We felt that we had lost so much time due to the pandemic. During our trip to Scotland, I decided that we'd do a private Scotch based tour with our own driver. Sean, our wonderful driver picked us up at exactly 9 am And we were off. We'd be spending the night in Oban, then two nights on Islay, visiting several distilleries.
But first we had to get there. Sean made a couple of stops on the way to Oban.
The first was outside Fallkirk at a huge park between two canals. There stood two huge and magnificent sculptures of horse heads called the Kelpies. These 100 foot high metal sculptures represent mythical shape shifting creatures called Kelpies which often take the form of a horse or pony. They can also take the form of a human, often a young woman to lure young men to their "fate". More often it would be in the shape of a pony to lure children.
These statues were quite large. To the right is the Missus standing under the nostrils of "the Kelpie". Just think, what a simple booger from that nostril would do!
From here we headed to Loch Lomond considered to be the largest lake by total area in all of the UK.
We took a short break to stretch our legs and admire the picturesque village of Luss.
Luss is a Conservation Village and is quite charming and beautiful.
We walked thru the village and over to the pier which had many memorials on it.
I can imagine how many loved sitting and standing looking out into the Loch or over to the shore…..
We then headed back out……
Our stop for lunch was at a place in Inverarnan, said to be once be the home to outlaws and even the ghost of a small girl named the Drovers Inn.
The Drover Inn, a "drover" is a cattle herder has been here for over 300 years. And while we stopped for lunch….well, many of the "creatures" on display would surely have enjoyed having me for their lunch.
It goes without saying that there was indeed a certain "vibe" to the place.
The pub had quite the menu of comfort dishes and I got to choose something I've always wanted to try. Folks of Scottish heritage that I know or knew would always make fun of the dish.
You basically ordered at the bar….this is very much the pub and soon enough, I got my Haggis, Neeps, and Tatties…..if you need a translation, sheep's "pluck" with oatmeal, onion, and spices, cooked in a casing. Served with "neeps" (turnips) and "tatties" (mashed potatoes). This was quite delicious, even the Missus thought so.
The offal flavor is quite mild, it's quite earthy and savory, tasting like a milder version of morcilla. I really enjoyed it.
The Missus ordered the Venison Stew which was really tough and quite bland.
So, I guess the Haggis won out!
There was a certain charm and sense of humor we found in Scotland that we really enjoyed. It is said that Rob Roy himself stayed here at Drovers Inn…..perhaps he enjoyed the Haggis too?
And hopefully, I'll be getting some good haggis again one day soon!
The Drovers Inn
Inverarnan North Loch Lomond, Arrochar
Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park G83 7DX Scotland
As I walked toward the shop I noticed several gentleman sitting facing the front of the store and then noticed that they have a television facing the parking lot, so folks can watch from outside of the place! Funny thing. Though I'm quite used to the Vietnamese Men "doing coffee" thing…..I don't ever recall seeing them watching Paw Patrol before, which is what was streaming at the time I entered the shop.
The bread seemed to be at that overly dry, almost stale stage as it was quite crumbly and hard. Check out all the cilantro, that wedge of cucumber, and all those pickled veggies! I guess they wanted to make I was getting my daily allowance here! Of course that threw the balance of the banh mi off a bit. The jalapenos weren't overly spicy, the pate nice and funky, the Cha Lua sliced super thin, and the Thịt Nguoi standard issue. 
Yikes. Well, the chicken was nice and moist, but the skin lacked color, was really rubbery, and worst of all the whole thing lacked flavor. I mean it really lacked flavor. Like I've said before, I really can't call this Kai Yaang. Strange thing is, I've made recipes from Su-Mei Yu's cookbook and things have turned out well. In fact, there's a "Gai Yang" recipe in 
They closed on August 21st and the signage is already down.
And I've got quite a history with them; from the days at 
It's the unit between 
At the curve in the alleyway stood a little gelato shop. The Missus and I decided to take a short break here.
Good lord, this was so delici-yoso, perfectly roasted, the bones were bursting with buttery-beefy marrow, which just melted in your mouth. A perfect amount of salt and the herbs added layers of flavor. This was so darn good, that we immediately made reservations to return on our last night in Guanajuato.
The Missus enjoyed the wine selection and the service was professional and accommodating.
The eggs were perfectly cooked, nice tanginess, a bit of heat, a nice, hearty breakfast.
Most of this museum is dedicated to it's former resident; 
If you walk in the entrance on the right, you'll be at the proper area. 
If you had walked in the entrance to the left and counter-clockwise through the store, you'll see this overhead signage.
Grab a container and choose from the hot/steam trays
as well as from the chilled trays. At the end of the line are canned and bottled beverages and the cash register and seating area. Everything is $10.99/lb. {there is also a water fountain with cups in the seating area}
The fried items seem to be fresh when we are here; lightly crisp and not greasy. The squid and whole shrimp are a favorite (as you can see from these separate visits). The chilled trays always hold something wonderful. Each of these packed full trays weighed a little less than one pound.
You can also order something from the kitchen- the menu board is right above the trays.
The Bibimbap (mixed rice with meat and vegetables) has been a special taped to the bottom of the menu board for a while now ($9.99). Steamed rice topped with a variety of vegetables and marinated tender, thin sliced beef (you can also get the beef in the per-pound steam tray) topped with an egg. It's served with pickled radish, Kimchi and the mildly spicy, slightly sweet gochujang sauce. A spoon is necessary for mixing the ingredients together. You can have all of this served in a stone pot (dolsot bibimbap) so the rice is sizzling and brown/burned (in a good way) for $2 more (#10 on the photo menu).
#20 on the menu is 'pork cutlet' ($11.99). Topped with teriyaki sauce and served with rice and salad, this is quite a large meal. We were sad that on this visit, the pork was fried just about 30 seconds too long, leaving it a bit dryer and more chewy than usual. 
Depending on the time of day, the shelves may be filled with fresh donuts or not. 
A Raised Crumb and an Old Fashioned ($1.50 each) along with a large up of coffee ($2.49) is a nice treat.
The owner offered us a slice of 'bread pudding', a sort of experimental item which might be offered someday. It was wonderful, rich and milky and topped (as well as filled) with butterscotch chips. I would buy this. But, what kind of bread?
The croissants which are made here, of course!
When you walk in, the Coffee Bar is in front of you.
Also when walking in, the window art lets you know there are more than donuts sold here. 
These menus are displayed straight ahead.
And so that's what we were served! 
I must say, the sandwich had to be cut anyhow to fit onto one plate. 
The Toyota dealership, where I took in the car for service in July. Free coffee and free donuts. 
There is no seating; there is no soup; there is a "Cash Only" sign. There are 12 steam trays and each item is $2.39. (You can choose rice or lo mein or half and half for the $2.39).
So, we chose and paid and drove home. 
The styrofoam containers are the 'small' size, but are packed full. This one included 1/2 lo mein and 1/2 rice, chicken and vegetables and orange chicken. 
This box was all rice (leftover for breakfast), pork with vegetables and ginger chicken. Total price with tax $15.68.
Here's my plate: the pork with vegetables (onion, bell pepper, celery and peanuts)(not spicy); rice; lo mein; ginger chicken; orange chicken; chicken with zucchini and onions. Everything was very fresh; no mushy vegetables (the line was constant and the steam trays were kept full). 
Kirk wrote about Chopstix 
Menu selections are consistent; no need to change what is good. The most recent 'change' is that hot tea is now $1. 
An order of mixed tempura ($11.95) is, as always, perfectly fried and includes three shrimp along with eight pieces of in-season vegetables.
I was craving Hiyashi ($13.95) on this warm day and did select the 'traditional' egg-ramen noodles (being able to select udon or somen is always an option). The colorful bowl, anchored with chilled noodles and cold, crisp vegetables (cucumber, sprouts. ginger, seaweed and corn) and shredded egg/omelet along with the moist, perfectly crisp pieces of chicken karaage and pieces of imitation crab when mixed with the tangy, sesame/soy vinaigrette dressing is very refreshing.
The Mister was craving both the sweet and spicy flavors of Mabo (stir fried ground pork with tofu) ($10.95) and also Ton Katsu (deep fried breaded pork) ($2), so He ordered the Mabo Don set which includes the miso soup and a small salad. A full meal for $12.95.