Nach urramach an cuan
(Dinner in the Loch Fyne reataurant: near Inverary, Scotland)
During the mini road trip that Ying and I made to Central and Western Scotland, we stayed a night at Inverary on the banks of Loch Fyne. This particular sea loch is famed for its seafood – especially oysters. Now, those familiar with my eating habits will know that I refuse practically nothing, (except the offer of raw celery and trifle – together or individually). I must add to the list, oysters. I have never been very keen; they are slimy, cold, wet and taste merely of sea, they have no other taste that one can speak of, neither do they have a pleasing texture or appearance in any way. All other manners of seafood I eat (oh, wait! Let’s add sea cucumber and live prawns to that list…) but alright, apart from those, I eat it all. When we arrived at the Loch Fyne restaurant, sitting by itself on a quiet road, we were prepared for a feast and we were not disappointed. The Gaelic title of this post reads, “how worthy of honour is the sea.” I made a note of it from a wall of the restaurant because I liked the phrase so much. It sets the scene for the ‘fruits de mer’ that were served that night. Also, I understood that French term for the first time – how sweet shellfish are, and how like sweets or little berries they can be, despite appearances.
Ying did not manage to finish the platter of seafood that he ordered, but that was probably because of the sheer volume of langoustines, clams, mussels, oysters, crab, lobster and razor clams. I opted for a slightly more modest platter of langoustines. They were delicious. I have never eaten so many in one sitting, nor so many of such quality. Of course I sampled much of Ying’s platter too and decided that my menu choice was far superior to his. At least I was cpable of finishing mine. And I could use the empty shells as amusing finger puppets. Just kidding…
I’m slightly on the drag with these posts – everything is a few days behind, but you’re getting the news before anyone else anyway. Yesterday I was holed up in my flat babysitting a friend’s greyhound and drawing furiously. Sunday isn’t a real day off anymore. Ying has returned to China as of Saturday, leaving my life in general disarray. Having him stay with me is like inviting a whirlwind into the house, but it is not necessarily as unpleasant.
– Today Rosie is back at the dentist and will be spending the rest of the day in agony and / or working in Glasgow, Scotland –
Hey! I left the place in a reasonable state. At least I wasn’t compared to a plague of locusts…
OMG, the seafood looks delicious!!!
ying, you are dirty. that is an obscene amount of fish things.