SOUTH WALES (CYMRU)

A visit to the UK is not complete unless we have made our way to the southwest of Wales to see uncle Bob in the tiny village of Crickhowell, which is located in the Usk Valley of the Brecon Beacon National Park.  It is difficult to accurately describe the different colors of green one sees in this amazing land of the hobbits. A photo is the only way to do it. 

 An excellent view of Crickhowell, and Table Mountain, from just up the hill in Llangattock

 

--> The day after we arrived here, we decided to take a trip out to the coast to see uncle Hugh in Swansea. Swansea is a coastal city and the second largest city in Wales with a population of approximately 239,000. During the 19th century industrial age, it was a key center of the copper industry. It was also known as a viking trading post.

A pub lunch was in our sights soon after we arrived at uncle Hugh’s, so we took a short drive out to the small village of Kittle and a pub called The Beaufort Arms to see if we could find me some lamb chops. Boy, did I get lucky!

 From left, Rowan, Uncle Hugh, Jenni, Uncle Bob

 My heaven of a lunch - Welsh lamb chops, taters, veg., that delicious grilled tomato and sauteed mushrooms. Can you see a nap coming on? :o)

 Of course, my meal was washed down with a Brains Ale.......now I have more brains!! :o)

 

--> We finished lunch and decided we needed to go for a bit of a walk in order to avoid the impending doom of a food coma. Hugh suggested we head out to Three Cliffs Bay and walk along the ocean cliffs. It was a fabulous suggestion on this beautiful sunny day.  The ocean is one of the things I miss most about growing up and living in California, so I jump at any chance to be where I can smell the clean ocean air and look out into the infinity of the big blue ocean. Look at the sky!

 Rowan and the Uncles

 The Three Cliffs Beach. If this were a California beach, you would hardly be able to see the sand because of all of the people!

 Uncle Bob, Rowan, and Uncle Hugh. These guys get around pretty well for being in their early 80's.

 Since I am the one usually taking all of the pictures, the only way I can prove I was there is to take a selfie.

 

 We slept very well when we got back to Crickhowell.

Good thing we are doing all of this walking because we had a VERY SPECIAL afternoon meal planned for Thursday of this week back in Abergavenny (the village next to Crickhowell). There is a restaurant there called The Walnut Tree (http://www.thewalnuttreeinn.com/ ) that is very special indeed.  The chef there, Shaun Hill, is pretty famous in the UK and around the globe.

We took uncle Bob along with us for this food adventure which we had reserved before we left the US.

A photo of the very understated restaurant and inn.

 The menu for the day (click to enlarge)

Here are the photos of what we ordered. 

The Amuse-bouche (a small bite) - a little bite of something that comes to the table when you sit down. You don't order it, it just comes to the table with the wine. This bite is a quail egg rolled in herbs and crumbs and crusted in the oven. A piece of watercress and aioli on the side. A little bite of heaven.......seriously, heaven!

The house made bread bowl. Right from the oven.

 Plaice (a delicate white fish) with a shrimp and dill croquette. This fish seriously melted in your mouth. No chewing. I could swim in the dill/butter sauce!

 Robert Carrier's pate' aux herbes with picolilli (pickled vegetables). I will learn to make this when I get home. Something I could have for lunch every day. Light. Refreshing. Simple. Our heads were already starting to spin with delight!

 Chicken liver and foie gras parfait with brioche. If you like liver pate', you will weep with joy if you ever get to taste this! The pate is in the pot. It is whipped with cream with a thin layer of fat on the top. You simply can't worry about the fat because the experience of eating it will bring tears of joy to your eyes (as it did mine. Seriously!). It is served with a small block of quince jelly, a house made bun and some culinary weeds from the garden.

 The two wines: A 2011 New Zealand Pino Noir Rose - Yealands Estate, and a FABULOUS Alinanca red from Portugal. I tip my hat to the Sommeilier (wine steward) for helping with the red selection. I would have never chosen a red from Portugal. It was fantastic with the duck!

Pollack with salt cod brandade and olive crust. This was Rowan's choice for her main course (yes, all of the other stuff was just appetizers!) This fish was like eating a cloud. The sauce is watercress.

 Saddle of rabbit, liver, kidney and pudding. This was uncle Bob's choice. We were hoping to see the little rabbits saddle :o), however.........well, you know...........the dish was simple perfection!

 Confit duck leg with pig's cheek and passion fruit sauce. All I did was cry because it was so bloody excellent! The pig's cheek is on the bottom left and it melted in my mouth. Passion fruit sauce!!!! How much passion can one have in one meal! The duck leg fell apart like a slow cooked rib. All I can say is WOW!

 As you can imagine, we could not leave here without having dessert. Here is the Plum Soup with Honey Ice Cream. We are now having an extreme moment of RIDICULOUS! Oh, my! How delicious can you get!!!

 Summer Berry Creme Brulee. This put me over the top! I need a nap..............or a walk........

 Oh, we cannot forget the sugar brioche to top everything off!

We went for a walk around the gardens of  Walnut Tree (where they grow many of their ingredients) after our meal and I just happened to look through the kitchen back door and saw the chef, Shaun Hill. He came out to have a chat so I was lucky to get a photo with him. :o) A very sweet, gentle, humble chap.

 Stay tuned for photos of our after lunch walk around White Castle (not the burger joint, but the REAL castle)......................