Clogged up by lardy goodness

When I admit to people that I've come to Scotland because of the accents, I am being shallow. And misleading.

Two significant things I was looking forward to indulging in were Scottish food and drink, and this interest was rekindled following my positive dining experience in Paris at the weekend.

Now I'm not a whiskey drinker, but at the time of leaving Australia back in February, I was willing to give it a go. And still am, having collected armfuls of brochures advertising distilleries and Whiskey Appreciation Centres (aka pubs) dotted around the Scottish countryside. I've now tried Tennants lager, and can recommend it - for when the Coopers runs out, of course.

And as for food, I've commented already that I've settled into the bacon roll, tattie scone, and neeps & tatties culture (not all in the one meal of course), but the piece de resistance was THIS breakfast fryup served to Daz in Edinburgh.

Of course, there is nothing odd about it. In fact, this plate looks quite appetising in comparison to some I've seen. And I seem to recall it looking particularly good to my bleary eyes. But note the little ring of haggis smiling up at you from the plate. Even in a hungover state, one will pause before one shovels haggis into one's mouth. Trust me. The Heinz sauce you see above got a workout over the plate shortly after I took this shot.

Like any fry up, the Scottish one has to have lard, unidentifiable ingredients, and more lard. Yummy when hungover, scary when not.