Cinabar looked at me like I’d gone mad when I picked up this chocolate milkshake in Westmoreland Service Station (on the M6 near Penrith) and said; “Is this new?” Apparently it was one of her favourite drinks when she was a child. We were on the way back from a few days away visiting Hadrian’s Wall before the snow set in. The service station is the only independent service station in the UK. It has a marvellous farm shop selling everything you could ever want that you couldn’t buy anywhere else, amongst everything else you would find in a usual supermarket. It was a veritable Aladdin’s Cave for Cinabar and it was almost impossible to tear her away. We ended up staying so long in the shop that we had dinner there also. I had a particularly good cottage pie and Cinabar enjoyed her fish and chips. The service station was so good that I’ve promised Cinabar that we’ll swing by that way on the way back from another holiday we have planned in Northumberland in April next year.
The Chocolate Flava Shaka is made from a mixture of sterilised skimmed milk and cocoa powder. The seaweed extract Carrageenan is used as a stabiliser. On first tasting I noticed the flavour of chocolate cake mix (before baking). There was also something else in the taste that I could only identify as Battenberg Cake. It’s a bizarre mixture, but it strangely works. Having said that, even after shaking well before opening there was quite a bit of chocolate sediment at the bottom of the bottle on finishing. I enjoyed the chocolate milkshake’s unique taste, but I wouldn’t rush 175 miles for another. However, Cinabar would have me rush back to the Westmoreland Service Station everyday!
By Spectre
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