Saints, Abbeygate Street

Large coffee, small cake or small coffee, large cake? Ah, clever advertising - beware! Of course it's not clever advertising, it's not even clever photography - it's just my way of showing the bargain in Saints Restaurant in Bury.

I've long been a fan of Saints for it's good quality food and would dine there more in the evening if they opened earlier in the week, but I believe they only do Thurs-Sat evening meals). I'd been promising myself a cup of their coffee which I think is the best in Bury all week (only really nice coffee can I drink black) because they serve any coffee and cake for £3 on weekdays. I adore their chocolate cake so I was delighted to see it on their counter when I went in today (they tend to vary what cake they have). I wasn't the only delighted one - a man entered about 5 mins after me and made the same exclamation... 'aah!'. Ten minutes later a couple came in and then there were four of us all drinking coffee and eating chocolate cake.

Tch, tch Debenhams

I don't buy much from Debenhams - they're often too expensive for general items. But they do have sales and at the moment it's a 20% reduction on a lot of items. I went there today to buy something from the kitchen department as a wedding present. I ended up buying two gifts - one was marked up as £12. I was informed by the girl on the cash desk that it should have been £14 (it came up on the till) so she had to call someone else over to sort the discount of 20%. So, it would seem they put it up £2 prior to the sale and neglected to re-price the item itself. Silly Debenhams - they usually remember. At Christmas I bought a child's small article of clothing marked up at £8 . I took the label off as one would with a gift and there was another label underneath - £6. Yes, there was a discount but at around 20% off they end up with much the same money as they would normally get without discount. Well, isn't that clever? Not if you shop there it seems.

The Orange Tree, Thornham, Norfolk

The Norfolk coast again - a place with a great ambience and some totally amazing dishes. I was lured by a sign outside saying Congratulations to our Head Chef, Philip Milner, British Seafood Pub Chef of the Year 2010.

This was a taste of something I wish we had locally, but nothing in the town here compares unless you go to Maison Bleu or The Angel, where you won't get the variety of food or the relaxed atmosphere of this place.

I had to opt for fish as this restaurant specialises in it but there were plenty of other options on the menu - dishes to suit all palates. I chose rock salmon in a creamy chorizo based sauce on crab mash. It was quite delicious but maybe unnecessarily complex in ingredients for me. I think crab mash with plain grilled fresh fish may have been equally pleasurable, if not as interesting.... the sauce was very good but even so I left some of the food because of its quantity and richness. Most unlike me. But I loved the place - it has a traditional bar in the old part of the building, a contemporary stylish restaurant (unpretentious), great service and a garden that was overflowing with customers. Wine a little pricey.

Out and About - Norfolk Coast

Hardly a place to pop out to for an evening from Bury, but certainly worth a visit if an opportunity arises.

Chris Coubrough, known as The Flying Kiwi, appears to own about five Hotel/Restaurants in East Anglia. I believe the Crown in Wells was the first he opened following his appearance as a TV chef cooking along the Norfolk coastline. I went to the Crown for lunch on a weekday recently The restaurant was very large - and very quiet on this day (but isn't it odd that a family can have a whole restaurant to choose from and they come and sit at the table next to you?). I intended to have a light lunch but Chris' Black Plate - as I believe it was called, contained about as much protein as I would normally eat from Monday to Friday. The dish was a bit of an eclectic mix of food, which some people would absolutely love, but it was a little too rich for me for lunch. However, there was loads to choose from on the menu and prices were reasonable. I was looking for something a bit different and that's what I got. I would certainly go back and I imagine I would have to book at weekends. The Flying Kiwi himself is very popular and has quite a lot going on at this particular restaurant, including cookery demos etc.

Wood'n'Stuff

This is a little known plant and pot centre on Station Hill, which seems only accessible through Bury Tyres (I may be wrong about that), run by a charity group (LD?). They had some lovely plants in their rather tatty greenhouse, but there were no prices on them. I didn't have time to browse (I was visiting Bury Tyres, but I will go back and hope others find it too).

Leaving a bad taste...

A friend of mine used the Kidsplay car park on Station Hill to take her son to the play centre (as you would). She didn't notice the new parking restrictions imposed (by a private company) and ended up with a £150 parking fine because she exceeded the two free hours. this is ridiculous and is clearly out to exploit those who are not on the ball that day. I believe Kidsplay have some sort of arrangement with the company whereby you can extend the parking times but hard luck if you are not aware in the first place. Kidsplay have a duty to make sure people using their facilities are aware of this - not least because they are probably already losing out in a big way to Curve Motion.

Spare Tyre? Go to Bury Tyre Centre

Now this place is hopeless if you're trying to diet - the food's appalling but they've rescued me again with my tyre problems - and fitted me another battery at a very reasonable cost. I've sung their praises before - they seem a friendly, non-exploitative bunch who don't patronise women either. I once went to a sneering lot on Fornham Road to get an exhaust changed - the boss wasn't too bad but as soon as his back was turned, three of his workers put something on the computer screen in the reception area which must have been porn, judging by the noises they were making. Of course I didn't get up to take a look - they could have been doing it deliberately, but no way in the world would I ever go back there.

Bury Tyre Centre does have a good reputation for being one of the cheapest round here when it comes to tyres, but they couldn't help me with my actual wheel, which was totally rusted. They asked me if I drove a lot in water (?) and advised me to go to the breakers yard for a replacement.

Valley Connection, Bury St Edmunds

This has long been my favourite Indian restaurant, along with many other people's. VC can get incredibly busy and this has involved waiting for a table and not quite the quality of food it has a reputation for, but when it is busy it buzzes and generally speaking I love the atmosphere. The staff are very friendly and efficient - I always chat to them because they come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. They work incredibly hard here regardless of their other commitments.

I think VCs prices compare favourably with other Indian restaurants, but their speciality for me is their dishes made with giant prawns which are wonderful, but average about £12 - £15 per dish. Last week I had a conventional prawn dish which was just great and reasonably priced. They also offer some good, fairly-priced wines by the bottle. Glasses of wine tend to be comparatively more expensive, but I always avoid the bottled water because I think that is a bit pricey.

LateRooms or Lastminute?

Because of a great looking deal on LateRooms.com I spontaneously booked a room for the night at Caley Hall Hotel in Old Hunstanton. Tch tch, some misrepresentation on their part. Their site claimed I was booking an Executive Double/Twin, normally £280 for last night - £99 as a late deal. Guess I was a bit naive to think I'd actually be saving all that money - well, not saving because I wouldn't have booked that hotel at all if I had known the room was a fairly ordinary double/twin, but I do think their descriptions and rates should tally with the hotel. In fairness - it did say on LateRooms this would be a 'larger double/twin' in Caley Hall's descriptions. But - one would think a room that's normally £280 on a Friday night in June would be pretty up-market. This was not the case, but Caley Hall were not charging that amount for the room as suggested by LateRooms.

I was therefore, disappointed with the accommodation. Beds and decor were very satisfactory but there was no window in the sleep area, so no natural light by day to speak of (just one small window at the end of the suite, which was essentially quite long but narrow). Bathroom needed a bit of sprucing (and I had something of a fight with the shower). There was quite a lot of noise from the room above, and this morning the couple there obviously had a 'last minute' which judging by the banging noise did last only about a minute .... fortunately.

The good news though is that the dinner was excellent. I'd say the average cost of a three course meal at Caley Hall is around £30 per head, but it was the best restaurant evening meal I have had for a long time. The duo of salmon starter I had was beautifully presented and delicious - not a small portion and I could not stop eating it, hence I ate too much. My main course was three different cuts of pork (named farm I presumed to be local) cooked in three different styles. As for the dessert, orange ice-cream in a brandy-snap basket with caramelised lemon tart. I'm not a 'dessert person' but I had to go the distance on this occasion. A rare treat for me - so I won't complain too much about LateRooms ... on this occasion.

Pizza Hut, Pizza hut, Kentucky Fried Chicken....

I can be a bit of a food snob at times - mostly when it comes to fast-food and chain restuarants, and this is one place you won't usually see me. But their 'kids go free' offer is great, and they do have the salad bar!!!!

When I went with my family the meal was such good value, and the wine was much better than I expected! Food fine but I'm not a great fan of any pizzas around here, other than Strada's which tend to be that bit different.

I was very spoilt for pizzas when I lived abroad many, many years ago, but the best pizza I have had near here of late was at the Hawkedon Queen's head. But that's a pretty good place all round, especially for fans of good beer (I hear).

One Bull, Bury St Edmunds

I can't believe it's about 30 years since I worked behind the bar there......and I'm pleased to say the girls behind the bar now are keeping up the same quality of service.

Very efficient service - despite the fnl set only having a light lunch. Friendly and smart young women.

Wine at the One Bull is always good - it is their forte. Not always as impressed with the food but what we had today was fine - beautifully fresh bread which restored my faith in sandwiches.

Now wait for it.... complimentary sparkling water. You don't often get that.

Orissa

Yes, I made it to the Orissa again - another lunch. Amazing value - their 'special' is £5 to include main course and a glass of wine or half of beer. In the evening it's £10 for similar but a large glass of wine or pint of beer (lager) if you order before 7pm. It really makes the meal cheaper if you enjoy an alcoholic drink when you eat. And the quality of food is good. The prawn sag (yes you can get tablets for it) I had was delicious. One of the waiters seems a bit dour but he will smile if you encourage him (in the nicest possible way of course).

White Horse, Whepstead

I really think Gary and Di Kingshott have reached an all-time high at this pub. I used to feel the Beehive had got a bit 'samey' over time. The White Horse is now much more 'gamey' (ooh, sorry about that) - local and good fresh produce, cooked with style and yet unpretentiously.

The couple are frequently on the premises, involved in service which is good to see. Their staff - friendly and efficient, seem to have been with them some time - another good sign.

I wouldn't call the prices particularly expensive but certainly not cheap either. However, I'd rather pay a bit more for what they are offering than compromise elsewhere, or pay an establishment for the amount of time their chefs have spent making patterns for presentation. Then food is often beautiful on the plate but disappointing 'on the palate' (as they say). Not the case at The White Horse - so far anyway. Long may it last. It's a really attractive building with a great ambience.

Ladies who Lunch

As it's half-term I've been catching up with a few mates for lunch and have managed three lunch venues over the week (the pleasure of which will probably need to last through the weeks ahead until the summer holidays). Read on.