This Saturday I was invited to go and celebrate Burns night with one of my Half-Scottish friends, Rach. She promised me kilts, burns poetry and haggis. Heading over to Sydenham, I met her and some friends at the Dulwich Woodhouse for the Scottish themed evening.
A few glasses of prosecco kicked off the night, as did some very excitable stories of events that had happened that day. There were stories of horrific storms, scary forests and a hero who saved Kay and Rach from getting stuck on a fence & prevented them from being struck by lightening!? What a hero!
After a catch up we headed over to our table, just in time for the bag-pipes.
He was fantastic and as promised was wearing the full Scottish attire. However there was no stabbing of the haggis due to being sold out for the evening, there was no haggis left to be stabbed!?
Now in the midst of superb Scottish atmosphere the starters arrived.
We went for the full Burns' night menu for the evening, it only seemed right.
Kay and I went for the Whiskey cured salmon with beetroot and potato cake. Not the most traditional but Scottish all the same and very tasty.
Rach and Paul went for the more traditional Cullen Skink. Which is a creamy smoked haddock soup with potatoes and onions, that originates from Cullen in Moray. It looked delicious but incredibly rich.
None of us could not resist the Traditional Haggis with neeps and tatties! The Woodhouse served up the Haggis with clapshot and a delicious whiskey sauce. I found out that clapshot is a traditional combination of mashed swede, turnips and potatoes (which originates from Orkney)
This was unbelievably tasty, yet incredibly filling. It may not have the visual elegance of an evening meal however the flavours were fantastic. Who knew I liked haggis so much!?
The meal was finished with another Whiskey infused course! Cranachan, is a mix of fresh raspberries, whiskey, whipped cream, honey and whiskey-soaked oatmeal.
Paul went for the sticky date pudding with toffee and salted caramel ice cream.
The meal was finished off with a couple of Whiskey Macs, which is Whiskey and Green Ginger Wine, but due a mix-up we ended up with whiskey and ginger beer.
This was a bit of a shame, however it still seemed to hit the spot.
The evening was completed with a recital of a 'Here's a Bottle', a Robert Burns poem from Rachael in her best Scottish accent. Then we headed off into the night to sooth our whiskey heads.
