Category: pakistani food

July 14 2025

Mera Lahore, Edinburgh

Food, pakistani food alfiefoodwala, chicken tikka, chicken tikka masala, comfort food, edinburgh, glasgow, rustic 0

Mera Lahore
26/27 Haddington Pl, Edinburgh EH7 4AF

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جس لاہور نہیں ویکھیا او جمیا ہی نہیں
“He who hasn’t seen Lahore, hasn’t been born.”

I arrived with Mrs Foodwala and Noma at Coco’s Den, in the Lahore Fort, just as the sun began to slip behind the pastel ochre-hued rooftops of old walled Lahore. The air was thick with the scent of history, mystery and woodsmoke, and then, as if on cue from the set of Wes Anderson, the Maghrib azaan drifted from a nearby Badshai Mosque, lonely at first, then answered one by one in a haunting cascade of calls from the city’s minarets.

Time slowed. The rickshaws paused. Even the crows bowed their heads to God’s majesty and seemed to hold their breath. The last rays of sunlight clung to the tips of the domes and minarets like reluctant devotees, unwilling to let go. For a moment, it felt as if Lahore wasn’t a city, but a memory you were somehow still living inside.

That memory flickered again at Mera Lahore in Edinburgh.

This eatery describes itself as a homage to the beautiful city of Lahore…shall we see if it lives up to it?

Flat, fierce, and unapologetically proud of its NWFP origins. But here at Mera Lahore, the chapli kebab was seasoned with confidence, cooked with care, and blessedly moist. Loved it. Originally, the chapli kebab is over-seasoned to mask the questionable quality of the lamb or beef, not the case here.

Moist chicken in a well-seasoned batter. But the portion? Stingy. A pakora should arrive like a generous, well-endowed Lahori, not like a tight Karachi walla.

Sadly, the chaat brought nothing to the party. Over-reliant on potatoes, with chickpeas that felt like reluctant guests and just a whisper of store-bought chaat masala, just filler.

Lahori Butt Chicken Karahi
£14.95
4 out of 10

Like Frank Pentageli said in The Godfather.. Your father did business with Hyman Roth; he respected Hyman Roth… but he never *trusted* Hyman Roth!

The Butt Karahi bubbled like a street-side argument in Anarkali—oily, masala-fused, and theatrical. But the flavour? Flat. A generic bhoona pretending to be a Butt Karahi. None of the ginger-snap or tomato tang you’d expect. A missed opportunity. So disappointed

Butter chicken? ….really?…More like a chasni. Sweet, creamy, and criminally off-mark. A curry in borrowed robes. Trading Standards should be alerted.

Like dad used to say…fur coat and no Knickers!!….

The Mix Grill was visually regal, like something carried into a Mughal court. But the substance didn’t match the style. Dry lamb seekh, leathery tikka, chicken wings straight out of a freezer aisle. Only the chicken kebab and tikka showed a spark. and all marinated in a very generic masala and only the kebabs felt fresh rest was reheated….way off

In Conclusion

The Mera Lahore is dirty, the toilets are filthy, the dining area is filthy, and the staff put cutlery on the chairs!! I am not being mean and vindictive, but the hygiene is seriously lacking

The food has had a flavour bypass; however, the chapli kebab was delicious, so all is not lost.

The service was very hit and miss, the young lady was accommodating in our requests and polite and with a smile so top marks with that, however her coulegues was grumpy, unkept and to be honest a wee bit sarcasticic. so the young lady’s hard work was undone by the young mans shurliness.

Star of the Meal

That accolade goes to in my humble opinion, to the Chapli Kebab, tasty, moist and well seasoned, desi style.

Honourable Mention

Since Mera Lahore is a Lahori/Pakistani canteen. So it has an enviable niche position, which it does not leverage

In the Food stakes, we have Yadgar, in Govanhill and Kebab Mahal in Edinburgh offering Desi home-style cooking. Further afield, we have Tayabbs in London and even Butt Karahi in Lahore

Halal Rating

Lamb and Chicken is HALAL

No 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.

April 8 2024

Grand Tour…Pakistan, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Qatar Ramadan 2024

emirates, Food, LEVENT, ORIENTAL, pakistani food, Tapas Indian, travel alfiefoodwala, arabic, BBQ, chicken, chicken tikka, chicken tikka masala, emirates, INDIAN FOOD, italianfood, LEVENT, mediterranean, middleeastern, PASTA, rustic 0

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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Furthermore, please let me know if you know of a restaurant I should review.

“the lion is most handsome when looking for food” ( RUMI)

paraphrase…someone or something is most appealing or attractive when they are pursuing their raison d’etre (their reason of being)

Hey Guys, Ramadan Kareem everyone,

This year I was invited by Omar Ali from @gastronomiqueDXB for a trip like no other, a trip to Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar.

What made this trip unique was that Omar GastronomiqueDXB curated the restaurants to synchronise with the trip thus making a trully amazing and wonderfull trip.

The trip started from Pakistan moving to Saudi Arabia , spacifically Madinah, Mecca and Jeddah for Umrah, then Abu Dhabi and Dubai and finishing in Qatar.

This review will list the most memorable dish from each curated restaurant.

So without further ado lets get started

Butt Karahi…Lahore Pakistan
PKR 3000 ( £8.54)
9 out of 10

Our Trip started from Butt Karahi in the walled city of Lahore, They claim to have invented the Karahi. The restaurant started from a single cart in McLoud Road Lahore, in 1923 and has never closed for a single day since then, the funny thing is now there are seven Butt Karahis on the same road, they are all independently owned by the descendants of Boota Butt who first started Butt Karahi in 1923.

As there is no concept of intellectual property or franchising in Pakistan, any member of the Butt clan who worked in Butt Karahi would go on to start his own chapter of Butt Karahi.

We visited the Genesis Butt Karahi, as verified by the molvee of the mosque next door.

The Karahi was a revelation, the lamb is cooked only using butter and spices, and the lamb is so tender it falls off the bone.

Veg Samosa..Soond walla Samosa
PKR 200 each (57p)
8 out of 10

Not all the places we ate in were fine dining, these samosas were made by a humble street cart close to our Fruit Orchards in Punjab, the samosas were fresh on the spot and believe me they hit the spot, delicately spiced potato filling in a crispy filo case…so simple yet absolutely delicious.

Spicy Chicken Mandi…Mandi World…Jeddah,Saudi Arabia SAR 85 ( £18) 8.9out of 10

My love of food started from the simple concept of chicken and rice, this combination exisits the world over, biryani in the sub continant, Singapore Chicken and rice, Italian Pollo Risotto, Gumbo in the American deep south and Mandi in southern Arabia.

The Mandi from Mandi world Jeddah was simple, fragrent and oh so delicious

Our next leg of the trip was to Saudi Arabia for Umrah, I visited Madinah and Mecca however it was the most busiest time of the year outside the Hajj so we enjoyed some Saudi street vendors

I tried the Ajwa Ice Cream in Madinah, The Ice Cream is made from Ajwa dates which were the favourite dates of the Prophet Mohammed(pbuh), and camel milk, it was served in a soft serve style, the Ajwa Ice Cream has a very subtle tasting notes of toffee, molasses, coffee and brown butter… absolutely delicious after Isha in Madinah.

Lamb Chops…Crossing Restaurant, H Hotel, Dubai
AED 50 (£10)
9 out of 10

Next up we reached the Dubai leg of our Grand Tour, and we were invited by three of the most prominent food influencers in the UAE.

Hani AlMaliki aka @bedouinfoodie , Reza Namazi @ravenousxerxes and Jamal Al husseini @phinickyeater , the lunch was personally curated by the Michelin Star Chef Jitin Joshi @chefjitinjoshi.

This was truly a spectacular treat, the conversation was enlightening and eating with knowledgeable peers was truly amazing and humbling.

Furthermore, Chef Joshi’s passion speaks volumes through his food, the highlight of a truly memorable meal was the double rib lamb cutlets the marination was subtle yet complex, and the lamb was tender with a wonderful nutty fat from the loin.

I am overdoing with the Superlative adjectives but how else can one describe something so good?

BBQ Platter…Big T BBQ
AED 250 (£53)
8 out of 10

Next Iftar Omar took me to an authentic Texas BBQ in the middle of Dubai…go figure, It was designed like a Texas Redneck BBQ right down to the Taxas size portions.

Actually, Big T BBQ is a labour of love for the owner Fadel Faour, he fell in love with the 1000-gallon smoker whilst studying at Longhorn University and could not wait to recreate the experience in Dubai.

The BBQ consists of seasoned smoked meats—specifically beef brisket, beef ribs, pastrami and Texas German Beef sausage.

OMG, the Texas German Beef link Sausage was a manna from heaven, the sausage was seasoned spectacularly, along with the smokey taste of the Ghaf tree gave a delicious umami earthy taste… loved it!!

kebab Hamoudi…Bait Maryam Dubai
AED 85 (£16)
8 out of 10

Walking into Bait Maryam is like walking into the kitchen of your Jordanian Aunt, Sallam Dakak is a self teach two Michelin Star chef cooking her mum Maryam rustic delicacies, but don’t mistake rustic as peasant food, the food is simple yet fantastic, all the more elevated by the fresh ingredients available in Dubai.

The Kebab Hamoudi is an ode to Maryam’s grandson, the lamb kebab is sheathed in romali roti and rested on a bed of Maryams amazing spicy Tomato shorba and smoked Aubergine Babaganough. the pine nuts give a buttery nuance to cut the richness.

Mix Kebab… khoori Iranian dubai
Aed 85 (£18.33)
9 out of 10

If a picture could speak 1000 words… well this speaks a while 1001 stories… Khoori is honest to goodness, salt of the earth Iranian kabab jaga…no pretensions, no faff just salt of the earth kebabs and fresh pebble bread.

It was love at first bite.

Sujook…Al Beiruti Dubai
AED 59 (12.73)
8.5 out of 10Lebenon is a melting pot of amazing culinary influences, a case in point is the humble Sujook, Lebanese Sausage in Al Beiruti Dubai, the sausage is initially spoked and then tossed in burnt butter, pomegranate molasses and pine nuts, the sweet tangy sensation cuts through the spiced umami richness of the sausage.

Ceaser Salad…AED 82 (£17.70 Jones the Grocer Abu Dhabi
7 out 0r 10

Sometimes you need to give your system a wee time out…for those occasions, a Caesar Salad hits the spot…tossed with beef bacon a Caesar salad is an underrated timeless classic

Kebab Guldusta…Ashas Doha QR120 (£27)
7.5 out of 100

Ashas is a restaurant chain founded by the Bollywood playback singer, Asha Bhosle who is the sister of Lata “The Nightingale” Mangeshkar.

She is CDO (Chief Decor Officer) and CCO (Chief Cusine Officer), and she contributes to the menu.

She is a great fan of the Moghul school of cooking hence why healthy grilled and tandoori dishes are prominant.

The Kebab Guldusta is made up of malai tikka, murgh tikka and seekh kebab, all were marinated on point and grilled. simple yet delicious.

Tiramisu Biscuit…Koncrete Coffee Dubai
AED 30 (£6.45)
7.5 out of 10

As a coffee aficionado, Omar also curated some of the best artisan coffee roasters in Dubai, firstly there is Koncrete Coffee, Coffee is imported from the BArn in Berlin, but it is also a social enterprise founded by progressive young emirates and art gallery.

Espresso Lab, Dubai Design District
AED 35 (£7.50)
9 out of 10

The simple pleasure of great coffee and a cigar and amiable company after a great meal is exactly what we enjoyed at Espresso Lab in the Dubai Design District.

Espresso Lab is a coffee roaster founded by a visionary and passionate Emirati, Ibrahim Al Mallouhi, the extent of his passion is evident as he has trailblazed the concept

“seed to cup” where he has bought plantations in Columbia, Ethiopia and Sumatra so he can make sure the coffee supply line is unbroken from the seed to the cup.

In Conclusion

Omar did an amazing job in curating such amazing restaurants, his knowledge of the Dubai restaurant business is unparalleled.

Omar curated artisan eateries rather than falling for the Dubai bling usual suspects.

The trip was not only a revelation in a culinary sense but spiritually and emotionally too.

I met some truly inspirational individuals whose passion shone through yet there was a notable absence of the foodie arrogance.

I humbly thank everyone who made my trip memorable

Halal Rating

All the restaurants visited were alcohol-free and Halal

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

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.

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

Furthermore, if you know of a restaurant I should review please let me know.

“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

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.

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

Furthermore, if you know of a restaurant I should review please let me know.

“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 1 2021

Sanam, Manchester

Food, pakistani food curry mile, DESI, PAKISTANI FOOD, rusholme 0

145-151 Wilmslow Rd, Rusholme,
Manchester
M14 5AW

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.

This week was a trip down memory alley

I was in deepest darkest or rather whitest Cheltenham and I felt a craving for some old fashioned, salt of the earth desi salan roti so there was only 3 places that fit the description closeby, which was, Southall, Balti Triangle Birmingham or the Curry Mile Manchester,

I did that eeny meeny thing and chose The Curry Mile=, AKA Wilmslow Road in Manchester,

The last time I was in Rusholme was about 20 years earlier and it was a fascinating place, a cross between Anarkali Lahore and Deira Dubai.

If you ever wanted to study the Sociology and socioeconomics of post-war Pakistani immigrants then all you needed to do was sit on Wilmslow Road on a Sunday and watch it all unfold in front of you,

On the bottom of the triangle you have the newly arrived immigrants from Mirpur who went straight to work in the Manchester Mills, they had one day off and they descended en masse on Wilmslow Road to buy their weekly rations.

Next up in the chain were the waiters of the restaurants on the curry mile,

they were usually from the “Pindi” triangle and they looked down on their mill working brethren but looked up at the owners of the restaurants and aspired to own their own curry houses.

At top of the pile were the garment factory owners from the “Manchester of Pakistan” which is Faisalabad, they had done well in life and went to Wilmslow Road to enjoy being at the top of the socio-economic pile, they would drive up and down Wilmslow Road in their Mercedes and BMW;s and blasting the latest bhangra track from Alapp .

As I negotiated past Birmingham to manchester traffic and then around the confusing Manchester ring road I arrived at the Curry Mile…but wait ? was I at the right place?

The Wilmslow Road I had known had disappeared, in its place was what I could only describe as a Kurdish Benidorm, the restaurants had been replaced by Shisha lounges and Kobida Cafe’s garishly decked out on neon and blasting out “Arabic trash” pop songs.

The mostly male clientele smoking the shisha and watching the girls go by like lizards basking in the sun.

You had the wanna be Bradford and Oldham roadmen who were the descendants of the mill workers driving up and down Wilmslow Road in the rented sports cars and calling each other “bro” and “yarra” and generally making a nuisance of themselves,

The only place that was not changed from my last visit was the Sanam sweet house and restaurant, so I quickly made a beeline for the Sanam.

I walked in and felt at home, no garush neon and loud music…just an old school Manchester curry shop… bliss

I kicked off the proceedings with some popaddoms and dips

Next up was some lamb seekh kebab

The kebab hit the right spot, the keema mixture was the right ratio of lamb mince and fat, the kebab was moist and delicately spiced with a nice charcoal flavour from the charcoal tandoor.

the Lamb Chops was equally good, tender lamb with a touch of ajwain, definitely not overpowered by masala.

the Lamb Karahi was not bad not the best I have tasted but a decent effort, the diced lamb itself felt a little dry and little bit grissly , could possibly be frozen New Zealand mutton

The spices were subtle.

The Jalfrazi was average, it was full of green peppers for my liking and under spiced. especially as the manager said it would be spicy.

In Conclusion

The Sanam was a welcome bit of old fashioned sanity in the middle of “Kurdish Benidorm”

the food was above average and not over-spiced,

The service was basic and functional with a weird point, I asked for a glass of tap water and the manager said we only do bottled mineral water, very odd indeed,

The Star of the Meal?

I would go for the Seekh Kebab and maybe the lamb chops?

he miss of the Meal?

definitely the Chicken Ja;frezi and no tap water!

Honorable Mention

How did The Sanam compare against its desi peers?

It was not as good as Tayabbs in Whitechapel nor was it as food as Giftos Lahore Karahi in Southall

However, it was better than the Kebabish Original.

on par with the Mumtaz in Bradford.

Halal Rating

The Chicken and Lamb Served in the restaurant is 100% HALAL

NO Alcohol is served on the Premises

Pork is NOT 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.

January 17 2020

Hankies Brasserie @ The Montcalm Hotel, London

Food, Indian, indian food, london, mayfair, pakistani food alfiefoodwala, business, chicken tikka masala, glasgow, gourmet, london, MICHELIN, rustic 0

61 Upper Berkeley St, Marylebone, London W1H 7PP

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Alcohol is served at the restaurant

No Pork is on the menu

October 4 2019

Soho Wala, Soho London

Indian, london, pakistani food alfiefoodwala, chicken tikka masala, food, rustic, soho 0

21 Great Marlborough St, Soho,
London
W1F 7HL

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.

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.

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.

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!!

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.

July 2 2019

Kebabish Grill, Glasgow

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

Hey, Foodwala’s… I have been pondering lately a very profound thought, is our behavior Nature or Nurture?

Let’s begin by explaining the term Nature or Nurture

Nature refers to the human traits one gets biologically through their parents and cannot be altered or changed in any way. … Nature vs. Nurture is a debate. Nature(heredity, genes) vs. Nurture (environment) It is a debate whether we are influenced by genes or our surroundings.

The reason for this high falootin thinkerwala sotching (thinking in Punjabi) is.

Is my love of Kebabs… Nature, where the love is hard-wired into my genetics from my dad and my Grandfather or is it, Nurture where my love of Kebabs is more about the surroundings and circumstances.

I suspect its more of Nature, let me explain…

when I was 15 I was spending the summer in my grandfather’s citrus plantation in Toba Tek Singh and my grandfather asked if we would like some kebabs, naturally I agreed, expecting a quick trip to Muridwala nearby where we would enjoy kebabs. This was not my grandfather’s style, we jumped into his brand new Mitsubishi Pajero and we drove two hours to a roadside grill near Lahore, where the Kebabwala had built his own Jospers Robata Grill and was cooking kebabs.

As a 15-year-old newbie, I looked down at such rudimentary surroundings, but my grandfather said

“trust me, Alfie…your life is going to be changed”

My grandfather ordered some kebabs, raw onions with Rangpur Lime juice and romali Roti, well…the rest is history.

Yes indeed it was life-changing in its utter deliciousness and I can still remember it like yesterday 31 years later.

Now the benchmark had been hard-wired into me, still to this day I compare kebabs to that day.

So this leads me to the self-declared home of the Grill…kebabish, which just reopened after a grilling of its own so to speak.

I made a beeline for the Seikh kebabs, however, they were dry and brittle! possibly they were precooked and flash cooked on the grill and served.

The rest of the mixed grill exactly the same, dry, lukewarm and devoid of any moisture or redeeming feature.

The Lamb Tikka was cubed against its grain making it so tough and dry it was impossible to eat it.

Next up was the Desi Karahi Gosht, this was simply delicious, soft tender lamb cooked with black pepper, the sauce was delicious and the lamb, melt in the mouth…top marks!!

Mokee, Bakree, and Rari Foodwala’s love their Butter Chicken and they have had such amazing Butter Chickens in Mother India and the Shish Mahal they opted for the Kebabish Butter Chicken, Butter Chicken needs to be expertly made to release all the nuances, otherwise, it is just a creamy curry, On this occasion the Butter Chicken tasted like a Chicken Tikka Qorma from a curry shop and had no subtle butter and tomato and masala subtlety.

Next up was the Keema Peas, The Keema Peas is a very basic dish, yet the flavour profile is anything but basic.

The keema should be moist and packed with flavour, rather than overly spiced, and the peas should be al dente.

This Keema pea was off the mark, the Keema was extremely dry and overly seasoned, leaving no taste of the Keema, the peas were not al dente and on the raw side, I suspect the peas were of the cheap supermarket variety.

In conclusion, It was a Sunday evening when we visited Kebabish, so it was jam-packed with families, however, the service was lacking, the waiting staff had little coordination.

The poppadoms were again stale and soft, the starters arrived with the main course! when we pointed out this basic error the waiter shrugged his shoulders.

The water was served but the glasses were warm and there was no ice.

Paper napkins rather than linen.

The waiting staff were eating and drinking while they were working!!

The price point has increased, possibly to pay for the refurb, this price point is now at the level of Mother India, Balbirs and Mr. Singhs.

but at this price point, I would expect more professionalism and higher standards.

June 25 2019

The Courtyard, Giffnock

Food, Indian, indian food, pakistani food alfiefoodwala, chicken tikka masala, deep south, fast food, grill, middleeastern 0

Rouken Glen Park, Giffnock, Glasgow G46 7UG, UK

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.

Chicken Pakora £5.00
Pepper Chicken £5.50
Veg and keema samosa £5.50

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.

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.

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.

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.

September 27 2018

Darjeeling Express, London

emirates, Food, indian food, pakistani food asma khan, chefs table, darjeeling express, london, netflix, soho 0

Top Floor,
Kingly Court
Soho, London
W1B 5PW

Hi Foodwala’s… Welcome to another tale of Alfie Foodwala.

I have always wondered where the oft-used term

“Standing on the shoulders of giants” came from.

Funnily enough, it originates from a 12th Century thinkerwala, John of Salilbury who said…

“We are like dwarfs sitting on the shoulders of giants. We see more, and things that are more distant, than they did, not because our sight is superior or because we are taller than they, but because they raise us up, and by their great stature add to ours.”

in a nutshell what it alludes to is what we achieve more and further by building on the achievements of previous great and influential people.

Why is this relevant?

let me indulge…

I was on another of Alfie Foodwala’s famous wanderings in the big smoke and I stumbled on Darjeeling Express, the story of Darjeeling Express and particularly the chef patron Asma Khan is very interesting, Ms Khan who is actually a lawyer loved food and cooking so much she started to cook for her friends at home and one thing led to another and that evolved to supper clubs and manifested itself into a restaurant as she outgrew her dining room.

Asma Khan, caught the attention of Chefs Table on Netflix and rest is as we say… history.

As with the case with Avant Garde chefs, they look down and downplay the achievements of the great men and women who came to the UK in the 60’s and 70’s and opened restaurants on what can only be said in very hostile and challenging market conditions.

However, it was refreshing to hear Asma giving the early pioneers credit in making her journey easier and how she is indeed was “standing on the shoulder of giants” and in particular reference to Mr Ali of the Shish Mahal who first invented the Chicken Tikka Masala.

The dining room of Darjeeling Express is compact, it feels intimate without feeling claustrophobic

We kicked off the proceedings with some pre appetiser, Dahi Vada.

Dahi Vada is a street food snack originated in the Indian subcontinent and is medallions of fried Urid Dall fritters topped with sweet creamy buffalo yoghurt and topped with roasted spices, Sev(fried chickpea noodles) and in my case, I prefer it Punjabi style so with some chopped green chillies.

The Dahi Vada was delicious and light with the clear tasting of the individual elements, if cooked with a less delicate hand it can be stodgy and unappetising.

These King Prawns were heavenly, the Prawns were cooked without making them rubbery, even although they were out of the shell, the Prawns were sauteed in garlic and dried chilli tarka

the flavour notes were fantastic, subtle smokiness with a slight sweet afternote.

The venison Kofta was indeed a novel take on Kofta.

The Venison was rich and earthy with a slightly sweet nutty taste, possibly from the diet of the deer, the Shikar Masala shorba was subtle, delicate, smooth and rich and perfectly seasoned.

The second indulgence was the Lamb Keema with Spinach Leaf and ground Talichery Black Pepper…one word Yummy

The mince was moist yet not greasy it was light without being under seasoned.

In Conclusion, Ms Khan has disrupted without being a disruption, her take on her native Calcutta was heartwarming, her team of all female chefs was groundbreaking, the subtleness of the female hand was evident in the cooking.

I had an amazing afternoon having my taste buds teased and tantalised.