Malmaison: From Bauhaus to BadHouse

In his article on Manchester, Turlough McNamara mentions the city's stylish Malmaison hotel. Earlier this year, we had the great luck to stay in Glasgow's stylish Malmaison Hotel. And, now, Belfast has gotten the first Malmaison in Ireland. Lucky Belfast.

So, what's different about Malmaison. The style, to start with: these are funky places, always created out of icon buildings (Belfast's is the old McCausland hotel, one of the city's great buildings).

And the wit: you need a sense of humour to call your boutique hotel chain "BadHouse”. You can see the sort of sharpness involved in Malmaison by the fact that when our 9-year-old, Sam, expressed an admiration for the
Malmaison creme brulée he ate in Glasgow, they promptly gave him the recipe. And here it is:

Malmaison Crème Brûlée

9 egg yolks
150grams of caster sugar
500cl of double cream
150cl of milk
1 vanilla pod

Whisk the egg yolk and sugar with the vanilla pod, add the milk and cream.

Whisk together then pass through a fine sieve. Pour into ramekin or serving dish and cook in a Bain Marie (oven tray with water) at 130ºC for 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and cool for at least 2 hours until set.
Sprinkle with Demerara sugar and caramelise the sugar until a light crust has formed. (The best way to do this is with a blow torch, but a very hot grill for 2 minutes will do the job).

The Road Map Menu

Georgina and Barry O'Sullivan have great plans afoot for developing their lovely Ballymore Inn, in Ballymore Eustace, County Kildare. But, to be honest, if what they had planned was a large Nissen hut in shocking pink with a leopard skin interior, we would still turn up to eat Mrs O'Sullivan's cooking. From all around her, she sources the best
raw ingredients, which makes her menus true Road Map menus: you know who makes the food, you know where you are, you are invited into the O'Sullivan's part of the culinary culture. Here is a selection of dishes taken from their menus.

Starters and Salads

~Clonmore Goat's Cheese, Grapes, Tarragon and Rocket Salad
~Irish Ham & Pea Soup
~Kildare Sandwich - Baked Ham, Farmhouse Cheese and Apricot Chutney
~Bruschetta with Avocado, Clonmore Goat's Cheese with Coriander and Lime Dressing

Mains

~Chicken with Fran Frazer's Wild Mushroom Pasta & Truffle Oil
~Rack of Wicklow Lamb with Organic Leeks, Soy & Ginger Sauce
~Wexford King Scallops with Saffron Sauce
~Pancakes with Spinach, Ardrahan and Pine Nuts
~Margaret McDonnell's Free Range Organic Chicken with Tarragon Sauce and Rosti Potato
~Slaney Lamb Cutlets with Courgette Fritters and Tomato and Ginger Sauce

Sides

~Lange Farm Organic Vegetable Sauté
~Doyle's Farm Potatoes - Gratin, Sauté and Champ

Desserts

~Wicklow Yoghurt with Fruit Compote and Molaga Honey
~Homemade Icecream and Macaroons with Chocolate and Butterscotch
~Sheridans Farmhouse Cheese