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Category: finnieston

October 13 2020

Meze Meze, Glasgow

finnieston, Food alfiefoodwala, arabic, BBQ, chicken tikka, comfort food, glasgow, gourmet, grill, mediterranean, middleeastern, rustic 0

Hey, Foodwala’s boys and girls…hope you are all safe and well.

Please remember to subscribe to the Alfie Foodwala Facebook and Instagram pages, tag, and please share with six people if you like this review, message me if you have constructive feedback.

If you would like to “Eat with Alfie Foodwala” please email me at alfiefoodwala@aol.com

I hate the word “Foodie” It’s a word that has taken on cliquey connotations, and now “Foodies” have become arrogant and self-congratulatory.

I am definitely not a foodie, I just love food and restaurants.

Someone else who was a food lover was my grandfather, he adored all kinds of food from the most basic and humble pakora to the most complex Haleem, cooked in the Persian way where the grain starch is changed on a molecular level to fuse with the wild goat meat protein after being cooked and hand-ground over 12 hours.

Once I was visiting my grandfather on his plantation, in the deepest darkest Toba Tek Singh and I felt homesick so my grandfather asked me what would I like to eat, I absent-mindedly said chips, anybody else would have taken the frozen chips from the freezer, not my grandfather, he did not know how to make basic chips, he only made the most amazing and delicious chips.

First, he called his friend who owned the biggest Potato Cold Store in Pakistan and requested that he send someone with a sack of Maris Piper potato’s from the fields next to the flood plains of the Ravi river (apparently the soil has the best nutrients)

Then he called his moonshee (foreman) and told him to open up storage godown 23 (warehouse 23) and Extract oil from Palm Kernals harvested in summer 1984.

Then he called his friend the Chief Minister of Punjab who had just left Islamabad on the pay to visit my grandfather if he could stop on his way to at Khewra Salt Mines ( salt has been harvested in Khewra since biblical times and is the best salt in the world) and pick up some flaked Khewra Rock Salt.

He then personally supervised the preparation and thrice frying the chips to make the most delicious chips I had ever eaten, they were golden and crispy on the outside and moist and fluffy in the inside.

My point being, this is the level my grandfather took to make a humble plate of chips, would he call himself a foodie, definitely not!!

Miah Foodwala and I visited Meze Meze, they call themselves a Turkish and Persian Ocakbaşi, That definitely piqued my curiosity, that is like describing a French and Russian restaurant, they are completely different kinds of food.

We entered the rustic yet welcoming diner, there was a nice buzz about the restaurant and the staff was nice and friendly. After getting the COVID 19 track and trace formalities over with we sat down, absolutely famished.

We ordered a collection of hot and cold meze, the Chicken Wings were absolutely divine, smokey and chargrilled on the outside and soft and moist inside, a nice start.

The Hummus was again a great effort, a nice grainy texture, and just enough virgin olive oil not to make it oily or greasy.

The mixed doner was made the authentic way, not your usual late-night takeaway fat fest.

The thin layers of lamb and chicken were spit-roasted so that the burnt ends were perfectly caramelized without drying it out, perfect for being scooped up in the warm bread along with hummus and enjoyed.

Next up was the Lamb Iskender, chunks of roasted lamb on buttered Turkish bread and then topped with spicy Tomato Iskender sauce, thick creamy Turkish yogurt, and then drizzled with hot Anatolian butter.

The Iskender Kebab was phenomenal, the lamb was so soft and tender, it virtually melted in my mouth, It would be pedantic of me if i was to point out that an authentic Iskender kebab is made of slivers of lamb rather than chunks of lamb.

Unfortunately, at this point the meal took a turn down, The Kobideh Kebab was dry and flimsy, not the usual meaty and succulent Kobideh Kebab.

The Adana Kebab was slightly better than the Kobideh, The texture of the kebab was more of a minced kebab rather than a finely chopped lamb and tail fat kebab, In my opinion, the kebabs were under seasoned.

In Conclusion

In conclusion, Meze Meze was quite adequate, the Meze was fresh, well-executed and delicious, however, the main course kebabs were still tasty but not carried out with the flair or panache is expected.

the staff was friendly and efficient and the restaurant had a nice chilled atmosphere.

The Star of the Meal?

The iskender Kebab and the Chicken Wings too the gong in my opinion.

The miss of the Meal?

I would probably say the Kobideh Kebab, but there was not much in it.

Honorable Mention

So how did Meze Meze do against its peers?

The Patogh in London definitely did a better Kobideh kebab, Paradise on Great Western Road also does a decent Kobideh

For the Turkish half of the meal, the Gokyuzo and Hala on Grand Parade do a mean Adana, closer to home, the Eda in Glasgow have a nice Adana nd Iskender Kebabs.

Halal Rating

The Chicken, Beef, and Lamb is confirmed 100% Halal

Alcohol is served on the Premises

NO Pork is served on the Premises

100% impartial Guarantee

Alfie Foodwala visits all restaurants anonymously and pays for the bill like any other customer, Alfie Foodwala does not except free meals in return for meals

All reviews are the personal opinion of Alfie Foodwala based on his 30-year experience as a restauranteur.

September 21 2020

Bufalo Grill, Glasgow

finnieston, Food, Steak alfiefoodwala, BBQ, burgers, chicken, comfort food, deep south, fried chicken, grill, pizza, rustic 0

515 Sauchiehall St, Glasgow
G3 7PQ
thebufalogrill.co.uk

Hey, Foodwala’s boys and girls…hope you are all safe and well.

Please remember to subscribe to the Alfie Foodwala Facebook and Instagram pages, tag, and please share with six people if you like this review, message me if you have constructive feedback.

If you would like to “Eat with Alfie Foodwala” please message me.

I love American Deep South Country music, much to the consternation of Benzy foodwalee and the wee nippers Foodwala’s

I love the life experience sadness of Johnny Cash and the lost love yearning of Lady Antebellum, the upbeat positivity of Shania Twain and Keith Urban with his modern-day ballads.

Then we have Florida-Georgia Line which appeals to the Millennials.

My all-time favorite is Tim McGraw and I love the song Humble and Kind.

The lyrics that get me every time go like…

“Hold the door, say “please”, say “thank you”
Don’t steal, don’t cheat, and don’t lie
I know you got mountains to climb
But always stay humble and kind
When the dreams you’re dreamin’ come to you
When the work you put in is realized
Let yourself feel the pride
But always stay humble and kind”

“Don’t expect a free ride from no one
Don’t hold a grudge or a chip and here’s why
Bitterness keeps you from flyin’
Always stay humble and kind”

That there is just the most thought-provoking and positive poignant sentiments, all the more relevant in today’s pandemic ravaged times.

We are in times of great change and flux, we have an opportunity to reset our behaviour and look out for each other and be the best versions of ourselves.

We can learn to “not sweat the small things” and be kind to each other.

Furthermore, we can move away from the evil that is Tripadvisor and its vindictive review system, and be kind to the hard-working waiting staff who are serving you.

Kindness and Empathy with the waiting staff is the ability to understand someone else’s situation, experience, feelings, and behaviors, and it’s the foundation of this concern. If you want to be generous towards or give feedback to someone, first you need to understand where they are and what they’re dealing with—the good and the bad. If you are not happy with the food or the service, please mention to them rather than being passive-aggressive and posting a 1 star on TripAdvisor.

There is a very wise saying

“If you want to know what a person is really like, check how they treat the waiter/waitress”

The way people treat restaurant staff is, I think, a kind of poker tell, revealing a person’s character in as long as it takes to say: “I’ll will have the Chicken Tikka Masala.” A man (or woman) who is actively unpleasant to waiters is best avoided. Ditto those who patronise them. Just as bad, though, are people who treat waiters as though they’re invisible. This is not, as these cretins seem to think, a sign of metropolitan sophistication. Do this, and you might as well be wearing a T-shirt that says: “I’m an over-privileged baboon: cold, rude and rather stupid.”

Moving swiftly on, This week we are in the wild west of Glasgow and we visited Bufalo Grill, It styles itself as a TexMex restaurant, but the interior is more IndoPak than TexMex.

We started off with the Bang Bang Prawns, It was the Bufalo Grill version of PF Changs Dynamite Prawns.

I think my expectations got ahead of me, I was expecting the PF Changs battered King Prawns smothered in creamy tangy rosemary sauce.

These prawns were quite underwhelming, the sauce was lackluster, I should learn to manage my expectations.

This was very disappointing, the store-bought Houmous and pitta bread and drizzled with Peri-Peri sauce from the cash and carry, a definite miss.

The Chicken Nachos were adequately passible, the tortilla chips were crispy, and the shredded chicken was in a sauce, however, it was missing the guacamole and the sour cream and the cheese was again the tasteless cash and carry version.

Next up were the Steaks, the grandly names Bufalo Special steak was the house sirloin smothered with spices and Molton cash and carry cheese, the steak itself was tender, but the cheese and spices were a wee bit overkill.

The Sides were mediocre, the fries were far from chunky and the sauteed vegetables were akin to a vegetable curry.

I asked for my T Bone steak to be medium-rare, charred on the outside and pink inside, and I got exactly that, which was top marks for the steak chef, the steak itself was rather greasy and grossly rather than marbled with buttery fat after all a delicious steak gets its taste from the fat marbling rather than the lean meat.

The peppercorn sauce was bland, I was expecting a creamy sauce with cracked Telichery black peppercorns, rather than ground black pepper. again I was expecting too much.

In Conclusion.

The starters at Bufalo Grill were mediocre at best, possibly there were too many items on the menu afterall you can’t be all things to all men

The steaks were average, however I suspect the clientele of Bufalo Grill are not steak connoisseurs so they don’t demand a better quality of Beef

The service was again adequate, not friendly nor was it frosty it was fine, except for a single passive aggressive occasion where the waiter brought the vegetables instead of the mash and proceeded to correct us, and we were charged £2.25 for the privilege.

The Star of the Meal?

At a stretch….passible the Bufalo Special Steak

The miss of the Meal?

Definitely the Houmous, and closely followed by the Bang Bang Prawns

Honorable Mention

So how did Bufalo Grill compare with its Halal Steakhouse peers?

If we were to compare Bufalo Grill with Cona Bradford and Zelman Meats London then it will be comparing the Champions League with Scottish Football, yes they kick a ball about but that is where the similarity ends.

I would say Steak Inn on Victoria Road has a better product than the Bufalo Grill and the staff is more friendly.

Halal Rating

The Chicken, Beef, and Lamb is confirmed 100% Halal

NO Alcohol is served on the Premises

NO Pork is served on the Premises

100% impartial Guarentee

Alfie Foodwala visits all restaurants anonamously and pays for the bill like any other customer, Alfie Foodwala does not except free meals in return for meals

All reviews are the personal opinion of Alfie Foodwala based on his 30-year experiance as a restauraneur.

January 28 2020

Sugo, Glasgow

finnieston, Food, Italian, PASTA alfiefoodwala, comfort food, edinburgh, glasgow, gourmet, italianfood, london, MICHELIN, PASTA, rustic, soho 0

Hey, Foodwala’s… Welcome to another tale of the gastronomic trials and tribulations of Alfie Foodwala.

As you well know I am a passionate walla, I am passionate about restaurants, Cars, and movies.

As an 80’s child, I grew up watching Spaghetti Westerns on the VHS video cassette with my Chacha Foodwala. I used to look forward to Wednesdays when my uncle would be off and we would watch Clint Eastwood do his silent hero thing or Lee Van Kleef doing his squinty-eyed stare.

Our favorite was a Fist Full Of Dollars, and my favorite scene was when our steely-eyed hero Cline Eastwood walks into the dusty town square and squares up to the oily baddies.

The boss baddiewala takes exception to Clint raining on his and his baddie pals parade and shoots Clint in the heart… like what the hell!!!

But Clint staggers but gets up, the baddiewala shoots him again, and he gets up again, he does that six times and Clint gets up seven times, so the old baddiewala is a little perturbed, to say the least. Not only that, he is losing face in front of his posse and that is itself is big-time baistee (embarrassment)

So Clint calmly as you please walks up to the baddiewala and utters the iconic words

“When a man with .45 meets a man with a rifle, you said, the man with a pistol’s a dead man. Let’s see if that’s true. Go ahead, load up and shoot.”

while all this is going on the tension is ratcheted up by the Ennio Morricone’s mournful music…. absolutely seminal.

We used to rewind this scene and watch it again and again.

Furthermore, this climactic scene further ingrained the sense of right and wrong and justice in me, more than lectures from school teachers and elders, who said movies were not educational.

As a fan of Spaghetti Westerns, I was over the moon when Sugo Pasta opened up.

We visited the restaurant on a cold wet January on the eve of blue Monday, the restaurant was packed and had a lovely relaxed atmosphere.

My fellow foodwala’s on this visit was Bakree Foodwalee and Montana Foddwalee

Spicy Cannelini beans with sunblush tomato
£3.50

We placed our pasta order with our friendly Italian waiter, and while the freshly cooked pasta was prepared we kicked off the proceedings with some sourdough bread dipped with Olive Oil and balsamic vinegar, and Spicy Cannelini beans, the bread was delicious and chewy.

The Cannelini went well with the sun-dried tomatoes and the bread.

Definitely a good start.

Tagliolini with pesto, green beans, and potato
£6.00

Next up was the pesto Tagliolini, Tagliolini is a thin version of Tagliteli

The Pasta Tagliolini was absolutely delicious, the creamy pesto with potatoes and green beans was a revelation, the pasta was cooked al dente and the pesto sauce was a masterpiece.

Spinach and ricotta ravioli with sage butter
£9.00

The Ravioli was fabulous, little pillows of cheesy spinach with a thin pasta casing, the hot sage butter was poured over the ravioli.

It was outstandingly delicious in its simplicity.

Rigatoni with san marzano & fresh baby plum tomato sugo
£6.00

In other words, Margherita Pasta, but I am not doing it justice, the Tomato Sauce (Sugo) was tangily sweet with a hue of fresh olive oil (Evoo), simple and again delicious, the Rigatoni was lovely and chewy.

Squid ink Spaghetti with baby squid ragu and lemon pangrattato
£9.00

The squid ink spaghetti was subtle yet bursting with flavour, the baby squid ragu was wonderfully crafted with sun-dried tomatoes and evoo, the Lemon pangrattato is basically lemon-infused breadcrumbs.

Overall the dish had a very subtle flavour of the sea but no one ingredient was overpowering.

Tagliarini with olive oil, garlic, chilli & pangrattato
£5.00

This was the simplest dish on the menu, it had a slight hint of chill

In Conclusion.

The pasta at Sugo was simply delicious, the menu was innovative and highlighted each area of Italy, each dish was executed with care and finesse

The service was efficient and friendly. The waiter was Italian and added to the enjoyment of the experience, the chefs were also Italian.

Top marks for the effort

A carb lovers Paradiso

Honorable Mention

In my opinion, Sugo was above excellent, yet slightly behind the superstar pasta restaurants likes of Padella in Borough Market, London and Enoteca de Luca in Old Street London and Officina 00

Halal Rating

The Beef is certified NOT HALAL,

Alcohol is served at the restaurant

Pork is on the menu

August 1 2019

GAMBA, Glasgow

finnieston, Food, london, mayfair, Provençal alfiefoodwala, emirates, fish, glasgow, gourmet, MICHELIN, oysters, salmon, seafood 0

Hey, Foodwala’s…Welcome to another tale of Alfie Foodwala

On this occasion, I was honored to be joined by a brother from another mother, or specifically Ralfie Foodwala, all the way from the metropolis of Dubai.

I have always loved what mother Acqua has provided us, be it Freshwater clams or Wild Alaskan Salmon or prawns from the depths of the Indian Ocean or Scallops from the wild West Coast of Scotland. I loved the diversity and the fragility of the delicate creatures.

I suspect I got the love of Seafood actually from Papa Foodwala, some of my earliest memories is waiting for my dad to pick me up and us going on our next culinary adventure, I can always remember dad impeccably dressed in his Yves St Laurent shirts and his Saville Row suits and we would fire up his Fuji White Jaguar XV12, which he changed annually!! and we would go to his favorite place, The Danish Food Centre on St Vincent Street.

When dad used to walk in it was like the scene from Goodfellas where he would walk through the restaurant and he knew everyone by name and if there was a line waiting to be seated dad, the manager would take dad in through the side entrance and magically an empty table would appear!

I was always mesmerised by this opera, but dad was always humble and down to earth, he would then take me up to the open seafood display and we would choose which fresh fish was going to be our lunch, the display always looked fresh and shiny, the aroma of the fish was like fresh sea air, none of the fishy smells associated with old fish.

It is the enjoyment of having lunch with dad and the love of the enchantment under the sea that brought me and Ralfie to Gamba

We kicked off the proceedings with six Holy Island, Northumberland Oysters, we gingerly topped the fresh quivering mollusks with tobasco and shallots and downed them all in one…. absolutely amazing the tangy salty jelly tasted of fresh pure ocean…deelish!!

Next up was the Seabass Tartre, fresh raw seabass flavoured by goats cheese and tomato and topped with a chilled tomato and basil sorbet, wow!!

what a combination of textures and flavours, the tomato sorbet added a chilled fresh element to the raw seabass, it was absolutely wonderful.

The slivers of Yellowfin Tuna was next up, Yellowfin tuna lends itself perfectly to the Sashimi style if you cook Yellowfin Tuna it becomes like cardboard, so it lets itself perfectly to be eaten raw, the Tuna was firm and flavorsome, the flavour was enhanced with a touch of wasabi and virgin soy sauce.

The Monkfish was firm light and firm and lobster tasting while the seared scallops were sweet and buttery and the accompanying soy jus was a perfect accompaniment.

The Delicious Freshwater Stone Bass fillet was light in texture and cooked to perfection, the accompanying King Prawns were seared and tossed into the greens, the citrus butter sauce was light and delicious.

In conclusion, The fruits of the sea are notoriously difficult to get right, the margin between cooking it just right and overcooking it is minuscule, it is something a chef with talent and nuance can pull off.

the Chef of Gamba has the talent, the journey of flavours and textures was magnificent, the choice of fish, which were away from the usual suspects was a masterstroke, the blend of temperatures was educational, to say the least.

The Service was equally good, friendly yet not overly familiar, elegant yet not stuffy

I loved Gamba, definitely Enchantment under the Sea.

December 3 2018

Mother India, Glasgow

finnieston, Food, Indian, Mother India curry, indianfood, monir, mother india, progressive, raan 0

Mother India
28 Westminster Terrace, Glasgow
G3 7RU

Hey, Foodwala’s… Welcome to another tale of the travels and escapades of Alfie Foodwala.

I went for a walk in Kelvingrove Park on Sunday with Shai Foodwala and the memories of 1976 just flooded back, when I entered the park from Kelvin Way I remembered we as kids used to race down the hill with my compadres…when you are a 7-year-old boy, the short slope used to feel like the longest hill in the world. I also remember vividly the scorching summer of 76 when we used to go to the park and the days felt like vast empty canvas.

I still remember the other visitors to the park dressed in flared denim and T-shirts with the Multi-Coloured Swap Shop and Radio Clyde 261 emblazoned on them, and the platform boots the fashion victims still wore in the height of summer.

Even although the park was only a few hundred yards from our townhouse, sometimes we used to get dropped off in a gleaming brand new white Jaguar XJ12 and once my dad managed to fit me and 13 of my cousins in the Jag!!!!

As I nostalgically walked further in to the park the sights and smells of my childhood flooded back, the ice cream van that used to be parked beside the pond and the skate park that had just been constructed.

When I walked up to the quintessential Glasgow red blaize football pitch I remembered watching my chacha ( uncle) play football in the Glasgow Indian Restaurant Sunday Football league, my dad was the manager and always stood like Micheal Caine on the touchlines with the other “bosses” and talked shop while shouting instructions.

The rivalry between the Shish Mahal and Koh i Noor teams was legendary, it made the old firm game seem sedate in comparison, once the star Shish Mahal defender Nasim make an amazing sliding tackle against the Koh i Noor star striker, Gafoor which left him injured and caused a fight between the two teams, it was only resolved when the bosses intervened .

All this nostalgia left me famished and I came across Mother Indian on the other side of the park.

Shai Foodwala and I were ushered downstairs to a cave-like dining room and I was greeted by the owner Monir, who was just leaving to go to the Celtic Cup final.

we kicked off the proceedings with a Chicken Tikka and Potato pakora

The portion was certainly generous and the actual pakora was a cross between a fritter and a Tikki, the pakora was well seasoned and hearty, the taste was homely and delicious.

Next up was the dosa, the dosa is a south Indian fermented rice pancake and its stuffed with either sweet or savory stuffing. The ginger crab and prawn were delicate and slightly underwhelming the tasting notes lacked the crab flavour and the prawns equally failed to punch through. I would have gone for a more stronger flavour pairing.

The leg of Lamb was certainly a sight to behold. The lamb was tender and moist, the masala sauce was rich, intense and pungent. The leg was topped with caramalised nuts which gave an earthy morish element for the decadent feast, my only suggestion would be to possibly cook the sealed lamb for longer.

In conclusion, Mother India is possibly in the top 3 as the best Indian restaurant in Glasgow, the exact placing is open to debate amongst the die-hard Glasgow curry aficionados and is a playoff between Mother India, Shish Mahal, and Balbirs. Top 3 in Glasgow means possibly the best in the UK outside London as Glasgow is the undisputed curry capital of the UK.

The service in Mother India was in the relaxed end of the spectrum, however, the food cerinly shined.