Munching my way around Suffolk

Last weekend Mr 'Splorer and I headed off for a lovely weekend to Suffolk. We stayed in a lovely B&B with generous and well cooked breakfasts (even if the artwork littering the walls did have a rather surprising abundance of bare bottoms). We went to Aldeburgh on the bus and queued for the obligatory fish and chips on the beach. And very good fish and chips they were. 

But the real highlight (and let's be honest, the reason for my sudden interest in Suffolk) was our trip to The British Larder in Bromeswell near Woodbridge. Having followed the blog for a good few years now (I can recommend the Roasted Butternut Squash, Pomegranate and Chickpea Salad for a start), I had high hopes. Then the taxi driver taking us there started raving about a game medley he'd once had, describing it as one of those meals you just don't want to end. 

Well, despite the hearty B&B breakfast and fish and chips on the beach, we did our very best to ensure that our meal never ended. Three courses, we had. Each. Oh, the sheer, unadulterated gluttony! 

Mr 'Splorer's starter: Roasted beetroot and goat's cheese, filo crisp, candied walnuts and herb salad

My starter: Dingley Dell tasting platter: Smoked ham knuckle Scotch egg, pea and ham soup, ham hock puy lentil salad, smoked ham and chicken terrine (and Deepa's main course when she went - it was enough to feed two, in fact. To be fair the waitress did warn me it was big, but I threw caution to the wind.)

Mr 'Splorer's main: pan fried hake, summer vegetables, watercress emulsion

My main: Orford landed Dover Sole, sauté potatoes and samphire, brown butter lemon caper sauce

Mr 'Splorer's pud: Chocolate fudge cake, white chocolate jelly and roasted hazelnut

My pud: High House Farm loganberry pavlova

Clean plates!

And God, it was all so good. As I so often find, the highlights was starter and dessert. I'm still daydreaming about that ham and pea soup, that Scotch egg and that chewy, crunchy pavlova. In fact, I think that may well have been the best pavlova of my life - and I've eaten my fair share of meringue with fruit on top. But the whole thing was just flawless. Getting nothing wrong doesn't sound like high praise, but when you have a three course meal where every mouthful is complete unadulterated pleasure, that basically adds up to complete happiness. 

Complete happiness