Foodie Friends - Food Pilgrimage of a Cardiffian

In between his day job and learning to cook, "Mikeydude" began blogging about his foodie exploits around Cardiff in the summer of 2009 on his blog "Food Pilgrimage of a Cardiffian"

In search of epicurean delights. Photo supplied by "Mikeydude"

Why did you start the blog?
I felt that the standards of restaurants in Cardiff were way below par for an up and coming city. I wanted to increase awareness of that so that hopefully, by raising the expectations, the chefs will up their game and produce better food. At the same time I am also searching for a restaurant that the city can be proud of and give it some credit! Incidentally I'm learning to cook myself and so it was a great opportunity to keep a record of my experiments so hopefully can get some feedback!

What is the essence of your blog?
Basically it's a restaurant review blog that centres around Cardiff/South Wales, but not exclusively; the reason being in order to compare food standards across the globe since I do a fair bit of travelling. It's also interesting comparing the standards of London as well which in my opinion is far far superior. I'm not the greatest supporter of the Michelin Star these days as I think there's a lot of controversy behind their award system, but I have noted that I have rarely been disappointed dining at one of their flagged establishments! I will therefore review any kind of eatery from cafe bistro to grand hotel flagship restaurants. I like to consider myself a Chinese food specialist simply because I've eaten so much of it since young, but in reality that's really not the case as I simply have not sampled the best.

Do you enjoy it?
Oh yes! I love taking photos of my food (discretely might I add!) in restaurants and praising/criticising the different tastes/aromas that I experience in restaurants. There aren't enough good restaurants as there is, so when I've found one, I want to shout it out for the whole world to know! Writing a review also gives you a chance to reflect properly on how good the food actually was. For example, when I ate at the http://www.crown.celtic-manor.com/ recently there was a smidgeon of cep/garlic puree on the edge of the plate which could easily have just been eaten and forgotten about. On pondering afterwards I was able to recall and appreciate the velvety smooth texture & the wonderful 'garlicky' flavours of the mash, instead of simply the buttered mash potato blob that sat on the edge of the plate. Call it strange, but I get excited when novel combinations of different textures and flavours unexpectedly turn out extremely pleasant to eat. It is art....

What is your favourite foodie find in Cardiff?
Hmmmmmmm.... tough one this. I'm really glad that farmers markets are becoming increasingly popular again. Riverside market has an Oaklands Organic stall which sells the best poultry I've eaten for a long time. I like the fact that we have a central market that sells quality fresh produce although readers of my blog will know that me and Ashtons don't get along!

Another thing I love is the fact that the new St Davids 2 is encouraging restaurants to open till late which is fantastic and hopefullly will draw more quality chefs in from around the country to bring a much needed dining buzz in the heart of the city.

Wales is not without fine produce, and I remain fully confident that, in time, Cardiff will start producing at least nationally renowned eateries that Cardiffians can be proud of....