Days Away - Stay and Eat at The Pig in Southampton

For this Foodie Friday blog post, I felt it was time to share a fabulous hotel offer with supper and drinks that's perfect for a special date night. 

The Pig in the Wall, Southampton

I love the Pig chain, the decor is warm and interesting and full of character; the food is tasty, attractive and locally sourced and the rooms are a perfect combination of comfortable and welcoming.

My first encounter with the Pig was when we stayed at the Pig in Brockenhurst and I loved it so much that the pictures I took there are still rotating on my screen saver more than a year later. That's commitment.

This year I decided to try another of the burgeoning chain and stay at the pig in the wall in Southampton. From Brighton it took us an hour and a half by car to get there.

We arrived and began with a walking tour of Southampton. Once we had discovered parts of the Roman wall, a Pokemon site crowded with devotees and the busy marina we found a plaque that I found incredibly moving.

It related to the tragic sinking of the Titanic and read as follows:

CANUTE CHAMBERS

THIS BUILDING HOUSED THE OFFICES OF THE WHITE STAR SHIPPING COMPANY, OWNERS OF RS TITANIC WHICH SANK ON APRIL 15TH 1912 AFTER STRIKING AN ICEBERG OFF NEWFOUNDLAND ON HER MAIDEN VOYAGE

IT WAS HERE THAT HUNDREDS OF LOCAL PEOPLE WAITED FOR NEWS OF THEIR LOVED ONES

549 SOUTHAMPTON PEOPLE DIED IN THE DISASTER

Back at the hotel we were taken to our room and it looked delightful. The bed looked cosy and the en suite had a great big shower and the Pig's signature tiles on the floor.

Downstairs we chose a table by the window to enjoy a light meal of flat breads (read pizza) and cocktails for dinner. Seated in the corner I could at last take a more considered look at our surroundings and I realised why I liked the place so much. It's like my home.

Ok, so my home has not been designed by a high-class interior decorating team and yes, sure, it may be a little frayed around the edges (a bit like me), but there were many similarities. To name a few, the dark green walls, mismatched coloured glass, old pictures in an old building all spring to mind. My Welsh One is not the biggest fan of this eclectic style and he looked at me with his head slightly cocked to the side as I was explaining to him why I thought it looked so good.

Anyway, to move on, apart from the decor, the other great reason for loving the Pig is to do with their food credentials. The Pig's menus are made up of produce sourced from their own kitchen gardens. They seek to limit food mileage and offer foraged foods when available too.

Our flat breads arrived and we ordered some sticky sausages and coleslaw to enjoy with it. For drinks we chose a coconut daiquiri and a prosecco cocktail.

The bar area was peaceful and outside the sun was beginning to set. My Welsh One and I were having a perfectly splendid date night and the cocktails were going down a treat. In particular, the Coconut Daiquiri was so delicious I immediately ordered the same again.

Sleep beckoned and the bed enveloped us like a cloud. The next day as we were just about to leave when I noticed the framed newspaper clippings by the back door. One related to the sinking of the Titanic and another the great England football victory with a photo of Bobby Moore being held aloft. The article was about the England team going to the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington for their celebratory meal. It felt like a funny moment of synchronicity after discovering the Royal Garden Hotel and its Bobby Moore connections earlier in the year.

We stayed at the Pig for one night with 2x flatbreads, 2x cocktails and breakfast included for £139.

Their current offer is for one night stay for two with breakfast, supper and half a bottle of English Sparkling Wine for £139. Take note - parking is available but charged additionally.

The Pig in the Wall, Western Esplanade, Southampton, Hampshire



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Foodie Friday - Granger's in London for ladies who lunch

The second thing I noticed once we had sat down to eat in the super busy and sunlit restaurant Granger and co was that the other diners were almost exclusively female.

The first had been how wonderful the new architecture was and how attractive the communal spaces were in this recently developed area of Kings Cross. The effect was a harmonious blend of old and new, brick, glass and steel along tree-lined avenues, walkways and squares.

Back inside it was Saturday lunchtime and a gentle hum of happiness buzzed over the diners. I had met my Beloved Sis and Little Miss for lunch and my sister's choice was to try the fine-dining Aussie chain Granger and Co, that began life in Sydney's sunny Darling Harbour.

For a moment I was transported back to the laid back cool I had loved in Bondi. A setting I was quite happy to return to and so I was just as keen to try out my sister's suggestion as she was.

Outside, the restaurant was bathed in glorious sunshine, perfectly complementing the relaxed vibe we were looking for, while inside light flooded in through enormous glass windows.

On the menu was a high number of female friendly options: salmon, courgette and a number of curious sounding veg all prepared and cooked in a variety of ways.

The mains arrived and the food looked as colourful and expertly plated as ladies who (occasionally) lunch could ask for. Around us sat ladies and the odd gent enjoying lunchtime glasses of wine while people behind us sat along the bar.

Meanwhile, on Little Miss's request we played a game of faces, which is lots of fun with a five year old niece. A judge is nominated, the judge then chooses a facial expression and the contestants take it in turns to pull a face and the best one wins.

My order arrived in the middle of my best-discombobulated face, which soon turned to delight as a feast of courgette fritters, halloumi, siyez and shredded kale salad with zhoug was placed in front of me. My sister had gone for the raw tuna and avocado poke, brown rice, cherry tomatoes, pickled cucumber and sesame. Little Miss had parmesan crumbed chicken schnitzel, creamed corn and fennel slaw with a side of chips.

My sis loved her raw tuna and could not have been more pleased, Little Miss and I really enjoyed ours too. Overall the taste that stood out for me was the creamed corn that accompanied the chicken, it was absolutely delicious.

Our meal of three mains, a side, drinks plus service charge came to £67.

Granger and Co, Stanley Building 7 Pancras Square, London N1C 4AG

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Foodie Friday - Vietnamese Milk No Sugar

It's always good to feel as if you're in the know. That hidden little gem that the locals love. A place where the food is fresh and tasty, great value, great vibe and super central too.

The place in question is also where you can get an authentic pho and Vietnamese curry for a fiver or less in Brighton.

 

It's called Milk No Sugar and happens to be another of My Welsh One's finds. So far his hit rate has been 100% and I'm beginning to think that he's getting himself a bit of a rep.

From the outside it could easily be confused with an ordinary coffee shop, but don't be fooled, you're in the right place. And word has got out, although there were only a few diners when we arrived around tea time on a recent Friday night, apparently at lunch time they can have queues out the door. 

Expect a fairly limited number of options and the only menu to be had above the counter on a series of hanging chalk boards. We ordered at the bar, two mains, two cans of pop and the whole came to an extremely good value £12. 

My Welsh One went for the Vietnamese curry. The same he had eaten the last time he had visited the cafe. It's available with beef, pork, chicken and prawn. It was just too good not to have again, he said.

I stalled for time, should I go for the noodle soup, with three types of noodle to choose from, or maybe the Vietnamese salad, or the rice pot?

It could have gone any way, but I decided that the rice pot with chicken was the dish that was calling to me loudest that evening.

The dish tasted sweet with coriander freshness and a delicate chilli bite. It was absolutely delicious.

Meanwhile, in the background a summer Ibiza beat was drifting across the airwaves. I was loving it so much I didn't want to leave, so I sat on while my Welsh One took his coffee outside.

The owners Kim and Hugo opened Milk No Sugar four years ago and two years later started to serve Vietnamese food learnt from a Vietnamese relative.

To find it climb Trafalgar Street towards the station and you'll find it on the right hand side at the top end of the street. 

I hope you get a chance to try this place out. Expect some happy house music when you go in, the lady who served us said it's played all the time. The set we listened to was by Nada called Deep in the Sky 5. You can find it on Soundcloud and I have been literally listening to it on repeat ever since.

Milk No Sugar, 68 Trafalgar Street, BN1 4EB Brighton, United Kingdom

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