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Category: Provençal

June 17 2023

Cafe FISH, Pollokshields

Food, Provençal burgers, comfort food, fish and chips, glasgow, italianfood, mediterranean, rustic 0

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

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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.

“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” ~ Vincent Van Gogh

Are you happy?… go on ask yourself, I know this is rather a heavy subject for a food blog but humour me.

What is happiness, are you waiting for that big ticket item to make you happy? maybe if you win the lottery that will make you happy, or getting the Rolex Daytona you have been on the waiting list make you happy.

Or does the sum of the wee pleasures make you happy, like a double espresso at Cartel on a Sunday morning or having a Monte Cristo in the morning room with your son and brother?

I personally find joy in the wee things.

We flew into Nice and picked up our hire car, a brand new Peugeot car and we planned to drive to Marseille and then Barcelona. The next morning fortified with real french Croissants and not-so-great French coffee we set off along the coast road for Marseille, It was a glorious fall morning and the Mediterranean Sea shimmered like Jennifer Lopez Met Gala Gown.

It was a lovely drive until outside the town of Cassis the car just stopped working, literally one minute it was working fine and the next the engine stopped.

We called the hire car company and they eventually send an ancient recovery jalopy, I kid you not it was like a real-life Mater from Pixars Cars, Mater then took us into the Cassis and dropped us off at the Peugeot dealership and then chugged off into the distance. The Dealership principal was a dapper gentleman who greeted us like long-lost cousins and fussed over the kids and invited us to lunch while the car was getting repaired.

We expected lunch to be a simple affair of sandwiches and Oringina but on the contrary, he took us in his Mercedes SUV to a charming French bistro overlooking the Post of Cassis, The port was a mixture of French yachts and fishing boats, it was such a beautiful setting, to the left on top of the hill looking down on Cassis in a typical French Haughtiness was the Medieval Cassis castle.

We had the most amazing French provincial cooking, simple yet absolutely delicious, omelettes, soufflés, soups, pâtés, cassoulets and salads.

Sitting in that South of France Bistro with the sun on our backs with my family and listening to the Frenchman’s animated stories, eating delicious food…I was happy.

**122-124 Nithsdale Rd, Glasgow**
**G41 5RB**

Mumsy Foodwala, Mokee Foodwala and I love fish so we decided the tryout Cafe Fish which just opened up in our ‘hood.

It styles as a simple Provincial style seafood bistro, and the interior is faux rustic weatherbeaten French chic.

**Freedom Bakery Rye-berry Sourdough Bread whipped caviar butter, (v) £4.5**

First up was the sourdough bread with butter and a tiny bit of caviar. Simple yet delicious, the bread had the perfect balance of yeasty sourness and softness, a great start.

The Crab cakes although dainty in size were flavoursome with a nice fishy kick to them, i could not distinguish the crab element of them but certainly were flavour packed.

**Blackened Monkfish Tail**
**£20**
**8/10**

Monkfish Tail is a hard fish to master, cook it too little and its tastes like jelly, cook it too much and it becomes tough as drunken foreign legion recruit.

The monkfish was a little tough I won’t lie but still tasty, the rice cakes were moist and had absorbed the bisque to add a flavour element to them, and the seafood bisque was on point with its seafood sweetness.

Mumsy Foodwala’s fish and chips were golden battered flaky and crispy but the fish was a little on the wee side, the thrice-cooked chips were magnificent, crispy on the outside yet like mashed potato on the inside.

The Wild Scottish Salmon was basted in brown butter, the basting salmon gave the salmon a delicious buttery crust all the while the fish inside was soft and tender.

In Conclusion

Cafe Fish is an honest effort at providing simple seafood cooking at an affordable price point, the food was simple yet delicious. The flair is in the way the ingredients were treated instead of the flashy way the chef could have cooked to show off his “talents”

The Service was friendly and to the point, unobtrusive yet close.

The Star of the Meal?

The Salmon was the star of the mean, just for the simplicity of its execution.

The miss of the Meal?

It would be unfair to name a miss but if pushed I would throw the fish and chips under the bus purely from the size of the fish rather than the lack of taste.

Honourable Mention

Cafe Fish was good but with some high-achieving peers like Gamba and Crabshak, although Gamba and Crabshak executed the ingredients better however Cafe Fish held its ground. It just did its thing in an honest and delicious manner

Halal Rating

The Seafood is obviously halal, however, there is a Pork dish on the menu but was assured there was no cross-contamination.

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.

October 1 2019

The IVY, Glasgow

mayfair, PASTA, Provençal alfiefoodwala, comfort food, glasgow, gourmet, grill, italianfood, mediterranean, PASTA, soho 0

Hey, Foodwala’s… Welcome to another tale of the trials and escapades of yours truly, Alfie Foodwala

Last week Rarri Foodwalee suggested I watch the much-lauded Top Boy on Netflix, This is the show that Drake loved so much that he collab with Netflix to produce the show, much like Victor Kiam and his Remington Shavers.

Basically the premise of the series is the trials and tribulations of Dushane and Jaime’s battle to become top boy in the world of recreational pharmaceuticals in the present prohibition era.

This got me reminiscing, in the ’70s and 80’s the Top Boy in the Indian restaurant scene was the Shish Mahal, everyday owners of the other restaurants in “Curry Ally” used to send out waiters to stand outside the Shish Mahal, when the Shish Mahal was full and the queue was formed the waiter from the Koh i Noor would run back to his restaurant and tell Uncle Russel that the overflow customers are coming, Mr. Russell would then tell the chefs

“Get ready Chaps…fire up the cookers the customers are coming”

When the Koh i Noor filled up the waiter from the Shalimar would run to Uncle Rehmat and tell them the customers are coming and Mr. Rehmat will cry…

“listen up Old Boys… the customers are coming so crank up the old cookers”

When the Shalimar filled up the last remaining waiter would amble down Park Road to the Taj Mahal and tell Momoo Tariq that the great unwashed would be descending soon and get his uncle the chef to heat up the pot of gravy, lamb, and chicken.

This battle for Top Boy has just heated up in Glasgow, The IVY has just opened in Buchanan Street and is vying for the Glaswegian nouveau riche pound also sought after by 29 on Royal exchange square, Anchor Line around the corner and Rogano close by, so you can just imagine shadowy figures standing outside the IVY waiting to see if it is busy.

We visited the IVY on a Thursday afternoon to celebrate Rarri Foodwala’s sweet 16th birthday and the Glasgow Instagram crowd was just getting started, fashionistas in their disposable Boohoo dresses and wannabe Top Boys were descending on the restaurant.

The IVY menu is wide-ranging Bistro style dining, from dishes ranging from Fish and Chips to Monkfish and Prawn curry.

We kicked off the proceedings with the famous IVY fish and chips, the Cod was smothered in the signature bubbly batter and was accompanied with thick-cut fries and mushy peas, the batter just as I

liked it, a cross between a crispy shell and soft interior and the pearly white cod flakes was cooked just right.

The Chicken Milanese was decadent, the Brioche crumb coated the buttermilk chicken breast and was topped with a fried egg and then showered with parmesan flakes and with a truffle cream jus.

The chicken was lovely and tender and the parmesan flakes gave it umami tasting note and when dipped into the Truffle Cream sauce, all three elements worked well together.

The oriental style sesame and soy marinade Cod was subtle in its tasting notes, It can easily be too sweet with a cloying aftertaste can be like a clingy friend, but this was cooked well and the Yuzu mayonnaise, The Yuzu is a Japanese citrus fruit like a tangerine and using that to flavour the mayonnaise was very creative.

Frozen Berries and White Chocolate
£8.95

We opted for dessert instead of starters so next up was the IVY signature dessert, Frozen berries with limoncello sorbet and topped with Hot White Chocolate, this was summed up in one word…WOW!!!!!!

The limoncello sorbet with the hot chocolate sauce and the berries was a taste sensation, the different textures, and temperatures played havoc with the old taste buds, but havoc in a fresh playful and zesty sensation, I would return to the IVY just for this magnificent dessert.

The classic Crème brûlée is such a simple dessert but can easily be a hit or miss affair, gladly the IVY Crème brûlée vanilla custard was creamy as it was dreamy and topped with a nice layer of caramalised sugar.

In Conclusion

The IVY is a welcome addition to the Glasgow restaurant scene, however, the debate has started that the IVY in Edinburgh is more classy than the Glasgow one, but that’s the way Glasgow likes it, we are non-pretentious and definitely not like Edinburghs “fur coat and nae knickers”

The IVY looks splendid in its 1930’s theme cruise ship/Downton manor chic and it feels like the IVY has always been there.

The food in the IVY is bistro style and all the elements are presented in the correct manner, the service was cheerful and non-obtrusive.

However, in my humble opinion, it lacked a certain “je ne sais quoi” after all the IVY is just an upmarket chain restaurant and it was slightly clinical, it lacked owners personal touch, much like great car companies are started by obsessive individuals like Ferrari and Honda as opposed to large corporations like Toyota and Cadillac.

The frozen berries dessert was just sensational.

Halal Rating

The IVY serves alcohol.

The Chicken was certified Halal by the management.

September 10 2019

Caffe Parma, Glasgow

Food, Italian, PASTA, Provençal alfiefoodwala, comfort food, glasgow, italianfood, london, mediterranean, PASTA, pizza, rustic 0

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

The Summer of 1963… I was a twinkle in Papa Foodwala’s eye yet it was an important year for me… how so you may ask incredulously, let me indulge myself and i will explain all.

It was the summer of 63 when Papa Foodwala saved up enough money from working 2 jobs, 7 days a week, 20 hours a day to open his first restaurant.

One evening he was returning from one of his jobs when he walked past the Fionda Oil Company in Gibson Street, as he walked past he spotted old Mr. Fionda sitting at his desk, so Papa Foodwala decided to pop in and say and pay his respects.

Mr. Fionda was the old school Italian gentlemen, who always wore a waistcoat, shirt, and tie and baggy corduroy trousers, Mr. Fionda started to ask what my dad was doing etc and the conversation turned to their mutual favorite subject…food.

The old man opened a box and offered my dad a freshly baked Cannoli, baked by none other than nonna Fionda that afternoon.

Eating the Cannoli Mr. Fionda regaled dad with tales of the motherland, the passion of the people, the love for their food, the history, the matriarchal mommas and nonnas.

Mr. Ali discovered that the Italians had so much in common with Pakistanis, they also were passionate people who loved to argue, who loved to eat and loved their mommas and held a grudge for a long time.

The unlikely friendship developed and eventually, Mr. Fionda decided to sell his shop to dad and the rest is history.

Another legendary Scottish Italian gentlemen who came to Scotland at the same time as for Fionda was Mr. Giovanazzi who opened the La Parmigiana restaurant on Great Western Road, This week we decided to visit his son’s restaurant, also a seasoned restauranteur in Hyndeland, Caffe Parma.

On this occasion, i was accompanied by Rarri and Bakree Foodwala’s, we visited on a Sunday afternoon and the restaurant was busy with late Sunday lunch crown, a mix of parents with tennis mad children and Hooray Henrietta’s who were braying and laughing a touch too loud, possibly well oiled with Prosecco.

we kicked off the proceeding with Focaccia Rosmarino, the focaccia was delicious and subtly crispy and topped with Italian cheese and rosemary, a promising start.

I opted for the Rissoto with Pan-seared King Prawns, the risotto is a dish that can only be cooked by a master as the tolerances are so fine, The perfect risotto should be al dente yet the consistency should be that when you wriggle the dish the risotto should move yet hold its consistency, In my opinion, the risotto was in the dry side and the rice was a tad north of al dente.

The Spaghetti with prawns was simple in its execution yet full of subtle flavour. Pellegrino Artusi, one of the great cookery writers, wrote that flavourings should not be detected; they should only be a gentle foil.

The Pizza was also simple, roasted peppers with sugo, pesto, and chicken, the crust was thin and crispy, however, the base was slightly soft and soggy, all in all it was pleasant.

In Conclusion

In conclusion, Caffe Parma showed its pedigree, the food was delicious and fresh and the restaurant had a nice relaxed vibe to it, The service was a little distracted and laissez-faire, it would have bothered me if the other parts of the experience were careless.

All in all a pleasant Sunday afternoon with my Foodwalee daughters.

Halal Rating

The Chicken is Halal

August 1 2019

GAMBA, Glasgow

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I loved Gamba, definitely Enchantment under the Sea.

July 25 2019

La Fiorentina, Glasgow

Food, PASTA, Provençal italianfood, olive oil, PASTA, pizza, tuscany 0

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

Your Alfie Foodwala is a great movie buff as well as a petrol head, one of my favorite movies is the Godfather, I love the scene where Micheal meets dastardly Sollozo and the dirty cop McKlusky at the local “eytalian” restaurant, the reason for the meeting was to clear the air after the failed assassination of the Godfather….can you belive the chatzupah!!

They decide to send the mild-mannered Micheal rather than the hot-headed Sonny (there is one in every family!)

Sonny hides a gun in the washroom cistern so they don’t find it on Micheal when McKlusky frisks him.

Micheal meets them and Sollozo starts begging for forgiveness and bygones be bygones, while McKlusky noisily slurps his pasta and acts like the typical ignorant gora.

Micheal excuses himself to go to the washroom and finds the gun and comes out and shoots the dastardly duo dead.

The whole scene was so nail-biting and the tension was slowly ratcheted up and the whole scene was all the more poignant because the setting was an Italian restaurant.

A restaurant much like La Fiorentina, It is wonderfully old school, where the decor is an homage to Tuscany and where the elderly waiters still shout to each other in Italian.

Sometimes in our rush for modernity etc, we fail to see the gems in our old school family-run restaurants, where all the family works in the restaurant and the food is as close to homemade and the love and passion shine through and you don’t pay through the nose for mediocre factory-produced food.

We kicked off our visit with an oldie but a goodie Margherita Pizza

You can quickly deduce how good a restaurant is by simply tasting the simplest dish on the menu, The Margharita Pizza was on point, the pizza crust was thin and crispy and the base was equally crispy, the sugo tasted of tomatoes, rather than sweet tomato puree and the buffalo mozzarella was creamy yet earthy and with the right umami notes.

I opted for the Chargrilled Chicken and Asparagus Risotto, it was again prepared with the love and attention this delicate dish requires, the rice was al dente and the roast asparagus gave a delicious fresh tasting note to the risotto, if I am critiquing it like an “Eyetalian” then the risotto was a little on the dry side, since I am a wee desi boy fae Glasgow I loved it and I even sprinkled some Parmigan on my risotto, which to some Italians is sacrilege, akin to insulating a red-blooded Italians mother!.

This was wonderful comfort food, penne pasta done just right tossed with spinach leaf, mushrooms and chargrilled chicken. The dish was well balanced and the creamy spinach lent itself perfectly to the whole ensemble.

The Penne topped with Sugo was simple yet delicious, well balanced with the sweet tartness of the plum tomatoes, with a hint of slivers of garlic, virgin olive oil and black pepper.

In Conclusion, I found La Fiorentina to be refreshing in its honesty and down to earth charm, there was none of the fake “Disney Italian” chicanery of the likes of Jamies Italian or Carluccios.

The food was well cooked and fresh, the staff were actual Italians and the service was equally as friendly and professional.

The atmosphere in the restaurant was relaxed and full of families breaking bread.

I can sum up this restaurant in one word…BENE MANGIA!!

September 17 2018

Alchemilla, Glasgow

Food, Provençal Alchemilla, Finnieston, mediterranean, Provençal, Rosie Healy 0

Hey, Foodwala’s… welcome to another tale of Alfie Foodwala.

As a fan of the silver screen, I was watching the seminal Russell Crowe movie ” A Good Year”

the antipodean Mr Crowe is a high powered Investment banker in London and is overworked and totally stressed out, he then gets word that his paternal uncle has passed away in Provençe and left him a Chateau and vineyard, so he takes time from his crazy schedule to fly to Cucuron and sell the estate.

Mr Crowe plans to dispose of the asset over a long weekend and be back in the City for the Monday trading bell.

Little did he know that things were not to go to plan and the estate and Vineyard needed some investment for it to be sold.

The Estate not only needed monetary investment but also required an investment of time and love.

Que some absolutely gratuitous shots of the Provençal countryside and the archetypical rustic French village with its town square and a bistro serving, real Provençal food, which is high-spirited but simple fare, focusing on enhancing the taste and texture of fresh local ingredients like tomatoes, garlic, saffron, peppers, anchovies, olives, olive oil and wild herbs.

A long story short Mr Crowe falls in love with Provençe and decides to pack in his life in London and enjoy the back to the basic life of the Chateau and Vineyard and enjoy the familial Provençal food.

The yearning and emptiness Mr Crowe feels, and the subsequent love and finding oneself resonated with me and prompted my own journey with Goblee Foodwala to our ancestral farm in deepest darkest Punjab next month.

So watch this space for our culinary adventures from the Punjab.

I have digressed, the reason for the sepia-toned homage to Provençe, is its simple yet delicious cuisine and that was what I witnessed created at Alchemilla.

I was intrigued by what Alchemilla described at Mediterranian cuisine, was it going to serve pizza? or hummus?

the website did not give anything away so I went on my voyage of discovery.

The decor is Scandi Minimalist so it was not giving up its secrets.

I kicked off the proceedings with some bread and olives, this was not just any bread, the freshly baked Foccacia was amazing, the high gluten flour was drizzled with cold pressed olive oil and sprinkled with rosemary, the master baker turned what was essentially flour and water into a work of art and the crispy crust gave way to a light soft pillowy centre not the dense stodginess of commercially produced Foccacia’s found in the paint by numbers Italian restaurants.

Risotto, Squash, Fried Sage and Brown Butter £8.00

Alchemilla dispenses with the idea of starters, mains and desserts, the waiting staff recommended just ordering a few dishes to share communal style.

Next up was the sublime Butternut Squash Risotto with walnuts, brown butter and fried Sage.

The Risotto was cooked with a experts hand, the Arborio rice was al dente yet creamy and the squash and brown butter was silky and delicate…absolutely delicious.

Mackerel, celery, raisins and aioli
£9.50

I was next presented with the grilled Bay of Biscay Mackeral on a bed of green apple, celery and raisins salad drizzled with aioli.

The Mackeral was delicately grilled without compromising the oily texture and in turn, the oiliness of the fish was magnificently offset with the freshness of the celery and apple salad, the sweet raisins added another element to the simple yet complex dish.

Chocolate Cremoso, honeycomb and hazelnuts
£7.00

Denser than Choloclate mousse, this ganache-like cremoso was absolutely decadent.

the honeycomb and hazelnuts elements helped temper the dark chocolate cremoso and a touch of sea salt flakes helped equalise the sweetness.. again delicious.

In conclusion, Rosie Healy learnt her trade from Mr Ottolenghi and has bought the delights of Provençal/Mediterranian cooking to Glasgow, the ingredients were fresh and simple yet the flavour notes were complex.

I really enjoyed my senses and palette being opened up and introduced to a new experience.