Vippa, Oslo

 We have departed on our mini European tour!

First stop - Oslo

We stayed with Dr Mick who moved to Oslo a few years ago and who is now a seasoned local (seasoned with salt and pepper) and so therefore knows some good places to get some grub.

He took us to Vippa, a food hall which offers many different types of street food in one big shed.   The long tables reminded me of a school canteen, but in a good way, and you had to clear up after yourself too - putting your dirty cutlery and glasses is a designated area for washing and making sure your table was clean.

It was great to see that each food stall had their own arty storefront to showcase their delicious food.  There were many options available, including a bar where we bought some local beer - the name escapes me but it certainly was good.

Thai food, Chinese dumplings, a stall which specialised in any thing chili related, oodles of noodles, pizzas, Ethiopian cuisine, spring rolls, all sorts of Mexican food, ramen, curries...and those are just the ones I can remember!

Predictable as ever, I had a sushi bowl by a stall called Bowls by Trio who, from what I can work out, serve food in bowls.  Simple as that.  It was delicious, but (to us non-locals) expensive, as is everything in Norway.  It's all relative, I'm told.

If I remember correctly, Michael had a curry.  If I don't remember correctly, I have only imagined this because of the frequency with which Michael consumes curries.  He loves a curry, that lad.

I was kindly gifted one of Alan's chips (the smallest one he could find!) that he bought from Duck It, who sell pulled duck burgers and chips, the chips being fried in duck fat.  The burger looked and smelt amazing.  I'll admit to having been a little jealous of him.

Why the duck don't we have a similar place in Aberdeen?  Or anywhere in Scotland?  (Correct me if I'm wrong!)  Someone sort it out!

Cheeseburger in Paradise, Lahaina, Hawaii

We're in Lahaina on the Hawaiian island of Maui.

We had burgers for breakfast!

They come with a wee slice of pineapple, so that makes them healthier, right?


 

Chop Steakhouse and Bar, Richmond, Canada

It's the first day of our honeymoon and we're jet lagged.  It's 5pm in Canada but we're still on UK time after crossing the Atlantic on our 10 hour flight and so it's 1am to us.  I'm tired, and hungry.

Luckily I did my research.  Right down the road from our budget accommodation is a small selection of restaurants.  Chop Steakhouse and Bar is the one we chose based on our love of steak and their Tripadvisor reviews.

It was warm and we sat outside in an oversized booth.  It was massive.  I am aware that things tend to be a bit larger over the pond, however, I did feel that I might need a booster seat.  We ordered local beer which was lovely and cold.  Our waitress was very friendly and chatted to us for a while about the local area.  She seemed to take a genuine interest in what we were doing so far away from home.

I ordered the 'Chop Experience Dinner' which is a set menu of starter and main course.  Alan ordered from the regular menu as he fancied a burger which wasn't on the set menu.  We both had soup; a seafood bisque for me and french onion for Alan.  He said it was the best french onion soup he had ever tasted!  The cheek!  I make excellent french onion soup!  I think he liked it so much because it came with a slice of crusty bread on top which was loaded with cheese and then popped under the grill.  I'll have to up my game...

Our mains arrived along with a new set of cutlery.  My fork was dirty.  One of my pet hates is dirty cutlery and crockery, even a watermark on a glass will make me want to polish it with my napkin.  It drives Alan mad as I'll even do it at home.  I'll often swap drinks or cutlery with him when we're eating out.  However, not one to make a fuss, I tried to clean it on my napkin, discreetly of course, as I am accustomed to.  The attentive waitress spotted this and came over with a new set of cutlery.  Service such as this makes a massive difference to the experience of dining out.

I had prime rib which was the best thing I had eaten in weeks.  It was cooked to perfection, pink and juicy, and was flavoursome.  It came with a selection of vegetables and some wasabi mash, which worked beautifully.  Alan hates wasabi so I probably wouldn't make it at home just for me, but it's certainly something I would consider if I was cooking for more than just the two of us.

We were both really pleased with our meals and service and happy withe price we paid.  A great start to our adventures.  We both left the restaurant with full tummies, ready for bed...at 6pm.

Yvi's House of Tea, Inverurie

I came back.

I knew I would.

I couldn't resist.

Check out those lumps!

Mother came with me.  She seemed to like it too.



This time, I had tea!  It was delicious.  I had some sort of pina colada inspired blend which came with passionfruit syrupy sugar lumps.  Mother Hubbard had some sort of lemon based variety, I think, with mango syrupy lumps.

I was famished, so I opted for a pretzel burger from the specials board.  It was cooked to perfection, although the bun was very full and it was quite saucey - so a bit of a burger-in-your-lap hazard.  But totally worth the risk!  The pretzel bun was soft and a pleasant alternative to the norm.  I came with crisps and a lovely, fresh salad.

Mother Hubbard chose blueberry bacon waffles.  I tried not to sway her decision, but I knew she would like these.  She asked for a half portion - I guess I don't get my appetite from her!

Mother Hubbard - caught unawares

I will, of course, return here before long.  It's not often I eat out at the same place twice in less than a week.

It must be special.

Yvi's House of Tea, Inverurie

This is a place I had heard about of a number of occasions.  The most recent being last week when my friend, Stuart, posted a couple of Instagram updates showcasing the fantastic food on offer there.  I was instantly jealous, having not seen visual proof of the tastiness available.  I demanded to know why I had not been invited and was replied to with an invitation to an Yvi's House of Tea brunch the following Saturday.

We arrived at around 11.30am.  The small cafe was not as busy as I had anticipated but took no time at all to fill up with hungry customers seeking their dinner.  There was an extensive drinks menu to look at, mostly tea.  There is every tea imaginable.  I'll admit I thought the teas were really quite expensive...until I saw what was coming.  I stupidly ordered a coffee - I should have known this was a choice I'd come to regret, not because it wasn't nice, but because the teas were clearly much nicer.  The clue is clearly in the name - Yvi's House of Tea, not Yvi's House of Coffee!

Duh, Kirsten!

My companions all had various teas.  They arrived in wee teapots which were set atop a candle trivet thingymabob - you know the sort you often get in Chinese or Indian restaurants to keep food warm?  They were accompanied by small pots of sticky, sugary, syrupy lumps which were all in different flavours, depending on which tea was chosen.  Stuart and Nicola explained to us that they had sussed out that these were available in jars for purchase near the cake counter.  We sipped our drinks from cute china cups with saucers as we waited for our meals.


The only downside that we found from this place were the teeny weeny tables - two people would have satat our table comfortably but four folk was a bit of a squeeze and we found ourselves putting the table decoration and empty teapots and cups onto the floor to make more room for our food arriving - although these were whisked away as soon as our waitress came back to us.

There is a large blackboard painted onto one wall which is updated with the daily specials.  I opted for soup from the specials board and then half a bacon and peach waffle.  There are several different waffles on the menu - both sweet and savoury.  I couldn't decide whether I wanted sweet or savoury to I opted for a combination of both!  Waffles come in half size for those who have a smaller appetite (not usually me) but I thought I might be quite full from the soup, and I might want a cake, so asked for a half portion.

The soup arrived and was delicious, clearly homemade and very filling.  The waffles arrived next...

I was brought a full sized waffle! Hallelujah!
The lady who brought them (I suspect she may have been the owner) apologised as they were placed infront of me as the order has been misheard in the kitchen and a full sized portion was made.  I assured her there was no need to apologise - I was delighted.

Alan was clearly delighted with his chocolatey waffles too! 

This emoji springs to mind...

Mambo's, Aviemore

Alan and I get married tomorrow!

We had gone out for a bite to eat with a large group of guests who are staying with us in the lodge we had booked.  We decided it would be unlikely to find a place that would sit 20-odd people for a meal without us having booked, so we split up into smaller groups.

I was stuck with Alan I'm afraid, due to him having a hold of our bank card.  I didn't take my own one with me.  Mambo's would never have been my first choice in places to eat on the night before I got married, but this is where we ended up.

It's an odd wee place.  It has a sort of swish bar, but horrifically stark strip lights and sticky furniture, which really brings the place down.  It reminds me of the kitchen in a relatively nice hostel.  It's in need of a really good clean and some new lighting.  It lacked in atmosphere due to this, a shame given we were dining at peak time on a Friday evening.

The menu is very basic, offering mainly burgers and a few other options.  We were dining with two Swiss relatives, one who is vegetarian, whose options were very limited, although she did seem to enjoy her spicy bean burger.  I opted for a hot dog - I've never really been much of a burger person - although I instantly regretted my decision when I saw everybody else's burgers arrive.  I was super jealous.  My hot dog was sad and inferior in comparison.  Their burgers looked amazing, all covered in cheese and sauce and pickles and bacon!  There was also a basket of chips!  I love chips!

I know there were loads of burgers on the menu, but apart from that, it wasn't overtly obvious that this place were good at burgers.  I feel they're missing a marketing trick.

I may very well go here again, but I'll certainly not rush back due to the lack of atmosphere.  If I do I'll definitely have one of their burgers though.