Damson, Media City Salford

Valentine's Day 2007 saw a younger version of myself woo my other half by taking her to an aquarium and then Ask Restaurant in Hull.

Every year since then we have spent at home with a M&S meal deal and a good film rather than splurging in the city.

Fast forward to 2015 and I decided it was definitely time to celebrate February 14th in style, so I booked us in at Damson.

Based right in the middle of Media City, the restaurant couldn't be in a trendier setting.

I hadn't had a chance to check out the development since the BBC moved in but the entire project has been a triumph. 

Walking to the restaurant took me back to when we lived in London.  

The whole area made me feel as if there should have been a tube stop somewhere near and had that lively 24 hour atmosphere you get down in the capital. 

We settled into the Damson lounge for a pre-dinner drink and had the pleasure to be serenaded by a harpist who impressed us with her elegant ability to play modern hits on her elaborately decorated harp.

At our table, we were lucky to have a lovely view of the Blue Peter Garden to take in as we made our way through a fantastic Valentine's menu.

Damson put together a carefully balanced menu which combined some of our favourite flavours in stylish and creative ways.

The service was impeccable and the melt in the mouth fillet steak was the stand out dish of the evening.  The Damson staff went out of their way to make our evening special and we will certainly be headed back to try the a la carte menu soon.

If you are thinking of celebrating Valentine's Day some time in the future, then consider Damson.  We couldn't recommend it more! 

Cardamom Cream, Ramsbottom

Everyone loves a curry don't they?

Each and every time I have Indian food it is a different experience.
Be it a takeaway, my home cooked attempts or a visit to a restaurant, it satisfies that deep craving we all have at least once a week from time to time...

One of the best ways to spend a family meal out is to head to an Indian Restaurant, but the dilemma is always which one to choose.
There are bloody loads of them around here and each one is someone's favourite and highly recommended.

Well now I have my fave!

Once again Ramsbottom comes to the foodie rescue.  Hannah's parents fancied a meal out and we had noticed Cardamom Cream when driving through the town earlier that week.

The first thing to mention is how nice the decor is inside.  The place looks upmarket from outside and carries this glitzy theme when you enter.

There is a chandelier on the way to the bathrooms, comfy suede chairs and attention to detail all around the luxury dining room.

This is not your run of the mill place for a Ruby Murray.

Starting off with papadoms and chutney is the law when we have an Indian.  They are actually the thing I look forward to the most.

We ran out of the tomato chutney but this was quickly replenished at no extra charge.  A lovely touch.

I find it hard to decide what to choose, so have been favouring thalis recently.  

Thali (meaning plate) is a selection of different dishes served in small bowls on a round tray - Indian meets Tapas.
This perfect combination allows someone like me, who likes to try a bit of everything, to have a wide variety of meals in one!

We chose two Maharajah Thalis, one meat version and one vegetable/fish.  The chef prepared us dishes suited to our wimpy tastes so we didn't have anything too spicy.

The food was light and full of wonderful flavours, easily some of the best Indian food I can claim to have eaten.  From a succulent Lamb Rogan Josh to a tangy Fish Tikka Masala and accompanied by a great Tarka Daal, these were just some of the Chef's selection we tried.

I did write down the names of all the dishes, but a broken phone means I can no longer recall what each one was...

Regardless, they were all tremendous.