Fenocchio ice cream – naughty but Nice

Spoilt for choice

Last weekend I spent with friends on a hen do in the fabulous Nice. A beautiful city with turquoise waters and well-dressed locals. It wasn’t ready for a hen do and I don’t think it wants to see another one in a hurry.

During the day we did the tourist thing and one of the bridesmaids got me rather excited about this famous ice cream parlour. Fenocchio. I couldn’t resist. Fenocchio boasts a number of shops nestled in the winding streets of Nice’s old town. With nearly 100 flavours including; lavender, tomato and basil, rosemary along with the more conventional flavours. I was spoilt for choice. Given my love for all things cinnamon, I went for specaloo flavour. It was delicious.

I just wish we hadn’t had so much of a headache that we could have gone back the following day to try another flavour.

Well worth a visit.

 

Me and my ice cream in Nice old town

My Marbella Menu

La Sala, Puerto Banus (picture courtesy of La Sala)

There aren’t many jobs that come with a surprise trip to Marbella for the end of year party, but luckily for me, I have one! My sleepy colleagues and I arrived at the office at 5.30am, the cat finally let out of the bag after a short bus journey to Leeds Bradford airport where boarding passes were handout out by the world’s best boss.

Arriving in Puerto Banus just in time for lunch, the afternoon was jam-packed with a bit of work but mostly play, before heading back to the hotel to get read for a night on the town. After our only celeb spot of the trip (a bit of cringe worthy but very fun hob nobbing with Strictly dancer James Jordan) we arrived at restaurant, La Sala.

The table booked for a laid-back 10.30pm, we arrived early to enjoy drinks on the terrace where the outdoor heaters took the edge off the evening chill. A couple of bottles of Sauvignon and a few cold beers later, the 14 of us were shown to our table to enjoy a beautiful three-course dinner. The restaurant was bustling, clearly a popular hot spot, with live music being enjoyed by a mixture of locals and tourists in the bar area, although I do think we were the only party dancing at the table…

Spoilt for choice from a mouth-watering set menu, I opted for; deep-fried Camembert, grilled sea bream with lime risotto and asparagus, followed by a selection of home-made ice cream. Knowing the amount of drinking that was on the cards after said meal, I wanted to keep my choices as light as possible. Dinner was really incredible and I clearly played it well given the amount of wine that was consumed during the hours that followed (no nap required) however, I had super food envy at my neighbour’s spinach and ricotta tortellini with pine nuts. When she was full I ceased the opportunity to tuck in, it was so rich and creamy I could have finished the whole bowl but resisted. An option for next time for sure.

Dinner done we finished the evening nightclub Seven. An Arabian-inspired club with great music and generous measures of spirits. Both venues come highly recommended and made for a great whistle-stop tour of this popular destination. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to nurse my headache…

Fab friends

My favourite biscuits (from Belgium)

The best biscuits in the world

Here it is. It’s the Belgian delicacy, the specaloo. Deliciously crunchy and flavoured with cinnamon and ginger, I stock up on these bad boys on my annual festive pilgrimage to Bruges with my parents and the boy. Traditionally a Belgian festive treat, I particularly like the Santa/Pope design on the biscuit, an image which is rife around Belgium in December.

So, I am very upset that I’ve just eaten my last one. Here’s me enjoying the last bite…

Foods to try before you die

I’ve just tried out Facebook’s new app The Food List Challenge. It lists 100 foods you must try before you die and boasts that the average user will have tried less than 20 of them. I must admit I was pretty surprised at some of the entries; BBQ ribs…of course, Bellini…a no brainer and Chicken Tikka Massala…err, isn’t that the nation’s favourite dish?

There’s also some dishes on there that brought back some fab memories of faraway travels. Clam Chowder. Tick. Had the lucky experience of tasting this in San Francisco, a city famous for serving the soup inside a bowl made from sourdough bread. Delicious. Goat. Tick. Cooked for the boy and I by a delightful family in their very small and humble home in Mombasa, Kenya. The meat was so tough that the boy had to hide some chunks in his pocket, successfully avoiding offence. We’ve tried it nonetheless.

So, it seems strange that I didn’t score quite as highly as I’d imagined. But to be fair, I don’t think I’ll ever tick off durian or phall, I just don’t have the stomach.

 

San Francisco's famous dish