Fishers City Bistro, Thistle Street, Edinburgh, October 2006

It's the fag end of the month with heavy rain, low temperatures and strong winds. Edinburgh is not the place to wander the streets under these circumstances so a counterweight is needed to lift the spirits in the dark evenings. Fishers may be just the place. The young staff joke with us about the attractions of Burger King as it looks like there are no tables available but some kind couple takes pity on us and they finish their meal in time to pass on their table.

My companion is a journalist charged with reviewing restaurants periodically (as will as cruising the Med regularly) so is in automatic journalist-expenses-account mode when his knee jerks to order a dozen west coast Scottish oysters to start with. He is right of course. Clean, fresh taste of the sea and they slip down a treat with a little lemon juice or a dash of tobasco sauce (or both, hell, there's half a dozen each!). We both eschew the Harissa and the paprika accompaniments adventourously offered by the restaurant.

By this time of the evening (i.e. after most of a bottle of wine to myself in the fascinating Cafe Royale earlier) I leave it to my experienced companion to order for me and so for the main course, I find myself addressing the Grilled fillet of Halibut on an endive & bacon salad served with a blue cheese & pecan dressing. Tender fresh sweet white fish lovingly grilled to maintain its succulence without damaging the surface contrasts with a sharper crunchy salad and the slight tartness expected of blue cheese; surprisingly, bland lardons. A dish of additional plain vegetables is provided (boiled potatoes, cauliflower and green beans - cooked just as I like them with an edge of al dente left in them, not boiled away).

We order a second bottle of the excellent St Aubin Les Frionnes Rouge Premier Cru Cote d'Or Burgundy 2002 to accompany the interesting, though not exceptional, cheeseboard. My companion surprised me in ordering this (red) wine to accompany the fish (he had a langustine, which may explain why he was so bold but in any case he chose well). Coffee and a brandy - I stuck with a simple Courvoisier VSOP while my companion ventured into finer territory. Then coffee.

The bill, £92.75 for two. My companion and I stir up a frisson of opinion difference when it comes to tipping. He goes for adding 10% to the bill on the basis of When in Rome... etc. I point out that in England this balances the tippers and the non-tipper whereas I go for the French system whereby everybody chips in a very small amount and nobody fails to tip. I win.

Saturday Lunch

At the Lakeside Restaurant, Rounday Park, Leeds http://www.cityofleeds.co.uk/roundhay_park/source/p0008525.html

Can a self-service establishment ever be a restaurant? Yes it can and here's the proof. Lovely setting on the lakeside, busy but calm interior, furniture in which one can relax and, most importantly, very good food. I went for what I thought would be a simple poached salmon salad but I got a complex dish of rich flavours and textures. They make it up from fresh ingredients as you watch. It's difficult for anyone to make a mistake with salmon today of course so perhaps I should expect something more exotic but the salmon was dependable, tasty, thoroughly good filet with no extra flavours. The accompanying salad had very good variety from the cliched new potatoes in mayonnaise to the cliched crisp green lettuce but via some interesting grilled pepper, home-made coleslaw, tasty tomatoes and (unfortunately for me) red onion among other things. I added a fresh brown roll and real butter before finishing with a filter coffee. Altogether very respectable meal in a deservedly popular restaurant that suits all the family.

I would have reported on their wines but the sun hadn't gone down over the yardarm (can't somebody get rid of the damned yardarm?)

About £10 and good way to spend a couple of hours with long-standing friends.

St. David's Hotel and Spa, Cardiff

What a rich tapestry we weave on these islands. Just a couple of hundred miles as the Virgin Trains fly and we find a country with a different language, a distinctive history, its own sense of justice and its own aspirations. I love the richness of this social fabric, even though there may be some tension between the Anglo-Saxon background behind me and the Celtic background behind the Welsh. The First Minister talks about the way that English names tend to reflect the occupations of the person while the Welsh name tends to reflect the Christian name of the father and the way in which some people argue that this explains the higher level of employment and income in England but, hell, we can't sing like them (my comment, not Rhodri Morgan's). Karaoke at the Golden Cross late that night confirms this. The Senedd, home of the Welsh Assembly, designed by an Englishman (Richard Rogers) is a glass, aluminium and wood construction that opens up the whole process of government and allows the people to watch the elected representatives and lobby them very easily if they want to. But it's a woman playing on a harp that gives it its human dimension.

Dinner at the St David's Hotel and Spa. One of the best this year (and it's October). Set in Cardiff Bay (a recent construction, as false as the building housing the hotel - which could just as easily be an office buliding and should, really, if justice were to be done, be demolished to make way for a real buliding). One of the many re-generated docklands of the UK (more power to their elbow - but, please, let's talk about the architecture).

Hors d'oeuvre. A lovely, light Aubergine-focused salady starter with fresh, crisp Frisee lettuce and watercress; an indistinguishable dressing that is lovely on the tongue and tangy and refreshing; preparing the palate for greater things. Maybe it's my shortcoming that I can't distinguish it, not the dressing's fault.

A magnifcent Entree. Leg of lamb. I know, cliched, as we are in Wales but succulent as they come. Obvious marinade gives the roasted outer layers both crispy texture and caramelised taste; inside it's as sweet and juicy as one could hope for. Perfect vegetable accompaniments; viz. a parcel of green beans bundled up in a band formed from the crust of a cucumber at perfect al dente texture. Carrot sticks. Creamed potatoes with the distinctive flavour of Rosemary but with none of the Rosemary leaves. How did the chef do that? I determined to ask him but this was a very busy night (about 200 guests, each receiving the same dish simultaneously, well done chef) and I thought I would be in the way so I didn't ask to talk to him (I saw him come out of his kitchen earlier so I know Chef was male). What regrets that I didn't find out the secret. I must ask if anyone else knows how to achieve this.

A pause and then the dessert. Apple Strudel with a small (but perfect) boule of vanilla ice cream and (you are showing off chef) a Saturn's ring spider's web of sugar strands cutting through the whole composition - brittle and delicate in the mouth and amusing as half-food, half-filament scaffolding. Thanks, chef, you deserve accolade for this. Reminds me of a Ha Ha in the grounds of a stately home.

Petit Fourres. Another of Chef's reminders that his profession is a profession. Delicate and welcome. Along with the good quality coffee. A selection varying from the inevitable frangipane to whole spearmint (well, minature Kendal mint cakes really).

Wine was a South African Pinotage/Cabernet-Sauvignon with delicate flavours of strawberries and vanilla. Doesn't read well with the meaty lamb but tasted fine in reality.

Cost: not sure really; it was part of the whole package. Let's say about £26 per head.

Wellington Park Hotel, Belfast

Usually an expensive joint but hang on a mo'. There's a card on very table in the reception area that says 2 course dinner for £9-95. I warm foot it down to the restaurant (I am getting on a bit). It's true. A starter and a main or a main and a pud for £9-95. I've seen this a few places now and it's a good idea. Wonder if there'll be cheap wine (he said expecting £15 for a £4-99 merlot).

Mirabile dictu there is a cheap wine option. A perfectly acceptable chilean merlot for £9-95. What's more I can order a caesar salad for starter. Cherry tomatoes, various types of lettuce and some croutons. Parmesan was either missing or invisible. A steak with mushrooms, onions, chips and another (tossed) salad finished it off. Free Tea and Coffee if you wanted it but I try to avoid non-alcoholic drinks. Total £19-90 for the lot. Fantastic value. Steak was well done although I asked for medium rare but company directors with a budget of £50 for dinner can't be choosers. (Er actually they can but with a good steak, loadsa chips and 2 salads inside you not to mention a bottle of red it's easy to be forgiving)

The Bulgarian

Sunny Beach, Bulgaria, September 2006

Plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables within easy reach in the surprising Black Sea resort. I am trying to see how many seas and oceans I can swim in before I pass on to the next world (is that Disneyland?) so I was drawn to this resort by its promise of fine sand and its low prices.

The Bistro, 3rd September 2006

You thought Moussaka is Greek? Think again; it's Bulgarian according to the "Bulgarian Specials" section of the menu. Goulash Hungarian? Wrong again - it's Bulgarian. Hotpot English? Won't you ever learn? It's Bulgarian! (However, I am told that Bulgarians don't eat their food hot, only cold).

Lots of different salds to choose from as starters. In some restaurants the salad choice was superb - bags of fresh ingredients brimming with flavour and crisp as the moment they were picked or harvested. Tonight I choose Tomaoto and Cucumber Salad - a mistake. It was just that: a sliced tomato and a sliced cucumber arranged next to each other on the plate. An attempt at a sauce turned out to be salad cream. So far so bad.

Then the main course. It made up for the salad. A hotpot that was authentic and wholesome. Difficult to find this sort of honest food in an English restaurant. Just beef done to a tender but firm texture with flavours of thyme and bay that were not at the overpowering "ale pie" rich steak, HP Sauce end of the spectrum. Lots of carrot, onion, potato and flagolet bean accompanyment with good sized portions. I have to admit it was re-heated and on the cool side but then I was surrounded by chip and steak-eating tourists so one can't expect the kitchen to have ovens full of these dishes; in fact, it's a wonder that they offer this dish in the first place when one considers the burger culture in which they exist.

Wine was a Bulgarian Cabernet-Sauvignon and, I have to confess, I couldn't have differentiated between it and a French variety.

No dessert as no room. But plenty of Brandy in the bar later since happy hour starts at 3:00 pm and finishes in October (would you believe I did the Karaoke - including a Dusty Springfield number, "I Only Want To Be With You" and Doris Day's "Que Sera, Sera" - a real crowd-pleaser with lots of joining in).

The price? So low it would be rude to mention it.