Wednesday, July 15, 2009

osgrow exotic meats

Osgrow sells a wide range of exotic meats to both restaurants and consumers.
 
visit http://www.osgrow.com to buy interesting meats including Zebra, Camel, Ostrich  and Kudu.  try locusts or chocolate covered ants if you want to try some insects.
 
No, this store is not for everyone and it may not be the cheapest but I found the sales person working at Osgrow to be really helpful.  I ordered from home in London and had food delivered to Exeter.  The sales staff contacted me and made sure that all the food I had ordered was in stock and also contacted me to tell me the day the food would be delivered.  all went well and the food we ordered has provided various fun meals since Christmas.  Zebra was a particular favourite of mine.  Zebra tastes similar to horsemeat which is like strong tasting steak.  I was not so keen on camel which was like pork but rather tough.  I had great fun getting people to try chocolate covered scorpions or chocolate covered ants when they were drunk and I also have some Thai Green Curried crickets and some locusts to try so if you want to try something really different look on the web site and give Osgrow a ring if you want to order and check stock then order online.  this is a great place to buy a Christmas or birthday hamper for an adventurous friend.
 
I give this store 8 out of 10.

Hot-headz.com

Hot-Headz is a major UK supplier of some of the hottest sauces, crisps, pickles and other fiery snacks available from around the world. Visit www.hot-headz.com
I have tried Blair's Death Rain crisps, Ass-kicking peanuts from the US and Who Dares Burns which really is wickedly hot sauce that should really be delivered in a bottle with a dropper as 2 or 3 drops should heat up a whole casserole nicely but I would not recommend a party trick I once saw where a guy who was sleeping had a drop of this dripped into his nose with a straw. He woke up and wondered if he had been given cocaine for a second but I'm surprised it didn't strip the lining of his nose! Who dares burns is truly fierce as are many of the sauces sold here. treat them carefully!

I have found this store reliable though stock of some items can run out and it may be a while before there is more of the product as there needs to be enough demand for it, particularly if it has a short shelf life. this is not a cheap store but it is certainly good for the occasional treat or for conveniently keeping really hot sauces at your finger tips.

I would give this store 7 out of 10.

the Savanna South African food and drink

The Savanna started out as a shop in London which has opened a number of branches throughout London.  The most recent branch of this shop opened in Liverpool Street Station.  Visit the website at
 
I have visited branches of this shop myself on several occasions and have brought a range of products including Biltong which is dried beef  similar to Jerkie, Droewors which are dried sausages and Boerewors  which are high quality fresh sausages made with beef and pork.
 
Various flavours of Biltong and sausage are available as well as pickles, chutneys and a range of south African crisps sweets and drinks.
 
I placed an online order from home in Stepney using my own debit card and had it delivered to an address in Exeter.  The ordering process went well and the products were delivered in a reasonably timely fashion though the currier did deliver them a day later than expected along with dog food ordered from a different supplier.  This was not the fault of the vendor however.
 
I am not south African but I am advised that the taste of the sausages is reasonably authentic and I do rather like their texture which is  coarse and meaty though the Boerewors do leak a  fair  amount of fat.  Biltong is dried meat that you can chew on.  I rather like it though it is not everyone's thing but if chewing on highly flavoured dried meat sounds as though it may interest you then Biltong is worth a try then give it a go.  It does soften up nicely in your mouth.  The Droewors are dried Boerewors and they are not as hard to chew as Biltong though they have quite a long shelf life.  I have also tried Chutney flavoured crisps or chips as they are called on the site made by Simba.   I found them rather morish I must say.
 
I would highly recommend this south African deli and I give it 8 out of 10

specialist online food and drink shops

I know that people read this blog in various parts of the UK and I am well aware that I do not review food venues in many locations.  Reviews have been concentrated largely in London with a few in Exeter and various parts of northwest England.  I therefore intend to add some good online food and drink shops that I have used and found to be helpful.  I may include online food shops if I have found them to be bad of course.  Most people are aware of the main supermarkets that offer online shopping namely, Sainsburys, Tesco, Ocado/Waitrose and Asda.
 
I intend to include specialist suppliers of food and drink here .  Of course, all reviews and recommendations are welcome.  If you do decide to give me a review give me the website along with any details of products you have ordered that you think deserve a mention.  I will add your review along with your name if you wish.       
 
Happy Troughing!
 

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

New Capital Chinese Restaurant 9 Nelson Street, Liverpool Liverpool, L1 5DW

I visited this restaurant on a Sunday about 4 weeks ago while visiting a friend.  I had a pork bun and hot and sour soup as a starter and a spicy dish with mince meat and bean curd as a starter.  the soup and main were both good and spicy and portions were massive.
 
Staff did not speak the best English but they clearly wanted to be helpful and a good attitude certainly goes a long way towards making a meal enjoyable.
 
I have only been to this Chinese once but the portions of food were so big I had to take some home and the quality was decent so I would certainly recommend this place.
I give it 7.5 out of 10.
 
 


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