FREE

issue 3 DECEMBER 2015

tasteSwansea

WIN: TAPAS FOR TWO AT MOSAIC

Photo Credit: KRISTY’S BAKERY

1825: MORE THAN JUST BEAN BURGERS

Chinese Food the Chinese WayCrawling Around: NORTH GOWER

ChristmasEDITION! Christmas DAY

YOUR GUIDE TO the Perfect Christmas veg!

DINING

Llanrhidian Holiday Park,Llanrhidian, Gower, SA3 1EU

@BadgerGower The Purple Badger Gower Llanrhidian

purplebadgerrestaurant.co.uk

The go-to family-friendly restaurant on Gower

01792 391083

Serving Delicious Food,Seven Days a Week

CHRISTMAS PARTIES!Our special Christmas menu starts on

Monday 16th November, and runsMonday to Thursday

CHRISTMAS TRIBUTE NIGHTS

Meatloaf Tribute NightFriday 18th December

Shirley Basey Tribute NightSaturday19th December

TICKETS COST £25Including a two course Christmas meal

ICE SKATING WITH A VIEW!Our festive ice rink will be at the

restaurant from Fri 20th Nov to Mon 4th Jan, seven days a week

Ah, Christmas... the time for food, big jumpers, more food, good

will, and a bit more food. And drink – plenty of that too. And we are

right here to help you enjoy your festive eating!

In this issue our resident innovation chef David Llewellyn reveals his

favourite ways to make Christmas Day veg a bit more special – including

flavourful carrots and crunchy parsnips (page 7) – before our double-

page feature on Christmas Day Dining; highlighting five lovely places to

spend the big day itself, if you can’t face the washing up (page 12).

What else can you enjoy this month? Local journalist and beer enthusiast

Alex Jones takes us on a pint-by-pint tour of the pubs of North Gower – an

entertaining article penned when he eventually sobered up (page 27).

We also have a chat with Gigi Gao from the Favourite Authentic Chinese

café, who talks us through real Chinese food (page 20); we get a taste

of the baker behind Little Valley Bakery (page 23); and we see what the

Bayside Grill’s new menu has to offer (page 17).

Of course, our regular features return – Foodie News (page 4) and Five

To Try (page 25), as well as our round-up of Pop-Up Kitchens (page 9) and

Local Produce Markets (page 11).

Taste Swansea magazine is getting better with each issue, and I’m hugely

thankful to readers and businesses for their feedback and suggestions. If

YOU have any places you’d like to see featured, any foods you’d like to see

tried, or any beers you want us to drink, we’ll be happy to oblige! Please

get in touch: info@tasteswansea.com.

But until next time, have a great Christmas and see you all in 2016!

Chris Carra

Taste Swansea Magazine

December 2015

PUBLISHERTaste Swansea Magazine

PHONE07935 202012

ENQUIRIESinfo@tasteswansea.com

EDITORChris Carra

DESIGNBST DESIGNS

bstdesigns.co.uk

PRINTHarcourt Colour Print

WEBSITEtasteswansea.com

SOCIAL@Taste_Swansea

facebook.com/TasteSwansea

All effort has been taken to ensure that the

information contained in this magazine

is accurate at the time of publication.

However Taste Swansea Magazine accepts

no responsibility for the consequences of

errors or omissions. All text, artwork and

photographs submitted for publication

within this magazine are accepted on

the understanding that prior permission

has been sought by the subscriber

where relevant. Opinions expressed in

the magazine are not necessarily those

of the publisher, editor or designer and

the magazine is in no way liable for such

opinions. No part of this publication may

be reproduced without written permission

of the publisher.

WELCOME

3

CONTRIBUTORDavid Llewellyn

CONTRIBUTORAlex Jones

FOODIE NEWSA VERY VEGAN CHRISTMAS!

BREWSTONE

EXPANDS

Following the success of the maiden Vegfest back in June, Swansea will soon have its first completely vegan Christmas market! Taking place at the National Waterfront Museum on Saturday, 12 December, the Vegfest Christmas Market will feature a tempting variety of lovely foods and gifts from local, independent businesses, including chocolate, cakes, pies, drinks, chutneys, skincare and crafts. Event

One of Uplands’ favourite eateries is expanding – BrewStone, who opened their popular cocktail barand wood-fire restaurant last year, are opening a new drinks-focused establishment right next door to their current location on Uplands Crescent. While a lot of details are still under wraps, the new branch of BrewStone says it wants to reinvent the concept of ‘bar’, and will have unique spaces across three floors, including an imaginative outdoor area in which to enjoy cocktails and craft beer. The new bar is likely to open at the end of November, just in time for the first Christmas drinks! Perfect.

organiser Karen McCloy said, ‘We’ve already got a huge amount of interest in the market, which just shows how open people are to exploring a vegan lifestyle. There will be everything you could ever want for a cruelty-free Christmas, all in one place. If you’re already vegan, or are just curious, everyone is welcome and I promise you won’t be disappointed!’ The event runs from 10.30am to 4pm. Entry is free.

4 4

ZEN CAFEWe’re really happy to see a lovely new vegan addition to central Swansea – Urban Zen Yoga Café, on Little Gam Street in Sandfields. Run by Welsh surfing champion Lloyd Cole and his wife Emily, the pair have injected a little California into Swansea, with the new centre offering a state-of-the-art yoga studio, complimentary therapies and – most importantly for this food magazine – a fresh, wholefood café. Highlights of the menu include the Monty Burger (a vegan black bean burger with mushrooms, spinach and thyme) and the Full Vegan, which is an inventive

Foodies in Pontardawe are in for a treat as their monthly Foodie Fridays return in December! The next event takes place at the Pontardawe Arts Centre on Monday, 21 December (a rare non-Friday event) and will feature food demos and tasters by Paul Brandon; owner of the Gatsby Tea Rooms in the town centre. Paul will be creating an alternative Christmas lunch, including Salmon en croute, luxury stuffing and festive bubble n’ squeak. Alongside the demo will be a mix of food and craft stalls, including Ynysymond Preserves, Little Valley Bakery, Cwmfarm Charcuterie and The Welsh Chocolate Experience. The event starts at 3pm.

take on the fried breakfast, featuring home-made baked beans, sautéed sweet potato and scrambled tofu with spinach and seeds.

FOODIEFRIDAYS!

WHAT’S NEW?If YOU have any foodie news you’d like to see on these pages in the next issue,

please email details to: info@tasteswansea.com.

5

“ Our favourite hotel anywhere” GOOD HOTEL GUIDE

Set amongst 24 acres of secluded lawns and woodland, this charming 18th-century

small hotel and restaurant with a mighty reputation offers some of the finest food

and wine in Wales. Take time out to enjoy the Fairyhill Experience.

• Morning coffee

• Lunch from 12pm-2pm from £20

• Afternoon Tea from 3pm-5pm from £20 per person (24 hours notice required)

• Dinner from 7pm-9pm from £35

• Eight luxury bedrooms

• Getaway business meetings

Reynoldston, Gower, Swansea SA3 1BS

Tel: 01792 390139 www.fairyhill.net

F A I R Y H I L Lrestaurant rooms relaxation

FAIRYHILL Ads.indd 1 12/06/2015 11:20

ALL THETRIMMINGSWhat’s the best thing about Christmas dinner? Taste Swansea’s innovation

and development chef DAVID LLEWELLYN insists it’s the vegetables and

trimmings that make the meal what it is. Here he shares his tips on how to

add a little sparkle to your Christmas Day veg.

7

BY DAVID LLEWELLYN

For me the festive season means sharing. Big plates of hearty food being passed around a table full of family and friends really signifies the start of Christmas.

Christmas dinner is naturally the peak of festive eating, with turkey the centre-piece. However while the meat or the nut-roast will usually be the focus of the meal, the vegetables and trimmings play more than just a supporting role and, in my eyes, are more important than the bird.

In fact the first thing I reach for is the parsnips, which I make with an extra crispy coating. This crispiness can be guaranteed by first blanching the parsnips in boiling water for five minutes before letting them dry off in a colander. When dry, add them to

a roasting dish with a splash of olive oil and a few tablespoons of polenta, which will give them a lovely crunch while ensuring a soft, sweet inside.

Parsnips can also be fantastic glazed. Reduce some real ale (make sure it’s from one of our fantastic Swansea brewers) and a good glug of maple syrup until thick and almost caramel like. Then pour over the parsnips towards the end of cooking for a sticky, savoury and sweet treat. They are also, on the rare occasion there is leftovers, great in bubble and squeak – a brunch fit to clear a sore head!

Carrots are another favourite of mine, and very simple to get right. Roast a handful of them in a panuntil slightly coloured, then add a knob of butter, a pinch of salt, a splash of stock and a sprig of freshthyme. Cover this with foil and cook on a medium heat until tender. This is a simple and beautiful way to enhance their flavour. Once cooked they can be kept in the pan and simply reheated when you are ready to serve.

For me the hardest sell is the humble, yet family-dividing sprout. Every generation has a memory, story or opinion on this mighty veg. Believe it or not, there are more than one hundred different varieties of sprout, all ranging widely in size, taste and colour. What’s great is that they don’t actually require a lot of cooking and there is so much more you can do with them than just boiling.

I loved them when roasted, sliced finely and cooked with some bacon, cream and chestnuts, for an indulgent side dish. They’re also great served raw, shredded into a festive coleslaw to enjoy with the Boxing Day ham. Sprouts should be loved – they are incredibly ver-satile and packed full of vitamins Aand C.

When roasted they taste really sweet and nutty. Another favourite method of mine is, after roasting them, sprinkle with salt and grate over some orange zest to really let everyone know it’s Christmas and you mean business!

“Parsnips are also great in bubble and squeak - a brunch fit to clear a sore head!”

POP-UP Kitchens

MORUZZi & Co

NOAH’S YARD

Sketty Bistro & Cafe

If you have a pop up kitchen, please Send the

Details to:info@tasteswansea.com

Dating back to 1920’s, this staple Neath café regularly host special pop-up kitchens with the Fuller Flavour Supper Club, run by Andy Addis-Fuller (one of the original chefs from Channel 4’s The Secret Supper Club). Their next event is planned for Friday, 29 January, with the theme paying homage to classic winter foods, casseroles, pies and roast roots. It’s central heating for the soul!

Malabar Aaanaa have recently collaborated with Sketty Bistro and Café on Eversley Road to bring both of their wonderful pop-up kitchens to Sketty on selected Friday evenings. The next Keralan Kitchen (Southern Indian) at the Bistro will take place on 18 December, while the next Pomegranate Kitchen (Persian and Middle Eastern) is on 4 December.

If you can’t get to the nights in Sketty, Malabar Aaanaa also hold both their regular kitchens in Noah’s Yard, Uplands, on Wednesdays. The next Pomegranate Kitchen at Noah’s will take place on 2 December, while the next Keralan Kitchen will be happening on 25 November and 9 December.

All events are subject to change. Check individual websites for times and menus. check out

TasteSwansea.com for regular pop-up kitchen updates.

The pop-up kitchen is always an interesting concept and it’s

good to see Swansea has a growing selection of creative pop-

ups and supper clubs – whether it’s independent chefs cooking

up meals in cafés, or established restaurants adding a new

twist to their regular evenings. We’ve already seen Indian,

Cuban, Italian, BBQ, Middle Eastern and Moroccan, and there

are many more on the way!

9

FOLLOW AND LIKE US TODAY

FOR FOODIE NEWS AND RESTAURANT REVIEWSAND A NEW WEEKLY FOOD AND DRINK ROUND UP,

MAKE SURE TO JOIN TASTE SWANSEA ONLINE!

NEVER MISS ANOTHER COPY!JUST EMAIL US AT:

INFO@TASTESWANSEA.COMAND WE WILL SEND YOU A FREE DIGITAL COPY

AS SOON AS THE NEXT ISSUE IS READY!

TASTESWANSEA.COM

@TasteSwansea facebook.com/TasteSwansea

T A S T E S W A N S E A . C O M

LOCAL PRODUCE

MARKETSWe food and drink lovers can be grateful that there’s such a

good selection of regular local produce markets in Swansea,

selling everything from fresh breads to local craft beers.

One of the oldest and most consistent is the Mumbles Local

Produce Market, which has been going for around 12 years.

It offers inspirational views of Swansea Bay, and is one of my

favourites as it specialises in food and drink – with producers

Malabaar Aaanaa, Mumbles Brewery, Goggi’s Cuisine, Brian

Jeffreys of Crickton Farm, and the Mumbles Pate Company all

regular stallholders.

However if you like your fresh fruit and veg served alongside

some unique crafts and gifts, the Uplands and Marina Markets

are a good port of call, with producers such as Ty Siriol Pork,

Taste of Persia, Pop Cycle and Estelle’s Gower Goodies lining up

with stalls that sell skincare, artwork, clothing and records.

Llanelli also has its fair share of regular produce markets, with

the Gwendraeth Valley providing plenty of scope for foodies –

regular markets include Pontyates, Pontyberem and Carway.

Over Christmas there may be a change in regular market dates. The

following are correct as far as we know, although it’s worth contacting a

market organiser directly for more information.

11

DATES FOR THE DIARY

Marina MarketSun 13 Dec

Mumbles Local Produce MarketSAT 12 Dec, SAT 9 Jan

SKETTY Local Produce MarketSAT 5 Dec @ BISHOP Gore School

Penclawdd Local Produce MarketSat 21 Nov, SAT 19 Dec

PenNARD Local Produce MarketSUN 13 Dec, SUN 10 Jan @ Pennard Community Hall

PONTYATES Local Produce MarketSAT 21 NOV, SAT 19 Dec @ Pontyates WELFARE Hall

PONTYberem Local Produce MarketSAT 12 DEC, SAT 9 JAN @ Pontyberem Hall

Carway Local Produce MarketSAT 5 Dec @ Carway Hall

UPLANDS MarketSAT 28 Nov, Sat 5 Dec, Sat 19 Dec

Are we missing any? Email info@tasteswansea.com and let us know!

CHRISTMAS DAY

DININGChristmas lunch – the king of all roast dinners and perhaps the most anticipated foodie event of the year. In theory, it’s a meal best enjoyed home-made in the comfort of your own dining room. The succulent turkey, the crispy roasties, the… pressure of trying to get it all perfect, the stress when you drop the bowl of stuffing, and the dreaded washing up.

This is probably why eating out on Christmas Day is becoming more popular. Of course, you have to pay a premium, but surely that’s worth it for the luxury of letting someone else do the hard work? The real chefs can worry about making the perfect gravy while you can sit back with a glass of something nice.

Although there are many places open on December 25, we’ve picked five of our Swansea favourites that will welcome you in for Christmas Day dining.

“Let the real chefs do the hard work while you sit back with a glass of something nice...”

In all cases booking ahead is essential and a deposit is required. Formore details, full menus and to make your booking, contact each

restaurant directly.

12

The stunning Fairyhill Hotel and Restaurant in Reynoldston offer a sumptuous seven-course fine dining experience on Christmas Day, including canapés with a glass of Mercier Champagne on arrival; a breast and bon bon of pigeon with caramelised pear and sprouts; roast turkey with traditional accompaniments, and a choice of desserts including a mouthwatering salted caramel and butter macaroon, with roast pineapple and chocolate sorbet. For such quality you pay a premium – £115 per adult, £70 per child – but it is likely to be the most memorable Christmas dinner ever.

Another newly refurbished gastropub with a lovely rustic atmosphere and cosy open fire. The Woodman offer a tempting three-course Christmas lunch for £59.00 per person. Main meal choices include venison medallions, 35-day matured cannon of sirloin or hand-carved turkey with all the trimmings. These are accompanied by starters such as white onion soup, and twice-baked four cheese soufflé, while dessert choices of winter-berry panna cotta or caramel profiteroles follow.

If you find lunch followed by a brisk stroll along Swansea Bay the perfect way to spend Christmas afternoon, then the Marriott Hotel’s Bayside Grill is your best port of call. A huge five-course feast awaits, with duck liver parfait, brioche country loaf and bacon jam to start; roast turkey, cranberry stuffing, pigs in blankets and winter vegetables for the main; with a pistachio and white chocolate tart and honeycomb ice cream to finish (before a selection of Welsh cheese, biscuits and grapes). Still fancy that walk? If not, the Queen’s Speech will be shown in the bar so you can sit and enjoy a glass of something nice instead. The feast is £89.50 per person (children £45), including a welcome drink.

Set in the tiny village of Kittle, the newly refurbished Beaufort Arms offer a traditional three-course dinner at one of the more wallet-friendly prices. Options include an indulgent baked Camembert and crusty bread to start, roast turkey or topside of beef (with all the trimmings, of course) for your main meal, and a traditional Christmas pudding with brandy sauce to finish. If you fancy something a little different you could try the herb-crusted cod loin with white wine and dill sauce, or a tantalising lemon tart with elderflower ice-cream. Then a few pints in the bar (well, it is Christmas after all…). The threecourses come in at just £44.95 per adult, and £19.95 for the little ones.

This cosy, eccentrically decorated family restaurant in the heart of North Gower serves up a real Christmas feast, with six-courses including a welcome drink, fish course, cheese course, coffees and chocolates – in addition to the usual starter, main and dessert! Menu highlights include roast beetroot and parsnip soup to start, slow-roast top side of beef and Yorkshire puddings for your main, and a light Chantilly patisserie strawberry Saint Honoré to finish. The superb lunch comes in at £85 for adults and £42.50 for children.

FairyHILL

Beaufort Arms

Bayside Grill

The Woodman

The PURPLE BADGER

Reynoldston

Kittle

Swansea Marina

Black Pill

Llanrhidian

1 2

3 4

5

Festive family gathering? Special lunch with friends?

Try our Christmas Lunch and Dinners from 7th – 18th December.

Booking Essential

Celebrate Christmas in style, with 1825 Conferences & EventsAt the Dylan Thomas Centre

CHRISTMAS LUNCH & DINNER

7 T H - 1 8 T H D E C E M B E RCONFERENCES & EVENTS

Email: info@1825.cymru Or Call: 01792 532200

More Than JustBEAN BURGERS...

Whether you’re veggie, vegan, coeliac or simply allergic to nuts, yeast or milk, you’ll know how uninspiring dining out can sometimes be. While there are some great vegetarian restaurants out there, it can be tricky to find somewhere catering for every single diet – somewhere that offers a little more than the predictable bean burger.

Which is why places like 1825 Coffee Shop are a breath of fresh air. Tucked away in the Dylan Thomas Centre, the peaceful little café is becoming a haven for diners with complicated diets. This is largely down to centre manager Helen Wyn Hall; a nutrition specialist and fanatic who suffersfrom dietary problems herself, including a yeast intolerance and gluten allergies.

‘I know how frustrating it is when you go out for lunch and have to search the menu for something you actually can eat, and then find out it’s just a boring bean burger,’ says Helen.

‘There’s not enough thought put into the food in some of the more mainstream restaurants. They concentrate on vegetarian cuisine, but don’t look at other dietary requirements. It seems to be more of an afterthought. But it’s not difficult to cater for everybody. With simple ingredients you canmake a myriad of dishes, and that’s what we try to do here.’

Helen said her earlier work in nutrition inspired her. ‘I found that children with allergies felt left out because their plates were different to their friends’ and parent’s,’ she explained. ‘So we try to allow everyone to eat the same meal, with a few key ingredient tweaks – like using chickpea flour instead of regular wheat flour, or oat milk instead of cow’s.’The varied menu at 1825 changes every week, but their talented chef always has an inventive selection of foods ready to tempt any diet – from Halloumi burgers and a variety of vegan falafels, to home-made gluten-free cakes.

Helen added, ‘Carl loves to make a Thai curry and there are always two versions of whatever he has made – one with meat and one veggie. We also do the same with our chilli – either beef or threebean. The ingredients are usually the same apart from the binding agents, so it’s not hard to offer something for all requirements.’

Helen would love to hear menu suggestions, so please get in touch

directly at:info@1825.cymru.

15

The Beaufort Arms

Like us on Facebook and Twitter

18 Pennard Road, Kittle, SA3 3JG | 01792 234447

REVIEW THE BAYSIDE GRILL, SWANSEA MARINA

Hidden away inside Swansea’s looming Marriott Hotel is the Bayside Grill – a restaurant open to both hotel guests and the general public, which is great news for Swansea diners looking for a little

elegance without the pretension.

The menu immediately confirms this – while there are more adventurous dishes like pork belly and rabbit rillette, and pumpkin and chilli arancini, you can still find good old fish and chips, and grilled steak. But you can certainly expect a little more care and attention than your local chippy.

On a fishy theme, I went for the king prawn and paprika fish cakes with a spiced cocktail sauce to start. This was a modern take – and a huge improvement – on the classic prawn cocktail, with three little balls of deliciousness and a tangy sauce. I tried to savour them, but all three were ingested within a minute.

But this warmed me up nicely for my main of salmon supreme, with fennel and braised baby leeks. The fish was cooked perfectly and the skin crisped up nicely. The fennel was fragrant and the potato rosti – although I could have

done with a tiny bit more – was satisfyingly squidgy. A very solid main meal.

To me, the only slight disappointment of the evening was the lack of something chocolatey on the dessert menu (chocolate ice-cream doesn’t count). But there was a nice assortment of others to choose from – including a salted caramel crème brulee, and buttermilk panna cotta. I tried the plum and almond slice, which was an indulgent alternative garnished with a tart fresh plum.

A mention must be given to the dining area – a bright and spacious open-plan room, which is warm and relaxing, despite being big and airy. The service also received a huge thumbs up – attentive, quick and genuinely friendly.

Three courses and a glass of full-bodied Shiraz cost around £30 each, which was a fair amount for the quality we had enjoyed. I’ll definitely be heading back.

Chris Carra

“Elegance without the pretension”

17

Authentic Italian and Welsh Bakery

KristysBakerySwansea.comfacebook.com/KristysBakery @KristysBakery

Swansea pies, fresh focaccia, giant cookies, custard slices, traditional lasagne, Sicilian

cannoli, panna cotta, Pugliese bread, messinese sauce and hundreds of other treatsall hand made and baked on the premises?

Where else can you find

Specialists in Naked Wedding

Cakes

Baking today like we’ve done for 80 years.

“If you want to go far and progress to the highest level then you need to be willing to put in a lot of hours”

LIFE IN THE KITCHENKRISTIAN ROBERTSChefs – we happily eat their creations, but often we know very little about them! So this month,second chef at the cosy Beaufort Arms in Kittle, Kristian Roberts, took some time out frompreparing his Christmas meals to give us his thoughts on life behind the kitchen doors.

What was the first meal you ever cooked?The first meal I made was back in college and it was coq au vin. Although I didn’t actually get to taste it… it was a snow day, so we got sent home early. One of my friends threw a snowball at me, it hit me in the face and I dropped the food!

How did your career in the kitchen begin?I was actually quite a fussy eater when I was younger, but when I started to gain more knowledge about other cultures and cuisines it really started to interest me. I started to enjoy cooking new foods and trying things out, so I decided to pursue a career in the kitchen.

What’s your favourite meal to cook for yourself?As I do so much in work, I’m actually not a big cook in the house – I much prefer to go out and enjoy the experience of someone else cooking for me! But if I do get in the kitchen, I’ll make something nice and simple – you can’t beat a good home-made shepherd’s pie.

What is the most popular item on your menu?We have a lot of new dishes on our specials menu, and from it our home-made fish pie has been the most popular over the last few weeks. It’s a tasty dish

packed with locally sourced fish from Swansea Fish.

What is the best thing about being a chef?Personally I think the best thing is you get to meet so many interesting people along the way, and it’s a career in which you can make some really strong friendships.

And the worst?The worst thing about being a chef is that it’s such a demanding career. If you want to go far and progress to the highest level then you need to be willing to put in a lot of hours.

19

Aside from The Beaufort Arms, where do you enjoy eating out in Swansea?I think my favourite place to eat is The Smoke Haus on Wind Street. Their food is fantastic. I find it a little expensive but it’s 100 per cent worth it. I also head to TGI Fridays quite a bit, as that’s where I took my girlfriend on our first date.

Finally, if you weren’t a chef, what would you be doing?If I wasn’t a chef I would like to think I could be in the entertainment industry. I would love to be a video game designer.

CHINESE FOOD THE CHINESE WAY

There’s no denying that St Helen’s Road is Swansea’s curry quarter, with no less than ten Indian restaurants dominating the culinary feel of the area. However its nearby

neighbour Brynymor Road offers an alte rnative flavour of the east, and is now home to several Chinese, Thai and Japanese cafés and shops.

One restaurant in particular that has been flying the flag for China in Swansea since it opened in 2012 is The Favourite Authentic Chinese. After a change of hands last year, the friendly little café is now run by a passionate foodie called Gigi, who is eager for the diners of Swansea to taste the real China.

All of us will have tried the kind of Chinese food on offer at a takeaway – lemon chicken, egg fried rice and prawn toast. It does the job, but it’s pretty uninspiring.

Which is something Gigi is out to combat. ‘Chinese food doesn’t have a great image in Britain,’ she says. ‘It ’s usually the same old dishes with too much MSG.’

‘In a real Chinese dish, you have to have good color, aroma and delicious taste,’ she added. ‘When I met my boyfriend he complained that the Chinese food he had tried in Britain was totally different to what he eats in China. His strong feelings inspired my ambition to introduce proper, authentic Chinese food to Britain.’

So, when the opportunity to take over the Favourite arose, Gigi gave up her ambition of being a solicitor to focus on the world of food. Her first task was finding a new Chinese chef, Robert Ma, who has more than 20 years of culinary experience, and worked with her to redevelop the menu.

20

The Favourite now offers a huge menu, full of authentic treats – Kung Pao tofu, spicy fishballs, squid in pork mince, red bean sweet dumplings, and their delicious Beijing meat pasties. However you can still find well-known classics like sweet and sour chicken, and spare ribs. However they are made in the traditional Chinese way – with no flavour enhancers like MSG.

As we talked about the different areas of her country, she explained that generally Chinese food is eaten with rice in the south of China, while noodles are favoured more in the north. Gigi – who was born in the city of Yangquan, in the northern Shanxi province of China – is particularly proud of her homemade noodles, which are made with organic flour then hand rolled on the premises.

In China, Yangquan is famous for its noodles and it was her home city that inspired Gigi to pay extra attention when choosing which style of noodles to serve.

Aside from noodles, her favourite dish on the menu is the boiled catfish in chill oil with vegetables, while she’s also very keen on dishes made with tofu. I like the tofu options myself (especially if you ask them to fry it well), but my go-to dish at the Favourite is always the Kung Pao chicken – which isn’t as spicy as the red chilli garnish suggests, although there’s a good kick and plenty of savoury flavour.

As our chat came to an end Gigi emphasised that it’s pointless having good food without good hospitality. She said that she always tries to make people feel happy, especially when it comes to special occasions.

‘We are popular for birthday parties, because I try to make the birthday boy or girl feel good – we play a traditional Chinese birthday song and give a Chinese card and present. It’s the little things that make the difference.’

She added, ‘I certainly believe that although Swansea is a small city, this beautiful place deserves something unique and the people deserve something different. So we as restaurateurs from overseas need to do something special.’

“It’s the little things that make the difference. We as restauranteurs from overseas need to do something special.”

21

87 Brynymor Road, Swansea, SA1 4JE01792 515230

2014 - 2015

MSG-free, authentic Chinese cuisine made by our top qualified Chinese chef

We offer traditional Chinese style atmosphere and friendly service in our cosy café on Brynymor Road.

• We take bookings, but walk-ins are also welcome• Great for groups or parties, and good for children

• We offer takeaway, delivery, catering, table service and outdoor seating

Drop in and taste the real China in Swansea

facebook.com/thefavouritecafe

Producer in FocusLittle Valley Bakery

In this new regular feature we get a proper taste of some of Swansea’s favourite food and drink

producers. To kick off, we speak with TAMARA WILLIAMS of Little Valley Bakery – a familiar face at

local produce markets and food festivals, and a bakery that now delivers bread through the post!

Give us a little history lesson – when and why did you start Little Valley Bakery?I started the bakery in April 2014. I’ve always been interested in good quality food, and in university I realised I wanted to run my own food business at some point in my life. A few years later I finally took the plunge and started Little Valley Bakery.

Have you always been interested in baking?My late mother was a qualified chef and I was always baking as a child with my family. Baking cakes with my mum and nan at Christmas was one of the highlights of my year, and as I got older I became interested in other sides of baking; bread being a favourite of course.

What kind of produce do you specialise in?We are a bread specialist. We love it. This doesn’t mean we’re only baking plain white loaves though; we specialise in flavoured breads and really enjoy coming up with new combinations. We’ve also proudly signed up to the Real Bread Campaign which means our bread isn’t full of the rubbish that you get in supermarket bread and big bakery chains. It’s literally just yeast, flour, water, salt and any flavours we decide to use.

What do you love to bake and then eat yourself?Our garlic and rosemary focaccia is a favourite of mine – it’s full of flavour and real savoury treat.

Tell me about your mail order breads?We’re just starting out in this but it’s a big part of our future plans. Our Swansea Bread Weekly subscription service is the best way to enjoy our bread. You pay for four loaves upfront and then go on to receive one fresh loaf delivered straight to your door every Saturday morning for the next four weeks.

Very convenient! But aside from in the mail, where can people find you?We try and get around to as many markets as we can. You can always find us at the Marina Market and quite often at St Fagans’ produce market. We also get involved with as many local food festivals and events as we can, such as Pontardawe Art Centre’s Foodie Fridays and the upcoming Green Fayre at the National Waterfront Museum.

Are you considering opening a shop, or is your business solely markets and mail order?Yes we are in the planning stage for opening up a unit in a pretty special location. Our lips are sealed on that for now though.

23

ADVERTISE

HERE

GIVE YOUR BUSINESS A BOOST IN 2016...

OUR NEXT ISSUEWILL BE OUT MID-JANUARY.

CRAMMED FULL OF FOODIE NEWS, REVIEWS, ARTICLES AND OPINION. MAKE SURE YOUR BUSINESS IS A PART OF IT.

BI-MONTHLY

AFFORDABLE AND COMPETITIVE ADVERTISING PRICES THAT SUIT YOUR BUDGETINTERESTING, INFORMATIVE AND ENGAGING CONTENT

NO CONTRACTSDISCOUNTS AVAILABLE

FOR MORE DETAILS AND PRICES EMAIL INFO@TASTESWANSEA.COM

24

Oystermouth Stout ‘Tis the Saison

Cwrw Gaeaf

snowball

OTley O6 Porter

One of the Mumbles Brewery’s most popular ales and it’s easy to see why. Interestingly, real oystersare added into the beer during the brewing process to give this dark and tasty beer a subtle hint of the sea. Equally enjoyable on tap or from the bottle.

Brains Craft Brewery bring this festive saison-style beer to pubs across Wales. It’s a dark, spicy and smooth pint, brewed with rye crystal and chocolate wheat, Strisselspalt hops, and a classic saison yeast. And at 4.4% it’s lower in strength than typical saison... meaning you can drink more!

Home of the ‘Great Ales of Wales’, Tomos Watkins have crafted a real winter classic in Cwrw Gaef. A rich and warming beer, brewed in Swansea using floor-malted barley and wheat, with a blend of crystal and dark chocolate malts, to produce a festively full-bodied flavour. Well worth a pint!

At 7%, we have another strong one on the list – this time from the Waen Brewery in Llanidloes, Powys. Cocoa nibs, vanilla pods and toasted coconut are added in the brewing process to produce a thick stout with a sweet, indulgent taste.

First brewed in 2006 (hence the name), this is an award-winning traditional porter from Pontypridd brewers Otley. A refreshing beer, but full of deep chocolate, coffee and chicory flavours. Dark and decadent, it packs quite a punch at 6.6%!

FIVE to try:

WELSH WINTER BEERSA

s the evenings get darker and the frosty weather sets in, those ice-cold craft

lagers and sunny golden ales suddenly become less appealing. Instead, we turn to the festive porters, ruby ales and winter warmers to quench our thirst and lift our spirits. Here are five of my favourite Welsh winter beers.

25

Have a beer you want us to try? Let us know

via email:

info@tasteswansea.com

Here’s one for you – how many pubs are

there in Gower? Eight? Ten? Personally,

I reckon it’s closer to twenty. But there’s

no conclusive answer, as everyone has

their own idea about what exactly construes a ‘pub’.

Do the golf clubs count? Not for me they don’t.

Similarly, do you count The Coalhouse down Oxwich

or the Sea Garden near Penclawdd? Again I’d say

no, but you could make an argument as they do

serve beer. Hotels? Depends on the hotel I guess.

The second qualifier is how do you define Gower?

Which pubs are on the peninsula and which aren’t?

I’m not going to count Mumbles pubs, but I may

count the Langland Brasserie. Why? Because it’s my

article and I’m going to make up the rules as I go

along.

Anyway, all of this is a needlessly convoluted way

of saying that there’s a whole wealth of drinking

establishments across our glorious beauty spot.

If you fancy a wholesome meal with the family, a

session with your mates or you’re looking to wine

and dine a prospective partner, Gower will have

exactly what you’re looking for.

I only came to appreciate the top edge of the

peninsula after many years of slavishly sticking to

the popular, crowded southern roads. I’d be the first

to agree that the south coast has the ‘wow’ factor –

how do you top Worm’s Head and Three Cliffs? But

the north certainly has its own rugged charm. The

1

3

2

4WELCOME TO GOWER

Welcome to Town

The ROYAL OAK

The PURPLE BADGER

CRAWLING AROUND NORTH GOWERWITH ALEX JONES

27

5 THE DOLPHIN INN

6

7

The Greyhound

BRITANNIA INN

intricate salt marshes, the distant beckoning point

of Whiteford Lighthouse and a smattering of stately

ruins. It’s got character.

Our first stop on the tour is the Welcome to

Gower, in Gowerton. There’s not a great deal I can

say about this pub except that its name lends itself

nicely to kick off this tour. It’s a perfectly good pub

– comfortable and a good ale selection – but my

abiding memory was a sign stating that it refused

to show any FIFA World Cup games during one of

the more recent tournaments. Now there’s a sign

to divide opinion!

We quickly move along to Penclawdd where we find

The Royal Oak. On a visit a couple of years ago the

landlord told me that there used to be eleven pubs

within easy walking distance of each other and

that only The Royal Oak remained. Apparently this

startling deterioration began only 30 or so years

ago. It’s amazing to think that the Oak itself nearly

disappeared recently, before a makeover brought it

up to scratch. I’ve always had a certain fondness for

the pub as I remember stopping there many years

back, drenched in sweat on the Gower Bike Ride,

and enjoying one of the first pints I’d ever bought

myself. Arguably one of my most thirst-quenching

pints of all time.

Our next taxi stop takes us to a very recent addition

to my drinking catalogue; The Purple Badger.

Outside, there’s a pretty beer garden with lovely

views over the Loughor Estuary, a little play area

and some twinkling fairy lights. As you wander in

past a sign promising a ‘free cake with every coffee’,

you’re immediately greeted by a friendly host and a

very mellow looking stuffed purple badger standing

“...a smattering of stately ruins, It’s got character.”

28

proudly on the bar. Next to the creature you’ll find

a tap serving Purple Badger; a beer created by the

Gower Brewery especially for the establishment.

It’s a great spot to while away an afternoon,

surrounded by an eccentric décor, novel touches

and a range of sporting paraphernalia to keep you

distracted. The food is top notch as well.

Alas, time waits for no man and we must continue

along. Fortunately we’re only heading to the

Dolphin Inn a couple of minutes away down a

winding, narrow lane. Here we are faced with out

first ‘old school’ pub of the crawl. The low ceilings

and manifold nooks and crannies of the Dolphin

never fail to please me – as do the saloon style

doors to get in the toilet. The robust nature of the

pub allows for pretty much anything to happen. You

might find yourself distracted by the chicken coop

outside or the pretty vista of the nearby church,

pulled into conversation with a friendly local or

simply staring contently into the pub’s log fire. It’s

a brilliant place which doesn’t get enough credit in

my opinion, especially considering it normally has a

good range of real ales to select from as well. Worth

a jaunt.

Happily our next stop is even closer than our last,

just a quick look left and right before we waddle

over the road into the recently reopened Welcome

to Town. The charming façade belays the cool,

contemporary bar that lies within; a complete

juxtaposition from The Dolphin. Here the walls

are white, purple lights hold up the bar and all the

taps are glistening beacons of chrome. It’s the type

of bar which you might expect to see in SA1, with

its modern art, seascapes and bathtub armchair.

It seemed a bit odd to me to sit and swivel on a

stylishly contemporary stool in the midst of an old

country pub but once a pint of Tribute had been

plonked in front of me, any feelings of unease

quickly subsided and I enjoyed my stay. And the

food looked pretty good too!

Our next venture takes us back to the main road

and whisks us along until we reach the ever-popular

Greyhound Inn. Beer lovers won’t need telling

that the 19th Century inn and its associated Gower

Brewery are responsible for a plethora of South

Wales’ finest ales; Gower Power, Gower Rumour

and Gower Gold all herald from here and there’s

always a crowd on hand to sample as many of them

as possible. The pub is also home to well-cooked,

locally sourced meals, a large beer garden and one

bar broadcasting various sporting events. It’s really

a day out in itself.

Moving once again, we head to the most northerly

pub on Gower; The Britannia Inn. A personal

favourite of mine, the Brit is a long slender

establishment with a restaurant at the top and

a bar stocked with great real ales at the bottom

(although it’s not unusual for the two to merge on

occasion). The back of the idyllic pub features drop-

dead gorgeous views across fields and waterways,

and there’s a sense of isolation that lends any of

its clients a relaxed perspective. Usefully, it’s a

wonderfully scenic drive to get there too, so it

makes for an ideal post-Sunday lunch retreat.

Highly recommended.

Last but by no means least, we come to the end of

our 15 mile trek. Heading towards the very western

edge of Gower, you’ll crest the brow of a hill and

are allowed to opportunity to survey all of the

Bristol Channel and Llangennith before you. More

importantly, you’ll also be able to see The King’s

Head. A pebble’s throw from the beach, the pub

is a cosmopolitan mix of surfies and pensioners

with drinks to cater for all. The beautiful courtyard

out the back allows you to sit beneath the ancient

stonework and enjoy the pub’s very own sun trap.

It’s the ideal spot to sit and contemplate your

recent crawl and count whatever pennies you have

left. That’s not to say any of the pubs are overly

expensive – in fact they are very similarly priced –

but you can expect to pay a slight premium due to

their remote locations. Similarly, a taxi is going to

cost you around thirty quid from one side of the

peninsula to the other so that’s worth considering

too. Until we hit the south of the Gower – cheers!

29

WiN! TAPAS FOR TWO AT MOSAIC

£50PRIZE WORTH

After all the indulgent food and drink you’ve enjoyed over Christmas, January can seem a little bleak in comparison.

Thankfully the lovely guys at Mosaic – famed for their flawless service and exciting tapas menu – are offering Taste Swansea readers the chance to win a delicious tapas sharing meal for two, with a glass of prosecco on arrival. A prize worth £50!

To be in with a chance to win, head to TasteSwansea.com, go to the ‘Competitions’ page, and enter your name and email address. It’s that simple. Competition closes Thurday, 31 December with winners

selected at random and notified soon after. No cash alternative to the prize will be offered. The prize is not transferable, and subject to availability. We reserve the right to withdraw any prize without giving notice. Taste Swansea is not responsible for inaccurate prize details supplied to any entrant by any third party connected with this competition. Terms and conditions apply.

30

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

FROM

@Taste_swansea Facebook.com/Taste Swansea

TasteSwansea.comSEE YOU IN 2016

tasteSwanseaEAT, DRINK, LOCAL

T A S T E S W A N S E A . CO

M