Photo of the week: cookieee om nom nom

Border butterscotch crunch from Scotland: quite possibly the nicest packet biscuit known to man.

#throwbackthursday review (New Year edition): NYE dinner @ Iris, Edinburgh

This week's #tbt takes us to Edinburgh where M and I spent New Years' Eve attending the city's Hogmanay celebration. The Hogmanay party itself was kinda shite—wet, ridiculously cold to the point that I couldn't feel my toes, and packed full of drunk, hair-pulling vagabonds, half of whom were probably Australian. While I accept that this is many people's idea of a good time, these teetotalers didn't enjoy it. We were having such a miserable time of it that we headed back to our hotel room before midnight. The photo above was taken through our room window looking towards Edinburgh Castle.

Some 5 hours or so before we were sitting in a warm and cosy restaurant in the heart of New Town. We had chosen Iris because of the good reviews and because the other restaurants we had an eye on were already booked out.

Iris is hidden away in a dark cobbled side street in New Town and it felt like a bit of an adventure finding it around the gated off Hogmanay section of the city.  Walking in, it definitely had the feel of a cosy neighbourhood restaurant adored by the locals.The mirrored walls gave the illusion that the restaurant was much bigger than it actually was.

The food itself, while the photos aren't amazing, was actually pretty good. My favourite dish of the night was the pork rolled with spinach and prosciutto served with a seeded mustard sauce. The pork was pink, flavoursome and very tender, while the sauce was a nice accompaniment that elevated the dish. The duck entree was nicely cooked but we found the sauce a little too sweet for our liking.

The restaurant was also very good value, with entrees priced well below £10. All in all a much more pleasant experience than the one we were about to experience at Hogmanay.

Photo of the week: hog roast roll from Oink, Edinburgh

A hog roast roll has practically become a must eat in Edinburgh and for good reason...it's bloody delicious. The roll consists of meltingly tender pork (basically pulled pork) from a slow roasted whole pig sandwiched in a soft and chewy white roll. Add crackling and chilli relish (you can choose between that, haggis, sage & onion stuffing, cheese sauce or apple sauce) and a liberal dousing of pepper and you have the perfect quick and cheap (£3.95 for the regular size) lunch.

Photo of the week: hot pot @ Home Taste, Edinburgh

Our visit to Home Taste holds so many great memories for me. We found it after wandering the streets of Old Town looking for a feed since I didn't want to go for a pub meal. After circling a few times and finding nothing else that took our fancy, we settled on a little Chinese restaurant with steamed up windows. The steam was actually very inviting on that night since it was a typically frigid Scottish January evening. The restaurant's awkwardly endearing name may have also helped win me over.

Once in there I was instantly glad of my choice because it turned out (as hinted by the steam) that they served...HOTPOT!!! One of my favourite things in the world and certainly a top candidate for my death row meal. Another pleasing sight was that the restaurant was filled with Chinese students who were clearly craving a bit of 'home taste'. And the meal itself was fantastic: the condiments, the broth and the ingredients used were what they should be for a good hotpot; and they didn't scrimp when topping up the ingredients. The chef also adorably came out and offered us some fried dumplings while tentatively speaking Mandarin to me. At £15 per person for all you can eat including a drink (we chose hot tea) it was a bargain, especially given the favourable exchange rate at the time. As cheesy as it sounds, the restaurant definitely lived up to its name, serving up a warm taste of home on the other side of the world.