The Alma - Arbour Lane Chelmsford |
| Written by Undercover Dining | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tuesday, 04 November 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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It was a Thursday evening and he was late (even though he’d assured me he wouldn’t be). The bar area still looked relatively similar to how it was before the recent relaunch in September. However, I couldn’t help but notice three huge new mirrors on the wall that looked as though they must have cost a small fortune. Only then an ‘old boy’ walked in for a pint of his and proceeded to tell the restaurant manager, Juste, a lovely girl from Lithuania, all about his day. So you see, The Alma still hasn't lost its sparkle for being a local drinking establishment as well, which I think is really nice - although I did worry for a moment or two whether it would be just me and the ‘old boy’ stood at the bar chatting all night long, but luckily our editor turned up with his abundant apologies (yeah, and the rest). We had a drink and a chinwag at the bar before being shown to our table in the restaurant. My goodness, the walls were all covered in mirrors - from contemporary to gothic to pure fairytale. Quite kinky too, some might say, as there were mirrors on the ceiling as well. When we sat down at around 7.30pm, we were the only ones in the restaurant, but within an hour, it was absolutely buzzing and nearly all of the tables were occupied. The menu’s really good too. It's not so extensive as to be daunting, but there’s definitely a lot to choose from, ranging from classic British dishes such as prawn cocktail and coarse grain country pate, to Asian cuisine. I don't know about you, but I do worry when a gastro pub tries to put on Asian cuisine. I never think they make a very good job of it, so I try to steer well clear of those types of dishes - so I steered Shaun in their direction instead as I happened to be really curious! To start, he had Hong Kong style roasted duck leg with pancakes, cucumber and hoi sin sauce, while I had grilled Cypriot halloumi with charred capsicum salad. I call this dish ‘squeaky cheese’ as it makes a squeaking sound when you eat it. If you haven’t tried it before, give it a go as it’s really lovely and makes a great change from mozzarella. It’s also best served warm, so it’s great to griddle or put on skewers cooked on a BBQ. Shaun’s duck leg, although lacking crispiness on the skin, was really moist and tasty - I know, I tried some - I couldn't resist! It was an “absolute triumph”, as Greg Wallace would say, and the Edge Ed. certainly had no complaints. When our main courses arrived, we decided to cease our conversation about colonic irrigation somewhat abruptly. I had the Jamaican-style grilled swordfish with mango, chilli and coriander salsa, while Shaun had Bruneian-style monkfish and king prawn curry. Wow, the curry both looked, smelt and tasted divine, and my swordfish was very nice too, although there simply wasn’t enough of it for me, though luckily I’d chose a side salad to go with it. Other main course options were English lamb rump, Bruneian-style vegetarian jungle curry (but I didn't dare ask what was in it), the Alma Burger, pan fried chicken breast with asparagus, bacon, mushrooms, creamed mashed potato and far too many others to mention here. We both decided to avoid all of the wonderful desserts that included sherry trifle, chocolate brownie, bakewell tart and a selection of cheeses, and asked our waitress if they had any sorbet, or something light available. The chef very kindly rustled us up a fresh fruit salad (we were both ‘being good’ and didn’t touch a drop of alcohol all evening either). We finished our evening off with a filter coffee (which apparently kept a certain someone up until 4:00am the following morning, judging by the email he sent me at that time!) and bade each other bonne nuit. I actually think we’d been the first in The Alma that and the last to leave! Why not check out their website - www.thealma.biz. Their motto is ‘CLASSIC BRITISH & COMMONWEALTH EATING & DRINKING’ - which is a bit of a mouthful, but I couldn't have put it better myself. Great food to suit all moods. What’s more, keep your eyes peeled for their discount vouchers on-line too! Telephone Chelmsford 01245 256783 for reservations.
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Columnists Undercover Dining The Alma - Arbour Lane Chelmsford
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