fat duck

when M first broached the idea of finally getting our bums to bray to try the fat duck, the mister and i were all aboard. never mind that one has to be incredibly organised to score said reso! so that's how one saturday morning i was awake at the unearthly hour of 10am with my finger poised on redial. finally got through at 1015 and oh boy, they were already fully booked for dinner (!!!) but in retrospect, looking at the huge hit our pockets took, just as well we did lunch instead :) 

it was a 14 course tasting menu and quite the experience. the service was superlative and each course was so original, i wish i had more insight into the thought process behind it (should've gone to the heston exhibition!) one reason why i was a little reluctant to venture to bray was because the fat duck struck me as fad-y, a foodie place to cross off the list then later name-drop and brag about. ironically, that's quite what i seem to be doing now. but having heard genuinely good things from friends whose palates i trust more than my own, it was a shame to be so near yet so far. not sure if i'd go back, but glad we went this one time. didn't take many photos but thought the desserts were pretty. if you're interested to see the current menu, check it out on instagram. there's this fascinating course where they dissolve a gold leaf covered boullion (?) in water to make mock-turtle soup. all very daintily presented in a glass teapot and mad hatter toast sandwich plate.

caldesi was really good italian and hit the spot after a marathon 4.5h lunch of modern british cuisine. the time flew by and before we knew it, it was practically evening! hind's head was good too and if you're in the area, would recommend visiting all three. recognise that the water*side*inn is another favourite in bray but they put me off with their snarkiness and in defiance i picked caldesi for dinner instead. glad i did! it was hearty, authentic and we miraculously found appetites to enjoy a massive dinner because it was just too darn good to decline.