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

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...

Kellockbank, near Insch, Aberdeenshire

I have now been to Kellockbank of a couple of occasions and have always enjoyed the shop, the garden centre and the coffee shop.  This place has lots on offer.

The food part of our trip, as always, was my favourite.  The menu is varied and has lots of delicious sounding combinations on offer.  There is always a menu of the day as well as the standard all-the-time menu.

The coffee shop is self service, with drinks and cakes being taken from the counter and if you order any 'real' food, it is taken to you at your table.  I like this setup as I imagine it must mean that there is a fair amount of fresh food being prepared in the kitchen, leading to less waste.

There were three different soups on offer, a couple of quiches, a few main courses and two puddings on the specials board on the day of our visit.  I opted for a soup to start, and intended to follow it up with strawberries and ice-cream, however the soup was finished!  I then opted for a steak panini - I am an avid meat eater.  If I had spotted it first, I probably wouldn't have even considered the soup!  Unfortunately, again, no steak, so no steak panini!

I felt the pressure to order quickly as the queue mounted behind me.  I ended up settling for macaroni cheese with chips and peas.  I instantly regretted my decision but felt it was too late to change it.

Alan, as usual, opted for a three course monster meal!  He had soup, fish and chips and then sticky toffee pudding.  All of which were of massive quantity.  It's not cheap there, however, they certainly don't scrimp on the portion sizes.  For all of the above, two drinks and a coffee we were roughly £37.


As it was a nice day, we asked if we might sit outside if there were tables.  The double doors were opened into the garden centre area and I had assumed that there may have been some tables to eat at outside.  The young lady at the counter said that there was only one table and pointed in the direction of it.  I found the table, however, it was for sale!  (£395 if you're interested!) I double checked with her and she assured me that it was fine to sit there.  It seemed a shame for there not be be a couple of outdoor tables, given that there seemed to be enough space for some.

My macaroni came along with Alan's soup and both were nice, not fantastic, nothing to rave about, but just good old boring nice.  My macaroni came with tinned peas - something which I really don't like to pay for.  If I had known they were going to be tinned I would have foregone them.  I can't explain my dislike for tinned veg.  The macaroni itself came in a wee dish of its own on the plate with the chips.  It was piping hot and had good flavour, but the pasta seemed to be a bit overcooked, falling to bits as I tried to get it on my fork.  The chips were nice.  I ate carefully so as not to spill on the table - I didn't want to be responsible for Kellockbank losing a sale due to cheese related damages.  Alan's fish was ginormous and looked perfectly crispy.  He must  have liked it as he finished before me, despite having the soup too.

I can't remember seeing his sticky toffee pudding, although it did arrive.  I had surely been too busy soaking up the sun (read: worrying about sunburn).

I will still come back here despite it not being quite as successful as the last few visits.  I made a poor choice in food when there were clearly so many other things I would have preferred.  Never mind...