4 stone lost
3 stone to lose to get to IVF weight
6 stone 10lbs to lose to get to goal
Start BMI: 46, Current BMI: 36

Mrs Manson Purple Carrots · Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:45 pm Post subject:

Cor blimey

If I smoked I would be wanting to recline against the headboard with a fag now.

Sounds truly amazing Smugs - deffo one for the 'bucket' list!

I'm so pleased for you going (and totally jealous)

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Babies? I love them but I need a bigger oven.
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