Bonsai!

Used up out Groupon voucher for Bonsai! this afternoon, which also takes us up to 5 loyalty stamps for 20% off our next visit. Soft Shell Crab Roll (pictured) was very nice, and a bit of a treat for me, as Jen is much more a sashimi than sushi person we tend to get the big sashimi assortment from wherever we go for Japanese but Bonsai! don't have a very wide sashimi selection. I did especially like the wooden cylinder this was served in and the little dab of mayo and caviar gave it a nice salty kick with a creamy finish in your mouth. We also had edamame, pretty much a given if they are available on the menu, but again they are always salty (part of the appeal), assorted sashimi consisting of very basic tuna, salmon, scallop and sweet shrimp but excellently sized pieces of tuna and salmon and the very tasty sweet shrimp are not common on the menu's of Japanese restaurants we visit. The temperature of the fish was good too, in some restaurants they are served a bit too cold and the flavours don't come through well at all. And for ou fried selection we chose Ika Karaage, deep fried squid, delicately cut (strips not rings) and superbly lightly battered with no hint of anything rubbery or tough under the batter.

And as we were in the vicinity I suggested we visit Brewdog, which met with approval. Jen discovered last time I forced her there that a half pint of something very hoppy can be pleasant and despite there being no 'Hello My Name Is Ingrid' available this time she tried 'Hops Kill Nazis' and also enjoyed that. I strayed (slightly) from my normal path of Alice Porter to try the Winter Porter which was pretty much as I expected and suited the weather very well. Spurred on by the pleasance of her first half and after perusing the guest bottle menu Jen anounced she wanted to try a bottle of 'Without You I'm Nothing', a Belgian lambic beer at £12 for a 600ml bottle. I warned her that lambics can be sour and she was right on it (my comparison of Haribo Tangfastic Sours working a treat) and despite the expense we enjoyed the beery and somewhat romantic moment of sharing 'Without You I'mNothin'.

Much googling of lambic led me on to fruit beers and we stopped at Holyrood 9A on the way home for some 'Kriek', and another winner! Jen is now a fully fledged Belgian beer drinker and all the places she has poo-pooed in the past may now be places we can visit. I'm thinking Brel in Glasgow sometime in the new year and also perhaps Brauhaus may now have some appeal.