Hey Foodwala boys and girls… hope you are all safe and well
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“Learning is the only thing the mind never exhausts, never fears, and never regrets.”— Leonardo Da Vinci
As you well know, Indian/Pakistani food is the most popular form of eating out in the UK.
However Indian and Pakistani cuisine is going through an exciting period of a renaissance.
The fearless trailblazers who moved from the deepest and darkest India and Pakistan in the late ’50s and early ’60s pioneered the restaurant business, they saved up pennies from working back-breaking jobs in shipbuilding and public transport to buy Italian cafes and turn them into “Indian” restaurants.
They did not have any written recipes, as many could not read or write but literally asked their mums how to cook, then through trial and error, they figured out what suited the western palette and developed dishes to suit.
The indigenous population loved the novelty of it all and the early restaurants were established, a case in hand is the Shish Mahal in Glasgow.
The Renaissance that is happening now is that the Indian and Pakistani restaurant scene is now changing, the grandchildren of the early restaurant pioneers are now bankers, doctors, lawyers, and tech entrapanurs and are no longer interested in restaurants.
In its place are passionate individuals who see restaurants as an Art and chefs as artisans, no longer is the food adapted to the western palette but authenticity is the buzz word, the new Renaissance men are Aktar Aslam of Opheem, Birmingham, Chet Sharma of BiBi Mayfair, Jaf Ali of Khai Khai Newcastle.
They have turned their back on successful careers in banking and science and followed their passion for food and restaurants.
This week we followed one such Renaissance Man and we visited Khai Khai in Newcastle.
KHAI KHAIKHAI KHAI
Khai Khai is the brainchild of the Indian Street Food pioneer Jaf Ali, who owns the Dabbawal chain of street food cafès, he made street food interesting before the likes of Dishoom and Mowgli got into the act.
The Chef is the Michelin-starred Alfred Prasad, so you know which way the restaurant is heading.
Pappad and dips £3.95
We kicked off the proceedings with the Pappad basket, the basket was a mixture of Tapioca furr furr , crackers, and poppadoms, the trilogy of dips was the mint chutney, tamarind sauce, and the smoked tomato
The dips and chutneys went well but we missed the spiced onions.
Beef Shammi Kebab £7.95
Next was the Beef Shami, the wee bite-sized tikkis looked delicious, however, once we delved into the shammis it was a little dense and dry for my liking, usually, the shammis are light and airy as the meat is very finely minced.
Chicken 65 £7.50
The Chicken 65 is once removed cousin of the Korean Fried Chicken, the medallions of chicken breast is marinated with freshly ground masala and cooked in oil, and dusted with chaat masala.
The Chicken was delicious, tender yet crisp and the seasoning was on point, tangy and mirchy at the same time.
Kolkata Chilli Chicken £7.50
The Kolkata Chilli Chicken is a Bengal street food classic, the hand-ground spices, and sun-dried chillis are rubbed into the chicken breast and stir-fried, again well seasoned it was very tasty or should I paraphrase… “Bangin”!!!
Josper Murgh Tikka £14.50
The Josper Oven is a combination of a grill and an oven in a single piece of equipment. It cooks the chicken using charcoal heat only. The Chicken Tikka is extremely tender and moist, which is the “holy grail” of Chicken Breast.
Signature Tandoori Broccoli £7.50
In Indian cuisine, Broccoli is a misunderstood ingredient, usually relegated as an ingredient used in Sagg.
Here the Broccoli has been elevated to hero status, the Broccoli is marinaded in paneer, cream, and masala and then slow-cooked in the tandoor, one word delicious. the Broccoli was soft but not mussy, the masalas did their job.
In Conclusion
Khai Khai promised
“Let’s take a journey back to the way things used to be. To heritage Indian comfort food expertly prepared with fire and smoke.”
In many ways they did exactly what it said on the tin, the meal was expertly prepared using fire and smoke, although the dishes were far from original, what was original was the innovation being used in the ingredients and the cooking.
The Service was professional and business-like best of all friendly without being overfamiliar
The Star of the Meal?
The Signature Tandoori Broccoli and the Josper Chicken Tikka were definitely the stars of the show
The miss of the Meal?
It would be unfair to say the Chicken 65 was the “miss”
Honorable Mention
So how did Khai Khai compare with its Indian Renaissance peers?
The Three best Indian Renaissance restaurants so far have been Opheem, Birmingham, BiBi Mayfair, and Jamovar Mayfair
Khai Khai holds its own against the London Hard hitters
Halal Rating
The Chicken, Beef, and Lamb are 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 accept free meals in return for reviews.
Hey Foodwala 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
Furthermore, if you know of a restaurant that I should review please let me know.
“Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds”.
You must think the above quote is a highly odd thing to write in a restaurant and food blog.
But humour me, all will be revealed.
The above quote was uttered by the physicist Robert Oppenheimer as he witnessed the first detonation of a nuclear weapon on July 16, 1945.
A piece of Hindu scripture ran through the mind of Robert Oppenheimer:
“Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds”.
It is, perhaps, the most well-known line from the Bhagavad-Gita.
Now what is the point of all this gloom and doom, well I visited BiBi, which is the brainchild of Chef Chet Sharma, he moved from India to Oxford University to train as a Physicist.
however Chef Sharma’s passion was food rather than theoretical Physics, so he made an unbelievably brave decision to leave his profession and go to work in a restaurant kitchen.
That is like saving all your parent’s money and buying a BMW and then trading it in for a Dacia Sandero!
He went on to catch the eye of the visionary owner of the restaurant stable JKS restaurants, Karam Sethi who harnessed Chet’s passion and bankrolled BiBi in Londons Mayfair.
BiBi
London was experiencing an Indian Summer when visiting the restaurant, the restaurant was a hive of activity.
The staff was very friendly, keeping in mind that the restaurant is bang smack in the middle of Mayfair, or in other words Mumbai upon Thames or Londongrad.
The street outside the restaurant was knee-deep in Rolls Royces and Bentleys.
The restaurant interior was a tastefully modern Rajhistani look with warm mango wood and wood kiln tiles.
Wookey-hole Cheese Papad (v) £7
I kicked off the proceedings with the Wookey-hole papad, the papad was what deceptively looked like a green mint chutney, which is standard fayre up and down the country, nothing special in that I hear you say. But this was not any old green mint chutney, under the green sauce was a layer of creamy soft cheese and then a layer of sweet mango.
I was absolutely bowled out, it was delicious exciting, and innovative… loved it
Nashpati Bhel (ve) £14
Next up was the Chaat course, I opted for the Nashpati Bhel Chaat,
Bhelpuri is a savoury Chaat from the beaches of Mumbai, It is made of puffed rice, vegetables, and a tangy tamarind sauce, and has a crunchy texture. Chef Sharma made the Chaat his own by cooking each element individually and constructing it using the finesse and then adding a watermelon granita on top to give the chaat a contrasting sweet frozen element, simple yet clever.
Dahi Aubergine (v) £14
Up next was the Punjabi Dahi Aubergine, the Aubergine is a fiendishly difficult vegetable to master, cook it too much it becomes a mushy glop, and cook it too early the Aubergine becomes rock hard and earthy.
The Aubergine in question was marinaded and then cooked in the Josper oven, resulting in a delicious smoked, meaty slice and topped with spiced whipped yogurt. tasty.
Sharmaji’s Lahori Chicken accompanied with Kaima Yakni Pilao £22
The Awadi Chicken is An integral part of every Royal Moghul banquet this dish portrays the true nuances of the Lahori Nawabs. Light, silky very fragrant, the sauce was constructed with care and passionate expertise.
In Conclusion
BiBi deserves all the accolades it is receiving and Chef Sharmas, audacious career move is definitely being honored, He was cooking in the restaurant when I visited, and it was fascinating to see the master at work.
The food was a labour of love, you could see the care and attention going into each dish.
This is a real passion, where you sacrifice for your art, as opposed to the woke sanitised muttering of snowflakes.
One small cloud in the sky was the chipped plates, I have always been brought up as chipped plates being a big no-no, maybe I am old-fashioned and chipped plates are the new drive to authenticity.
The Star of the Meal?
The Wookey-hole Cheese Papad was a revelation.
The miss of the Meal?
It would be unfair to say but I could have done without the chipped crockery.
Honorable Mention
So how did BiBi compare with its Mayfair peers?
The Two best Mayfair restaurants in London so far have been Gymkhana from the JKS stable and the sublime jamavar
BiBi is in a shoo-in for a Michelin star and it is deserving of the accolade (just watch the crockery)
Halal Rating
The Chicken 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 accept free meals in return for reviews.
All reviews are the personal opinion of Alfie Foodwala based on his 30-year experience as a restauranteur
Hey, Foodwala 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
Furthermore is you know of a restaurant that I should review please let me know.
Hey Guys…. truth can be stranger than fiction, as they say
“you cannot make this up”
So apparently in the 1920’s the resistance movement against the Englisher colonial rule was being conducted by the Indian resistance led by Mohammed Ali Jinnah and Mahatma Gandhi.
The resistance was being carried out in London as well as India.
The urbane and charismatic barrister turned resistance leader Jinnah was in charge of recruiting sympathetic public figures in the United Kingdom to further the non-violent agenda of the independence movement.
Jinnah would recruit and meet the supporters in secret, Mr. Jinnah is an affluent barrister as well as a dapper young man who stayed in Mayfair, as he wanted to stay close to home and his supporters and he did not want to cramp his style so he would arrange recruitment drives in various locations in Mayfair.
He would hold decadent parties where the who’s who of the English social establishment were invited and from there Jinnah and his band of subversives and Indian Princes would recruit.
One of the venues for the recruitment parties was the Claridges Hotel in Mayfair, Mr. Jinnah’s parties were the talk of the town and he would hold court in his Saville Row tuxedos.
One unlikely recruit from the party was one Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin, or as me and you know him…Charlie Chaplin!
Mr. Chaplin was a vocal supporter of the Indian independence movement and used his stature as the leading film star of his time to spearhead the agenda.
Mr. Jinnah being sophisticated and clever
discovered the best recruits came from the world of showbiz and media, as they would then carry out the PR required for the independence movement.
After recruitment the resistance movement would meet in clandestine at the then newly opened Veeraswamy restaurant in Regent Street, this venue was chosen as the owner was sympathetic to the cause and apparently, Charlie Chaplin was a descendant of Indians and loved his Indian food, his particular favorite was Lamb Rogan Josh!
This amazing story of Spies and the resistance movement got me wanting to visit the Veeraswamy as well, who had just won its first Michelin star.
Veeraswamy
The restaurant had recently been refurbished during the lockdown to celebrate the Michelin Star, I particularly loved the quirky display of turbans as wall art and the coloured glass jars as lights, very creative.
Amuse Bouche Dahl and Saib soup
We kicked off the proceedings with this wonderfully quirky Dahl and Saib shorba ( yellow lentil and apple soup) it was a playful concoction of earth-spiced lentils and fresh green apple, imaginative and delicious…definitely a great start.
Wild Tiger Prawn mint and chili
Since I chose the tasting menu, the chef brought out his greatest repertoire, so this was Tiger Prawns with Mint, Corriander, and Chilli. Tiger Prawns are notoriously difficult to get right, cook too little they become soft and mushy, cook too much they become chewy and inedible.
This was en pointe, well marinaded with the hand-ground mint, chili and coriander paste, the masala complimented the delicate prawns rather than overpower.
Murgh Masalum Boti
The boti used chicken thigh to great aplomb, the nutty masala was delicately placed on top and pan-cooked to give tender but flavorsome tasting notes.
The Thali
Next up was the thali consisting of the Lamb Rogan Josh
lamb Rogan Josh
Butter Chicken
Butter Chicken
Prawn Moilee
Prawn Moilee
The Lamb Rogan Josh was rich, pungent, and fragrant, with the right blend of masala, the lamb was tender and cooked until it fell apart on touching with the fork
The butter chicken was mild with a little spicy kick, the spicy kick was more of distant memory after the mildness, the chicken again was cooked to perfection.
The prawn Moilee, paid its due to its Bengal heritage, with tasting notes of cream, mustard and maithee it was smooth and flavorsome.
The Pineapple Quorma was not to my liking, overly sweet and cloyingly clingy to the palate, I would definitely have given it a miss.
Halva Tart
Dessert was the Sojee Halva tart, Halva is a reduction of semolina boiled with milk, almonds, sugar, butter, and cardamom on a tart base.
It was good, but not amazing, the halva did not lend itself to being a tart however the sorbet helped cut the sweet halva.
In Conclusion
I loved the veeraswamy, being a legacy restaurant it did not rest on its laurels, the decor was fresh quirky, and playful and that translated down to its food.
The Michelin Star did not make the food or service stuffy and overbearing.
The service was friendly and efficient
The Star of the Meal?
I would make the trip to Veerasweamy for the Lamb Rogan Josh.
The miss of the Meal?
I would definitely give the Pineapple concoction a miss.
Honorable Mention
So how did Veeraswamy do against its peers?
Definitely on par with Jamavar, Kutir, Kahani, and Indian Accent
but not as good as the Gymkhana and Opheem
Halal Rating
The Chicken, Beef, and Lamb is Served in the restaurant and HALAL
Alcohol is served on the Premises
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 accept free meals in return for meals
All reviews are the personal opinion of Alfie Foodwala based on his 30-year experience as a restauranteur.
Hey Foodwala’s… welcome to another episode of the trials and tribulations of Alfie Foodwala
Hankie
[ han-kee ]
noun
a gentlemen’s folded handkerchief
2. Hankie Roti also known as Rumali roti also called Manda is a thin flatbread originating from India and Pakistan, popular in Punjab Pakistan and India. It is eaten with tandoori dishes. The word rumal means handkerchief in many north Indian languages, and the name rumali roti means handkerchief bread. In Punjab
Sometimes you can get a most memorable meal in the unlikeliest of locations, I was with my grandfather in the deepest darkest Muridwala and my grandfather had just taken delivery of his latest Toyota Carolla.
The car had a slight defect and we decided to take the car to the closest Toyota dealership, which was in Faisalabad, on the way we picked up Uncle Taj, who had one of the biggest bus companies in Pakistan and was a complete petrolhead.
We arrived at the dealership and in his inimitable way uncle Taj marched up to the dealer principles office, past a protesting secretary and office boys and barged into his office, the startled man looked up and was going to complain when Uncle Taj throws the keys at him and harangues him for selling him such a terrible product.
The manager scurried to his service department and told the engineers to stop all work and give my grandfather’s car priority.
But with the engineers and other staff, he was kind and courteous
He explained that to get the true measure of a person look at the way he treats the waiting staff and other services people.
The staff, in turn, appreciated the way Uncle Taj stood up to the hated dealer principle and invited us to eat lunch at the staff canteen.
As we stepped into the staff canteen we were treated to a cacophony of scraping chairs and animated conversation and the aroma of spices.
The chef brought over some chicken curry and romali roti, honestly, it was one of the best meals I have had, the chicken was lovely and tender and the accompanying broth was thin yet incredibly flavorsome. we dipped the fresh hot romali roti into the gravy and it was sublime.
The chef would keep an eye on our plates and topped up the hot shorba when it was going low and the roti wala would come over with hot roti, the meal was absolutely delicious yet so simple.
The romali roti can only be made by a true artisan and has to be whirled over his head to make it so thin it is like a silk handkerchief.
Hankies
The Hankies restaurant is situated in the exclusive Montcalm Hotel in Marylebone Village, it was an elegant room with dark woods and leather giving a clubby feel.
amuse-bouche Sabzee Shorba
The pleasant waitress first brought over the amuse-bouche, which was an intensely flavoursome vegetable soup, it had an incredible depth of flavour for something so small.
Mantu £6.50
The Mantu Chat was first up, steamed chicken momo’s or as Hankies grandly called it chicken ravioli in a chili oil yogurt dressing and topped with lentil salsa.
this was a very unusual and innovative chat, the momo was soft and flavoursome and the chili yogurt was equally smooth and subtle, the lentils in the salsa was on the raw side of Al Dente, but altogether it was pleasant.
Chili Lamb Chops £9.00
The Chili lamb chops are the signature elements of the Hankies Menu as well as the Romali Roti, The lamb chops were marinaded in ajwain and chili, although the marinading was spot on the flavour was not a million miles from the lamb chops from a standard curry shop.
The chop itself was fatty in some bits to a point that it was difficult to bite through.
Handi Gosht £9.50Romali Roti £1.75
The main event was the Handi Gosht with Romali Roti, the lamb was cooked in a clay pot (handi), the lamb was cooked to perfection, the lamb was soft and tender and the spices were cooked through without overpowering the lamb.
The thick rich gravy was on the right side of spiciness and was sublime, scooped up with the romali roti it was delicious, the lamb was tender enough for the delicate romali roti to pull apart.
In Conclusion.
The food at Hankies was definitely above average, the menu was innovative without showing, yet the signature lamb chops were average in my humble opinion.
The service was efficient and friendly.
Honorable Mention
In my opinion, Hankies was above average, yet behind the superstar, restaurants likes of Gymkhana and Indian Accent in London and Opheem in Birmingham
Halal Rating
The Lamb and Chicken are both verbally certified HALAL, the Goat is not halal
Hey, Foodwala’s… another tale of the trials and escapades of Alfie Foodwala and on this occasion Shai Foodwala.
The other day I was perusing the local bookwala, and I stumbled upon a book called the Art of Flavour by Danial Paterson, I was much intrigued with this tome so I took it off the shelf, dusted it down and expectantly opened it up, the blurb in the ketab said…
“science of cooking from an olfactory and culinary perspective”
It got me thing… particularly about the past… (cue the wavey blurry thing on TV to show the past), I was on my grandfather’s plantation in the deepest darkest Punjab and we were having lunch under the trees and enjoying the gentle breeze.
I asked my grandfather why a particular food was sweet and why another food was savory, My grandfather was a very patient man and eventually, he said let’s go for a wee drive.
We got into his ancient Land Rover and we set off into the plantation, we first arrived at the mango plantation, it was harvest time and we got out and went to the first mango tree and took off the large plump perfectly ripe Sindrie mango, he cut a slice and we silently eat it, it was the sweetest mango I had tasted , my grandfather explained the different nuances in the sweetness.
Next up was the lemon grove, we did the same thing and again my grandfather explained the sour flavor, I was enthralled by his knowledge and the way he explained.
Further, into the plantation, we came across Oranges which were 12 weeks from harvest and still green, my grandfather cut a tiny slice and told me to gently lick the orange flesh with the tip of my tongue, it was the bitterest thing I have ever tasted, even more than when you accidentally bite into a paracetamol tablet!!
My young tongue was smarting from the bitterness so with a gentle chuckle he took out some salted peanuts and gave me them to offset the bitterness.
Eventually, we reached the outbuilding on the periphery of the vast estate and some of the labourers were having their lunch, my grandfather sat down at the table with his men and joined in, they were eating a humble meal of Palak Paneer with chapati, at the table my grandfather explained that the savoury taste was actually called Umami.
On that day I learned about flavour profiles just by hanging with my grandfather and spending the day on the farm and eating the most delicious, organic and natural produce.
This week we went to Fatt Pundit in Soho, who boasted the fusion of East Indian and Chinese flavours
Crackling Spinach £7.50
Here we go, first up was the Crackling spinach chat, I tried this for the first time and it was delicious fresh spinach leaves, flash cooked in oil and then topped with yogurt, chat masala and pomegranate, the result was a feather-light chat with an amazing flavour profile.
To be honest I have not come across crackling spinach before so I was very pleasantly surprised.
You learn something new every day.
Chicken Momo £5.00 Goat Kid Momo £5.00
The chicken momo was lovely and moist and when you bit down the momo exploded with a delicious rush of chicken and its juice,
Since the Kid Goat Momo was not halal, I was reliably by Shai Foodwala that it too was sensitive, moist and delicious.
The momos were the exact opposite of the momo I tasted in Soho Wala last week.
Momo Steamer
This victorian looking contraption is where the momos are steamed.
Chicken KolKata £8.50
The Chicken Kolkata was chicken shredded with copious amounts of fiery chili and garlic, the resulting flavors was amazing not too hot but hot enough, the garlic notes were prominent without leaving a bitterness.
Bombay Chilli Prawns £14
Chinese style stir-fried King Prawns with Szechuan masalas. Again the King Prawns were cooked en point and the fiery Szechuan spices gave a nice kick, all in all wonderful.
Ribeye Chilli Beef £15.00
Since West Bengal is allowed to consume beef this dish is a rarity in India, however, the beef was stirfried in cashews and chillis giving some serious Kung Po vibes, again could not fault it.
Guava Sour Mocktail £5.50
We washed all the fiery masalas down with this delicious Guava Sour Mocktail, whereas Shai Foodwala had the full-fat alcoholic version.
In Conclusion
I loved the Fatt Pundit, the food was true and fiery, the Momos were moist and the curry was flavorsome.
It definitely reminded me of the Chinese we used to have in Faislabad when we were growing up.
The service was cheerful, knowlagable and efficient.
The only downside was that it was “tapas” style sharing dishes but it was very expensive, we left with a £100 hole in the wallet.
Halal Rating
Fatt Pundit serves alcohol.
Chicken and Lamb were certified Halal by the management.
Hey, Foodwala’s… Welcome to another trial and escapade of your truly, Alfie Foodwala
I was back in the big smoke of London once again with Larry Foodwala, we share many things in common, we are both restauranteurs, we love food and we love watches.
While we toured the watch houses of New Bond Street, admiring all beautiful baubles behind the armored window’s a similar window shopping story came to mind.
Cast your mind back to the bleak midwinter of 1969 and my grandfather decided it was cheaper to drive overland from Pakistan to Glasgow, so he trussed up his 1965 Mark 1 Ford Transit and set off for Glasgow with my Chacha Nasim Foodwala and Larry’s dad Anwar Foodwala, when they reached Istanbul the van broke down with a broken axle and had to be repaired, the repairs took all their spare cash and took 3 weeks to fix, as parts had to be brought in from England.
While Nasim and Anwar had plenty of time to explore they did not have money to eat more than one meal a day so they passed the time by touring the eating houses of Istiklal Caddesi peering into the steamed-up window and salivating at all the delicious street food until they were shooed away by irate owners.
It was ironic that 50 years later Larry and I were doing the same thing but instead of looking hungrily at piles of the delicious hot steamy mounds of food we were doing the same but with Rolex’s and Pateks and this time we could purchase as well as just salivate on the other side of the glass.
All this window shopping made us rather peckish and as an homage to my chacha and uncle, we decided to go to Soho Wala, who are purveyors of street food from the streets of Lahore and Bombay.
Chicken Momo £4.95 Gulafi KebAb £8.95
We kicked off the proceedings with steamed Chicken Momo’s, these are Nepalese steamed dumplings, stuffed with chicken and steamed in a flour shell, the momo was served in a steaming bamboo pot, however, these momos were premade and were dry and a little bit stodgy. not an auspicious start.
The Gulafi Kebab has its origins in the mountains of Anatolia and the recipe was given the Mogul Jahangir by the Turkish ruler as a peace offering, ideally the Gulafi kebab is tempered with finely chopped onions and bell peppers and the moisture then make the lamb kebab melt in the mouth, these kebabs were dry and tough, again i suspect they were premade and heated up.
Lamb laal Maas £9.50
The Rajasthani Lamb Laal Maas is supposed to be a deep, complex rich lamb stew, exuding fragrance and slow-cooked flavour, however, this tasted like a simple lamb curry served in curry shops the world over, so far 3 misses, things don’t look good for Soho Wala.
Keema Pao £7.00
Next up was the delicious Keema Pao, this is a staple of the Bombay street food scene, The keema as spiced just right and the buttered brioche buns were moist, soft and delicious.
things were looking up!!
Lucknow Murgh Biryani £9.95
The chicken biryani was another hit, the chicken thigh pieces were soft and delicious and the biryani spices were deliciously balanced with the right amount of masalas, where no masala overpowered the other. overall the biryani was delicious and the pomegranate raita helped to add a coolness to the spices.
In Conclusion
In conclusion, Soho Wala was a hit and miss affair, the Kebab, momo’s and Laal Maas were definitely a miss however the Keema Pao and biryani wes a hit.
It could be possible the time of day we visited or Soho Wala is situated in a hotel and could be that the food coming from the central kitchen had a distance to travel and went cold and dry in the service process.
The service in Soho Wala was friendly, if not a little unsure.
Halal Rating
Soho Wala serves alcohol.
Chicken and Lamb were certified Halal by the management.
Hey, Foodwala’s….you may well know, Glasgow is the undisputed curry capital of Great Britain.
It has beaten such curry heavyweights as Bradford, Rusholme Manchester, and the Balti triangle Birmingham, at industry awards events the other contenders lament why Glasgow walks away with the awards year in year out, they bandied out figures that they had more restaurants, more customers, etc, but could not understand why a city in Scotland won the award every year.
The simple fact of the matter is that in the restaurant business they call it the “common denominator” factor, what this means is that a restaurant’s standards are actually set by the customers rather than the restaurant.
If the customers are happy with basic food and low standards, then the restaurant will happily oblige, however, if the restaurant’s patrons demand a high quality of cuisine then the restaurants have to up their game so to speak.
The customers in Glasgow are very decerning and won’t settle for anything mediocre, hence the high standards and the accolades, however, the customers in Bradford and locales are happy to eat basic food, in basic eateries and this reflects in the dearth of awards.
The restaurant quality ecosystem can further be broken down in Glasgow, The West End of Glasgow has a far more decerning clientele than the south side and east end and again this explains why awards winning restaurants are located in the West End, industry bigwigs such as Mother India, Shish Mahal, and Balbirs and lately a newcomer like Swadish.
So my food journey this week takes me way south to Rouken Glen Park in Giffnock, and the newly opened by the ex-chief of the New Turban restaurant.
We kicked off the proceedings with a trio of starters, however before we had the starters the waiter brought out some popadoms, however, the popadoms were stale and soggy!!
that is a rookie mistake and not something an experienced restauranteur would ever put out.
The chicken pakora was adequate and the chicken was fresh and moist.
The chicken pepper was an unusual starter it was basically stir-fried chicken and peppers, it was neither a starter or a main course, possibly then chef was trying to be creative.
The samosas were nice and felt homemade with a crispy pastry, however, the starters came without a dipping sauce, which was odd or maybe they forgot.
Tandoori Mixed Grill Of The Day £19.95
The mixed grill was served on a sizzling skillet, however unusually it was not sizzling, the mixed grill must have been under a hot lamp before serving and was allowed to cool down, the tandoori chicken was over spiced with ajwain (carom) seeds and must have been half cooked beforehand rendering it dry.
The lamb tikka was the best item in the mixed grill roulette (their words) and was tender and minty.
The single piece of King Prawn was again over spiced.
Desi Lamb £11.00
The Desi lamb was yet again adequate, the lamb was dry meaning the lamb had been stewed previously and reheated when the order came in, the lamb had not absorbed any of the gravy jus and the onions and green peppers were also cooked beforehand in a big batch.
The resulting dish was devoid of the desi flavour… more of a stewed casserole.
South Indian Garlic Chicken £10.00
The South Indian Garlic Chicken was the biggest letdown, the Mixed grill was served with the house gravy, the SIGC tasted of chicken cooked in the house gravy, it was neither spicy or garlicky, it was mediocre, to say the least.
In conclusion, I can only speculate that the chef had a day off and the understudy was holding the fort…The food was adequate, however, it was boring in its execution, there were cutting of corners starting with the stale poppadoms.
The service was prompt and friendly, our 17-year waiter looked after us like a veteran. Could not fault their enthusiasm and hard work.
The decor was smart and elegant, obviously a lot of effort had been invested in the restaurant, however, the kitchen was letting the team down.
Swadish 33 Ingram Street, Merchant City, Glasgow, G1 1HA
Hey Foodwala’s…its been a while since my last Foodwala post, what with Ramadhan and other business commitments but anyhow here I am in my full glory!
I was listening to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, who incidentally also hails from my ancestral hometown of Faisalabad and I was absolutely struck by the mesmerising lyrics.
Please forgive my translating skills
“Ye jo Halka halka saroor hei… This gentle exhilaration I am feeling
yeh teri nazar ka kasoor hei… Is the fault of your glance
ke sharab peena sekadia”… it has intoxicated and besotted me
so what Nusrat foodwala is alluding to is that in a society where alcohol and female company is taboo he still feels the effects of intoxication purely from a single glace of a ladies eyes.
The point I am making is that when you are so intuned to your feelings the sheer nuance of what you love, will give you a euphoric rush, whether its a particular food, or a flavour or a caress of someone you love.
So my epic journey starts by traveling East…to the Merchant City and the newly opened Swadish restaurant which prides itself as modern, I was at a loss at this modern Indian cuisine when it had Chicken Tikka Masala and butter chicken on the menu, and Goulati kebabs, the recipe of which is over 700 years old.
Smoked Lakhnavi Gelauti Kebab £10
Mokee Foodwala and I kicked off the proceedings with the Gelauti Kebab, the kebab was an eyewatering £10.
The Gelauti kebab was first created for a Sultan who due to old age lost his teeth but still had a love for Kebabs, so his chef created silky smooth kebabs by turning the lamb mince into a pate and then cooking it on a tandoor, thus creating kebabs of such smooth and silky texture that the aging sultan could enjoy it.
The Swadish version was not as smooth and silky as I would have expected, definitely not as smooth as the ones in Farzi Cafe, which I reviewed a few months back nor as amazing at Bademia in Mumbai.
Sesame Fish Fried £5.50
Next up were goujons of haddock dipped in sesame and ajwain, I personally felt the choice of using Haddock left the ajwain overpowering the delicate fish, a more robustly flavoured fish should have been used, the Avacado salsa was a nice touch and was flavorsome.
Lamb Shank Rogan Josh £14
The Lamb Shank Rogan Josh was the absolute star of the meal, the 8-hour lamb shank just fell off the bone and the freshly constructed Rogan Josh was absolutely rich, flavorsome and decadent.
This was definitely our favorite, we scooped up the delicious Jus with the Mozzarella, Gruyere Cheese and Truffle Butter Nan, altogether it was a flavour sensation for our tastebuds.
Burrata Butter Chicken £13
The Butter Chicken was gentle in its flavour with nuanced cardamom tasting notes running through it and the Soft Burrata cheese giving the sauce a gentle silkyness.
After the star attraction, the Butter Chicken felt like an afterthought or played second fiddle.
Strawberry Bhappa Doi £7
We finished off with some Strawberry Bhappa Doi, I was expecting steamed yogurt with a consistency of creme brulee and infused with cardamoms and saffron, but we got something entirely different, more like Greek Yogurt with Strawberry.
I definitely preferred the Bhappa Doi at Kutir in London and Bikenervala in Dubai.
In Conclusion, The chef patron clearly is very passionate, with the innovative ingredients and attention to detail.
However there are some things that did not make sense to me, the restaurant price point is clearly at London Michelin level however we received paper napkins where i would have expected starched Linen and the soft drinks were served in cans where I would expect a glass bottle at least.
The service was friendly and efficient.
The price point of Swadish is about 20% above the competition, admittedly the product is excellent but the Glasgow customer might find this hard to palette .
Hey, Foodwala’s…. welcome to another tale of the travels of Alfie Foodwala.
I had a profound thought the other day whilst I was driving to Kinloch Rannoch to judge the 5-star Dunalister hotel for the Prestige Hotel Awards… that’s right I also judge restaurants and hotels for various top awards companies in the UK.
I was driving down the same road that is featured in the James Bond Skyfall the stunning beauty of Glen Coe literally stopped me in my tracks or rather stopped the Mercedes I was driving in its tracks and I got out. I was absolutely over overwhelmed by the beauty and shared the moment by taking a photo and sending it to Goblee Foodwala in Dubai and Mokee Foodwala in Aberdeen.
Now you must be thinking what is the point of this story and how it can possibly relate to my latest restaurant escapade. Bear with me and all will be revealed.
So I was in the middle of this stunning valley and I thought to my self how did I come to this point, how did I get to go to the most amazing restaurants and hotels and meet the most wonderful people and eat the most amazing food.
And to put it simply, I read the book called The Secret, in the book it said visualise in your mind’s eye what you want, what you really really want and whether it’s your dream house or dream car or your dream job and the brain is so powerful it will lock in the picture, then subconsciously it will start influencing your decisions in your everyday life until you start to achieve what you started dreaming about.
In my case it was having an amazing family, driving a new Mercedes and traveling all of the world eating at the best restaurants and staying at the best hotels and my dreams are coming true.
i was reading the other day about the Michelin star Chef Rohit Ghai, he was the head chef in Jamavar and his dream was to open his own Michelin stared restaurant, his dream came true when he open Kutir.
Larry Foodwala and I decided to venture into deepest darkest Chelsea to check this restaurant out.
Kutir
Kutir is located in a townhouse in a side street in Chelsea, its decorated in muted greens and with beautiful murals on the walls.
We kicked off the proceedings with some popadoms and dips
Poppadoms and dips
We felt that the poppadoms were slightly stale, which is very surprising for a Michelin star restaurant.
The dips and chutney were delicious particularly the pickled onion chutney.
Salmon Mooli
The salmon was seasoned en pointe so that the natural creamy salmon flavour was still evident and the masalas were play homage to the hero of the dish. The mooli and creme freche raita was wonderful.
Chicken Lentil
The Tandoori Supreme of baby chicken was again lightly seasoned, however, we felt it was a wee bit under seasoned and the breast meat was a little bit on the tough side, which again was unusual for a breast of baby chicken.
The ginger pickle lent itself nicely with the chicken and the bed of Puy lentils.
Sea Bass Kokum (bottom) Chicken Tikka Masala (top)bread basket and Kutir Kali Dall
The Seabass Kokum was delicious, the coconut cream infused Jus was so well balanced that the delicate flavour of the sea bass was enhanced.
The Chicken Tikka Masala, which was incidentally first created by Mr. Ali at the Shish
Mahal in Glasgow was a little raw in its execution, the chicken was cooked perfectly, however, the spices felt less nuanced as compared to the rest of the meal.
My stand out element to the meal was the Kaali Dal, it was creamy and buttery in its execution however the lentils still had a nice bite to it.
Bhappa Doi
The Bhappa Doi was brilliantly executed, the steamed yogurt fudge was creamy and flavorsome, the honeycomb lent itself very well with the Bhappa doi
Pan and Pista Kulfi
I loved the homemade Pan Kulfi, the rose golkund and fennel was subtle as it was delicious, the pista kulfi was less of a hit, it was lacking in the tasting notes.
In Conclusion, London has some absolutely stellar Indian Restaurants, like Gymkhana and Indian Accent, however Kutir, as delicious as it was fell in my opinion short of the two i mentioned, however, it was on par with Kahani.
We are very well looked after our by our very knowledgable French Waiter, Quentin
Hey, Foodwala’s…welcome to another episode of the Tales of Alfie Foodwala.
Other day I was back in my spiritual home of London.
I was walking from Knightsbridge to Mayfair through the St James area of London and I was admiring the stately buildings of government and royalty.
I passed the Commonwealth Monument on Constitution Hill and I noticed the names of the commonwealth countries etched in the blonde sandstone and includes India and Pakistan.
That got me thinking, The Gorawala’s had ruled over the Indian Subcontinent for eighty-nine years and built some amazing infrastructure projects like the biggest irrigation canal network in the world and built the rail network thus joining every corner of the empire.
The British Raj also bestowed bureaucracy on its Indian subjects so they could rule.
So what did the Britishwala’s get in return… other than £35 trillion( yes trillion with 12 zero’s!) they released the grateful Indian subjects?
they adopted some Indian words into their vocabulary?
Did you know the world Doolally is an Indian word meaning someone of a feeble mind
or hullabaloo meaning making too much sound
and swastika which ironically means wellbeing and healthy…go figure
The jury is still out if the Indians got their money worth.
anyhow all this counting of zeros and history got me feeling hungry and I stumbled upon Farzi Cafe, which is billed as Indiafied Englisher food.
FARZI CAFE
Farzi cafe originates in New Dehli and it caters to the bright young things of the Indian Elite, who are often called Chutney Mary’s and Pickle Joe’s
They are called this for their air of superiority and the love of all thing English.
Dal chawal Arancini £6
I kicked off the proceedings with this interesting Dal chawal arancini, the spiced lentils and rice were mixed with parmesan and shallow cooked in oil and topped with green chutney and papad.
This was a very innovative homage to the Italian Arancini and it worked wonderfully.
Galouti slider £8
Next up The Galouti Slider caught my eye, The Galouti Kebab is an ultra soft and smooth kebab which is spiced with Ginseng and fifteen other spices. The Galouti slider was absolutely awsome, the kebab patty was smooth and well seasoned and the kebab had just enough Umami flavour to offset the spices and the butter brioche bun was soft and pillowy, the caramalised onion relish was a nice touch giving it a sweet note to the slider.
Veal ‘osso bucco’ Ishtu £16
The main event of the evening was the Veal ‘osso Bucco’ Ishtu, The veal shank was expertly marinaded as not to overpower the delicate tasting notes of the Veal and then the South Indian Ishtu jus was poured over the veal to give a smooth velvety shorba.
The veal absolutely melted in the mouth and the coriander kulcha was perfect for the mopping of the sauce
A definite hit.
In Conclusion, Farzi Cafe London is very different from its sister branch in Dubai, where the Dubai restaurant dazzled the diners with its presentation theatrics and the substance and the food was somewhat lacking however the owners have very shrewdly acknowledged the mature palate of the London clientele and focused the theatre towards the cuisine.
The Service was friendly and efficient, and I was greeted by a genuine smile from the hostess which seemingly is a rarity these days.
