A year in review - 2023

It has been a bit of a slow second half of the year to be honest. The prevailing reason behind this was due to a period of focus on losing weight, something not particularly conducive with food blogging, especially when most interesting things were tending to pop up in the middle of the week. Saturdays have been my fallow days and I fell into a routine of looking forward to those days so much that I just wanted to eat what I knew I’d love rather than take a chance on anything new for fear of disappointment. Again, an attitude not particularly becoming of a wannabe food blogger. On top of this there has also been apathy. Most recently a sense that I’m shouting into the void and swimming through a sludge of awful takes, bought for likes and restaurants that really should know better than to fall for giving free food to people whose reach extends solely to the likes of MidlandsF00die or ScottishScranBlogFeeds. That's not to say I'm being snobbish about Instagram bloggers. I love the platform and while I'm certainly no authority on the matter I do genuinely think there are a fair few Cardiff based bloggers who really do have a passion for food and do a great job at highlighting what Cardiff and the surrounds have to offer. It's those that are actively and shamelessly rinsing restaurants and taking the absolute piss that are drawing my ire here.

I’ve had a good long think about whether this is even something I wanted to continue to put and effort towards and I think I still do. So, with that little half arsed moan out of the way and as we head into the new year, I’m really looking forward to trying my best to find a more balanced lifestyle and re-calibrating my whole approach to this food blogging thing. In an attempt to get back into the swing of things, I’ve pulled together a little end of year list featuring my top 10 eats of the year and some honourable mentions too.

10) Pork Laab - One o’ Clock Gate

I think One o' Clock Gate are going to have a massive 2023. Word has been spreading through the last year or two and it's only a matter of time before more and more people cotton to just how good this place is. Their fried chicken? Superb. Try their soy & garlic burger and you'll be convinced. For me though, my favourite dish is their Pork Laab. A healthy portion of minced pork seasoned with fish sauce and flavoured with a heavy hitting dose of lime, mint, coriander and a whack of hot chilli. Load up your lettuce cups and have at it. A top dish from an exciting restaurant.

09) Creme Catalana Tart, Candied Jamon Ice Cream, Pecan & Pumpkin Brittle - Asador 44

I'm positive that Asador 44 requires absolutely no introduction for anyone reading this post. It is the standard bearer for Cardiff's constantly evolving city centre food scene so much so that this is where I took a foodie friend of mine who was visiting at the beginning of the year. We both agreed that while the whole meal was superb (honourable mention to the prawn bisque croquettas) this dessert was other worldly. A brilliant take on a Spanish classic, the candied jamon ice cream in particular was a real masterpiece.

08) Deep Fried Lasagne - Dirty Gnocchi @ Victoria Park

Back in April, Dirty Gnocchi popped up in Victoria Park for a few weekends featuring this behemoth of a dish. A brick sized wedge of lasagne, al dente in all the right places, unapologetically indulgent with mozzarella and bechamel and with a perfected lamb ragu filling. All taken to the next level by being deep fried. I still remember every mouthful and I’m counting down the days until I get to eat it all over again.

07) Pork Belly, Quince Glaze, Celeriac Remoulade, Almond, Capers - Bar 44

The most recent plate of food on this list and a couple of weeks after eating, I'm prepared to stick by my initial thoughts that this could be my favourite ever dish from Bar 44. A massive hunk of meaty pork belly in all of its tender glory is glazed with quince jam and served with a creamy celeriac roulade. all accentuated by a bitter pop of fried capers and some almonds for texture. A dish with nowhere really to hide, for me it's representative of a restaurant that has been at the top of their game for a good while and are showing no signs of stopping any time soon.

06) Scallop, Cauliflower, XO Sauce - Parallel

Parallel is probably one of the biggest success stories since opening up earlier this year. I visited in April and enjoyed it so much that I'll be heading back on the 30th for a little pre-new year celebration. The pick from my initial visit had to be this scallop dish. Hockey puck sized, seared with ferocious precision and served with a top class cauliflower puree and XO Sauce. It's probably the best scallop dish I've ever eaten and one that I'm hoping there's some iteration of on the menu when I go later this week.

05) Shrimp Aguachile - Maguey, Girona

Girona, famed for its culinary heritage thanks in no small part to the Roca brothers and their eponymous restaurant El Cellar de Can Roca. It's a beautiful city in Catalonia that anyone with a real interest in food should have at the very top of their travel list. I've been lucky enough to go a couple of times and on this occasion we ate at a Mexican Cantina named Maguey where I ate a shrimp aguachile that is a fair whack better than any Mexican food I've eaten here in the UK. Huge Shrimps are marinated in chilli & lime and are served in a bowlful of fresh avocado, cucumber and onion with some tostadas on the side for loading it all on. A ferociously hot, vigorously flavoured bowl of brilliance that took me by complete surprise. I love it when that happens.

04) Pumpkin from the Garden - Hiraeth Kitchen

The tasting menu at Hiraeth Kitchen must surely go down as one of, if not the best value available in South Wales at the moment; 8 courses plus snacks and a pre-dessert  from a two rosette kitchen all for (at the time of writing) £70 - the pedigree here meaning that it was never going to be quantity over quality either. The pick of the day for me came in the form of a savoury pumpkin panna cotta with sticky, sweet miso jam and hazelnut furikake. A flourish of frozen goats curd snow cuts through the fat and completes what I would consider a show stopping dish. Hiraeth Kitchen will be reborn in the coming months at the Court Colman Manor in Bridgend and what a coup that is for the hotel.

03) Panang Red - Moo Moos

This one was always going to go in quite high up on the list, I wrote about it back in October but as a reminder it remains my favourite dish available in Cardiff today. A thicker, richer and more complex cousin of the traditional Thai red curry it comes with a huge portion of crispy duck breast that provides some texture and indulgence. It's a proper accomplished plate of food that absolutely belongs in the upper echelons of Cardiff's biggest hitters.

02) Sharing Platter - Feast pop up at Twenty Six

For my money, Twenty Six has been the success story of 2023. Having opened in March of this year following a 2 month renovation project. They’ve created a beautiful space not only for their wallet friendly midweek lunches and their indulgent weekend brunches but they’ve also lent their space to help nurture some of the best talent in the country today. Twenty Six has hosted pop ups from the likes of John Cook (Rocket & Rye) Simmie Vedi (formerly of Bully’s) and south wales burger experts Burger Boyz.

Feast popped up back in October bringing their open fire cooking to the city for the first time featuring a masterfully cooked BBQ pork belly, ruby red rump steak adorned with chimichurri and served on top of some as good as they get flat breads. There's a super porky smoked beer sausage and a smoked teifi halloumi served with a garlic yoghurt and spiced seed mix which is the best way I've seen Halloumi served ever. Hands down my favourite eating experience in Cardiff this year and one that I’m desperate to replicate soon even if it means popping down the road to where they’re based at Tap & Tan in Pembrokeshire.

01) Opheem - All of it.

There was only ever going to be one winner here, it was almost a foregone conclusion before I’d even visited but the fact it lived up to every expectation I had means it comfortably landed at the top of this list. Opheem is an experience I would encourage anybody who can to do so as soon as possible. Throughout the 3-4 hour experience we were dazzled by corn on the cob, carrot soup, a bowl of mashed potatoes and a bhuna amongst others. 

The corn on the cob, drenched in a spiced butter and served with a corn sorbet. The carrot soup is a deep, luscious thing and served with a mint sauce and lentil pakora that will have you flashing dirty looks to the creator of your next indian takeaway. The bowl of mashed potatoes is an intentional undersell but believe you me, this is a true labour of love that elevates the humble potato to heights I never knew possible. There’s a reason this is one of Aktar Islam’s signature dishes and it had this eater practically licking the bowl clean. Oh and it’s served with a glass of champagne if you’re clever enough to go in on the wine flight too. The Bhuna is just one element, part of a dish featuring mutton and artichoke that serves as headline act to an incredible run of savoury courses.

There are other courses too, they’ll have likely changed by the time you book your visit but rest assured I can guarantee that they will all be equally as great. Opheem isn’t just my favourite meal of 2023, it ranks up there as my favourite meal ever and is worthy of all the hype that consistently comes its way.

Honourable Mentions

Fowl & Fury - The Sando

If there’s one thing I know, it’s fried chicken. The sando from fowl & fury is the best fried chicken sandwich you can get in Cardiff today. It has been perfected, is remarkably consistent and if you can’t make it to their bricks & mortar in Cathays then it travels amazingly well. If you’re yet to order then this is your sign to do so but beware this is Nashville Hot style chicken so if you’re not accustomed to spice then I recommend you go in at mild which is by all means still pretty warm.

Anchoa galleta de parmesano pistachio y tomate - Anxoita Bodega, Barcelona

It speaks volumes that I ate at Albert Adria’s Enigma while I was in Barcelona but this was still the best thing I ate during my time there. Anxoita Bodega was the find of our lives here and one of my overall favourite dining experiences of 2023. This parmesan biscuit topped with tomato, anchovy and a shaving of pistachio was technically superb and packed full of flavour. I reckon I still think about it about twice a week.