Sunday, 31 July 2022

Dinner at Restaurant Barbeque 13

Dinner on Saturday Evening was at a real gem of a restaurant, one only recently opened here in Exmouth. But before the details of that a little reflection on Saturday Evening Mass.



Mass at Holy Ghost Church, Exmouth 

The walk from our accommodation to the Catholic Church in Exmouth was only .6 of a mile, a very easy walk, downhill all the way.

The Church is unusual for a Catholic Church, being much older than many of the ones I know in this country, with a traditional style. A start was made on the church in 1912 and it was expanded over time. 

I guess my experience, limited to the South Wales coast, is that Catholic Churches were either built grand and tall in the 1880s (with large number of Irish immigrants arriving), like St. Jospeh's, Swansea, St. Joseph's, Port Talbot and St. Peter's and St. Albans, Cardiff or were built in a much more modern style in the 1950s and 1960s - St. Teilo's, St. Brigid's and Christ the King, all within four miles of my home being examples of this. So small traditional churches aren't part of my experience - making this one seem so striking. 

The Church also has more stained glass than many Catholic Churches. Extending from older simpler pieces, to some very modern ones.


St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher, above, being an example of modern ones - all the photos can be seen on my Flickr account from here onwards.

The Church was quiet and prayerful, the large seating and standing area which you enter when you first come through the doors means most conversations take place there, making the Church a place of recollection and prayer - which suits me fine. Time to place myself before the Lord before Mass starts is so important for me. Something I find harder to manage now we have Morning Prayer recited before Mass in the parish I attend. 

The Mass began with one of the automated organs leading the hymn. As often happens the music was running a breath or two ahead of the congregation - but even if not all the words were sung, the intention and the theme was clear. 

The priest, Fr. Philip Austen is a very quietly spoken man, but even though he was quiet it was possible to hear every word he said. His homily focussed on the theme of Grandparents and Elderly, this Sunday being the second time Pope Francis has set aside a day of prayer for such folk. The priest began by saying he counts himself in this latter category of elderly and suspected that 80% or the congregation could too. You can read the whole piece here - Message of His Holiness Pope Francis. For the Second World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. Like all Vatican documents in English there are some American spellings and turns of phrase in the message. 

Fr. Philip only took elements from the letter, reminding everyone, that whatever age or health they are they can "still bear fruit" Psalm 92 - a very positive message for us all and one which reminds me that God can and will use me in ways which will surprise me yet - but like C. S. Lewis I am always ready to be 'Surprised by Joy' and joy is what my love of the Lord always gives me. 

Dinner

After Mass I went back to the house and we left at 6.30pm to walk back into the town centre where Barbeque 13 is located. 

We had booked the restaurant early last week, when it became clear how dinner would fit around Mass time. We were glad we had booked because the restaurant was full. 

The space is over two floors, but the upper floor includes the barbeque and the pass, so it was nice to be able to see everything that was going on with our food.

We began with an appetiser of Chapa bread with smoked paprika butter. This bread cooked over coals had a lovely crispy texture enhanced by the bite of paprika through the butter which had melted into the bread. A great start.

For starters I opted for Cockle and Mussel Arancini with mussel butter, saffron aioli. This was so, so tasty. Well sized arancini were filled with cockle and mussel flesh and the saffron alioli lifted the gentle garlic flavour to new heights. I've been heard to suggest that saffron is an expensive way to add colour to food - I take it back, its flavour profile with this dish was perfection. 

Drew had scallops and black pudding in chicken butter sauce with roe on top. The roe was delightfully salty and brought out the flavour of the scallops and were enhanced by the butter sauce. The succulent scallops were carbonised, but very lightly and rested on the freshly cooked black pudding. An excellent starter.  

For main Drew had Cod Steak, tartare sauce and scraps. The Cod was cooked amazingly. It had a light crispiness to the skin and the flesh itself was translucent and succulent. The tartare sauce was not overpowering but combined with the fish perfectly. The scraps provided an addition texture to the dish and completed it to make a whole dish. 

I spent a long time looking at the amazingly attractive menu. I could have had Sea Bass or Sea Bream, both fishes I really like. But in the end I opted for the Thai Monkfish Tail. Oh was I glad I did. I love Monkfish and eat it, either filet or tail, when in Spain often. I like it so much that I quickly learnt the Spanish name La Rape. It is strong well flavoured fish and the magicians who work over the coals of the barbeque here made it even better. Not only did it have its own distinctive flavour, but it had a carbonated, charred flavour I associate with barbequed meat. How the chef(s) managed to get this deep charcoal flavour into the fish without losing anything of its original deliciousness I cannot comprehend. Amazing. The monkfish tail was served by crisp Malaysian cucumber salad with a Malay style spicy sauce and a papad, known in other cultures as a poppadom.

Drew had Truffle and parmesan chips for his side - they were deliciously salty and still warm inside, excellent. 

I opted for a warm potato salad with dill and seaweed which was also tasty but couldn't distract from the fish. 

We shared a side of tenderstem broccoli which had a nuttiness from the almond butter and a spiciness from the chilli that was with it.  

The mains were the stars of the meal, but the sides were excellent too.

For dessert Drew had the Smoked Chocolate Torte with white chocolate soil and Tonka Bean Ice Cream. The chocolate torte had a thin, almost unnoticeable biscuit base, but the chocolate itself was gooey and sparkling, with a bitter after taste evidencing that this wasn't British low cocoa bean chocolate, but a rich continental style - lovely. 

I had a lovely board of local Cheese and Crackers, regular readers of my blogs will know I don't like sweet stuff with my cheese, and though the menu mentioned figs and jam, they were happy to serve me the dish with just the cheese and some biscuits. The cheeses were all served at room temperature (so often they are left to long in the fridge) and included a brie style with a nice bite, a sharp cheddar style cheese, a milder smoked cheese. 

It was all washed down with a pleasant espresso each.

I was very happy indeed at such an unexpectedly wonderful meal. You can see how good it was from the food medals that have hit my shirt during the meal. 😂

Heading back to the accommodation

We left Barbeque 13 at 8.40pm and walked through the Strand and took some photos of the model dinosaurs on display there, marking Exmouth's role as the start of the Jurassic Coast




Drew had spotted them earlier, but there were to many people about for him to photograph them then. He especially liked the sign:

It seems to be a message for the ages!!

We got back to The Sand House at 9pm and sat drank tea and caught up with things at the end of a very enjoyable day.

Exploring Exmouth

The image at the start of today's blog links to reminders of my childhood, but more of that later.

Breakfast

Having gone to bed at 10.30pm on Friday night, I awoke Saturday at 4.30am eager and ready to blog - which, along with loading up and naming 200+ photos did take a little while.

As I do most Saturday mornings, I made breakfast at 4.30am, but didn't get around to eating it until 6am. I know from previous years blogging that I am along in liking Weetabix with hot water left go cold until it comes up with the spoon in chunks. My daily Weetabix has hot water, but then is eaten in 10 minutes, so it is still warm, but on weekends I make it as I get up and enjoy the delight of it cold some hours later. It was washed down with Orange Juice and multiple cups of tea.

Walking down to the Estuary

Having taken the car off charge at 8.30am (at 100%) we put a load of washing in the washing machine, did some other jobs around the house and left at 11am. 

The route was something like this:


Note the blocked out areas aren't important, just names of places I needed to get the map to go in the right direction, not actual places we visited, so I removed them.

First we walked down Ashleigh Road on which we are living, it is quite steep, but gives good views of the estuary.

At the bottom of Ashleigh Road, for the first time we turned right, past Phear Park and down on to Withycombe Road, which on crossing the Exeter Road is renamed as Hartopp Road which when it meets the barrier of the Main Road and Railway line turns left and becomes Halsdon Road, at the end of which is the Railway Station. 

From that point we walked past the Exmouth Rugby Club - which has a sideline out of season of renting its pitch to Mobile Home drivers who want to stop in Exmouth!

We walked onto the Imperial Recreation Ground and this is where the map and reality separate. In fact we were able to walk along the side of the estuary for the whole of the small peninsula. But as cars can't access this route Google Maps doesn't show it as a through route. Of course, hugging the coast made for a longer route than the map implies, but allowed for a much better view of the estuary, Dawlish and Dawlish Warren opposite 


and back up the estuary to Lympstone Manor.


The memories evoked by the broken-down Sea Scouts hut which is the top picture in today's post is of course my own time as a Sea Scout. Unlikely as it sounds to almost everyone who knows me I was a member of the Swansea Sea Scouts for almost two years. I looked fetching in our white uniforms and white sailors' hat, even if I have to say so myself (as I don't know anyone else who will!!) [Co-pilot's note: Yet, dear readers, he cannot tie a knot.] 

Like Exmouth the Sea Scout building in Swansea wasn't much to look at, and the leftover part of a ship that we used to board to learn some of the nautical terms was indeed a wreck in the technical use of the term. You had to walk softly on her so that the planks didn't give way - no sign of Health and Safety in those days.

Still, I know my siblings will remember back to then as my Dad, who would drop me down to the Scout hut on Swansea docks, used to play chicken with the edge of the dock and scare them and everyone else who saw him! 

Exmouth Marina

Once past the Recreation Ground and the run down buildings we continued to hug the coast rather than do what the map shows. So we continued upon it until we reached the Exmouth Harbour Master's office, which is none to salubrious.


At this point it becomes an easy walk and cycle path past the Exe Sailing Club



Once we are passed the point where the estuary becomes the sea

We came to the Exmouth Marina, a very tastefully updated area which were the former docklands. The first thing we encountered was a lifting bridge.

Once the boar had gone by it quickly lowered again and we were able to get across safley.


Walking back into the town

From the Marina we walked on to Rockfish where we had eaten the night before and form there went up St. Andrew's Road towards the town centre. Almost immediately Drew was accosted by an 89-year-old man who was mesmerised to see that he still carried a camara, given that the old man had sold his camara to a second-hand shop recently (and not for a good price). The gentleman went on to regal Drew with his military history, he being the first commissioned officer appointed by Queen Elizabeth II when she became Queen in 1952 (70 years ago, for those who failed to note we had been having a platinum jubilee this year!!). 

On hearing our accents, he told us that his daughter had graduated from Cardiff and his Grandson had recently returned home from three years at my old employer, the University of South Wales. Stories over, we continued on our route - with Drew bemoaning that strange people seem to be attracted to him for some reason!!!

Leaving St. Andrew's Road we walked on to The Strand, the centre of Exmouth and looked at its various features. It being Saturday afternoon it was quite busy. So we continued onto The Parade and up North Street and Ryall Grove on to Ashleigh Road. As we climbed up Drew, lagging behind, [Co-Pilot's Note: Maintaining, dear readers, a sensible distance.] took a photo of me making progress up the hill.

When we got back we remembered we'd not taken photos of the outside of the house, so we remedied that and share them here.



So after two hours and 3.5 miles we were back at the house ready to take the washing out and load up the latest set of photos.

Dinner at Rockfish, Exmouth

When I told my sister I was planning to stay at Exmouth she asked: "Will you be eating at Mitch Tonks?". My response was Who or What?

It turns out Mitch Tonks is a chef, restaurateur and entrepreneur who does a lot of cheffing, restaurateuring and entrepreneuring in this part of the country. Apparently, he is well known to people who watch Saturday Kitchen or Sunday Brunch and other food programmes, but as he hasn't appeared on Great British Menu or MasterChef he hadn't hit my awareness - until now. 

As it happened, I had already booked a few restaurants before our visit to Exmouth and one of them was Rockfish, one of a small number of Rockfish restaurants in this region owned and run by Mitch Tonks. So without knowing it I was to taste his food on this lovely Friday evening.


Going to Rockfish

We left the house at 6.30pm and wandered down the 1.2 miles - it was downhill all the way - to the Exmouth Pier where Rockfish is located, right next to the sea arriving at 6.55pm for our 7pm booking.


As the name applies, this place is all about the fish, and much of it about fish which arrives in Exmouth from the fishing boats that have been out to sea today.

The menu has some regular options, but the major part of it is a list of fish, which the server marks to indicate which ones have come in fresh today. 


Starters

While we were making up our mind we started with some Sourdough and Seaweed Butter, which was salty and delicious.


It seems right to be here on a Friday, a day of abstinance from meat for us Catholics, but it is no penance to eat fish which is looked after and care for as well as that at Rockfish.

For his starters Drew opted for Crispy Fried Whitebait with Aioli, the garlic rich sauce was a perfect accompaniment for the crispy little fishes. Drew was very happy.


I decided a salad would make a good starter and choose the Caesar Salad with anchovies. The croutons on the salad were crisp and delicious, though with a lot less garlic than we use when we cook them at home. The pickled anchovies added a vinegary richness to the Caesar sauce and the lettuce leaves were crisp and fresh. In short a perfect Caesar salad.


Mains

For Main course we had both gone for fish from the daily catch. Drew opting for Silver Mullett and I for Plaice, we accompanied these with Chips (Drew) and New Potatoes with Fresh Mint and Isle of Wight Tomato salad for me.






Plaice is such a delicate fish, that it is all too often wasted in Fish and Chip shops when it is drowned in batter. Batter works well with more robust flavoured fish, but plaice's gentle flavours work well when it is lightly cooked and ready to fall off the bone. 

As I eat it I was reminded of a Malay Chinese friend of mine whom I worked with when I taught on the Newport MBA delivered at Hainan University in Haikou, China. His greatest delight was to finish a fish and then suck the head to get every last but off. I didn't quite go to Dr Tan's extreme but I took every bit of flesh from the bone and scrapped some for the head too. It was absolutely delicious. After the wonderful and complex food of yesterday it was a great delight to have something equally wonderful, but much more simple, in this meal which simply celebrated the fish and vegetables that were being used. 

If you are ever in the South West do look out for a Rockfish restaurant, unpretentious ambiance, but high quality and well cared for ingredients. Who could ask for more? 

I do like to stroll along the Prom, Prom, Prom!

Dinner over by 8.30pm it seemed too good an opportunity to walk along the promenade beside Exmouth beach. The words of the Music Hall song from the 1910s, that my Grandfather would often sing when we were at the seaside came to mind as we strolled along the Prom. There were no "brass bands playing, Tiddely-om-pom-pom!" but I was "beside myself with glee" to be beside the seaside on such a lovely evening. 


We had the pleasure of a spectacular sunset and having worked the mile from Rockfish to the Maer. We took another route up the 1.5 miles to home. 

What a calm and lovely place Exmouth is. Today has been a great way to relax into a holiday. 

Back at 9.30pm we put the Car on to charge through the small window in one of the spare bedrooms [Co-pilot's note: Dear Readers, Ha, Ha!!!] and went to bed at 10.30pm.

Saturday, 30 July 2022

From Exeter to Exmouth

We ended the last post with us picking up our car from the Park and Ride on Honiton Road, Exeter.  After a day in the hot sun the car was pretty warm, but once we got going the air-con soon cooled us down.

Shopping

We have been Sainsbury shoppers for many years and I'd noted there wasn't a Sainsbury's in Exmouth, so for the few items we needed for the accommodation we had decided to stop at the Sainsbury's in Exeter which was 1.3 miles from the Car Park. 

Our Shopping List of 'essentials' were apples, pears, easy peelers, tea bags, skimmed milk, orange juice, weetabix, granola, washing up liquid and clothes washing pods. Three of which had special bonus nectar points attached - hence us using Sainsbury's than the Tesco nearer the accommodation - after the brief shop we headed back onto the A376 towards Exmouth and for the first nine of the ten and a half miles were along the route we had taken to Lympstone Manor the day before.

The Sand House, Ashleigh Road

I have been asked before how we choose our accommodation for holidays and it seems it takes a number of factors - first is location. Having arranged to spend a night at Lympstone Manor and not wanting to stay in the city centre of Exeter, where there were some places. I looked around the region and noted that Exmouth had good communications by car, rail, bus and boat and seemed like a destination in its own right. With this in mind I then opted for Cottages.com the company we have used for UK rental for many years - since the days when they were called Cottages4You. They had four properties available in Exmouth for the fortnight we needed, two were apartment style, one being a studio - we discounted these given the vagaries of neighbours above and or below and then looked at the location of the other two. We wanted a place which was close enough to the town to walk, but not in the very centre of the town. The Sand House seemed to fulfil this requirement exactly, less than a mile from the town centre and set in a quiet residential street. So, we booked it last April a few days after we had booked for the Lympstone Manor stay. 

One thing I probably hadn't taken account, given its location and price, is that the accommodation at the Sand House is large. Indeed, the floor plan of the house - a bungalow with an upstairs extension - is twice the size of our house in Cardiff! It is also in immaculate condition. [Co-pilot's quote: It is also, dear readers, great for playing hide and seek.]







It also has a balcony overlooking the back garden which is covered by AstroTurf and has a gas fired barbeque and it has a conservatory which is bigger than any single room in our house at home.


In terms of supplies, we didn't need to call to Sainsbury's apart from the fruit and cereal the Sand House has everything - including a full range of herbs and spices and enough crockery and cutlery for 12 not 2. 

Within the first half hour we had only lost each other twice, but I'm pretty certain that won't be the only time. 

Car Charge

For those paying attention to milage for our journeys to date, thank you Malcolm for reminding me, the trip from Cardiff to the Instavolt charging centre in Taunton was 77 miles. With a full battery we then went 37 miles to Lympstone Manor and 12 miles from there to the Park and Ride the next day. It was 11 miles from there to the Sand House, including the Sainsbury's journey. So, when we arrived at the Sand House we had 47% and 60 miles range. 

This reminds me that one of the additional reasons for picking Sand House (that I forgot to mention earlier) was the availability of off-road parking. This means we can park the car close to the house and charge it here. By this morning we were back to 100% charge and 128 miles range.