Edinburgh - The Scran & Scallie - Jan 2019

So the rave about this restaurant was heard across multiple people in Edinburgh.. It is meant to be a "Pub" food but gourmet style. I decided i had to go try it with my colleague so we could have more choices to order and try different things. 

 Location was not far but not walking distance to the city center so an easy 10 mins uber ride got us here easily. When walking in, you actually arrive into the bar area walk in and turn left to get into the restaurant. 

Greeted by a group of friendly staffs that was very helpful in sorting us out and helping keep my shopping bags in their office. Anyway... focusing back on food... 

Starters

Dish - Pork crackling & ears 
My review:- Too hard to chew would taste great if you cook it with oyster sauce and kai lan? That's my point of view. I think its just selling the "uniqueness" as only this restaurant has it

DIsh:- Home Made Vege crisp
My review:- You really can't go wrong with this.. It makes me miss 28 Hong Kong Street missing the green parts of the chips it taste exactly the same. Best beer/alcohol snack 

DIsh:- Scallops with Bacon and i cant remember (From the specials menu) 
My review:- Super yummy!! This is so yummy i wish i didn't share it with anyone. They did serve 3 pieces of scallops which was cooked perfectly and dances beautifully in your mouth with the sauces and stuff.... 

Dish:- Fresh local oysters
My review:- YES it was fresh... and local, so you will realize it is not super giant ones but super fresh! nothing needed reviewing on fresh oysters

 Dish:- Goats cheese with walnut 
My review :- Very overpowering cheese taste with great puff pastry and watercress salad. You need to really love cheese like i do to enjoy this dish.. and its a rich creamy texture :) 

Mains

Dish:- Salmon Wellington (From their specials menu) 
My review:- Was hoping it to be all out amazing... but unfortunately it was nothing to rave about. Taste was so...so... although yes the salmon was fresh. Could be a little more "oomph" but it didnt do it. But is a safe dish if you are looking for something easy and comfortable 

Dish:- Steak pie with bone marrow sauce
My review:- This was my favorite dish. The steaks inside was so well cooked it was soft and tender...and the bone marrow was served and mixed together in the pie taste was great

Dish:- Cod fish with lentils, carrots and peas (this is part of their specials menu) 
My review :- Fish was very fresh and a great mix of tasteful combination. Although it taste like any other cod fish with lentils in other restaurants i had back in Malaysia. but overall great taste. 

We ate too much so had to skip dessert. 

My rating would be 

Taste:- 6/10
Value for money:- 7/10 (Total price for above was around 130 GBP where some food was reasonable)
Service:- 8/10
Environment:- 7/10 small cosy place which gets really packed when was there that has no space to walk out.

Edinburgh - The Gardener's Cottage - Jan 2019

First time in Edinburgh, Scotland..after getting recommendations from locals, I decided to explore what The Gardener's Cottage had to offer on 60 GBP for a six course menu.

You had the option to either have a 3 course menu at 45 GBP or 6 course at 60 GBP (Weird the website is now 5 course) . Guess it changed which is what they advertise based on the seasonal offering. This restaurant is famous for serving their home grown vegetables which is fresh from their garden where the original restaurant is placed. They recently opened a new location which is on top of Carlton Hill which had better view. I decided to head to the original one which is right below the hill. 

I was greeted when walking in the restaurant where there was only 1 couple seated (to be fair it was a weekday and i was there at 6:30 PM) 

They served this beautiful bone marrow butter with a fresh slice of bread to start off 

(This is not part of the 6 course) 

The first course was served within the first 10 mins which was great for a starving girl like me... 

Course 1 - Mussels, White Wine, Shallots & Cream
My review:- Super tasty and fresh i even used the remaining of my bread to dip the sauce 

Course 2- Carrot Soup, Bacon, Chestnut
My review:- I loved it so so much especially in this cold weather and the warmth of the tasty soup with the crispiness of the bacon was a perfect combination. I could have had more as a whole meal if it was more! 

Course 3- Hand Dived Scallop, Razor Clams, Brown Shrimp
My review:- First of all, the brown shrimps for the Malaysians and Singaporeans is actually "heh bee" which means it actually is a salty dish and usually is dried baby shrimps but these weren't dried (could be fresh or moisten). The scallops were big so im not sure it is due to that or how it was cooked i felt it a little too cheewy for my liking. Overall there is a need to combined the dishes in every mouth otherwise it may be a mix of salty and blend taste. Mixing it would taste just right.

Course 4- Roe Deer, Jerusalem Artichoke, Salt Baked Turnip
My review:- The meat was cooked well, it came with 2 parts of which i forgot how to explain it but one was as though a steak while the other is crumbly like a pulled meat. Although my favorite part of this meal was the Artichoke which tasted like roasted potatoes but better... so good.

Course 5- Selection of British Cheeses, Quince Chutney, Cracker
My review:- It usually doesn't look like that but i requested to half all the cheese portions as i couldn't fit anything anymore but was so FOMO i insisted to continue. The menu stated cracker was not as simple as they home made their crackers and is baked with fennel seeds. It was so fragrant and tasty... I could've had more of the crackers! The cheese of course being the main highlight is great but you could've bought is in any cheese shops around Edinburgh. The quince chutney was a little more dense than my liking but taste great like a fig jam. 

Course 6- Dark Chocolate, Sea Buckthorn, Granola
My review:- What a great way to end the meal.. The sea buckthorn ice-cream was a great pallet cleanser with a sour taste and the dark chocolate with granola was amazing as it wasn't sweet which doesn't suit my pallet :) 

Overall my total bill was 71 GBP (which was the set accompanied with a glass of red wine and a big bottle of sparkling water) 
The biggest disappointment for me in this restaurant is actually the lighting which was flickering most of my meal experience until my 4th or 5th dish it annoyed me so much i had to inform the waitress about it. She knew about the issue and just adjusted to an "angle" that would stop the flickering. I wished they would fix the lightning instead of angling it at the right temperature. 

I would recommend if you ever come to Edinburgh to try this restaurant out! If you want the cottage vibe go to the one i went or if you want an amazing view of the city head over to their Carlton Hill branch. 


My rating would be 

Taste:- 8/10
Value for money:- 8/10
Service:- 8/10 (the fact she was one women handling 4 tables towards the end while keeping connected with everyone)
Environment:- 6/10 because of the flickering lights