Christmas Cork trip - O Conaill Chocolate

Ireland is a favourite destination for Lee and I, tending to go over once a year around Christmas. This time we ventured to Cork for the second time. Smaller than Dublin, it feels cosy and so so Christmassy with the lights weaving around the little streets.

Tucked down French Church Street off the main highstreet is O Conaill's. Prior to arriving in Cork I had had a little Google of the best places for hot chocolate and this came up on Trip Advisor. From the front it just looks like a normal cafe but when you go inside there is chocolate everywhere.

We ordered a normal hot chocolate each and a brownie. They arrived and looked delicious. Obviously a hot chocolate and chocolate brownie need more chocolate and so on the side was a cup of little chocolate buttons. It was all amazing! The hot chocolate was so smooth and the brownies was moist and strong in chocolatey flavour. You don't have to just stick to normal brownie as they do a range of flavours included caramel.

Because we loved it so much we ventured back there the next day and bought a pack of their homemade hot chocolate flakes to take home.

Taste - 8 out of 10

Gooeyness/Denseness - 8 out of 10 

Top - 7 out of 10

Size - 8 out of 10 
Extras - 9 out of 10 - the chocolate buttons were brilliant

Cost - 7 out of 10 

An emotional Christmas lunch

So Thursday 1st December was our annual Research Christmas bash which usually involves food, drink and Secret Santa like any other team Christmas do. However, this one was slightly different because it only involved a research quiz/questionnaire (typical researchers) but also it was the leaving lunch for our manager, so a slightly sad affair. But we had a blast all of us together!

The lunch was at the Bleeding Heart Tavern in Farringdon which has a lovely atmosphere. Very French but very cosy with a warm English pub feel. 

The starter and mains were alright but the dessert was definitely the best. Firstly it was big! Two brownies for the price of one if you will. Topped with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. The brownies were soft with a crisp top, which is a classic winning brownie formula for me. They weren't as rich and sugary as you might expect but the vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce helped to give the extra flavour. Priced at roughly £4.95, it's not an huge cost for a restaurant dessert. 

So to help compare the brownies I taste I have decided to start doing a score out of ten based on the key factors I think that make an excellent brownie:

Taste - 5 out of 10 

Gooeyness/Denseness - 7 out of 10 

Top - 7 out of 10

Size - 8 out of 10 

Added extras (this includes additions to the brownie itself or what comes with the brownie like icecream) - 6 out of 10 

Cost - 7 out of 10 

So overall not a bad performing brownie.

A little pick me up

So Monday was meant to be our team lunch but life wasn't having any of it, what with being on crutches and then a deadline for work. To say I was less than impressed was an understatement. So while my team were out for lunch, I sat at my desk wishing I wasn't huddled over a desk with my leg propped up on an hard wooden stool.

But my mood perked right up when the team came back from lunch with a chocolate brownie from Albion for me. In a cute little cardboard box the brownie was a mix of a chocolate sponge cake and brownie. Moist which it fundamental to a brownie but less dense and gooey than I might have expected. But the taste was good. It had what I thought was a hint of rich liqueur in there but I could be wrong followed by a classic American brownie flavour. By that I mean almost a Betty Crocker flavour. Priced at £2.50 I do not think you can complain for the size and standard considering brownies in London tend to hit the £3 plus mark.

This brownie definitely cheered me up on a Monday afternoon!