Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Tag: Norwich

Norwich – City of Ale Launch Party

This is the first time that I’ve been able to go to the City of Ale launch party and I was able to get a ticket to the trade session which was most exciting. It took place this year at the Waterfront and there was an excellent turnout from pubs, brewers and also from the general public in the later session.

The indoors bar with beer from thirty local breweries and to quote the organisers, “they are all based on our region, almost all using barley grown and malted locally, so helping carbon footprint to a minimum”. So, environmental, local and delicious. It would be wrong of me to name any particular brewery, but obviously I have to mention the marvellous Boudicca brewing.

The launch party is to promote the City of Ale trails, which I’ve roped various friends into completing this year. I’m going to have a good go at trying to do all of them, such is my continued desire to support the hospitality industry. Again, I don’t want to name all my favourite pubs, but I have to make a quick reference to the wonderful White Lion and its landlord Oscar.

I was surprised and delighted to see some keg beers from Toby’s Beers who were operating the outside bar.

Julian and Emma, from Boudicca, were also at the event and one of the first things that Julian suggested was getting a pizza from Luca. I agreed that this seemed a marvellous idea, it’s about having a balanced diet.

Clive Lewis, the MP for Norwich South, was there to give a little speech at the start of the event.

And here’s Oli shouting at him.

I very much enjoyed my six different half pints from various local brewers. I went for the Wild Steamer from Wildcraft, Hana Solo from Mr Winter’s (very agreeable), Okapi from Grain Brewery, Cold Snap from Ampersand, Another Day Done from Duration Brewing and the Golden Panther from Panther Brewery.

And a delight to meet Roger Protz, the great beer writer who has kindly shared a Twitter post of mine in the past and is one of my most favourite Twitter followers 🙂

This marvellous event only takes place due to volunteers and it’s responsible for thousands of extra visits to pubs in the city. The theme this year is the Strangers, the immigrants from Flanders who came to the region to avoid persecution, something also touched upon by Clive Lewis in his comments. Thanks to an idea from Roger Protz, there’s a new partnership with Belgian brewers and these collaboration beers will be available in a number of pubs during the festival, which takes place between 25 May and 25 June 2023.

May 26, 2023
Norwich Bar Billiards – Serengeti Storm to Victory

Well, this is the stuff of dreams, my team the Serengeti beat the White Lion Manes 6-3. For me, this was particularly exciting as I was transferred from the Manes to the Serengeti at the beginning of the season, which meant I was a bit nervous about playing them.

The draw, and there’s Keir (or Nathan, the captain of the Manes, as I briefly referred to him in a previous post) from the Manes. I was, to be honest, disappointed to be randomly drawn sixth, but there we go.

Here we are, and it was mentioned by me team that I was sitting with the “opposition”, but there was a reason for that.

The reason was that I knew in advance where Dylan, one of the talented White Lion staff, was placing the food. Now, I accept that the food and drink isn’t the only factor for bar billiards players, but, for me, it was the most important if I’m being honest. And the chips and chilli were excellent, thanks to Oscar and the White Lion team.

I was nervous, everyone was pretty aware of that, but I’m always determined even though things might seem stressful at first. I was pleased to win against Oscar, the landlord of the White Lion (fortunately, I wasn’t barred from the pub) and then win doubles as well. Thanks to David who mentioned that he’d never seen me look so serious, but I didn’t want to let my captain Roy down! We were losing 3-2 when I took to the table, but I made it 3-3, then we won all of the doubles matches.

What Julian, just back from Cardiff, treated me to as “a celebration feast” after the victory. What a time to be alive! Some of our victorious team also went to the King’s Head afterwards, how really rather lovely! The Serengeti are on a roll! Although my next post will likely be how I’ve lost two games and broken a cue or something….

May 24, 2023
Norwich – Food on Magdalen Street (Week 1 – The Street Cafe)

And the establishment of yet another series of posts, this time a new project of James and I which is to visit every food venue along Magdalen Street. It just has to be open at lunchtime, not be too decadent and we’ll also stretch into Anglia Square as well before it’s knocked down (or falls down of its own accord). There are quite a variety of options, it’ll be an interesting few weeks working down them.

We started here, the Street Cafe and Coffee Bar which takes up two shop units towards the far end of Magdalen Street away from the city centre.

There’s a little external dining area for those who want to sit and watch the traffic on Magdalen Street. I can’t imagine why, but I imagine it’s handy for the smokers. Anyway, after entry we were greeted and seated promptly, with the service always being friendly, personable and pro-active.

The drinks menu.

The breakfast menu.

The pricing for food isn’t cheap by any means. As a comparison, a mocha and full English breakfast in Harrods is £25.45 and it’s £19.05 here. It’s the highest pricing of any cafe that I can find in Norwich, but I have to note that it’s also one of the best reviewed so customers are clearly content. I couldn’t find any indication on the menu of where food items were sourced from, although I understand from reviews that items are locally sourced where possible.

There was a comfortable and inviting feel to the cafe so it seemed relaxed. It was also much bigger than I expected with another seating area in what was previously the next-door shop.

The cafe was nearly empty when we visited on a Wednesday lunchtime. Perhaps they get busy earlier on, but they shut at 14:00 so there’s no afternoon trade.

I don’t want to dwell on this for long, but the pricing of the soft drinks was a little high, although the alcoholic drinks were more moderate and I went for a Harrow Sparrow cyder from Aspall. This was fine, served at the appropriate temperature and in a clean glass. There’s also a waffle menu which has some sweet options including Snickers, Mars, Maltesers, Oreos, Biscoff, Cadbury and Kinder chocolate. These were reasonably priced at £7.95 and were served with sauces, creams and ice cream. The savoury waffles are a fair amount more expensive and although tempting, they came in pricier than at the Waffle House restaurant in Norwich.

I am maybe focusing a little too much here on price, and I’m conscious of the exceptional price increases that the hospitality industry is facing. However, it put much of the menu out of my lunch budget, hence why I went for a cheaper option. The pricing is still relevant to a large degree, the second best rated cafe I could find is the Kitchen in Sheringham, which is significantly cheaper. They’re also more expensive here than the Pigs restaurant, reported to be the best the breakfast in Norfolk, not that I’ve been there to comment on that. Apologies for the mentioning of price, as I’m sure the cafe wants to pay their staff fairly and do things properly, but it did feel something that stood out somewhat compared to other venues.

Given the price points, I settled for a more basic bacon roll. The quantity of bacon was generous and I was pleased that I didn’t have to remove too much fat, one of my personal idiosyncrasies which is no comment on the cafe. It was perfectly adequate, although I’d say unexceptional in terms of the depth of flavour. James wasn’t over enamoured with the quality of the sausage in his bap, although the rolls were fresh and the bacon was cooked well and at the appropriate temperature.

A slight limitation for me is that I’ve worked through so many bacon sandwiches at cafes and restaurants that I’m used to more ingredients being used such as the addition of a spicy sauce, the use of a chutney or something else that added to the depth of the flavour. The roll also wasn’t doing much for the taste or texture or the whole arrangement, but then again it’s a cafe and not some decadent upmarket restaurant. It’s also evident that this is how they’ve served it for a long time and it’s what people want, so I don’t wish to sound critical. But, it’s fair to say that I wasn’t taken away by the taste or flavours, it was just a bacon roll.

However, there’s clearly nothing wrong here as they’ve been trading since 1996 and as mentioned earlier, the reviews are very high and they’re one of the best rated cafes in the area. There’s no doubt a slight premium that very many customers are willing to pay for the quality of the service, the cleanliness of the venue and the reliability of the food. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, but I could be tempted to try their sweet waffles if I’m need of something of a chocolate boost and I’ll post back here if I go and try one of those. And perhaps one day I might even throw financial caution to the wind and try one of their cooked breakfasts to see just how good it is.

May 17, 2023
Norwich City of Ale – 2023 Trails

I’ll be back to the Gdansk trip shortly, but as a quick diversion….

How exciting, it’s nearly time for the Norwich City of Ale trails, which I haven’t really had an opportunity to do in previous years. I’ve collared some people to assisting me with them this year, with further information at https://www.cityofale.org.uk/. The theme this year is Norwich Strangers, migrants from the Flanders area who were welcomed into Norwich, primarily in the late sixteenth century. The event takes place between 25 May and 25 June 2023.

The trails are:

Dutch Trail

Brickmakers
Brewery Tap
Stanley
Artichoke
Marlborough Arms
Cottage
Leopard

Flemish Trail

Crown Point
Redwell
Rose
Murderers
Lamb Inn
Garnet
Wildman

Canary Trail

Sir Tobys
Playhouse Bar
St Andrews Brewhouse
Steam Packet
Last Pub Standing
Coach and Horses (Thorpe Road)
Fat Cat & Canary

Strangers Trail

Crown Costessey
Fat Cat
The Ten Bells
The Plough
Strangers Tavern
Belgian Monk

Drapers Trail

Whalebone
Roseberry
Angel Gardens
Duke of Wellington
White Lion
Rumsey Wells
The Vine

Worsted Trail

Plasterers
Malt and Mardle
Kings Head
Merchants House
Ribs of Beef
Wig and Pen

Walloon Trail

Louis Marchesi
Maids Head
Golden Star
Red Lion
Lollard’s Pit
Jubilee

Weavers Trail

Walnut Tree Shades
Coach & Horses (Bethel Street)
Georgian Townhouse
Earlham
Black Horse
Garden House

Dyers Trail

Freemasons Arms
Kings Arms
Trafford Arms
Unthank Arms
The Warwick
Beehive
Cellar House

May 16, 2023
Gdansk Group Trip – Day 0 (Norwich to Stansted Airport via London Liverpool Street)

After a successful little sojourn in the Queen of the Iceni we meandered back to Norwich railway station amidst a deluge of torrential rain. There were no issues with late running trains, whatever issue there had been at Romford had been resolved. I do little some adventure when things go wrong, but on this occasion I was just keen to get to Poland without too many issues. It’s more interesting to watch other people have random adventures when things go IRROPS anyway.

There’s our train on the right, ready to board half an hour before departure.

A suitably decadent meal deal from the Co-op of roast beef monster munch, a prawn sandwich and a Dr Pepper, for only just a little bit more than the Tesco version would have cost. I intended to save all this for when I got to Stansted Airport, but I finished the crisps before we left the railway station and the sandwich by the time we reached Ipswich. All the food and drink met my expectations and I also successfully completed the Gogen puzzle in the Evening Standard. I was going to do the cryptic crossword as well but I didn’t know any of the answers.

Our train arrived in at 22:55, just five minutes before the Greggs at Liverpool Street station closed. Fortunately, they were still opening with no early closing going on here. This is the first time that I’ve been here (at this outlet, I’ve obviously been to Greggs before, I’m not a heathen), I was surprised and delighted at the friendly service and how much they had left just before closing which I think goes off to the homeless. All very efficient.

And a sausage roll safely acquired.

I toasted the King’s Coronation weekend with my sausage roll.

I mutter and moan about the Stansted Express train operating the Norwich to London Liverpool Street mainline, not least because it has no tables. This is though its natural home and I thought this would be a good time to eat my sausage roll, I had waited long enough.

I can cope with this lack of table provision on the relatively short journey from London Liverpool Street to Stansted.

It wasn’t overly busy fortunately.

And safely at Stansted Airport railway station just after midnight, with only several hours left before we can go through security. This isn’t the ideal situation, but who needs the luxury of hotels at Stansted when you can meander around the terminal and coach station for a few hours to amuse yourselves? The main thing is that we had arrived safely, ready for the flight in the morning and the delights of Gdansk.

May 10, 2023
Food from Every Stall on Norwich Market – Week 9 and Delight

This is the ninth week of our plan to eat at every food stall at Norwich market this year. There’s been a slight gap in proceedings since the last expedition was in late March, but maybe we can make up an extra one in May so that my two loyal readers don’t miss the updates too much.

This week’s expedition was to Delight which sells a variety of Turkish food.

The stall’s menu, with some Turkish specialities at the base.

I went for the chicken wrap meal deal which included fries and a rather lovely Dr. Pepper, the premium of all the soft drinks (with the exception of the even more premium Dr. Pepper and Cream Soda). Nathan went for the doner wrap, also correctly going for Dr. Pepper.

The Gözleme on display. At some stage when we’re finished going around the market, we might perhaps start again but having different things on stalls. That should make this task never-ending.

The chicken cooking away nicely at the back. The food was prepared efficiently and the service was polite, engaging and warm. The stall looked clean and tidy, with the surfaces being dry and not sticky. There was a friendly welcome and I know that’s commonplace from the Norwich market traders, but it’s always pleasant being here.

Nathan convinced me to sit outside in the open air and I’m pleased to note that we did manage to avoid attack from pigeons or seagulls, although I still think it’ll be like Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft soon when the birds become ever more aggressive.

The food was perfectly decent, the chicken was tender and moist, the portion size was generous and the salad added some texture. I had opted for a spicy sauce which gave some extra heat to the food and the Dr. Pepper complemented it marvellously. The chips were maybe slightly soggy, but they tasted good and I was full by the end of the meal. It came to £7 for the wrap, drink and fries, which I thought was reasonable, with Nathan’s slightly less decadent affair costing £6.50. I paid with cash today, but they do accept cards.

Nathan’s selection, which I’ll note here that he failed to finish as he had been gorging on handfuls of doughnuts in the morning. I didn’t say anything though as I didn’t feel that was my place to do so. I can say that he did approve of the food.

Overall, this is yet another stall that I’d very happily visit again. I liked the food, the service and the amount of food that I had for my lunch. All really rather lovely, the market continues to surprise and delight.

May 2, 2023
Harwich – Greater Anglia Train from Norwich to Harwich

Today’s little pub, history and walking expedition is to Harwich since I thought that I needed a day out. I noticed on-line that the London train before mine was cancelled so thought I’d rush down in anticipation of the actual service I was booked on being full. Fortunately, I got a table just in time so was able to merrily type away for an hour or so. The service inevitably got busier and I got chatting to a confused passenger (they weren’t confused by me, or at least I don’t think so) who wondered why the train was so busy. We then shared our thoughts about Greater Anglia, which is a healthy scepticism I would say mixed with a supportive attitude.

My train arrived into Manningtree on time, but since it was a tight connection I didn’t get time to have a look around the railway station.

Looking to the left, the train was empty. Something of a contrast to the standing room only of the train that I had just disembarked.

Looking to the right, the train was empty. Now, I know I complain, but I hate it when they shove five seats in across. They’re so narrow that it effectively takes out the middle seat of the three so I disagree that there’s any benefit in terms of passenger numbers. Indeed, they’ve just made it more uncomfortable for everyone as it’s hard to navigate down the aisle and there’s a reason why trains traditionally have four seats across.

A couple of other people got on and then got off again at the gateway to the globe railway station that is Harwich International.

I do love a bit of history and they’ve made an effort with the boards at Harwich Town. The sign notes that between December 1938 and May 1940 that 10,000 unaccompanied children came to Britain from Europe. Although many people were involved, it is impossible for me not to mention the work done by Sir Nicholas Winton, someone that I consider to be one of the greatest people of the twentieth century. The relevance is that the children arrived here at Harwich and many stayed locally.

Another board about the Kindertransport.

I’ve been watching a lot of Hi-de-Hi recently and I didn’t realise that the programme was filmed at Warners which wasn’t far from the railway station, but unfortunately it was all demolished in 1992. That was a suitable treat to feel so near to where all this comedy action took place.

It’s a pretty railway station and it’s at the end of the Mayflower Line, with the building being rebuilt between 1865 and 1866.

And an information board at the front of the station, it all felt more remote than I had expected with all this greenery. But I had arrived into Harwich on time and ready to explore the town for my first time in recent years.

April 4, 2023
Norwich – 1792 Anti Slave-Trade Committee

Whilst I was looking at the history of The Bell pub I noticed that they were home to the Norwich Revolutionary Society, a group that would probably be called ‘woke’ today. Or, I prefer the word ‘kind’, but each to their own. I found this list of donors to the 1792 campaign to end slavery and I thought how just ahead of the curve these individuals were. But there was also one group in the list which was an organisation, namely the Revolutionary Society who donated nearly £11, equivalent to around £900 today.

Others who donated more than £1 included:

H Bell

G Maltby

Rev. John Buxton

John Birkbeck

James Smith

Yarington and Bacon

Rev. D Foster

Joseph Gurney

John Gurney

Rev. John Prettyman

Miss Green

John Jackson

John Scott

N Styleman

William Herring

Hannah Goddart

Rev. Philip Bell

Rev. Stephen Allen

Rev E Edward

The Gurneys were a local Quaker banking family, with their business eventually becoming part of Barclays Bank. Slavery is a challenge to Barclays, some of their founders over the centuries were slave owners, but some of their other important figures were campaigning against it. William Herring was a wealthy Norwich merchant who became the Sheriff of the city in 1786 and the Mayor in 1796, when he received a present of a sword from Horatio Nelson. I’m intrigued by some of the other names on the list, I may well return to this as it’s a fascinating subject.

March 28, 2023
Norwich Bar Billiards League – White Lion Manes

Here’s a photo of me from last year (NB, that isn’t a fashion item around my wrist, it was my face covering which I wasn’t sure where to put, although perhaps over my face would have been sensible) when I put myself in charge of refereeing a Legstretchers bar billiards tournament, although I probably remembered half the rules incorrectly. Anyway, I’ve joined a team this year, the White Lion Manes, although I’m more engaged with the food than the bar billiards bit. The league, slightly oddly referring to us as the White Lions Manes which poses me some grammatical issues, is at https://www.norwichbarbilliards.co.uk/League and I might get away with gossiping our team until someone happens to read up about what I’ve been writing and I’ll have to calm myself.

Anyway, our captain, who I shall refer to as Keir, is pretending that it isn’t something that should be taken seriously, although it’s clear to me that it is absolutely in his mind something that is more important than the essence of life itself. I will update this riveting blog on how many games I lose and when Keir orders me out of his team, but until that happens I shall merrily post even more photos of food which is why I’m doing this.

My home pub will be the White Lion, which is moderately annoying as it’s half way across the city from where I live, but I suppose I could pop into the King’s Head for a rest on the way there and back. I also don’t have a cue and I don’t want one, I’m not traipsing that around the city and it won’t make any difference to me anyway. I’m not sure that I know the rules either, which will cause a scene when Keir realises and mutters and moans that my fancy shot is actually in fact illegal. I understand that I have to referee some matches, which I shall be doing as infrequently as I can get away with as I’ll get muddled up and I don’t like adding up (Keir got an A at GCSE Maths so he’s alright).

Anyway, there’s food and beer involved, so hopefully the bar billiards bit won’t ruin those two key elements.

March 28, 2023
Norwich – Kimchi

This is my first visit to Kimchi on Brigg Street, which was formerly the Three Ways Lebanese restaurant. It came recommended by a few people and I went today with James since he had already been and he was also smitten by the place.

Their specialism is KFC, or Korean Fried Chicken, although the menu has numerous other options including a tapas selection.

There weren’t a large number of beers to choose from, although the soft drinks range is relatively broad for the small size of the restaurant. I was surprised that although they had opened shortly before that they were nearly full when we arrived for our 18:00 reservation. Reservations are also pretty much essential here, although the process is easy enough as it involves just completing a quick on-line booking rather than having to be stressed by phoning them.

I went for a Tiger Beer, the Chilli KFC, the pork Man-Doo, Kimchi and a rice to share, with James going for the same other than he had the vegetarian Man-Doo. The food was brought out after nine minutes and the whole arrangement seemed efficient. As it would be expected for me to say, I would have preferred a Korean beer to Tiger which is a little generic, but I begrudgingly admit that it wasn’t out of place. And that food looked appetising when it arrived, very Instagrammable.

This is the regular sized Chilli KFC which is larger than I had anticipated when I saw it on the menu. The chicken is generously coated in sauce but it retained its crispiness and the meat was tender and moist. It’s all boneless which makes matters easier, although I did stain my fingers with the dark sauce because I decided against eating in a sensible way by using a knife and fork. There was some heat to it in terms of spice, but it wasn’t excessive and it was complemented well with the pineapple mayo that it’s served with.

They were generous again with the steam dumplings which retained some texture as they have been part cooked in the pan. The pork wasn’t obvious by taste, but the overall flavour was slightly complex and the soy sauce went well with them, although I could have done with more of that. There was a compulsive edge to these where I could have eaten far more than the eight provided, they were light and rich which suits my greedy appetite.

The kimchi is provided free of charge and it added an acidic edge to proceedings.

I didn’t get a photo of the interior as it’s a small space and the restaurant was full, so it didn’t feel entirely appropriate. The service was timely and personable, with the environment feeling welcoming. I wasn’t quite sure about the large mirror that we were seated next too, so I positioned myself so that I didn’t have to look into my own eyes, suitable treat as that might have been. I’m not sure that they offer desserts here, they weren’t listed on the menu and we weren’t offered any, although I’m not sure what Korean after meal treats there are to offer.

As I’m not very well trained it did take me some time to wash off my stained hands, but eating in this manner makes it feel more authentic, or that’s my excuse anyway. I was impressed with the portion sizes and the prices were very reasonable given the quality and quantity of food served. It’s comfort food which is always a treat for a rainy Tuesday night and I must say that it’s better than the other KFC that is available in Norwich.

March 28, 2023