Family Restaurant, Mani & Nick's in Mill Hill

 This restaurant has a large menu. Though the table was a bit small for our group of five, the server offered to push two tables together for us. 

The restaurant was pretty empty on a Saturday night. They said they were much busier at lunch time.  They were busier serving take aways than evening diners. Mill Hill is full of places which are more expensive and glamorous.

We sat by the bar so we got instant attention when we wanted to order anything more.

We had prosecco for two of us, red wine for the others. 

I ordered ironed chicken breast and mshed potato. My husband had pasts. 

Our son was quite happy with his meal, considering four lamb chops for 17  pounds was generous. He was also happy with 'a mountain of rice'.

For me the highlight was the pancakes with an extra banana. I think fresh fruit makes all the difference to a dessert, so I was glad our son suggested adding this. He had eaten at the restaurant previously for breakfast.

The meal came to about thirty pounds a head, quite resonable nowadays for a filling mel, enough food to take away, including alcholic drinks.

The decor, atmosphere and meals lacked the zest I had hoped for, so I would not go back but would try somewhere new next time. If you are looking for a reasonably priced meal,, and a high chance of getting a table, this place might suit you.

Why come here for breakfast, at what time? 

Our son had had pancakes for breakfast when the rest of the family was busy. About 9 am.

He confirmed that lunch time is a busier time for this restaurant.

Paccakes with extra banana. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright. 

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St David's Day, March 1st 2019: Welsh Foods To Buy or Bake and Welsh Music

St David's Day is March 1st, a Friday in 2019. An opportunity for a family gathering or club meeting on a Welsh theme. Here are some foods to try or buy.

Welsh Cakes
Welsh cakes are small thick pancakes. I first tried them at Fishguard in Wales at the Fishguard Bay Hotel. Lovely served hot with melting butter.

Tea time at Fishguard Bay Hotel, Wales.

We were served them at tea time in summer. You might find them on the a la carte menu in the restaurant or bar. If you are organising a conference, or a wedding, or staying for several days, you might ask the chef to make some for you and your group.

I think one of the station cafes had them and served them hot, maybe on request. However, I was too scared of missing my train to risk buying anything requiring heating.

I tried Welsh cakes again on a train back from Fishguard to London, from the trolley. They seemed dry and cold and nothing special. I think the same applies to scones. And pancakes.
(More pictures and text later.)

Lava Bread
Made from edible seaweed. To the Japanese it makes perfect sense. To a Londoner like me, it is totally offbeat. But that is part of the attraction, to try something you have never had before.

Photo from Wikipedia.

Welsh Rarebit
For breakfast or tea. Not a rabbit but a rarebit.

Welsh is a lovely sing-song language. You might want to play plaintive Welsh harp music, or the robust sound of a male voice choir. this is the country renowned for the Eistedfodd, a music contest and celebration.

Welsh Songs
Suitable and enjoyable songs would include the Welsh national anthem, and Men of Harlech.
All through the night is a public domain song with a Welsh language version.

Welsh Poetry and Quotations
Perhaps a reading of a quotation from Dylan Thomas's Under Milk Wood.

To practise Welsh words, listen to Richard Burton in the film version. Or use the free Welsh language learning system Duolingo.

Useful Websites
To visit Wales
www.visitwales.com
To learn Welsh
duolingo.com
To cook Welsh cakes
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/5569/welsh-cakes
For public domain songs: eg All through the night
https://www.pdinfo.com/pd-song-list/pd-song-list-best-a.php
to hear the Welsh National Anthem on YouTube with male voice choir
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtCOprRDUm8
With a band and subtitles in English and Welsh

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Pancake Day! Hurray!

I beat the diet police. I reminded them it's pancake day. We missed breakfast pancakes so we're planning pancakes later in the day, starting with lunch time.

Let them eat pancakes! (My variation on 'Let them eat cake', supposedly said by Marie Antoinette, although attributed to another lady much earlier. I don't need to move the last two word phrase. The lady was earlier and the attribution was earlier.)

This is a dieter's pancake, thin and semi-circular. A fussy chef or restaurant would make one perfectly round to fit a plate just slightly larger than the pancake. (So you match the size of pan and plate before you start cooking.)

Everybody should either know by heart or stick on the fridge or inside the larder / store cupboard door the ingredients/recipe for everyday pastries:

Pancake: Flour, egg and water/milk. (Pancake mix in any shop if you're in a hurry but cheaper to make your own and most homes have the ingredients.

Crumble: Flour and butter. Easiest pastry and fun if you like kneading with fingers, and no need to roll it out.

Shortcrust: Flour and ... You need a pastry board, floured to stop it sticking, and rolling pin, might be available in a holiday let if you are stuck indoors on a rainy day. Too much mess for me.

Biscuit base for cheesecake: Biscuits and ... I always think any recipe which suggests starting with somebody else's bread or cake is cheating, except for using up leftovers - I make an exception to this rule for

Bread and butter pudding. Bread and butter, and/or milk, and you can add sultanas.

Bread: Flour, water, yeast to make it rise - must wait, several hours in your hot cupboard with a clean tea towel over the top to be sure it doesn't overflow on your clothes and your socks don't fall in the bread. Cook in oven when risen.

Where to start?
Great to start children on cooking pancakes as the mixing is quick and easy. The cooking is fun.

Toss?
Never mind tossing pancakes. Wait until your pancake is starting to set underneath. Don't let it burn. Cook both sides by turning careful with a nonstick utensil. If money and space are abundant, and you like collecting novelties, use one of those fold-over pans.

Pancake Recipe Used Today
100 g of flour
2 eggs
300 ml milk (or less)
1 tbs olive oil (Most for frying, some in the mixture if you like)
salt to taste

More recipes
Google recipes and pick either the simplest (for beginners) or most unusual (for gourmets).
See my earlier post on the origins of pancake day and Lent and Passover and using up flour to keep the new harvest foods fresh and uncontaminated.

Angela Lansbury BS Hons CL ACG
Author, photojournalist, speaker and speech trainer.