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Taberna Don Rodrigo, right in the historic centre of Amarante in northern Portugal’s Porto District, serves dry-cured ham, cheese, bread, wine and other regional products. With customer handwritten notes on the walls and global currencies tucked under glass on their wooden tables, this small traditional tavern has bags of charm.
Their sandwiches are legendary! And they produce their own vinho verde wines.
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I’m making my way through Porto’s famous foods so cachorrinhos (Portuguese mini hot dogs) were a must! Of course, I had to try them at Cervejaria Gazela, the birthplace of these moreish hot dogs dating back to the early 1960s.
A cachorrinho is made up of a long, thin crispy bun filled with fresh sausage, linguiça (thin, spicy cured pork sausage) and melty cheese. It’s pressed and toasted till golden, brushed with a spicy sauce, then sliced into bite-sized pieces so it can be eaten with your hands. A delicious snack that’s perfect with fries and a cold Super Bock beer!
Prana Indian Restaurant, located in the very heart of Mill Road at the corner of Gwydir Street, is one of my favourite Cambridge restaurants. My husband Paulo and I have been regular customers for almost 10 years now, since its relaunch after an extensive refurbishment. Prana’s elegant yet relaxed ambience, coupled with a delicious menu, means it always merits a return visit.
Paulo and I recently had a discussion about what to order at our favourite restaurants. Do you stick to your tried-and-true dishes, or order something new? At Prana, whilst we have tried and enjoyed many of their dishes, our go-to order goes something like this:
Accompaniments:
Papadums with chutney selection tray.
Appetisers:
Onion Bhajee (they’re huge!) and Alvi’s Specials (delicately spiced succulent chicken that has been skewered and grilled).
I finally made it to Kanto, the Filipino café and bakery in Cambridge that opened to much acclaim late last year.
Kanto Cafe & Bakery, located at 60 Cherry Hinton Road, have a wonderful selection of Filipino bakes and a couple of Korean ones too. The owners share both their cultures from the Philippines and Korea through their fresh and delicious products.
We ate all the things… the bakes were so good, we brought some home to enjoy later!
Top tips: Double check their opening hours before heading out. Go early as they tend to sell out quickly. It’s a small place with a couple of tables inside and some outside seating. Ideal times are 10am, or 11am when they start serving sandwiches (sandos and sanwits). If driving, the best place to park is at the Cambridge Leisure Park car park. It’s a very short walk to Cherry Hinton Road from there.
On 11 May, 2024 The Baking Jin held a soft launch of his East Meets West: Suffolk Supper Club – afternoon tea-style at his new home near Framlingham in Suffolk. This was a practice run to gauge interest, assess the set up and get feedback.
Photo credit: Riadh Falvo
Photo credit: Mrs Brown
It’s been almost 6 years since he held his very first supper club in Cambridgeshire (I wrote about it here). He’s a real pro at it now, having done several pop ups in Cambridgeshire over the past years, like The Tasting Table and East Meets West @ Signorelli’s. I think this type of event will do well in Suffolk and I know I will continue to make the trip from Cambridge to enjoy Jin’s cooking and baking at his supper clubs.
The Baking Jin put together another wonderful parade of his (ESEA) East and South East Asian-inspired sweet and savoury delights. For the West to meet the East, Jin included ingredients from Suffolk producers as well as Afternoon Tea staples like earl grey tea and scones. Emmerdale Farm Shop beef, Bungay butter from Fen Farm Dairy, Adnams gin and homegrown walnuts from the garden (can’t get any more local than that) were incorporated into the menu.
As much as I miss having world-renowned chef Maoz Alonim in Cambridge (I wrote about his previous restaurant here), I know that London – specifically Chapel Market in Islington – is where he’s meant to be. The aptly named Chapel Market Kitchen reflects Alonim’s market-led style – a focus on produce sourced as fresh and local as possible. Add a wonderfully diverse wine list (cleverly described as “unruly”) and this small, vibrant restaurant offers the full food and drink experience.
It’s a sleek, contemporary space with large windows, beautiful artwork and cosy seating areas. The bar is the central hub where guests can watch the chef at work and admire the fresh loaves, oysters on ice and wine bottles on display. The basement kitchen boasts an impressive custom-made grill.
South Indian restaurant Rice Boat opened on Newnham Road in 2005 and has become a Cambridge institution. Owned by lovely couple Jacob (head chef) and Rita (front of house manager) Abraham, they serve traditional Kerala cuisine. This place has been on my must-try list for far too many years and I’m sorry it took me so long to visit. I’ll definitely be making repeat visits from now on.
When Paulo and I arrived for our 6pm (opening time) reservation, we could already take in the fragrant aromas emanating from the kitchen. We were warmly welcomed and service was attentive. The co-owner Rita came to thank us for our custom at the end of the meal and have a little chat – so nice!
I’ve only ever tried Kerala cuisine once before – several years ago in Leeds. Rice Boat’s menu describes the flavours, consistencies (dry vs saucy) and spice levels of the dishes, which really helped us decide. They cook everything from scratch. The staple foods of Kerala include aromatic spices such as black pepper, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and nutmeg, as well as coconut and rice, which we enjoyed in the dishes we ordered.
Wonderful Turkish café Botany Foodie at No. 172 Mill Road sits at the corner of Campbell Street in Cambridge.
The pretty floral arrangements outside and inside draw you in but the friendliest welcome – which includes samples of turkish delight – makes you stay!
At Botany Foodie they are more than happy to go through the menu and answer any questions about the dishes.
This year Prana will be celebrating their 14th anniversary – 8 of those years in their extensively refurbished space (with more changes to come). This upscale yet informal Indian restaurant in the heart of Mill Road has come a long way since its beginnings as a tiny takeway, even winning a slew of prestigious awards.
It’s no secret Paulo and I have been regular customers for many years as the food is always flavoursome and prepared with quality ingredients. Prana continue to use their own spice blends rather than curry powder – the results are clean, vibrant flavours that are a delight to the taste buds. We have our tried-and-true favourites but also look forward to trying more dishes on the menu, which has been streamlined over the years to simplify the previously overwhelming choices.
The Three Horseshoes is a cosy independent pub in the village of Stapleford, just a few miles south of Cambridge. It changed hands a few months ago. The previous owner (Chris) introduced a Greek menu in 2019 and the new owners (Duncan and Justine) continued with the popular Greek menu.
One Two Culinary Stew 