Lobster at Sunset

When Mum and Dad were first wondering whether or not to build in Kalkan, the first port of call was to come over and conduct a wreckie of all the potential sites.  This could not be completed in one hit, so they needed somewhere to hole up and stay whilst they completed their research.

They chose the Likya Residence Hotel and Spa as their base and were impressed with the quality of the food in the hotel restaurant, so on our final night with them at the end of the first week, they treated Steve and I to a slap-up meal there, high on the cliffs above Kalkan Town, overlooking the harbour.

We wandered down the hill (top tip, don't bother with heels in Kalkan, you will just fall over.  Wear flats) just before sunset to have a look at the view out over the bay before being escorted to our table.

When I say escorted, I don't mean by a human being.  There are packs of stray dogs in Kalkan, all of whom are very friendly, and they each have their own turf.  When you enter one of their patches, they will pick you up and walk with you down the hill until you arrive at the patch of another pack. The dogs will then hand you over to the next pack, making sure you are in safe paws before trotting off back to their business, and the next pack will then escort you further down the hill.  It is a very surreal experience.  Most of the dogs are collared and tagged, and they are all looked after by the local restaurants, bars and hotel owners.  This blonde boy was our restaurant escort.

The view from the hotel was stunning, a panoramic sweeping vista of Kalkan Bay framed by the Taurus mountains.  You could see right down in Kalkan Harbour and when the sun set and the lights came on, the entire hillside lit up like a Christmas tree.  It was a simply stunning location to sit in, enjoy the light breeze off the hillside and enjoy one of the best meals I think I have ever had.

I started with a cocktail, one that was easily one of the most delicious things I have ever drunk and I only wish I had the first blue clue as to how to recreate it.  It was a gin (obviously) fizz and was muddled through with a simple basil sugar syrup and slices of cool, fresh ginger that infused gently as your stirred.  It was sublime.

The Likyan clearly likes its table theatrics, and this was evident from the start when they delivered the traditional bread basket, served with its own table toaster for you to toast your own.  This came with a herb infused butter and was closely followed by an odd combination of a homemade ravioli and hummus.  We didn't order this - it just showed up and Mum and I then spent the next 10 minutes cooing over the crockery.  Those white plates are so impractical, take up a ridiculous amount of space on the table, look nigh on impossible to store and yet I must have them.  Just have a look at the other plates and bowls further down as well, they are things of pure beauty, like the sails of the ships in the harbour below us.

Dad and I then opted for the oysters with chilli for our starter.  Not as good as a Whitstable oyster I must say (they were rather small) but tasty nevertheless.  I am probably slightly spoiled when it comes to oysters though, living where I do.  By the way.  You can't eat the starfish so don't try.

For my main I opted for the lobster.  The waiter came and asked me what size I wanted, and I did originally ask for a small until Mum told me to go larger and she would have some of it.  So I did.  I also ordered a portion of chips, as I am of the firm belief that you can't have lobster without chips.

I realised my error the second my 4 plates arrived, all for me.  This was an obscene amount of food.

I tried, I really, really tried but I could not touch the edges of the chips, or the salad, or the cooked vegetables.  I did eat all the lobster, even after Mum decided that she didn't want any after all, and the lightly pickled crudites were crunchy and delicious, an amazing counterpoint to the lobster and one that I must remember for the future.  This meal was just divine and the others all had similarly wonderful meals, although none were quite as large as mine was.

After gorging myself on shellfish, I went for a walk around the bar and pool to try and alleviate the overstuffed feeling I was experiencing.  The pool and bar are wonderfully camp, and look like something straight out of Cocktail.  It was a really lovely place to sit and digest, before the waiters bought over the dessert menu.   

I couldn't face the thought of anymore food, but Steve had eaten decidedly less than I had and tucked into the mezze platter of sweet things, with a plethora of fresh fruit, ice cream, macarons and baklava as well as Turkish delight and sweet fudge..

As the night deepened the moon rose above the mountains and cast shimmering reflections over the bay.  I tried to capture it with my camera but the photo's really did not do the landscape justice, it was truly beautiful

Mum, Dad, thank you for a wonderful meal and a wonderful holiday.  You really spoilt us.

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Whitstable Oyster Fishery Co.

I made a promise.  I promised to treat Miscriant to a lobster and champagne dinner to apologise for neglecting her so much when I was working on developing the new Canterbury Players website.

I recently made good on that promise.

One Saturday, after Steve had come home from cricket, we were both trying to work out what to do for dinner.  It was hot, really, really hot and neither of us fancied slaving over an oven, hob or BBQ for any length of time.  We both were craving seafood as well and didn't have any in the house.

We made the decision to go out for dinner in Whitstable, as, frankly, if you have a hankering for seafood there is really no other place to go.  My treat.

Our first choice was actually The Lobster Shack but we got there to find a wedding going on, the whole place hired out and no access to the resturant for people not involved in the wedding.  How rude!  I toyed with the idea of following in the footsteps of Wilson and Vaughn but then my Englishness kicked in and I just couldn't handle the idea of crashing someone elses wedding, no matter how good the lobster was!  I'm just going to have to go back another time. 'Tis a hard life, but someone must live it.

Instead we headed back to the main high street to see if we could scrounge a table at one of the Whitstable Oyster Fishery Company restaurants, the Royal Naval Oyster Store (better known as the Whitstable Oyster Fishery Co.).  Located opposite The Pearson's Arms, I was highly doubtful about this plan as we hadn't booked, and the chances of a walk in table being available were about as likely as a review of ouzo appearing on this blog (shudder). 

Apparently I need to start drinking ouzo as we were told that they could seat us, but we would have to take one of two tiny tables right in the middle of the restaurant.  These were the kind of tables that made me hope I didn't slip on my lobster crackers and send a claw flying to land gently in some poor man's toupee.  Elbows in!

Settled happily, Steve ordered a Whitstable Bay Blond whilst I was on the sparkling elderflower (aren't I a good date - driving and everything!) which he enjoyed so much he made us stop off at The Offy (I've mentioned this place before) so we could stock up. 

Then it was time to order food.  I scanned the menu.  I blinked and checked it again.

They didn't have lobster.

Well, not exactly.  They had it as a starter but not as a main.  The problem was, I'm greedy and I didn't want a starter size portion of lobster!  A quick word with the waitress and a check with the chef and I had my lobster lined up for my main.  It was pricey (£30), and I didn't want to ruin it, so I passed on the starter and instead tried one of Steve's Oyster Rockefeller which were really good.  They came with spinach, cheese and breadcrumbs and the flavours were warm and comforting. I don't normally like oysters when they have been cooked, preferring to eat them raw with Tabasco and lemon, or shallot vinegar but these were a bit of a revelation.  I could see the cogs turning in Steve's head as he worked out how to recreate the dish at home.  You need big, fat, meaty oysters for it though, which is why the local Whitstable ones are so perfect!  Problem is, no matter how clever you are with a camera, an Oyster Rockefeller ain't an attractive creature so I will spare you that.  Have a look at the menu instead.  Hmmm, if you don't like seafood, then you probably don't want to eat here.

Now, as you may have guessed from my lobster price, The Whitstable Oyster Company isn't exactly a cheap night out.  Starters are on average £10 each and a main will cost you around £20, whilst desserts are also around the £8 mark.  The food is worth it.  It is of a seriously good quality and there is a reason why I would normally recommend booking well in advance!

I got my lobster, with lemon and garlic butter (simple, perfect and just the way I like it) with a side portion of ridiculously good chips.

Steve had beer battered cod (£16.50) with mushy peas, samphire (sea asparagus), tartar sauce and more of those amazing chips.  The batter was light, crispy, flavourful with only the lightest hint of the beer and cod was cooked to perfection, moist and flaky.  We did recreate this at home shortly afterwards with our own beer batter and it was divine.  For one starter, two mains (one of which was a full lobster), a side of chips, a couple of beers and a couple of sparkling elderflower's the full cost was £80.  

The restaurant itself is utterly relaxed - located right on the beach with views of the company's oyster grounds in an 18C brick warehouse style building, it isn't fancy in the slightest.  Giant green shutters lead out onto a deck that is ram packed at peak hours with diners and the used shells are stacked high outside, ready to be recycled into cultch on the seabed, a nursery for baby oysters (spats) to settle on.

Whitstable are very protective over their oysters and they have a right to be.  Natives reared on the ground owned by the Whitstable Oyster Fishery Company (a tiny area of six square miles known as the Flats) are the only true Royal Whitstable Native Oyster. Rock Oysters, although not native, have also settled into the area and are regularly harvested and the stocks replenished with brood, ware or half-ware (different maturity levels of stocks).  A huge amount of care goes into preserving the quality of the oysters as they rightly enjoy a reputation world wide as being some of the best out there.

Back inside the restaurant, Steve and I chatted for hours before wandering along the shore line to take in the sunset.  Date nights like this are still so important to us, even after 12 years together and I really treasure them.   

By the time we left the sun was very low in the sky.  We headed to The Offy to pick up the beers, drove back to Canterbury and settled on the sofa for a film.

Perfect evening.

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Fish 'N' Chips 'N' Fireworks

The Whitstable Oyster Festival has just finished.  Seafood lovers, music lovers and speed eaters congregate on this little harbour town for a week once a year, building Grotters on the beach and celebrating the festivals ancient beginnings as a thanksgiving for the fishers and dredgers survival at sea, a celebration of the harvest and a blessing of the oysters.

These days the festival lasts for an entire week and is packed with various activities to keep all ages amused.  Despite knowing about it, loving oysters and living ridiculously near to the festival I have actually never been, mainly due to the fact it is on when I am at work and I have always had other activities booked at the weekends, plus I am always slightly daunted by the fact that Whitstable is packed at this time of year.

This year I was determined not to let the Festival go by unnoticed.  I rounded up the troops and informed them that we were going for a fish and chip dinner on the beach on the final night of the Festival to watch the Fireworks at Sea closing ceremony.

Everyone who was around agreed it was a good idea and we arranged to meet on the beach at 8pm, just as the sun was starting to set casting a golden glow over the festivities.

I'm not going to lie.  Whitstable was packed.  If you don't like queues and crowds you may want to avoid the beach at this time of year!  Queues for the chippy were seriously long, as were queues for the off license, so we divided and conquered, using our phones to convey messages about who wanted what from where.  We were just in time as well, just after our order was placed for food the people behind in the queue were told that they had run out of cod!

I was in charge of the drinks and I have to say The Offy is the only off licence I have ever been in where they will sell you plastic glasses, jugs to put your Pimms in and limes for your beer.  Very, very civilised!

40 minutes later we were settled on the shale and got stuck into particularly good fish and chips from VC Jones in Harbour Street.  This place is hailed as one of the best chippy's in Whitstable, which, for a town famous for its seafood, is a serious claim to fame.  It does not disappoint either.  The chips are soft and fluffy while the cod is tender and moist in a really crisp batter.  Portions are generous - I'm not sure any of us managed to finish!

We settled down as the sun was setting over the sea on a night so clear you could see all the way to Southend and Sheppey.

The beach was filled with families, friends and holiday makers.  Beach huts had their front doors open to take in the atmosphere and children ran around with sparkling light toys, paddling in a sea that was surprisingly warm.

At 10pm just as the sky turned pitch black the fireworks started from a small boat a short distance from the shore, lighting up the midnight blue sky.  There was a collective "ooh" as one of the fireworks went skidding off to the side like a skimmed pebble, making everyone think it had misfired, only to separate into a dozen pieces and explode up in the air across the water, illuminating the waves below.  In the words of one of my friends, it must have really irritated Poseidon.   I pinched some of her pictures as my sports mode just isn't fast enough to capture all the fireworks although I did get a couple I was pleased with! The below are all off Sinead's camera.

All too soon the fireworks were over and we followed the crowds back to the high street to drive home.   (These are from my camera).

Next year I will be trying to enjoy a lot more of the Festival.  Sinead, Stella and I are already eyeing up the Oyster Speed Eating competition!  6 oysters and a half of bitter for £3 as fast as you can and the quickest stay on and keep going.  Sounds heavenly!