Reading Roars!

Reading University boffins have been working with the Fat Duck to help produce the perfect roast dinner.

The world-class (I’m pretending to know the meaning of this term) restaurant in Bray, Berkshire used a Radleys Carousel Reaction Station to investigate how to use stocks and sugars to produce “exceptional roast flavours” for adding to the meat while it is being cooked (my stomach is growling as I write this).

I would love to test the results, but with a 3 month waiting list I may have to Duck out of this one and buy the book instead.

I’m constantly reminded of the need to eat more fruit and vegetables. Sadly, five Frulis a day do not count.

On Sunday, I decide to make it happen - by eating at Cafe Iguana, the only vegetarian restaurant in Reading (amusingly, it is located next to Perfect Chicken, a fast food outlet of the very non-vegetarian kind that is anything but perfect), as excitingly different as the Global Cafe.

The first thing that struck me was the quality of the furniture. The heavy, wooden tables and chairs were beautiful. I wanted to stroke my seat (”Ma chair-ee”), but I restrained myself and concentrated on the menu instead.

The menu was ok, but I was more interested in the specials scribbled on a board on the far wall.

Hmm, what to have, what to have. The starter seemed scrumptious: Chinese spring onion pancakes with Japanese mushrooms. And so it proved. The pancake was far from crepe; crisp, rather than a gooey rag. The mushrooms, to my surprise were cold, but juicy and flavoursome. There was an unnecessary bit of salad on the side of the plate, like an afterthought (it seemed that there was mush room left on the plate for the cooks to fill), but on the whole the dish was good.

Then came the biggie, Mexican quinoa with chilli (if I remember correctly). A mean, bean dish, simple, but delicious. And it filled me up (shame - I wanted the Thai banana in coconut milk for dessert). My partner had the traditional crowd-pleaser, nachos with cheese and guacamole.

Of course, Iguana is not just about sturdy seating and vegetarian food. Head upstairs and you will find one of Reading’s best bars, the Iguana Bar, offering cocktails, Cannabeer, a cane bar and reggae. Irie!

So if you want to eat somewhere alternative in Reading, don’t ignore the Iguana!

The “de-concretisation” of Reading continues apace. Reading Borough Council have commenced a public consultation on proposals to replace the splendidly grey civic centre with something less concrete-looking.

Deputy Leader of Reading Borough Council Jo Lovelock (not “Joe”, BBC) explained:

The regeneration of this part of Reading is going to be a great opportunity to rid us of a concrete, windswept corner, which is looking very dated and sad.

This is welcome news. With the Chatham Place redevelopment project, “designed to make one of Berkshire’s top cities a prominent European location” (who wrote that?!), and Station Hill project also promising to deliver significant improvements, both architectural and social, to areas of the town, we should expect to see a more aesthetically pleasing Reading rise in the not too distant future.

Scientists from the University of Reading’s Walker Institute say that the temperature of continents could grow 40-80% faster than oceans by 2050.

Dr Rowan Sutton, lead author of the climate science study, said:

The fact that warming over land is more rapid than over sea is clearly important for climate impacts, since people live on land. Excessively high temperatures can cause a range of problems such as disruptions to train services due to rails buckling in the heat. In very hot weather people’s health can also suffer

With climate models showing that London (and Reading) summer temperatures could reach 40+ celsius by the middle of this century, imagine the temperature extremes in cities such as Madrid and Dubai, where 40 is currently the norm!

Forget terrorism (or the perceived threat of it), climate change is real, it is happening now, and we should be concerned about its impact.

Sheffield failed to shine against the Royals at the Madejski this afternoon.

Reading’s Shane Long scored the opening goal (”stabbed in”, as the BBC put it - I like it), with Ecuadorian De La Cruz’ piercing run resulting in Reading’s second just six minutes later.

Knives were sharpened, however, in a gloomy second half. Keith Gillespie, who made me red when performing rather well one evening against Barcelona, saw red just two minutes after arriving as a substitute. He was sent off for apparently elbowing Stephen Hunt.

Still dissatisfied, Gillespie attacked Hunt again on his way to the tunnel. Son, off the pitch!

More madness was to ensue. A touchline clash broke out between both teams, players and staff, with Sheffield United manager Neil Warnock and his opposite Steve Coppell’s assistant Wally Downes sent to the stands.

When the game returned to normal, Hunt put away Reading’s third from close range in the 70th minute, before Sheffield’s Nade gave his side a consolation goal.

The Blades’ fork up has left Reading looking very comfortable indeed - 7th in the table.

Sylvester Stallone took to the Goodison Park pitch this afternoon to show his support for the local side. Holding up an Everton scarf, Sly was cheered by the 30,000 or so Toffees supporters before the game against Reading.

And it was Reading who drew first blood: an own goal from Everton’s Lescott gave the Royals the lead after 28 minutes. Their joy was shortlived, however, when Kevin Doyle suffered a hamstring injury and was taken off the field. But unlike Sly’s hard-as-nails Rambo, the injured 23 year old hitman did not make a return to the action and will unfortunately be out for two weeks.

Everton bounced back late in the second half, with Andy Johnson scoring from a header nine minutes before time.

With a point gained from this afternoon’s bout, Reading remain 9th in the Premiership table and now need just one more to stay in the top flight for another season. They entered the Premiership as rookies but have fought with admirable resilience and determination, throwing some quite considerable punches. As Rocky Balboa says in the latest Rocky instalment:

It ain’t about how hard you hit, it is about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much can you take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!

Thai food has exploded in popularity in the UK. Country pubs are now offering jungle curry and even the nation’s favourite snack, crisps, now come in “Thai” flavours (Walkers’ Gently Infused Lime & Thai Spices is such an example. Gently infused indeed).

I’m a big fan of Thai food myself (though I’d say that the version offered in restaurants here is somewhat milder and more limited than the real deal). On Saturday night, I suggested Reading’s Thai Corner to friends as a place to eat. We were at Reading Station, fairly close to the restaurant, and had missed our Paddington train (we were supposed to be eating at Belgo instead).

So it was Singha (pronounced Singh, without the “a”), not Satan (beer, rather than horned beast) that launched the evening. My starter was Poh Tak Soup, a “spicy mixed seafood soup flavoured with lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, fresh chilli and basil leaves”. Spicy, yes, spicier than expected, though certainly not as spicy as the molten lava I had in Bangkok. I looked forward to my main course, Nua Tra Krai, with interest. There was an extra pepper next to its name on the menu.

Nua Tra Krai was “stir-fried beef with lemongrass, fresh chill and long beans”. White sticky rice accompanied the dish. The beef was pleasant enough, but it ranked low on the spicy scale, to my disappointment. Meanwhile, my friend had repeated her order to staff. You could say the staff were Cornered.

Still hungry, I greedily ordered another starter, prawn on toast “Minced prawn mixed with garlic, pepper and coriander spread on bread triangle”. These were yum (not to be confused with Tom Yum, another Thai soup).

All in all, my meal came to £20, which would get me about a hundred breakfasts in Thailand. But this is the UK, and as far as UK Thai restaurants go, the Thai Corner wasn’t bad. My friend, whose main meal arrived later than expected, however thought otherwise.