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Tag: mediterranean

September 7 2020

Mrs Falafal, Glasgow

emirates, Food, LEVENT alfiefoodwala, arabic, BBQ, emirates, fast food, glasgow, grill, LEVENT, mediterranean, rustic 0

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

Please remember to subscribe to the Alfie Foodwala Facebook and Instagram pages, tag and share if you like this review.

Have you ever listened to a song and have been transported back to a specific time and place?

you can remember it like yesterday?,

you can remember the sights and smells?

the feelings?

I am not one to reminisce or wallow in nostalgia but the feeling was so strong and poignant.

The song in question is the Desert Rose by Sting and particularly the bit where he sings with a background of hauntingly entrancing Arab Ululating. and the lyrics

This desert rose
Each of her veils, a secret promise
This desert flower
No sweet perfume ever tortured me more than this

And he sings the song while sitting in a Jaguar S Type, which coincidently what my brothers and I were driving at the time as well.

I was listening to Desert Rose, in my newly Delivered Mercedes and was reminiscing,

I all of a sudden felt like some of the cuisine of the Desert, so like a mirage of an Oasis,

I stumbled upon Mrs Falafal, a street food stand next to the Sainsburys petrol pump on Woodlands Road.

My curiosity was piqued so I decided to have a wee try

I kicked off the proceedings with some Robata Grilled Haloumi on a bed of Tabouleh, Humous and Baba Ganoush.

The Haloumi was soft and buttery with a delicious char on the outside, If the Haloumi is not cooked properly it can taste rubbery and devoid of flavour, this, however, was delicious and had a lovely salty zing to it.

I was not overly thrilled by the Tabouleh, but that is a not a shortcoming of Mrs Falafal Tabouleh but my own preference, however, the houmas was smooth and zesty and topped with pine nuts(a nice touch)

and the Baba Ganoush had an earthy lemony Aubergine meatness.

Next up was the Mrs Falafal signature Falafel bowl, the freshly made falafel was quite simply a revelation, they were pillowy soft herby centre with a delicious crispy crust, they were expertly made so they were not greasy nor were they stodgy… Top marks

The Falafel too were accompanied with some Humus, Tabouleh, Baba Ganoush and some salad, I would give the salad a miss if I as to order the bowls again.

The Lamb Kofta wrap was equally delicious, the koftas were cooked on the Robata grill and placed in the flatbread with some house chilli sauce and Iceberg lettuce and Buffalo tomatoes, The lamb Kofta was nicely spiced and with a bbq smokiness made a great addition to the wrap…definitely my star of the meal.

The Star of the Meal?

Definitely the Lamb Kofta Wrap, and closely followed with the Falafel.

The miss of the Meal?

The Tabouleh Salad and the bland house salad.

In Conclusion.

Mrs Falafal hit the right spot with fresh delicious Falafel and freshly made Lamb Kofta, The food was cooked in a cramp food cart with limited equipment and ingredients, by Syrian refugees who did not have chef training, but it definitely gave some restaurants a run for the Dirham.

the service was cheerful and informative, with a proper Arabic welcome and cheeriness.

Top marks for effort and authenticity.

Honourable Mention

So how did Mrs Falafal compare with the best of Marouch, on Londons Edgeware Road, or Abd El Wahab, Achrafieh, Beirut or Allo Beirut Dubai?

It was definitely a good effort, for a street food stand it punched above its weight

Halal Rating

Everything is Halal

Alcahol is not served

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

September 3 2019

Turkyie, Glasgow

Food, LEVENT, MEZZE alfiefoodwala, arabic, BBQ, business, citycentre, comfort food, gourmet, grill, LEVENT, mediterranean, merchantcity, middleeastern, rustic 0

97/99 Candleriggs,
Merchant City,
Glasgow, G1 1NP

Hey Foodwalas… Welcome to another tale of Alfie Foodwala

One of my most favorite cities in the world is Istanbul…the place is absolutely captivating, I love sitting on the balcony of the Four Seasons hotel in Sultanahmet, which incidentally was a prison and watching the ships politely waiting to cross the Bosphorus and the majestic Blue Mosque on the right with six minarets framing the picture-perfect view of the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn.

I also love the dark clouds who mournfully sit on top of the Bosperous like petulant gargoyles watching the ships slip effortlessly down the strait that divides Europe and Asia.

The gaze then falls on the enigma that is the Hagia Sofia, which charts the history of Istanbul from the godless Romans to the Christian crusaders and then to the Muslim Ottomans. in the distance is the Topkapi Palace where the Ottomans ruled their empire and equally contributed to the advancement of the trilogy of arts that is science, cuisine, and calligraphy.

The Old city of Istanbul feels like a time machine into the past and the feeling you get touching walls that are two thousand years old is truly humbling.

One the other hand I also love the juxstopition, across the Galata Bridge you abruptly enter the modern Istanbul, and Istanbul where Giorgio Armani boutiques rub shoulders with Lora Piana and Ferraris cruise the boulevards of Nisantasi and the fine young things sit in cafes and you could think you were in Paris or Milan.

The thing that connects the two opposing worlds together is the cuisine of Turkey, which amalgamates in Istanbul, the Kebabs of Adana and the seafood of Bodrum, the donnars of Anatolia with the fruit and nut Baklava of the Trabzonspor. They are all curated in the amazing restaurants of Istanbul, which was beautifully showcased by the great and late Anthony Bourdain.

This week the Foodwala jeeajunt sought out the newly opened Turkiye in the Merchant City.

We kicked off the proceedings with some hot mezze, The Lahmacun was delicious, thin-crust dough topped with seasoned ground lamb, the flavour was subtle yet noticeable.

The prawns in Halab sauce was equally good, fresh prawns were tossed in Halab sauce and sauteed with green peppers and mushrooms, the peppers were not too soft, just right and the sauce had a delicious ambiance about it, I would have happily eaten the prawns with some rice as the main course.

The Haloumi and pan-fried sojouk sausage was also a hit, the salty halloumi was cooked just right so it did not become rubbery while the spicy sojouk sausage countered the salty halloumi…yum

The Turkish Falafel was a little different from its Lebanese counterpart, apart from the sausage shape, the falafel mixture was more smooth, i preferred the Lebanese falafel with its crispy crust and the soft centre.

we loved the hot freshly baked balloon bread, i am sure it has a Turkish name but that is what we called it

The main event was next, The Adana Kebab, this is my favourite kebab the lamb mince was well proportioned with the white lamb fat so it was moist and juicy and also just enough spice as not to overpower the mince, unfortunately, they did not use tail fat in the mixture.

The Chicken cubes were lightly marinated and cooked over the mangal, the chicken could have been slightly more tender and moist, however, it could be just how the chicken fillet was cut.

The Salmon was delicious, it was firm yet flaky and was also lightly marinaded without overpowering and since it was cooked on the mangal it had a slight charcoal taste which was pleasant, the accompanying seafood jus was a nice touch and added another element to the Salmon

In Conclusion…

Turkiye was very pleasant and the food was fresh and well presented, the Adana kebab was well seasoned and cooked on a mangal which is absolutely mandatory.

we were looked after by Kamil and the service was excellent without being intrusive.

The food is authentic as the other two tables in the restaurant were Turkish, a definite sign of a good establishment.

November 15 2018

Padella, London

Food, london, PASTA BOROUGH MARKET, HIPSTER, italianfood, london, mediterranean, PADELLA, PASTA 0

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

This week yours truly was asked to judge the SPICE restaurant awards, so I will be traveling the length and breadth of our fair land eating at restaurants who have spice as their common element.

Anyway, I was again down in London this week and as I was flying down on British Airways I found myself reading the M&S inflight food booklet and I noticed to my amusement they were selling courgette spaghetti and other veg based pasta knockoffs.

I pointed this out to my Italian friend sitting next to me and his expression was akin to someone putting diesel in a Ferrari 250 GT California, In other words, it was sacrilege of the highest order.

He said in his expressive Roman Italian that the vegetable pasta “could not touch the cloth” of the flour and water concoction and the vegetable pasta was invented by some clever marketing people paid by the vegetable industry to arrest the decline in sales of vegetables by rebranding vegetables for the fickle and fad are driven health food market.

he said no self-respecting nonna would ever contemplate serving this to her brood.

To further emphasise this point I decided to go to a Pasta cafe run by Artisan pastawalas, I walked up to Padella and noticed people waiting outside the restaurant, from where I could see it just looked like a few folks so I decided to join the wait, however, I followed the hungry queue and it went theme park style well into Borough Market.

I decided to wait and 30 minutes later I was shown to our places overlooking the bar.

The menu is only small, six antipasti and ten pasta dishes.

This Tuscan Gnudi Gnocchi was an expert blend of steamed potato and semolina dumplings finished with creamy nutmeg butter and black pepper, simple yet delicious.

Tagliarini, Dorset crab, chili and Lemon
£11.50

The thin ribbon-like pasta was tossed with soft flaked Dorset Crabmeat and dried red chili and zest of Lemon.

This was absolutely delicious, the subtle flavour of the soft shell crab was complemented by the parmesan and the lemon acidity helped balance the opposing flavour elements.

In other words, posh mac and cheese but this was like no other mac and cheese I have tasted, the worm-like pasta was chewy and the cheese and black pepper sauce was simple yet delicious.

In conclusion, It is what rustic Italian food should be, simple yet delicious where the ingredients are the symphony and the chef is the conductor. The pasta concept was unremarkable yet the execution was exceptional.

The service was friendly and simple, they took the order, put the full plate in front of me and took the empty away, simple like Padella.

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.