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Tag: glasgow

January 28 2020

Sugo, Glasgow

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Spicy Cannelini beans with sunblush tomato
£3.50

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

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

Definitely a good start.

Tagliolini with pesto, green beans, and potato
£6.00

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

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

Spinach and ricotta ravioli with sage butter
£9.00

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

It was outstandingly delicious in its simplicity.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In Conclusion.

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

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

Top marks for the effort

A carb lovers Paradiso

Honorable Mention

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

Halal Rating

The Beef is certified NOT HALAL,

Alcohol is served at the restaurant

Pork is on the menu

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 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.

January 7 2019

Vapiano, Glasgow

Food, PASTA glasgow, healthy, italianfood, PASTA, pizza, Vapiano 0

Hey Foodwalas…2019 has finally here… how are the well-intentioned resolutions and goals holding up?

In my humble experience, it’s better to change a few small things rather than one big thing, if your resolution is to do more exercise then start by doing a one pressup, one squat, one burpee and a star jump every day and increase by one every week, so by week 20 you will be stronger and healthy and well one the way to that Adonis-like body we all have underneath.

It’s exactly the same with healthy eating, willpower is an exhaustible resource, it may serve you in the short run, however, in the long run, it will run out and you will end up in square one.

A good way of starting to eat healthy is to cut down on your carb, processed meat, and red meat intake and increase your chicken protein intake, so like the increment increase in exercise cut carbs and sugar on a Monday for the first month and then increase it to Tuesday and so on and so forth until you can eat healthy on five days and treat yourself on the Weekends.

This way you wont succumb to the sugar withdrawal symptoms and still enjoy all the food without leaving out any food groups.

It is not rocket science, after all, just as long you use up more calories than you put in you will lose weight…simples

Forget all these celebrity diets the only thing you lose is money and the only gainers are the celebrities and their bank accounts.

So don’t be hard on yourself and enjoy everything in moderation and stay in control.

Afterall life is too short NOT to enjoy Chocolate and cake!!

All this talk about diets and healthy eating made me and the Foodwala Family ravenous so we went to Vapiano for some healthy Pizza and Pasta

Vapiano is a popular Pizza and Pasta chain from Germany where you construct your own Pizza or Pasta and it is cooked in a live kitchen in front of you.

This way you can decide which healthy ingredients to include in your pasta

Mokee Foodwala kicked off the proceedings with a healthy Ceaser Salad with grilled chicken, the lettuce was not the usual romain, The salad was underdressed and the chicken could have been seasoned better.

Rarri Foodwalee opted for the Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli with rocket and topped with stir-fried chicken, the Ravioli was thin parcels of filling rather than thick pillows you usually get from Oro or La Lanterna

The overall dish was well seasoned as you can ask how much seasoning you would like.

Spicy Gamberetti with Prawns and Chicken
£11.29

I decided to push the boat out and see what I could create… so I opted for Stir-fried Chicken and King Prawns with sugo base and a touch of cream and then added mushrooms and bell peppers and tossed with pasta and topped with Parmigiana.

I loved my creation and with a liberal sprinkling of chilies this was the perfect fusion between East and West, the portion size was generous, so a definite hit!!

The Garlic Bread was definitely under seasoned and could have done with slivers of fresh garlic and olive oil.

In Conclusion, Vapiano was like eating at an upmarket canteen, I loved that you could customise your meal and the theatre was novel however the food was not as good as Orro or La Lanterna and if you want amazing pasta then its got to be Padella, Borough Market.

The service was functional and friendly.

October 8 2018

Nippon Kitchen, Glasgow

Food alfiefoodwala, business, chicken tikka masala, citycentre, emirates, glasgow, Japanese, Nippon Kitchen, sushi 0

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

I was reading the fascinating story of Mr. Ali of the Shish Mahal who invented the Chicken Tikka Masala by accident, Legend has it that Mr. Ali was nursing the most eponymous of ailments that afflict the entrapreneurwala’s… the stomach ulcer.

Mr. Ali was enjoying some Campbells Tomato soup when a disgruntled Glasgow bus driver sent back his chicken tikka saying it was too dry, the quick thinking Mr. Ali instructed the chef to put some tomato soup and seasoning with the Chicken Tikka and serve it.

The rest as we say is history.

I then wondered what other foods were made by accident, well it transpires that Artificial sweetener was invented by accident, when a German scientist was developing an Anti Ulcer drug and he could not get rid of the residue forming in the bottom of a Petrie dish, the sciencewala being a curious chap tasted the residue and found it really sweet and Eureka…Artificial sweetener was born.

Another fascinating urban legend is how Worcestershire Sauce was accidentally created, Lord Sumly returned from his stint as the Governor of India and missed the spicy food he left behind so he instructed to cooks, John Lea, and William Perrin to recreate a sauce that was spicy yet sweet, the boys went on to create a concoction but they could not get it right and out of frustration the whole endeavor was scrapped and a few bottles were left on the shelf to gather dust, a couple of years later they stumbled on the bottles and instead what any normal person would have done and filed it in the bin, they opened the bottle and tasted the content and it was perfectly spicy yet sweet and the Lea and Perrins Worcestershire Sauce was born.

The point of my story is that the Japanese Katsu Curry was created by an enterprising Japanese chap who listened to the moanings of Indian traders in Kobe who complained that the Japanese food was too dry, the chap put some spices in Miso Soup and voila Katsu curry was born.

To commemorate the Katsu curry the Foodwala family decided to visit the Nippon Kitchen.

The restaurant is decorated in an unusual pseudo-Japanese / Scottish style, which is an acquired taste.

We kicked off the proceedings with some Miso soup which is a traditional Japanese soup consisting of a stock called “dashi” into which softened miso paste is mixed along with tofu and seasoning.

The Miso soup was light umami taste and was a great palette cleanser for the main event.

I am a great fan of Dim Sum so I opted for the Japanese version, the dumplings are wrapped in paper-thin flour sheets and then steamed and finished off on a teppan grill.

the Gyoza was soft, crispy and delicious, the fillings were moist and well seasoned.

The chili noodle hit the spot, The chili sauce had a hint of sweetness and the peppers, onions, and noodles were stir-fried together, the noodle sauce balance was just right as I struggled not to stain my Lora Piana t-shirt.

The Katsu curry was not what I expected, the panko chicken was light and crispy, yet the Katsu gravy tasted as it was the gravy from the local chippy, it was dense and gloppy and with a thick unsightly film on top.

In Conclusion, Nippon Kitchen was authentic Japanese as PF Changs is Chinese.

The food was tasty but was not amazing.

The service was functional without being friendly.

Overall it was a middle of the road effort.

July 30 2018

Absurd Bird, Glasgow

Food alfiefoodwala, BBQ, burger, burgers, chicken, citycentre, comfort food, country and western, deep south, fried chicken, glasgow, KFC, rustic, wraps 0

Absurd Bird
3 Nelson Mandela Place
Glasgow

Hey, Foodwala’s… A funny thing happened to me on the way to foodwala prospecting the other day, I was in the Fodwala mobile and I was listening to the William Prince song Breathless, its an amazing soulful country and western song and I actually had the most darndest out of body feeling.

When Mr Prince mournfully sang the lyrics

” And I find myself in memories…Still alive just behind my eyes…Seems the more I go leaving home looking for…What I need’s been buried in my soul”

I had the most vivid feeling that I was driving in a Jalopy along the great grassy plains in West Texas with this song on the radio, and the dark pregnant clouds promising rain in the distance

I have not been to Texas yet but the feeling was so vivid that it literally left me breathless.

When I told Mokee Foodwala of this he sagely remarked that possibly in my previous life I was a cowboy from Texas.

All this Halcyon Texan Melancholy left me wanting some low down southern fried chicken and I just happened to spot Absurd Bird just opened in Nelson Mandela Place.

As the Foodwala family walked in it felt we had walked into a Honky Tonk Roadhouse somewhere near San Antonio, Texas.

Johnny Cash was belting out the Boy named Sue in the background and the queen of country Dolly Parton was immortalised on the walls.

The menu was definitely an ode to all that’s great south of the Mason Dixon Line

We kicked off the proceedings with the BBQ platter of Buffalo flavour chicken wings and chicken tenders, the chicken was moist, tender, messy, flavoursome and any other adjective you can associate with delicious fried chicken.

The coleslaw was creamy and crunchy and the onion rings were oniony sweet and crispy.

Next up were nine fried Chicken tenders slathered in a tobasco BBQ sauce and accompanied with blue cheese dip, mustard mayo and my favourite lemon and parmesan.

The tenders were amazingly… well tender and the tobacco BBQ was the right balance of heat and tangy and when dipped into the cool cheesy dips it made the taste buds sing the Travis Tritt song Its great to be alive!!

I was looking forward to my main event of the evening… the fried chicken

The chicken was marinated in buttermilk for 24 hours before dipped in the breadcrumb and cooked twice, the fried chicken had a gloriously golden crust on it, which was perfect for picking it apart with your fingers and dipping in the BBQ gravy, the chicken itself was so tender but it was practically flash cooked by super hot steam in the batter and the breast meat was soft, silky and tender.

Tep Zepi Foodwala opted for the messy fried chicken burger, it was a layer of fried chicken and pulled chicken with hot cheese, sandwiched in a buttery brioche bun, It was the messiest burger ever but when Tep Zepi got down to business he remarked it was delicious while devouring the burger.

Moksters Foodwala continued the burger train of thought and hungrily went for the Nashville hot Burger, the fried chicken was smothered in the Absurd Xtreme hot sauce and tempered by the harissa mayo, gherkins and fried onions.

Mokee mumbled something about it being so good while the hot sauce and mayo dripped down his chin.

Bakree and Rarri Foodwalee’s reluctantly chose the Chicken Ceaser wrap after their first choice of chicken sliders were not available, they felt the fillings were boring and heavy on the salad element and could have been better if the chicken was spicy to counter the sweetcorn Ceaser salad.

They were not impressed, unfortunately.

trio of crack pie, peanut butter cheesecake and ice cream biscuit sandwich

I decided to Mollify the Diva Foodwalee sisters with some sugar, we ordered the most amazing Crack Pie, it was the sweet pie with toffee and clotted cream, I now know where it got its name…so addictive!!!!

The other two desserts were not bad but nothing compared to the Crack Pie.

In conclusion, Absurd Bird did exactly what it said on the tin, the Deep south food was delicious, messy and flavoursome.

It best to visit Absurd with close friends or family because the food is very hand on and you don’t want to hold back out of politeness or protocol.

The service was efficient and friendly.

July 23 2018

Wagah Grill House, Glasgow

Food alfiefoodwala, burgers, chicken tikka, fast food, glasgow, grill, pizza, st enoch, wraps 0

Hey Foodwala’s… The Foodwala family was enjoying a nice summer Sunday afternoon stroll down Buchanan Street and enjoying the sights and sound of all the visitors and tourists in our amazing City, we could hear so many languages and could witness so many cultures and they all blended into an amazing and vibrant atmosphere.

We could see Nigerian tourists in their splendid and colourful kaftans alongside young Chinese students equally resplendent in their Hypebeast clothing and Italians strutting like peacocks and Americans in their tourist uniform of denim and dad sneakers

All this was further enhanced by the street theatre from all corners of Europe.

As we passed through St Enoch Square we stumbled upon Wagah Grill House and it proudly proclaimed it served grilled meats alongside burgers, wraps, pizzas and sandwiches.

It reminded me of Buchanan Street a few minutes previously, so many different influences and flavours, It worked well in Buchanan Street, could it work in a restaurant?

As you can see from the menu it was certainly extensive and eclectic

could it be the case of Jack of all trades and master of none?

We kicked off the proceedings with the Wagah Grill Signature platter, when it arrived it was a sizzling platter of meaty yumminess

The platter was heaped with Seekh Kebabs, Chicken Tikka, Lamb boti and marinated lamb chops.

We started with the Seekh Kebabs, they were delicately spiced but I felt the lamb mince lacked onions to make the kebabs succulent, however, it was edible, next up was the chicken tikka, the chicken tikka had absorbed the masala and the sizzling onions enhanced the BBQ flavour, very nice, The lamb chops were a little thin in my opinion and the tandoori masala slightly overpowered the meaty flavour of the chops, the only downside was the lamb boti, the lamb was cubed rather than sliced and it left with huge chunks of dry meat where the marinade was not absorbed.

The gravy was a little under seasoned and sweet for my taste.

Benz Foodwalee, overwhelmed by the meat fest opted for the Peri Peri Chicken wrap, the chicken filling was a wee bit on the stingy side and the peri peri flavour was definitely lacking

The chicken burger felt a little emaciated and underwhelming, the filling looked tired and lacklustre.

In Conclusion, the Wagah Grill was definitely the highlight of the endeavour, however, the wrap and burger could have been better with more fillings and better fillings.

possibly Wagah should focus on their grill strong point rather than trying too many things at the same time and not succeed in any.

The restaurant was empty at the time we went and the tables felt sticky, however, the toilets were spotless!

June 25 2018

Italian Kitchen, Glasgow

Food alfiefoodwala, business, citycentre, emirates, food, glasgow, glasgowestend, italianfood, kelvinbridge, merchantcity, rustic 0

Italian KItchen
64 Ingram Street
http://www.italian-kitchen.co.uk

Hey, Foodwala’s… Alfie Foodwala is back with a vengeance after the Ramadhan sabbatical and I have some amazing restaurants lined up in the coming month so stay tuned inshallah.

As you know your Alfie Foodwala has a number of passions other than restaurants and food, Alfie is also passionate about cars! especially vintage post-war European Marques and Restomods.

Alfie Foodwala decided to break bread with fellow petrolheads, Mokee and Goblee Foodwala’s and continue our conversation of whether the Singer Porsche 911 restomod (www.singervehicledesign.com) is better than the Porsche 911 restored by Tuthill Porsche (www.tuthillporsche.com)

As you can see the Singer Porsche is heart-achingly beautiful, the level of artisan craftsmanship is mind-blowing and can only be appreciated by someone with taste and sophistication whereas the Tuthill Porsche is aimed at the everymen.

We can liken the Singer Porsche with the sublime Osteria Francescana restaurant in Modena and voted the worlds best ( www.osteriafrancescana.it) and the Tuthill Porsche as the Locanda Locatelli (www.locandalocatelli.com), both are amazing Italian restaurants but the Osteria in the hands of the Maestro Massimo Bottura is in a different animal.

We arrived at the Italian KItchen on a beautifully sun-drenched Sunday morning and the Merchant City looked like downtown Milan.

We decided to kick off the proceedings with some Chilli and Olive Foccacia and Mozzarella Focaccia

The focaccias were both freshly baked in the wood-fired pizza oven and were light and pillowy soft, the olive oil was infused into the dough giving a delicious rustic flavour.

As you know from previous posts your Alfie Foodwala is a rice fanboy and in opted for the Seafood and Olive Risotto, as you know the Arborio rice is notoriously difficult to master and the moisture content has to be just right to achieve the chalky al dente texture, otherwise, the rice gets mushy and loses its integrity, my risotto was on the dry side and could have done with a wee bit more jus.

The Funghi Tagliatelle was delicious, the foraged mushrooms were suated in slivers of garlic and tossed into the creamy tagliatelle, the homemade tagliatelle was fresh and had a bite to it…just right.

Mokee Foodwala opted for the Spanish, roast pepper and ricotta Tagliatelle which was tossed in the house sugo al pamodoro (tomato sauce), In Italy, every mom and every chef have their own recipe for sugo and some recipes have been handed down over generations and are closely guarded secrets.

Due to Eid, we decided to treat ourselves to some desserts, we firstly opted for the Blueberry Cheesecake, the Blueberry soft cheese filling was delicious, it was creamy yet had a slight blueberry bitterness which gave a nice edge to the sweetness.

Next up was the eponymous Creme Brulee, it is the hardest simplest dessert to get wrong, the custard can me too lumpy or too runny, this one was good but not as good as the Crema Caravan in the Arches.

In Conclusion, The Italian KItchen was certainly competent, it had all the elements in the right place and the service was attentive, however, it lacked the Je ne ce quoi and charisma that an owner-operator provides, like in the La Lanterna in Kelvinbridge or Eusebis in the West end.

Alas the Chicken and Lamb are not Halal and white wine is used extensively however the dished are cooked fresh so the wine can be left out if requested.