The Newsroom, Edinburgh

We have visited The Newsroom a couple of times now, it's conveniently located just off of Princes Street.  This time we were here for a late lunch, a pint, and to escape the torrential rain.  We sat near the window and enjoyed watching the people outside get soaked as we were cosy inside, drinking beer and listening to the great soundtrack which was being played.  The guy next to us kept over-enthusiastically singing into his wife's ear, much to her annoyance and to our amusement.

Alan, as ever, had trusty old fish and chips (£12).  I must admit, I struggled to find something on the menu that I fancied.  A lot of the dishes on the menu just seemed a bit heavy for what I was after, considering we were eating quite late and would have supper in a few hours.  These are the sort of things Alan doesn't worry about.  He's always hungry, no matter what.

I settled for chicken wings (£6) with a side of chips (£3.50).  Neither of us were disappointed.  Our food arrived quickly and was hot.  The wings were tasty and juicy, covered in sticky sauce.  The chips were fat and fluffy, just as you would expect in a pub.  Good old 'pub chips'.

The cocktail menu looked really good with lots to choose from.  Next time I think we'll treat ourselves to a tipple or two.  We'll be back.

Ee-Usk, Oban, Argyll

This is a place I've been wanting to visit forever.  As I previously mentioned, we are fairly frequent visitors to the Oban area.  This restaurant is in the heart of Oban, right on the waterfront with beautiful views from the floor-to-ceiling windows of Kerrera and Mull.

I'm a seafood fan.  Alan isn't.  This is the reason we have not visited before.  I had actually convinced him to dine here last time we were in Oban but I had underestimated the popularity of Ee-Usk (NOTE TO SELF - MUST ALWAYS BOOK A TABLE IN ADVANCE).

We nipped into the restaurant prior to our wee jolly to Kerrera to book a table for when we came back.  As Monster in Law is vegetarian, she was a little apprehensive about eating here, worried that they may not have anything to offer.  In order to reassure her, we checked as we booked the table that they can cater for a hungry herbivore.  Yes, they can.  Great!

We returned from Kerrera roasting and ravenous.  I already knew what I wanted.  Seafood Platter, of course.  The £19.95 one, not the Grand Platter at £100.  I was hungry, not rich.  Although I'm sure it's probably good value especially if you get five times what I got on mine.  Also, it serves two people.  Totally justifiable.  I will bear this in mind for our next visit.  

I've never had an oyster before but had wanted to try one for years.  I was quite nervous about puking it up in front of the whole restaurant...but I managed not to!  Woohoo!  I enjoyed both oysters without either of them making a reappearance.  A great sense of achievement was felt.  

I already can't wait to go back.

Scottish Sea Life Sanctuary, Oban

We were lucky enough to receive a 'Breakfast with Seals' experience at the Scottish Sea Life Sanctuary near Oban as a wedding present from an old school friend,, David, and his lovely lady friend, Claire.  We have both been very excited about this.

We visit this neck of the woods a few times per year as Alan has family near Oban.  Granny Marie lives in Benderloch, and Auntie Mo and Uncle Colin are in Taynuilt.  Mo and Colin kindly let us stay at theirs when we visit.  It's a beautiful part of the country.  Unfortunately, the past few times we have visited it has been a bit dreich.  However, this weekend was a scorcher - 22 degrees at one point!  It was great to have such lovely weather as it meant we got a few good pictures of our wee trip.

There are four seals at the Sanctuary, three ladies, Lora, Pippa and Macey, and one gent, Boo.  Each of them have different conditions which mean that they would not manage to survive in the wild.  We were able to feed them their breakfast of herring and they did some wee tricks for us, including giving us both a big smooch on the head.  Alan likened them to 'sea slug dogs' and I think this summed them up quite accurately.  

We had cereal and a bacon roll for breakfast in the cafe, and then had a wee wander around the rest of the Sanctuary.  The whole experience was fantastic and I'd definitely recommend a visit.  The staff seemed very informative and it was mentioned to us that they are currently refurbishing many of the zones.  I'll look forward to seeing the progress on our next visit.  

Thanks David, Claire, Mo and Colin!

Blue Water Shrimp, Waikiki, Hawaii

We got lost trying to find this place.  I'm glad we did because LOOK at the beautiful sunset we stumbled upon!!

We might not have caught a glimpse of this if we hadn't have been a bit lost.  We didn't linger for long  though because my husband was hangry and he turns into a Hulk-like being if you forget to feed him.

"You won't like me when I'm hangry!"

Eventually, after doing many, many loops of the rather expensive looking Hilton Hawaiian Village, we found the Blue Water Shrimp and Seafood Market and luckily managed to nab a table.  It was a busy place and seemed to be much more chip-shoppy than I had imagined from the name, with lots of people obviously just looking for a takeaway.

There was a good selection of food on offer and Alan was particularly excited that they were selling pineapples to drink from, as he had seemed to have become accustomed to drinking from tropical fruit.  He was pleased as punch.  

The food was really good - posh fish and chips which was beautifully presented with a tropical flower salad garnish.  Luckily, the portions were big, preventing Alan from turning green and traumatising the other holidaymakers by bursting out of his clothes.  He fairly enjoyed his pineapple too.  

Yo! Sushi

Today we went to a trusty old favourite of ours...Yo! Sushi.  It quickly became a preferred choice for us many years ago, after I convinced Alan to go with me.

I must say, Alan is not a very adventurous eater, especially when it comes to seafood.  Shellfish is a big no no and he only tends to eat fish from a chip shop or in fish fingers.  It took a fair amount of convincing him before we made it inside the door.

We are now seasoned professionals at Yo Sush, as we have started calling it.  We only ever go on a Sunday, when you can have 10 plates each for £20 per person - this deal is called Sunday Munch.  It used to be that you could have as many plates as you could eat for a few more quid - this was called Sumo Sunday - I can only assume it was amended due to people like us eating 'too much'!  We once has 45 plates between us.  We miss it.

One of the many benefits of the sushi conveyor belt is that you can have a wee taste of this and that, without ever being stuck with something you don't particularly like.  If you don't like it, then you just don't choose it again.  The atmosphere inside has changed a little over the past few years.  One of the few things I don't like is the new seating booths near the door as often during busy times, waiting customers are asked to queue up along the glass window inside of the restaurant, making you feel a little bit 'watched' as you are eating.  Nobody likes to feel rushed as they eat and I think it would be much nicer if waiting diners could queue up elsewhere - even along the window on the outside of the restaurant would be better.


So, the concept of the conveyor belt works like this...

In the middle of the restaurant is the kitchen - there are many workers in there at all times, each seems to have their own station.  

The conveyor belt runs around this kitchen, circling the busy members of staff working within.

As plates are prepared, staff members place them onto the conveyor belt and they are then free to be picked up by the hungry customers.  Plates can also be ordered from one of the servers if what you fancy is not available on the belt - servers can be attracted by pressing a button on your table.  Drinks and miso soup are also ordered inn this way.  Water taps are available on the tables as are chopsticks, soy sauce, wasabi, picked ginger and napkins.

Plates are enjoyed and kept in a pile on your table until the bill is asked for.  Each dish has it's own price and this is determined by the colour of the plate on which it has been served, letting the servers tally up what you owe them.  


If you are unsure which each of the dishes are, there is a handy menu available for reference on the table.  It has a description and pictures of all the dishes and shows them on the same colour of plates as they will appear on the belt.

I always make sure to have as much miso soup as I can handle as this is free with the Sunday Munch deal.  I usually at least start and finish with a bowl.

The new menu, which started a month or two ago, is awesome!  There are still many of the favourites on the menu, such as Chicken Katsu Curry, Duck Gyoza, Salmon and Yuzu Salsa Tataki, and Custand Dorayaki.  There are a bunch of delicious new additions to this, some of my favourites being Albacore Tuna and Truffle Nigiri, Dynamite Roll, Teba No Karaage, Hoisin Duck Steamed Bun, and Apple Gyoza and Salted Miso Caramel.

There has only been one new dish of the ones I have tasted so far that was not my cup of tea...Tako Nigiri...which is sliced poached octopus on a bed of rice.  The flavor was fine - didn't taste of much but the octopus was really rubbery and chewy.  I assume this is normal for octopus, however, I have had no previous octopus experience to compare it to.

M favourite dish was the Apple Gyoza and Salted Miso Caramel.  It was hot and oozy.  We both agreed on the deliciousness of this dish.

I do find Yo! Sushi quite expensive given the fact the dishes are teensy tiny, however, it's great for a treat and we always make sure to make the most of the Sunday Munch deal as much as possible.


We will inevitably be back.
We can't stop ourselves.
We've tried.