Avril-Ann Braganza skips the spirit and instead swings between some stomach churning and very comforting, local delicacies
Wet and cold...that's the only way to describe the first day of our holiday in Scotland. So, I am grateful when we step into the warm Slanj Tarbet for lunch. Not very far from Loch Lomond, this pub-restaurant is your answer to good Scottish food.
Much as I want to try something 'Scottish', I can't bring myself to order a plateful of Haggis – a dish consisting of minced sheep or calf offal/pluck mixed with suet, oatmeal and seasoning, and then then boiled in a bag, traditionally one made from the animal's stomach. After much thought, but still completely indecisive about what to order, I settle for the Balmoral Chicken in Whisky Sauce. The chicken breast stuffed with haggis (yes, imagine my shock) and wrapped in smoked bacon sits on a bed of mashed potato. The first bite of the well-baked tender chicken covered in a generous helping of rich, creamy, buttery whisky sauce, tells me that I've made the right choice. The haggis (covered in sauce, thankfully), eaten with the chicken, is not all that bad. The pinkish-brown sauce has a slight hint of mustard that adds a nice flavour. Alongside the chicken is a helping of boiled cauliflower, broccoli, beans and melt-in-the-mouth, buttery mashed potatoes that have soaked up the sauce.
(Deep fried mars bar P.C: Xian [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons)
I sample the haddock from my cousin's plate. Crispy on the outside and flaky inside, the haddock is a lighter option compared to the chicken and tastes best when had with a swipe of the accompanying pea and tartar dips. The chips that comes with it, are well, you know, chipilicious... hot and crispy.
We also stop by Tempting Tattie, a cosy, baked-potato shop in the heart of Edinburgh's Old Town, where we sit down on stools to demolish our regular-sized (read, still huge), baked jacket tatties (potatoes). There are different fillings to choose from – we opt for the Spicy Sausage and Cajun Chicken. Soaked in butter, the potato is crispy on the outside and fluffy inside. While the fillings are flavoursome, the simple baked potato with butter and salt is just as delicious. Definitely tempting, tasty and filling, it's the perfect lunch after an exhausting trek up Arthur's Seat.
We can't leave Scotland without trying a deep-fried chocolate bar, and so, finding one becomes one of our missions while in Edinburgh. We do fairly well too. In two days, we try around eight absolutely divine (for anyone who's not worried about gaining calories) deep-fried Snickers, Mars and Twix bars. Available in most 'Fish n Chips' shops, chilled chocolate bars are covered in the same kind of batter used to deep-fry fish and sausages. They're then deep-fried in boiling oil (vegetarians, be warned, the batter and oil may have been previously used for fish) and sprinkled with chocolate powder. The result? A delicious offspring of fat and sugar to die for (if it doesn't kill you first). The thin layer of batter is crispy, while the chocolate and nuts/caramel inside remain intact, leaving us feeling warm and fuzzy with the very first bite.
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 "Balmoral Chicken in Whisky sauce. PC: Avril Ann Braganza")
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