The Ship Inn takes its name seriously: the walls are full of lifebelts, stout rope and other things which I shall call 'sea stuff' in a futile attempt to cloak my ignorance. A series of themed menus from head chef Chris Keenan picks up that thread: this was a five-stop tour of the Middle East and Asia region, with matched wines, the second in a series of 'cruises'.
One: 'Jeddah, Saudi Arabia'. A bulgar wheat tabbouleh cut with fresh mint made this a perky little starter. The silky hummus, heavy on the garlic and with a good glug of fruity olive oil, was the kind of thing I could have eaten more of. A lot more, especially with the warm slivers of pitta it came with. Just the thing after the drive. The wine, a Raza vinho verde, was chosen for its citrus notes in place of the more 'obvious' Sauvignon Blanc.
Two: 'Goa'-beautifully cooked prawns in a coconut-based sauce, with sourness from the limes. I could have handled another turn or two of the spice ratchet, while others found it just right. The Cortese di Gavi's dryness did a great job of standing up to the tart heat of the curry.
Three: 'Phuket, Thailand'- yam med mamuang. I'd have liked a heavier hand with the nuts, both cashews and peanuts for both texture and taste, something to balance the tenderness of the chicken, but this was another very solid course.(Pedants wishing to point out the latter is a legume, and not a nut, can have a gold star. See me later). The white Chateau Paul Mas, its four grapes combining at a hefty 14%, was heavy and rich enough to hold its own.
Four- 'Singapore/Malay Peninsula'- On a bed of noodles dressed with ginger and soy sat braised honey belly pork. This, the undoubted highlight, was a showstopper of a dish, most of the fat rendered out and the belly slow cooked and then pressed til it was ridiculously tender, bringing a hefty waft of five spice to the table. Even as I write this, that dish stays with me. It was that kind of thing, and zipped straight into my top five dishes I've eaten this year. Yep, that good, and only improved by a South African Pinot Noir, a markedly light red in shade, but beautifully acidic against the dense richness of the meat.
Five- 'Shanghai, China'. Dessert was a toffee and sesame banana with a dense vanilla ice cream. The delicate tempura batter was the best bit of this course; once you're through that, then a banana is...well, just a banana, and better uncooked. I was reminded of Bart's instruction to a gorging Homer, "Eat around the banana, Dad- it's just empty vitamins!"
I'm rarely convinced by dessert wines, and the high (50-60g per 100ml) sugar content of this Navarran Moscatel was something I thought I'd find offputting, yet I could easily drink this again, though at 15% probably sparingly.
These cruises represent some remarkable value. £37.50 for five courses including wine seems a pretty fine bargain to me, and I'm struggling to think of comparable food and wine in the area at this price. Next up is The Ship Inn's 'Pacific Rim' cruise. It leaves port on the 20th May, and stops at Tokyo, Sydney, Honolulu, Santiago and Acapulco. And in this there's no prepositional argument- you'd be well advised to be 'on' board.
I was invited to The Ship Inn and as such all food and drink was complementary.
The owner of local wine merchant Cheers was on hand to talk us through each bottle; and very eloquent and informative he was, too. (And when it comes to wine flowing freely, being on crutches for a week or two certainly has its benefits when it comes to being excused driving duties...) 
One: 'Jeddah, Saudi Arabia'. A bulgar wheat tabbouleh cut with fresh mint made this a perky little starter. The silky hummus, heavy on the garlic and with a good glug of fruity olive oil, was the kind of thing I could have eaten more of. A lot more, especially with the warm slivers of pitta it came with. Just the thing after the drive. The wine, a Raza vinho verde, was chosen for its citrus notes in place of the more 'obvious' Sauvignon Blanc.
Three: 'Phuket, Thailand'- yam med mamuang. I'd have liked a heavier hand with the nuts, both cashews and peanuts for both texture and taste, something to balance the tenderness of the chicken, but this was another very solid course.(Pedants wishing to point out the latter is a legume, and not a nut, can have a gold star. See me later). The white Chateau Paul Mas, its four grapes combining at a hefty 14%, was heavy and rich enough to hold its own.
Four- 'Singapore/Malay Peninsula'- On a bed of noodles dressed with ginger and soy sat braised honey belly pork. This, the undoubted highlight, was a showstopper of a dish, most of the fat rendered out and the belly slow cooked and then pressed til it was ridiculously tender, bringing a hefty waft of five spice to the table. Even as I write this, that dish stays with me. It was that kind of thing, and zipped straight into my top five dishes I've eaten this year. Yep, that good, and only improved by a South African Pinot Noir, a markedly light red in shade, but beautifully acidic against the dense richness of the meat.
Five- 'Shanghai, China'. Dessert was a toffee and sesame banana with a dense vanilla ice cream. The delicate tempura batter was the best bit of this course; once you're through that, then a banana is...well, just a banana, and better uncooked. I was reminded of Bart's instruction to a gorging Homer, "Eat around the banana, Dad- it's just empty vitamins!"
I'm rarely convinced by dessert wines, and the high (50-60g per 100ml) sugar content of this Navarran Moscatel was something I thought I'd find offputting, yet I could easily drink this again, though at 15% probably sparingly.
I was invited to The Ship Inn and as such all food and drink was complementary.
The Ship Inn
Port Eynon
The Gower
Swansea
SA3 1NN
Nice review. With reference to your intro subject matter, was chatting last week to a Scot who lives in the Gower and he mentioned there's no definte article - or rather, there's isn't if you're posh. Either way, Gower's lush.
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