Abeno - Museum Street - London - 8.5/10

Luckily for me, the Bear had this Monday off work, so we decided to make the most of it, and try out a different kind of Japanese food. A couple of weeks ago we were browsing through an old 1000 Things To Do In London Time Out book, and we happened upon an entry about Abeno. This restaurant specialises in Okonomi-Yaki, which literally means "cook a little of what you like". Surprisingly, this type of Japanese street food isn't that well known, despite a recent surge in Japanese restaurants, and almost every sandwich shop in the capital selling Sushi. We had to give it a go.

The restaurant is situated on a road very close to the British Museum. It's pretty unassuming. A beige exterior with a little side door leads to a beige interior furnished with table after table equipped with it's own hot plate. It's not that busy and we're seated straight away.

We're given the menus, which come in Japanese and English, and a variety of specials and lunch deals are offered as well. The menu explains exactly what constitutes Okonomi-Yaki. They are "variations on a theme, the theme being a base of cabbage, egg and dough with spring onions, ginger and morsels of tempura' batter filled with a choice of filling and cooked in front of you." We order and wait for the theatre to begin.

First off we ordered some Yaki-Gyoza filled with prawns and fresh asparagus. The lovely looking fresh dumplings arrive with our waiter at our table, and he proceeded to fry the bottom of them, and then cleverly steam them underneath a metal dome with a splash of water, right there in front of us. The entire cooking process is part of the experience. The finished product was very tasty and the filling was very fresh. Some of the best dumplings I've had recently. My only complaint would be, why serve five? When you know there are two people at a table, why an odd number, why not serve six, or even four?

Next came the Piri-Piri Edamame, which are cooked soya beans in a chilli sauce. They were OK, although I couldn't really taste the chilli, and the serving was piteously small. I could buy five times that amount in Wagamama or some such place, for the same price - £3.50!

Now for the main event. Our lovely waiter returned to the table with two metal bowls containing our raw Okonomi-Yaki. The Bear went for the Tokyo mix - pork, prawns and squid, and I for the Tofu mix - tofu and sweetcorn. Our waiter mixed each bowl individually until the ingredients were thoroughly mashed together, and then spooned them onto the hot plate so they resembled a thick pancake. He then place the metal dome onto top to let them cook for a while.

Whilst this was taking place we managed to pick the waiters brains on Japanese food, and this restaurant in particular. It turns out that it's been there for 9 years, who knew! They opened another restaurant in Soho a couple of years ago, and have recently opened restaurant in Hampstead under the same name. We also managed to find out that he lived in Japan for four years, which is why he knew so much about it. He was very courteous and not at all put out by our questions.

Once the Okonomi-Yaki was cooked on both sides, he started the next stage - decoration! Each filling has a recommended decoration of different sauces and accompaniments. The Bear's Tokyo Mix was beautifully decorated in a spiral of Japanese Mayonnaise (which has rice vinegar in it making it slightly sweeter than normal), Okonomi-Yaki sauce, which has a close resemblance to our own HP, Powdered Seaweed, and Dried Smoked Fish Flakes. The end product was a complete work of art.

My Tofu Mix is traditionally decorated with Mirin (a type of rice wine), Powdered Seaweed and Dried Smoked Fish Flakes. Both Okonomi-Yaki looked a picture. And the fish flakes kept twitching in the heat of the hot plate. Quite a spectacle. The lovely waiter left us with the various condiments so we could add to it if we wished.

Now for the taste test. You attack the thing with a kind of mini shovel whilst it remains on the hot plate and then eat it with chopsticks, which is enormous fun. It tastes like nothing I have ever tried before. The mix of flavours and sauces is a heady Asian cocktail. The texture is a halfway house between Fritatta and Scrambled Egg. You could imagine eating this on a cold wintry day and feeling warm and dozy. Proper comfort food.

We went for the Super Deluxe version, which was perfect for The Bear, but far too much for me, especially with the starters. We were so full that there wasn't even a fleeting thought about pudding.

The bill came to £41.40 without service (which was excellent) which I think is pretty steep for lunch. But we did have the works in terms of food. No booze though.

The Okonomi-Yaki were worth every penny, so the restaurant gets two thumbs up for that. But a couple of things let it down. The starters were really overpriced for what they were. £3.50 for a small bowl of soya beans is just not on. And £5.50 for five dumplings is taking the piss.

If they sort out the disparity between the price for mains and starters, this place would be a 10/10. But as it is 8.5/10 will have to suffice.

Harvest Fayre - River Cottage - Dorset - 6/10

On Sunday morning after our meal at the Three Horseshoes Inn in Powerstock, we made our way to River Cottage - think Channel 4 and Hugh Fearnly-Whittingstall. They great man himself had opened the farm up for the day for a Harvest Fayre.

After negotiating some very tight bends on some very narrow country roads, we made it to the farm. There was quite a lot to see and do, from craft displays, to a catapult range, book signings and demonstrations, as well as food stalls.

We had a little look round and sampled some of the local produce on offer. From Elderflower Fizz to cheese, meat and jam, the show displayed the best the West Country had to offer. I ended up spending quite a lot at the South Devon Chilli Farm stall.

Gareth, the Bear and I had a go at the catapult, but none of us were much cop.

We then settled down to watch the duck and dog display with a bowl of spinach and chickpea tagine. It was very tasty, with a dollop of natural yoghurt on top. Just right for a lounge on the grass. It was a shame about the display though. Pretty boring if you ask me.

I'm glad I went to River Cottage and saw Hugh in action. But I have to say, that I felt a little removed from it all. As a staunch townie, it was just a little bit too country for me. I like the food, believe me. I'm just not that into hand made knives, old-school carpentry and basket weaving. Sorry.

I reckon I could be tempted back for one of his dinners though.

The Three Horseshoes Inn - Powerstock - Dorset - 7/10

It's been a while. Awfully sorry about that. I've been away and got lazy. I went to Sardinia and ate some fantastic food. If you ever get the chance you should go there and eat your way through a proper Sardinian meal. It's HUGE. Unfortunately I went away a while ago, and it wouldn't do the food justice for me to try and remember it properly, but take my word, it's good.

LUNCH:

More recently, I went to Dorset. Christmas last I got the Bear a voucher to go zorbing. If you haven't heard of it, is attaching yourself to the inside of a big plastic bubble and throwing yourself down a massive hill. The zorbing centre was just outside Dorchester so we decided to make a weekend of it and stay over in Dorset for a couple of nights. We scheduled in some excellent eating opportunities too.

We made it to the zorbing in record time on the Saturday morning and it was quite an experience. I loved every second of it! But the Bear was less impressed, and looked decidedly green after our little tumble.

We still had a good half an hour in the car before we got to the pub we were staying in, and the mix of hunger and adrenalin was starting to fray our tempers slightly. (Along with the Bear's insistence on not stopping at roundabouts!) We wound round tiny country lanes, up and down hills, for what seem like an eternity, and then finally we came to our home for the night. The Three Horseshoes Inn.

The pub is a proper old-man's pub, in a stone building, in the middle of a small village, consisting of a church, the pub, a primary school and a few houses. Perfect.

The pub has a restaurant one side, the bar the other, and a lovely stone terrace out the back, with stunning views of the rolling Dorset hills. We were shown to our room, which was a bit chintzy, but adequate, and then rushed back down to the pub for some lunch.

The lunch menu changes everyday, and is written on a blackboard opposite the bar. There are ten or so choices and we were easily decided. The bar itself, has a thatched roof above it, which is very cheery.

We decide to brave the wasps, and sit outside on the terrace. Despite it being September, the sun was out and blazing, and the view was just beautiful. We couldn't have hoped for better weather or a nicer setting.

I went for the sweet potato and goat's cheese risotto. It was beautifully presented, perfectly seasoned and sprinkled with balsamic. The Bear went for the Ham, Egg and Chips. The eggs were very fresh, and the yolk exploded with orangy goodness when speared by a chunky, crispy chip. The ham was thick cut and local.

We were so impressed by lunch, that we booked the restaurant for us and our chums for dinner.

DINNER:

After a trip to Lyme Regis, which included some fresh seafood (crab meat, whelks, prawns and cockles) and a cream tea, plus a little snooze on the beach in the September sunshine, we returned to the pub, with our chums in tow.

The sun was just setting behind the hills, so we enjoyed a local ale or two on the terrace and admired the vista. After a while it got a little chilly so we joined the rest of the pub's customers in the bar for a hearty meal.

Angela, Gareth and I went for the Scallops in a Lobster Bisque to start. It was excellent. The bisque was thick and full of flavour, and the fresh scallops melted in the mouth. The Bear had a Chicken and Spring Onion Salad with Mustard Mayo. He said it was very tasty and light. Which was good considering the epic proportions of his man course!

For mains, I went for the Fillet of Red Snapper with Crushed New Potatoes and Sun Dried Tomatoes. The fish was ever so slightly over cooked, but not so much that the dish was ruined, I just would have preferred it on the pink side. The crushed potatoes were exquisite. Sometimes you find crushed new potatoes have just been attacked by a spatula, but these were excellently flavoured with garlic and olive oil. They were really quite a treat. All in all, a pretty tasty main course.

Gareth went for the Whole Pigeon, which he said was a little dry, but very nice. Ange and The Bear went for the Whole Mallard with Orange and Ginger. It was huge!! Half the amount of duck would have been a big meal. The Bear did very well and managed to finish the whole thing (with the help of one of the pub's springer spaniels). And Ange did admirably, consuming at least two thirds.

As you can imagine, we were all pretty full, so we gave the puds a miss. Although they were very tempting, with everything on offer, from Star Anise Creme Brulee, Poached Pears, Sticky Toffee Pudding etc.

After a big meal, plenty of booze (including three after dinner brandies), it was very nice to be able to toddle up the stairs to bed. Albeit a chintzy one. The only slight niggle was the church bells going off every fifteen minutes throughout the night. I'm sure that didn't help the Bear with his digestion!

The whole lot, from the first pint on the terrace, to the last brandy, came to £147 without service. What a bloody bargain. The service was friendly and the food of a high standard. If they can stop the church bells, then I'll definitely be back.