Yesterday, January 25th, was Robbie Burns Day. I had the good fortune to be able to celebrate it in the company of friends at the Kingswoood Pub in Richmond, BC. Theirs was not a “traditional”, formal Burns Dinner; but rather an casual celebration of the occasion. Of course, there was the skirl of the pipes, Haggis, and Scotch; but none of the formality, solemnity, nor the rigid adherence to tradition that can sometimes be overbearing.

Rather than a traditional “piping-in of the Haggis”, we were treated to over an hour of bagpipe music. The Piper played all the “classic” tunes and quite a few I’ve never heard before. Bravo, for a job well done!

The Kingswood sourced four Scotch Whiskies specifically for this event. They featured; “Usquaebach – The Reserve”, the “Royal Brackla 9 Year Old”, the “MacDuff 7 Year Old”, and the “Ardmore 8 Year Old”. To make it easy on our wallets, we could choose any three of the Whiskies for only $15. I chose the Usquaebach, the Royal Brackla, and the Ardmore.

The Usquaebach nosed with a hint of aged sherry; it’s palate had the viscousness of honey, the sweetness of sherry, and a spiciness on the tongue; it finished long with notes of spice and sherry.

The Royal Brackla nosed with vanilla and nuts/grains; it’s palate featured an apple tartness up-front, some notes of honey and grain, and a peppery spiciness; It had a medium finish with the hint of spice as well as some chocolate.

The Ardmore had a nose with caramel and oak with just a teasing of peat; the palate surprised with a generous helping of smoke and peat to go along with the caramel and slightly spicy oak; it’s finish featured more caramel and smoke but was quite smooth.

The menu for this evening consisted of; “Cock a Leek” soup as the starter, Roast Lamb as the main, and “Tipsy Laird” as the desert – all for $20. In addition, they also had a, “Haggis Bridie” available for $8.

“Cock a Leek” soup is a traditional barley and leek soup with chicken. The chef at the Kingswood did a fantastic job with this dish. It was thick, hearty, had that “comfort-food” taste and texture, and was truly worthy of being called “stick-to-your-ribs” good.

Cock a Leek soup

For the Roast Lamb main course, the chef roasted lamb shoulders to perfection. The meat was fork-tender, seasoned perfectly, had just the right hint of gameness, and was not “fatty” in the least. The lamb was accompanied by well-prepared carrots and green peas (both with just the right amount of firmness remaining), a rich brown gravy, and some of the best roasted baby potatoes I’ve had. However, the real surprise was the mint sauce; it was completely made in-house and was wonderfully fresh and absolutely bursting with minty flavour.

Roast Lamb dinner

The “Tipsy Laird” was this chef’s take on the traditional English Trifle desert. Instead of layering over sponge cake, this desert used “Lady Finger” biscuits. This made for a slight sugary crunch and this went very well with the tart firmness of the fresh fruit and the sweetness of the cream… delicious.

Tipsy Laird

For those whose Robbie Burns Day would not be complete without Haggis, the chef presented the “Haggis Bridie”. This was definitely not your traditional serving of Haggis but it was terrific. If you’re one of those, “no Haggis for me” types… THIS is the Haggis for you. For full-disclosure, the chef told me that the Haggis itself was purchased from a local specialty butcher shop. However, all the other dishes and accompaniments were cooked in-house. This dish featured Haggis baked inside puff-pastry; creating what, for all intents and purposes, is a “Haggis Wellington”. It was mouth-wateringly good with a generous portion of rich, moist Haggis nestled within a cocoon of flakey puff-pastry. It was served with brown gravy atop a root vegetable mash (yams, turnips, and rutabaga) sprinkled with pan-seared kale. This dish was truly a meal in itself.

Haggis Bridie

Once again, I would like to thank Keith, the culinary staff, and the service staff at the Kingswood Pub for hosting yet another incredible gastronomic journey.

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