Category: london

February 11 2024

Pahli Hill, Bandra Bhai, London

Food, indian food, london, mayfair alfiefoodwala, business, chicken tikka, chicken tikka masala, INDIAN FOOD, london, MICHELIN 0

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"hajaaron khokhale shabdon se behatar vah ek shabd hai jo shaanti laata hai."

(Buddha )

“Better than a thousand hollow words… is one word that brings peace.”–

It was the long hot summer of 1987, I was once again on my grandfather’s plantation in Toba Tek Singh, the days were long and hot,,, the perfect mango growing season.

Each morning I would go for a walk with my grandfather to inspect the mango trees.

The Mango orchard was in the honoured position in the marabas (fields) beside the farmhouse.

The mango trees were lined up in a regimental fashion like sepoys in the parade ground, we would walk past each tree and my dadoo would point out just by his expert eye the prime mangoes at the best time of picking.

His munshi (foreman) would follow behind us with a long hockey stick device that plucked the golden mango without bruising or bumping them.

The mango was then washed in a bath of iced rosewater and then wrapped in muslin from my grandfather’s cotton plantation and mill and placed in a polished velvet-lined Thuya wood box, with the plantation name and date embossed in gold.

Each time I asked my grandfather who the box was for, he would mischievously wink and say it’s for peace.

So a couple of days later I was watching the news that tensions between, Pakistan and India had reached a crescendo and there was talk of hostilities.

That is when President Zia ul Haq did a googly and flew to Bombay, in the pretence of attending the India-Pakistan test match and met Rajiv Gandhi with a peace offering, thus earning the monicker…“cricket diplomacy of Pahli Hill”

Wait a moment…That polished Thuya box looked familiar.

This week we were in the deepest darkest Fitzrovia and came across this imaginatively named Bombay speakeasy/ restaurant called Pahli Hill and Bandra Bhai.

Mokee Foodwala and I were intrigued , so we decided to explore further.

The decor of the restaurant was tasteful Bollywood/Irani chic, with loads of dark polished wood and brass and Connolly leather banquette seating.

Since we were famished we ordered.

The crispy Khakhra were…phenomenal!!!!Khakra is a thin cracker, like poppadom Gujer cousin, common in Gujrat western India, It is made from mung bean and oil.

This Khakra was a wee bit different as it was slathered with spicy mustard and bird eye achar…seriously spicy yet seriously addictive and delish.

Up next were this delicious, morish palak, Cicoria and Rosevale aloo tikki, accompanied by a sweet and sour tamarind chutney.

the tikkis were moist and light, delicately spiced and balanced, like eating clouds of spinach potato tikis.

The Lamb Biryani was delightful, with just enough spice to keep the next bite interesting, and the cornish lamb melted in the mouth.

Delicious, why was it, not 10/10… the £34 price tag was a wee bit rich for this scottush lad.

PAHLI HILL TANDOORI CHICKEN TIKKA
£21
8/10

The Chicken Tikka was expertly marinated using the light of touch of a master, and the breasts and thighs were moist with no crunchiness of saline-injected chicken. chicken tikka can be the easiest tandoori dish to make or the hardest, it all depends on the master.

The cucumber kimchi accompaniment was tasty and imaginative.

The Dal was a revelation!!! the second coming even…it was absolutely delicious, lightly spiced with roasted shallots, it was the closest to my mum’s masoor ki dal…knowing what I know now I would have been happy to just have the dal with the latcha paratha and some steamed rich. I would go back to Pahli Hill just for the dal.

In Conclusion

The Pahli Hill food game is on point. lacking pretentiousness

the food is simple yet elegant and expertly made with quality ingredients, when your team is this good you don’t need gimmicks and sleight of hand.

The service was attentive and unobtrusive.

The Star of the Meal?

The Star of the Meal was definitely the Tadka Dall…. did I mention that it was delicious?

Honourable Mention

Pahli Hill is definitely Michelin standard, they would race in the same thoroughbred with Gymkhana, Jamavar and Veeraswamys.

This is the Champions League of Indian cooking, and London is a different country. Opheem in Birmingham is also in the running.

These restaurants are a busman’s holiday for me.

Halal Rating.

The Chicken and Lamb are halal

however, Pork is served but segregated

Alcohol is served.

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.

October 7 2023

Brigadiers, London

Food, london, mayfair alfiefoodwala, chicken tikka masala, gourmet, INDIAN FOOD, london, MICHELIN 0

1-5 Bloomberg Arcade, London EC4N 8ARHey Foodwala Boys and Girls… hope you are all well

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

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“The dump outside a village tells tales about the villagers”(paraphrased)

“Paga valia da pind…roorya to pata lug jund da”

– Ali A. Aslam

It was a stifling hot and dusty summers afternoon in 1946, in the deepest darkest Punjab when out of the shimmering heat a caravan of Morris 8’s emerged alongside a truck carrying troops.

The cars carried Brigadier Smith Dun from the feared 14th Punjab Regiment and the local land administrator called the Zaildar and his underlings the Lumberdars.

Today was an important day, today was the day the Britishers were going to distribute the land that was not theirs to distribute. The male head of each family was called to the Panchayat and told to bring their best horse. The horse was then made to run for 5 minutes and where the horse stopped that was where the line was squared off and that would belong to that family.

On that fateful day, all the families got their tracts of land and much merriment was made, as the land would be the livelihood for many generations. One poor labourer who did not own a buffalo let alone a horse was left with nothing, while the other now Zamindars celebrated he looked on with despair until he could not take it any more and ran in front of the departing Brigadiers’ car, threatening to jump in front of the car and die.

Brigadier Dun asked why the Pagil dared to hold up the Kings” Brigadier and the labourer pleaded that he had five sons and no land…he was destitute, unusually Dun took pity and asked the Lumberdar if there was any land left, the Zaildars and Lumberdars consulted their plot book and eventually after some head scratching and beard scratching a tiny plot was found where the village threw away its rubbish, this was then given to the labourer.

The labourer then sold the plot to his neighbour and paid for passage for his oldest son to come to Glasgow to work…And from that, a multi-million-pound business empire was built.

This story was told by my dad saying luck is when preparation meets opportunity.

This week I was in the City of London and felt peckish, I was in the Bloomberg Building for some meetings so I ventured to the ground floor where Mr Bloomberg a huge foodie, had personally curated a group of restaurants.

The restaurant which caught my eye was Brigadiers, the sister restaurant of Gymkhana in Mayfair.

I tentatively ventured in, it was all rich wood panelling and burgundy Connolly leather, It recreated the Meat testosterone-filled officers’ mess halls in the British Raj. The position of the restaurant is ironic, as it is now in the 21st-century equivalent of a Meat-driven testosterone-filled International Bank in the City of London.

I kicked off the proceedings with an assortment of poppadoms and dips, the yellow yoghurt and tamarind dip was absolutely delicious.

The Afghani Kebab was unusual, the kebab has gone through the Pymallion paradox, The Afghani kebab is usually a crude meaty/fatty affair, however, the chefs at Brigadiers had made it all sophisticated and high class, and the skewer was steak meat and pieces of white fat interlaced with onion just to give it a delicious tasting note.

Tandoori Lamb Chops, Tandoori Onions £17

The Tandoori Lamb chops were Brigadier’s signature dish, plat de prédilection even, however, this is where the record screeches to a halt, the lamb chops were a little under-seasoned and overcooked, and the chops should have been slightly pink inside to enjoy the real meaty flavour. Wee a bit disappointed at the schoolboy error.

The Tawa prawn biryani was tasty, but not exceptional, maybe I did not manage my expectations or maybe the chefs were having a off day, but it was not executed as one would expect at Indian food at this level and price point.

I cannot figure out, if the Brigadier’s chefs were going for the Tahdig effect which is the crispy layer of rice at the base of the pan, which is super expert biryani cooking or was the rice burnt and clumpy due to the lack of proper mixing, this another schoolboy error.

A quick epilogue, this is the fanciest sinks I have come across in a restaurant.

In Conclusion

Brigadiers is a meat-fueled testosterone-charged Raj verse restaurant in exactly the right location.

The Restaurant is from the stable of JKS restaurants, who are the trailblazers of a lot of the hottest restaurants in London at the moment.

However, I personally felt the food was excellent but at the price point and expectations was a slight miss

The price point was however quite expensive, approx £77 per head, so my expectation was heightened.

The Service was friendly and to the point.

The Star of the Meal?

The Star of the meal could have been the Tandoori Lamb Chops but was possibly the Afghani Kebab, well marinaded, delicious and with excellent execution.

The miss of the Meal?

The Tandoori Lamb Chops were the miss of the meal, they were overcooked.

Honourable Mention

Brigadiers are good but could have been exceptional, It has some amazing peers in the Michelin Indian food scene, particularly like Gymkhana and Jamavar in London, or Opheem in Birmingham.

Halal Rating

The Lamb and Chicken are halal.

Pork and Alcohol are 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.

May 20 2023

Gifto Lahore Karahi, Southall

Food, london, pakistani food alfiefoodwala, chicken tikka, grill, london 0

Hey, Foodwala boys and girls… I hope you are all safe and well

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“The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.”

The other day I was listening to a Podcast and the debate was about which decade had the best music, some argued it was the 60s and they passionately quoted the music of the Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Who and The Rolling Stones.

The next nostalgic argued the 70s was the best decade and he made his case by giving examples of songs by Queen, Wings, Boney M and Blondie.

But the best argument was undoubtedly from the 80s antiquary, he made the argument that the 80s was the perfect storm where music, fashion, technology and Hollywood all gave birth to the fantastic sounds of Van Halen, U2, Guns n’ Roses, Pet Shop Boys and Simple Minds.

The movies in the ’80s were also big, loud and brash and did not pander to the woke brigade or were the slave of the DC/Marvel duopoly.

This got me thinking and I started to think about which food and restaurants from my childhood would I visit again and see how they have withstood the test of time, We used to love going to the Finley Clarks Garden Centre in Bearsden and the Danish Food Centre on Bothwell Street with my dad.

Further afield my dad used to load us up in the white Jaguar and take us on adventures to Manchester, Cardiff and London.

It was in London that he used to take us to the exotically named Giftos Lahore Karahi, and we had fond memories of the sizzeling mixed grills piled with meats and the exotically named curries which used to fascinate my brothers and sisters.

I was in the area so I decided to enjoy a trip down memory Broadway and visit Giftos again.

As I excitedly entered I noticed a member slovenly sitting beside the door, I was greeted with enthusiastic raise of the eyebrow.

I requested a table for myself, and the waiter/manager/host then hauled himself from his chair and took me into the simply lit interior, I don’t know if half the lights were switched off to protect the environment or if they were fused.

There must have been some upgrading going on as all the left side booths were taped off with what looked like yellow and black biohazard tape (my mind was obviously getting ahead of itself)

I then sat beside the grill station and proceeded to order.

My pet peeve is when the waiting staff take your order without writing it down, 9 out of 10 times the order is wrong.

I then paid the washrooms a visit, and they were…FILTHY, I will leave to your imagination the state of the washrooms.

My dad used to say if you want to know how clean the restaurant kitchen is just look at the restaurant washrooms and the restaurant windows, if they are clean then the kitchen will be spotless, and if they are not, well you have guessed it.

As soon as I sat down the Samosa Chat was put in front of me

The Samosa Chat was piping hot with delicious plump chickpeas coated with sweet and our tamarind sauce, and dusted with chat masala, the samosa itself was mostly potato yet delicious.

Things started off quite positively

The Mixed grill arrived unexpectedly fast, It was heaped with lamb chops, chicken chat, chicken tikka, lamb tikka, seekh kebab and chicken kebab.

As you can see the mixed grill looks amazing but in reality, it was at best mediocre, all the different ingredients were pre-cooked and placed on the sizzling plate. The lamb chops were dry and tough as nails. the seekh kebabs were over-seasoned and dehydrated and barelly edible.

The lamb tikka was ingots of unidentifiable meat which I could not chew through.

The Chicken Tikka was stale, cold and tough, my guess was it was made yesterday.

As I had left most of the grill as it was not fit to be edible I ordered a Lamb Karahi, surely they cannot get that wrong, They are named after the Karahi, and surely It would be their swansong.

The Lamb Karahi came suspiciously fast, They can’t make a Karahi this fast and my fears were exactly right, the gravy was boiling hot and tasty however the lamb in the gravy was the exact opposite, touch and cold.

I suspect the lamb was amateurishly mixed in with the premade gravy and served, again I left most of it.

In Conclusion

Gifto’s Lahore Karahi was a huge disappointment, the staff were uninterested, the food was way below average, the place was empty yet they could not be bothered to do the barest minimum.

The Place with filthy, I could not comprehend how a place is allowed to open its doors in that state.

The management was shockingly indifferent, I pointed out the shortcomings after I paid my bill so as not to seem that I wanted a discount or something for free

Maybe the past should be left in the past and not be visited.

The Star of the Meal

If I had to venture then I would reluctantly say the Samosa Chat.

The miss of the Meal?

Without a doubt the Mixed Grill and closely the Lamb Karahi.

Honourable Mention

I am still at a loss how Gifto’s Lahore Karahi can still be serving, in the most competitive restaurant market in London, across the road is Butt Karahi from Lahore, If the Lahore and Dubai Butt Karahis are a yardstick then they blow Giftos out of the water, then you have the fabulous Tayyabs in Whitechapel who was grown in strength, further still we have the humble Pind in Bradford with its fabulous honest to goodness karahi.

Halal Rating

The Chicken and Lamb are confirmed 100% Halal.

NO Alcohol 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.

March 5 2023

PIND vs LAHORE KARAHI

Food, london, pakistani food alfiefoodwala, BBQ, comfort food, london, rustic 0

Hey, Foodwala boys and girls… I hope you are all safe and well

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“I challenge you to a duel, sir!”

I have been away on a sabbatical ladies and gentlemen, but I am back

I was reading about the legendary duel between Richard the Lionheart and the Sallaudin.

When Sallaudin conquered Jerusalem after the battle of Hattim, King Richard challenged Sallaudin to a duel, The king boasted that he was so strong and his sword was so mighty, he could challenge Sallaudin to produce two items and if the King could not cut either of the items in half then he would admit defeat and he will leave Jeruselum and return back to England.

The wily Sallaudin accepted the King’s challenge, produced the metal rod, and asked the King to cut it in half, which the King did with his broadsword. The onlookers were amazed at the King’s strength and the power of his sword.

The King bellowed, is there anything else I cannot cut?

Sallaudin then proceeded to take out a silk scarf from his bag and asked the King to cut it in half, the king scoffed and proceeded to try to cut the delicate silk scarf but try as he might he could not do it.

The King got more and more exasperated until he was so tired he could not lift his sword, Sallaudin then threw up the silk scarf and cut the scarf in 4 with his agile and razor-sharp scimitar.

The King was humiliated and Sallaudin successfully vanquished the King and set Jerusalem free.

Today we are doing a restaurant duel, A Punjabi Lahori restaurant from Bradford and a Lahori restaurant from Tooting London. so who will win the inaugural Alfie Foodwala Duel and so securing the bragging rights?

We will judge it by similar dishes…Chalō śurū karī’ē (let’s start in Punjabi)

Today my Foodwala guest was Nassir Foodwala

First, off the Pind Mixed Grill, it included chicken tikka, seek kebab, lamb chops, wings, and masala fish.

The marinade was delicate and subtle, yet still flavorsome, usually pakistanis fall into the trap of over-seasoning the meat, thus defeating the primary purpose of marinading.

The grill of Lahore Karahi was again expertly seasoned, however, the grill was reheated rather than freshly cooked, leaving the protein on the dry side and slightly lukewarm in the center of the tikka.

So….7 out of 10 6 out of 10

Next up was the Karahi Course…The Pind Karahi came out of the blocks fighting, The Karahi was phenomenal, cooked with butter the nutty buttery taste is the trademark of a Lahori Karahi so imortalised by the Kings of Karahi from Lahore.

The lamb was soft and tender and the seasoning was on point.

The Karahi at the Lahore Karahi was a more perfunctory affair, more commercially mainstream.

The Pind Karahi was a clear winner by a knockout with an uppercut

So….9 out of 10 7 out of 10

In Conclusion

We conclude the duel between the Pind, Bradford and Lahore Karahi, Tooting, and the result is indisputable, a clear winner…PIND, Bradford, the Karahi was absolutely Phenomenal

The Service was functional and swift.

The Star of the Meal?

The Pind Karahi was in my opinion the star of the show.

The miss of the Meal?

The miss of the meal was at Pind as well, the chairs at Pind were the most uncomfortable I have ever sat at in any restaurant

Honourable Mention

The Pind held its own amongst the plethora of desi karahi restaurants, The Butt Karahi was the granddaddy of the karahi restaurants and Pind was close to that, Tayabs in Whitechapel is also a strong contender.

Halal Rating

The Chicken and Lamb are confirmed 100% Halal.

No Alcohol 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.

June 21 2022

BiBi, Mayfair, London

Indian, london, mayfair alfiefoodwala, chicken tikka, chicken tikka masala, gourmet, INDIAN FOOD, MICHELIN 0

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.

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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.

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.

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

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.

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

July 27 2021

Bombay Bustle, Mayfair

Food, indian food, london, mayfair alfiefoodwala, chicken tikka masala, gourmet, london, MICHELIN 0

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.

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Furthermore is you know of a restaurant that I should review please let me know.

“if the train doesn’t stop at your station, it’s not your train”

I love traveling by train but particularly I enjoy observing life around the train station.

You can judge the pulse of a city by watching the ebb and flow of humanity around the station.

In fact, my favorite railway station is the grandly known Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai but known simply to the locals as Bombay Victoria station.

The imposing Colonial Gothic structure was built in 1887 and the interior is like a soaring Gothic Cathedral as opposed to a mass transit point.

I love sitting outside the Leopold Cafe and watching humanity flow in and out like the tide of the Indian Ocean just a couple of blocks away.

We have the locals scurrying out of the station going to work in the morning or wearily scurrying back depending on the time of day.

Then we have the begger class, beggers are classed as an unofficial profession in India and a whole cottage industry has grown around begging.

we have the beggers themselves who often maim themselves to make them more feeble and pathetic so to attract the big bucks from gullible western backpackers.

Next up we have the western backpackers who stick out like a Celtic fan at an Orange parade, they are the easy prey that all the scheming locals target.

The beggers know that backpackers’ misguided sense of “savior complex” will generate big bucks for anyone looking pathetic enough and need a savior from the pradomitaly affluent middle-class gap year saviors.

The most fascinating substrata of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus are the Dhabbawalas, which constitute a tiffin delivery and return system that delivers hot lunches from homes to people at work in the Bombay central business district.

The Dabbawalas deliver 200,000 tiffin boxes a day and the dabbawalas make less than one mistake in every six million deliveries.

The theme of Dabbawalas at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus is actually the central premises of this week restaurant, Bombay Bustle

Bombay Bustle is in Maddox Street in Mayfair which soon could be called Curry Alley if they are not careful as the street has three Indian restaurants.

The interior is designed like a luxurious train cabin with quaint period features.

We kicked off the proceedings with a Bohri keema samosa, the hand-ground Hampshire Mutton was delicately spiced with Kashmiri chili and the pastry was thin and crispy, the chili sauce had a smooth kick yet fruity.

The Black Pepper, Cheese, Mace, Green Cardamom marinade chicken tender was delicious, delicate in its make up yet the different elements made themselves known, a definite master’s touch.

The Goan mild Peppercorn, Coriander, Curry Leaves, Coconut Milk based non-spicy shrimp curry was smooth yet surprisingly flavorsome, the prawns were firm without overcooked

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Dum Lamb Biryani was a revelation, the second coming, the piece de resistance…I cannot give it the superlative it deserves.

simply put the biryani was absolutely delicious, the lamb was cooked in its spicy stock until it was falling off the bone, it was then added to the rice and sealed and cooked until the rice was fluffy yet individually standing to attention like soldiers on the parade field.

The spice was rich and pungent yet did not overpower the different elements of the meal.

i loved it, a wee bit of cloud in the sky was there was some bone still in the biryani and could cause someone to chip a tooth.

In Conclusion

I loved the Bombay Bustle, its from the stable of the Leela Hotel group and the sister restaurant of the Jamavar, the cooking was top notch as well as the ingredients, the Leela touch could be evident as they have some of the best chefs and the training id industry standard.

The decor was fresh quirky and playful and that translated down to its food.

I was looked after by Rodger from Barcelona, who was knowledgable and friendly, and attentive.

The Star of the Meal?

I would make the 400 mile trip to Bombay Bustle again and again just for the biryani, who cares it costs £28

The miss of the Meal?

The rogue bone in the biryani

Honorable Mention

So how did Bombay Bustle do against its peers?

Definitely on par with Jamavar, Kutir, Kahani, and Indian Accent

I loved it equally 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.

July 6 2021

Veeraswamy, Mayfair, London

Food, Indian, london, mayfair alfiefoodwala, chicken tikka, chicken tikka masala, INDIAN FOOD, london, MICHELIN 0

Victory House,
99-101 Regent St, London W1B 4RS

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

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Next up was the thali consisting of the Lamb Rogan Josh

Butter Chicken

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.

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.

May 18 2021

The Italian Caffe , Enoteca

Food, Italian, london, mayfair, PASTA, travel 0

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

Alfie Foodwala is back after the prolonged hiatus that was the COVID lockdown

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.

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Furthermore is you know of a restaurant that I should review please let me know.

The whole world is a stage, and all the men and women merely actors. They have their exits and their entrances, and in his lifetime a man will play many parts, his life separated into seven acts. *William Shakespeare*

In Milan this is taken literally, The Milanese have perfected the street scene into art.

There is nothing better than having a nice stroll before dinner, especially in a city that is synonymous with style and elegance that is Milan.

One of my most favorite walks is taking an evening stroll from my favorite hotel, Armani Hotel and walking along Via Montenapoleone and watching the great and the good of Milanese society strutting the stuff with nonchalant elegance.

I love the juxtaposition of the gritty graffiti with the elegant storefronts, the Loro Piana store with the bags of refuse that the Italian council workers did not uplift because some people did not grease the right palm.

I love how the modest moped is riden with style and aplomb, anywhere in the world it’s a basic form of transport except in Italy, where the rider rides like its thoroughbred horse, it also doubles as a platform to watch pretty girls go by.

All this *theatre* is amazing to watch, as dusk falls the boutiques light up and the soft white light adds to the framing of the street *theatre* the beautiful people sit at the placement restaurants and eat expressively all vying the attention of a fellow Milanese while disdainfully looking down at anyone not wearing a Moncler quilted jacket or the white Armani denim worn everso on the ankle and the Tods sneakers.

On Sunday Glasgow’s Merchant City actually looked cosmopolitan like Milan due to the COVID restrictions all the restaurants had outdoor seating and the great and the good of Glasgow society had turned out, the weather was cooperating and if you had the correct filter you could have been sitting in Milan,

The Alfie Foodwala jeeajunt (family) love their Italian food so we decided to try out the Italian Caffe in Ingram Street, this is now the Italian Quarter, what with sic Italian restaurants in a few yards of each other.

We opted for the effortlessly elegant Italian Caffe

the restaurant was modern and minimalist with dark wood and leather perfect Italian style the experience was heightened even more as the staff was actually Italian.

We kicked off the proceedings with some Neopolitan Pizza, the sugo and cheese topping was spot on, the zerozero flour base had the right amount of elasticity.

a promising start.

Bakree Foodwalee opted with the Pene Pasta, the Past was tossed with tomato sugo and olive oil with a wee touch of chili, simple and delicious.

The mark of a great restaurant is how the simplest of dishes are complex and how complex dishes are simple,

Rani Foodwalees risotto was buttery and firm, the rice were al dente and the King Prawns were plump and firm.

In Conclusion

The Italian Caffe had style, elegance, and substance, the food was honest to goodness North Italian simple.

The superior ingredients did the talking rather than complicated names and egotistical dishes.

Simple and delicious and attentive nonchalant Italian waiters.

The Star of the Meal?

The stars in my humble opinion were the Pizza and the Rissotto

The miss of the Meal?

Possible the roast potatoes, they could have been fresher.

Honorable Mention

So how did The Italian Caffe do against its peers?

The Padella in London definitely did a better pasta, La Lanterna on Great Western Road is a hard-to-beat class act.

Halal Rating

The Chicken, Beef, and Lamb is NOT 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 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 28 2020

Hala Turkish, Grand Parade, London

Food, LEVENT, london, MEZZE, travel alfiefoodwala, arabic, BBQ, chicken tikka, comfort food, grill, LEVENT, london, rustic 0

Hala
29 Grand Parade, Harringay,
London
N4 1LG

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.

oasis

noun

/əʊˈeɪ.sɪs/ US

/oʊˈeɪ.sɪs/

plural oases

[ C ]

a place in a desert where there is water and therefore plants and trees and sometimes a village or town

Delta Images/Image Source/GettyImages

[ S ]

a calm, pleasant place in the middle of somewhere busy and unpleasant:

Her office was an oasis ofpeace and sanity amid the surrounding chaos.

As you are well aware your Alfie Foodwala loves his kebabs and I am willing to travel to many darkest and deepest areas to seek out the best kebabs.

Once I was in Dubai and we got word that a very excellent Kebab shop was spotted in the deepest darkest area of Al Nahda, in the concrete jungle near the border of Sharjah.

As you know I could not resist, even if the trek to the kebab shop would involve a perilous journey crossing the mighty Dubai Creek and traversing the great airport road, fighting against Indian and Pakistani Taxi wallas on the Sheikh Zayed Road, and then plunging head-on into the Industrial wastelands near Sharjah.

We bade goodbye to our loved ones and, We Jumped into Goblee Foodwala’s brand new supercharged Jaguar SUV and started our journey into the unknown in search of the mythical Kebab Shop.

After crossing the mighty Dubai Creek and skillfully dodging the wild taxis on the Sheikh Zayed Road and traversing the Airport Road, we came to the bleak and desolate industrial wasteland.

We became more and more skeptical that a Kebab Shop could survive in such a hostile environment and every fibre of my rational self screamed to turn back, but NO I had to go on and discover this great Kebab Shop.

We drove deeper and deeper into Al Nahda, it got darker and darker, the lights of the Dubai Skyscrapers disappeared, and old newspapers and rubbish tossed about in the street like tumbleweed.

We could feel the cold, unblinking, staring eyes of the natives emaratis on us from behind the shutters, and as we were about to give up all hope and about to turn back we went around the corner and found an Oasis of light and a hive of activity … we had found the mythical kebab shop! Al Fareej, we stared in marvel and the waiters scurried to and fro carrying huge plates of Adana kebabs and romali roti.

The locals lounged on the carpets and enjoyed the kebabs over the much-animated conversation.

And what kebabs they were, we asked our waiter to bring the most popular kebabs, the sizzling kebabs came on the sword-like skewers and we tore off the meat with our paper-thin romali roti, we were in heaven.

Breaking out of the reverie and coming back to the deepest darkest Harringay, North London we stumbled upon Hala Turkish, it is the area known as Little Istanbul, the street is as if the grand bazaar of Istanbul had been taken out of Istanbul and plonked in the middle of North London.

We decided to pick Hala from countless other kebab shops on the Grand Parade, possibly because it was the busiest restaurant in the street.

As we entered the restaurant was a frenzy of activity, chic cosmopolitan affluent Turks sat side by side by traditionally dressed Kurds.

We kicked off the proceedings with some hot and cold mezze.

We got a selection of the following

Humus, Turkish Humus is more grainy than Hymus from Levant but was nice and tangy

Şakşuka, A Vegetable and Aubergine ragout served cold, lovely, and earthy

Sarma, Vive leaves stuffed with Burgar wheat, strangely delicious eaten with the house chili dip

Kısır, Bulgar and sour pomegranate juice salad

Ispanak Tarator, sauteed spinach folded with Turkish Yogurt, delicious

Yoğurtlu Patlıcan sauteed Aubergine tossed in Turkish Yogurt

The pan-fried Turkish beef sausage was delicious and spicy, perfect for cutting the creamy yogurt-based meze

The Chicken Shish was next up. slightly marinated cubes of Chicken breast cooked on an open ocakbasi grill, the chicken was slightly dry, it would have much more succulent if the thigh was used instead.

Delicious succulent cubed lamb leg, lightly seasoned and grilled without losing its natural juices, Andy Foodwala who is not a great fan of Lamb actually liked it.

The piece de la resistance, hand-ground lamb with onions, chili, and spices expertly cooked on the sword-like skewer, my favorite type of kebab, but would have been perfect if it was served on a Lavash flatbread and the delicious meaty juices were absorbed by the bread.

In Conclusion

The Mezze was fresh and flavorsome expertly prepared, could not fault

The Grilled mains were again delicious, the Adana Kebab would have been even more delicious if it was accompanied with some Lavash bread, but that is just a minor point, the Adana Kebab was not mined but chopped finely and was a perfect consistency.

The Service was perfunctory, neither excellent nor poor, it was just functional.

However!, I found a Long ladies hair at the end of the meal. just saying.

The Star of the Meal?

The Adana Kebab was definitely the star

The miss of the Meal?

The hair!!

Honorable Mention

So how did Hala compare with its ocakbasi peers?

The Two best Turkish restaurants in London so far has been The Liman in the Angel and Mangal ocakbasi in Dalston.

Further afield the best I have visited has been Sur ocakbasi in Istanbul and the Incirlik ocakbasi in Adana.

While Hala was good for North London, but way behind its more traditional brethren.

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 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.

July 20 2020

Burgeri, SoHo, London

Food, london, mayfair alfiefoodwala, burgers, comfort food, fast food, gourmet, soho 0

22 Great Marlborough St, Soho,
London
W1F 7HU

Hey Foodwala boys and girls, Alfie Foodwala is back from the COVID 19 hibernation and he is ready to explore the post coronavirus restaurant scene.

On my last visit to Lahore last year with Goblee Foodwala, after lunch with uncle Sarwar who incidentally is the Governer of Punjab, we went for a specialty coffee in Gulberg and we got talking to the barista, we ordered our usual double espresso’s and he remarked that we were definitely not burgers from Lahore, intrigued we asked him to explain, he said only people who ordered a double espresso was coffee lovers from the UK or Italy, the “burgers prefer the lactose and sugar-rich mochas and cappuccinos”

He bemoaned about the spoilt “Burger Kids” what who were his customers, we asked what was this burger kid label or burger he explained that the burger lives in a cocoon of Gulberg or DHA and is enamored by things outside of Pakistan – by the West,they are well-to-do Pakistanis who may have American or British-tinged accents after years spent studying in elite American or British schools in Lahore they feel they entitled and are often soft and arrogant

They were hostile to the Western-born Pakistanis, as the felt envious and insecure which in turn manifested in aggression and hostility.

This was a very interesting social commentary and he further remarked that the “burger” generation is now running the country and the “burger in chief” being the PM…Imran Khan.

So coming back to the present, I was on my first London trip after the lockdown and many restaurants were still closed, I walked the streets of Soho looking for somewhere to eat, I was absolutely famished and was ready to throw in the towel and go to the Mcdonalds on Oxford Street and have a couple of Fillet of Fish when I stumbled on Burgeri, which is a Qatari import aimed at the hoards of Gulfees from the Middle East and the Burgers from Pakistan and India.

It was a Wednesday afternoon and Burgeri was doing a roaring trade, even in the midst of pre/post lockdown.

I was ushered in by a young man wearing a PPE face shield and i promptly went up to the counter to order.

The menu was split int burgers and hot dogs, the burgers are Halal Aberdeen Angus or Halal Waghu, and all the connotations thereafter.

I went for the Angus Mushroom melt

The two Angus patties were a little bit on the dry side, I felt that the fat percentage should have been higher, the mushroom topping was adequate and the cheese was only partially melted, all in all,it was adequate, but I have had better. the brioche bun was soft and buttery. It lacked any Umami flavour

The Loaded “hot dog” was definitely not to my liking, however,that is more of a personal taste rather than a failing of Burgeri, the steamed sausage had the right amount of “bite” to it however the taste was very processed, again my personal taste, the redeeming feature was the sweet green salsa topping and the melted cheese. I would not be ordering another hot dog in a hurry.

In Conclusion.

Burgeri was a good effort at the Halal Gourmet Burger, however,I felt it fell a little short of its gourmet burger name.

but the prices are reasonable for Soho and the atmosphere was relaxed and friendly, definitely on to bring your significant other if you are courting.

Honorable Mention

In my opinion, Burgeri was above average and way behind the steller offerings of SALT in Dubai and the Wagyu sliders of Cona in Bradford. Burger King Singapore was definitely an also ran

Halal Rating

The Beef is certified HALAL,

Alcohol is not served at the restaurant