Lounge on 12 at Manchester House - Afternoon Tea

She had been very well behaved, so that little cocktail drinking homie of mine accompanied me to sample a rather glorious champagne afternoon tea at Lounge on 12 at Manchester House the other day. We had a cracking little time, and it was quickly declared by Lee that she was going to write this review. I've been relegated to the bench. Luckily the bench is a great place, where I have a cocktail in hand, and I'm basking in the sun. Meanwhile, she can tell you all about what we got up to!

I love Manchester. I love the variety of places to visit, and gorgeous food to eat. A couple of places however are very close to my heart, and Lounge on 12 at Manchester House is one of them. I have been known to describe it as my spiritual home (second only to Selfridges beauty hall of course). I have the best memories of times spent here with special friends, in particular one long boozy afternoon on the terrace in the sunshine after a particularly good Jo Malone shop. So when Rach asked if I would like to accompany her to try the afternoon tea, I was beyond excited.

As always the luxurious experience of Manchester House starts the second we walked out of the lift, as we were greeted and escorted to a table with beautiful views over the city. Our server Dennis recommended we start with a cocktail, and who are we to disagree? I went for my all time favourite cocktail ever... anywhere....an Aviation. It didn't disappoint, it never does.

Now onto the afternoon tea, and I must point out that this is the first one that Rachel and I have finished totally. We normally get over-faced and end up taking cake home.

The afternoon tea is beautifully presented, with a delicious selection of sandwiches; including coronation chicken wraps, beef and coleslaw, cucumber, and cheese and pickle.

The array of sweet offerings was amazing, fennel eclairs (I know they sound weird but eat them, you won't be sorry), salted caramel macarons, panna cotta, scones and Eccles cakes. The macarons in particular were a stand out item for me. We demolished the lot.

We enjoyed this with a glass of champagne as recommended by the lovely Dennis, who was absolutely wonderful at looking after us. He took the time to sit and talk us through the food and drinks, and recommend cocktails based on what we liked.

After the food we relocated to the terrace into the sunshine for more cocktails, and were delighted to be told we could put our own music through the terrace sound system (apologies to anyone we subjected to Blake Shelton!)

Please note reclined al fresco feet...

It was a perfect afternoon, and I honestly think if we hadn't had another engagement to get to, we would still be on that terrace now!

Thanks to all at Manchester House, we can't wait to see you soon
Disclaimer: We were invited to review afternoon tea at Lounge on 12 at Manchester House. We were not asked to befriend the front of house team (again), and we certainly were not challenged to eat and drink everything, we did this of our own accord.  

Artisan, Manchester

Long time no see. It wasn't you, it was me. 

So my world fell down, and I had to climb out of a proper dark hole. It was a rubbish hole, filled with obstacles and monsters, which made me feel a bit like Sarah in Labyrinth in so many ways. I was just missing a talking worm (things aren't that bad, just yet).

I decided I wasn't keen on the oubliette I had found myself in, so needed to do something about it. Cue my decision to be happy. How did Sarah beat the baby stealing Goblin King? That's right, she remembered the last line of the book; 'you have no power over me'. Sadness has no power over me either, so I'm kicking it in the pants. I have a freakishly strong kick, for an old bird. 

My next few posts are examples of just that. Getting out into the real world, and remembering who and what makes me smile. 

First stop, Artisan in Spinningfields, Manchester. Artisan is an old friend. My first trip was on a very hot day, not long after it opened a few years ago. They've just had a bit of a menu revamp, and asked me to trot along to give it a whirl. With pleasure. 

Artisan is massive, with around 250 covers in the restaurant, plus two large bar areas. However it doesn't feel overbearing or loud in the slightest, with each area of the restaurant segregated to create a cosier feel to what is actually a beast of a restaurant. Apologies in advance for some of the photos turning out a little 'warm', but it was the giant light over our heads, which amazingly, neither of us head-butted (a first).

Drinks (clockwise) 
Passion Fruit and pomegranate sling - pomegranate seeds, passionfruit shrub, Tanqueray, passoa and lemon juice
Raspberry and thyme sour - raspberry and thyme shrub, Ketel one, chambord and apple juice
Kiwi cooler -kiwi, lemon juice, apple juice and soda water (alcohol free)
All Living Ventures establishments do a bloody good cocktail. We were told by the charming front of house chap (whose name we forgot to ask - curses!), that all fruit cocktails start with something they call a 'shrub'. This is basically a sugar syrup infused with fruit. The difference is a much deeper flavour in the drink, rather than a few raspberries bobbing around.

I was driving, but didn't feel overly deprived, as their mocktails are just as lovely, albeit sans alcohol. The kiwi cooler is a perfect alternative, especially on a warm day.

Wood fired garlic bread with cheese: The powers that be at Artisan saw fit to call this a 'nibble'. It was huge, but hell fire, it was amazing! They've replaced their sourdough version of this with a soft pizza dough type. We ate the lot, despite planning on saving some to dip in our starters...
Prawns, roasted garlic and coriander, tomato, chilli and lemon: Prawns used to be one of my mortal enemies, as was most seafood and shellfish in all honesty. Check me out now, fully enjoying prawns like some sort of cat. They were beautifully cooked, drenched in a sweet tomato sauce. All that was missing was some sort of bread to mop up the rest up. If only we had ordered some... oh...

Braised chorizo, cipollini onions, cherry tomatoes and granary toast: Little spicy balls of joy, served with soft onions and roasted garlic. This did come with bread, but we nicked that for the prawn dish.

Mussels mariniere baked in a pizza crust with fries: Bit of a star of the show this one. Genius really. So you have the mussels cooked in a velvety sauce, which creeps into the shells, infusing them with this lovely rich flavour. But wait... all that sauce pooled at the bottom can be soaked up with that soft pizza crust which has just kept them moist whilst cooking. You think I'm obsessed with the sauce/bread combo now, don't you? You were right...

7oz Fillet steak - 28 day aged Lancashire beef with fries: Thought a nice lean steak might be a lighter option after all the carbs. I suppose it is, before you add a big pile of fries and peppercorn sauce. Cooked rare, just as I had requested, it was perfect.

Sticky toffee pudding with ice cream: Medicinal sugar to combat all the lovely carbs. Soft, sticky, and incredibly light. Ate it all bar one mouthful. Some say warrior, others say greedy...

Selection of ice creams - Eton mess, pistachio and salted caramel: Who said ice cream is boring? These sparked quite the debate as we tried to rank them. Think we both agreed in the end that the Eton mess one was a tour de force. Our only criticism was a soft brandy snap, which we decided we could live with. Luckily for Artisan, Mary Berry was nowhere to be seen.

We ate from the standard menu, but it's worth mentioning that they have a brilliant deal on during the day, where you can get two courses plus a 125ml glass of wine or half a pint of draught beer for £9.95. That garlic bread with cheese is one of the starter options. Just saying. Have a look here.

I went back to Artisan expecting a pleasant evening. We left having been filled with superbly cooked food, lovingly crafted drinks, and the sense that the service we received was possibly some of the best in Manchester. We were blown away. A special thank you goes to our waitress Issy; she was knowledgeable, funny, and accommodated our every request with a the kind of sincerity that makes me think she's a natural at giving truly great service. Give the girl a pay rise.

Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, remember the best remedy is fun with your friends and loved ones. I have been incredibly lucky to have been showered with love from almost every direction. You have no power over me.

Country Slice Bundt Cake

Well, things have been a bit shit recently. Please excuse my language, but it really is the only word I can feasibly use. When the going gets tough, my family get feeding. It's a minor miracle that I'm not currently the size of a house, or at the very least, an ample outhouse/potting shed. My mum and dad have very much been in rescue mode, which has meant copious amounts of hot cross bun loaf, cream cakes, cottage pie, and enough tea to drown most of you.

Folk tell me to keep busy, and do things that make me happy. It was only natural that I was going to reach for the Nordic Ware, mainly to show some appreciation to those who have been by my side, for which I am truly thankful. I feel a series of these coming on...

Within two minutes of arriving at my parents' house, I am guaranteed to have a brew in front of me, with some sort of sweet treat. These are usually in the form of half of Marks and Spencer's food hall, or those cute Mr Kipling types where two cakes come in a little wrapped box. You obviously have to eat both, thus preventing the second from becoming stale and rotting before your eyes (inevitably causing vermin).

Regular readers will already know that my dad and maternal grandad both share a love of a spiced fruit cake, so I've done many variations over the years. With this in mind, I decided to do a nod and a thank you to Mr Kipling* himself, and do my own variation of his Country Slice. I can't tell you just how much this tastes like the real thing! Smiles all round. And more brews.

Cake:

• 225g butter
• 100g dark brown sugar
• 350g golden caster sugar
• 4 medium eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 350g Homepride plain flour
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 150g mixed fruit (Asda do a mixed bag of giant sultanas and currants!)
• 250ml lemon yoghurt 
• 5 tbsp apricot jam - no bits!
• Sugar crystals

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to gas 3/160 c
2. Prepare a regular sized bundt tin - 2.4l, 10 cup, 10 inch with melted butter and dust with flour.
3. Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. 
5. Add the vanilla extract.
6. In a separate bowl, measure out the flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt and spices. 
7. Stir the dried fruit into the four mix.
8. Pour the yoghurt into a jug.
9. Sift in a third of the flour mix followed by half the yoghurt. Repeat this until everything is combined. 
10. Note: your fruit will be left behind but covered in flour. This will stop them sinking! Boom...
11. Stir the fruit into the mix.
12. Give everything a quick mix on a low speed for about 10 seconds.
13. Pour the mix into your prepared tin. 
14. Bake in the centre of the oven for about 1 hour 15 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. 
15. Leave the cake to cool for ten minutes before removing from the tin.
16. When the cake is fully cool, warm your jam in the microwave until it's runny.
17. Brush it onto the cake until it's covered and shiny... 
18. Sprinkle with sugar crystals.

* Okay okay, we all know he wasn't a real man, but you don't go telling kids that Santa doesn't exist, so keep your trap shut, you bloody killjoy (taking advantage of a sweary post).