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“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.
Six by Nico 1132 Argyle St, Finnieston, Glasgow G3 8TD
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
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“Never Meet Your Heroes”
I never really understood why people say never meet you, heroes, surely the reason they are your heroes is that you want to meet them…sounds a bit like an Oxymoron.
My brothers and I are great cricket fans, but we love good cricket as opposed to supporting a certain team for jingoistic purposes, so imagine our excitement when we found out India was coming to Scotland to play a one-day international.
At the time the great Sachin Tendulkar was the captain of India and was one of the greatest batsmen ever.
We were giddy with excitement, so I set off with my brothers Goblees and Ralfy Foodwala to track down the elusive Mr. Tendulkar.
We set about the chase like a military operation, we phoned all the hotels until we found out where they were staying, we then went to the hotel to see him but found out he had just left for dinner.
The staff was not forthcoming or the whereabouts of the dinner venue, We eventually found the loose-lipped concierge who told us where he was after a few crisp twenty-pound notes accidentally fell into his pocket.
Sechin was at the Nandos at Springfield Quay… the chase was well and truly on, we piled into our bashed but trusted Toyota Camry and headed for Nandos.
We arrived at Nando’s as he was just finished his meal and was about to leave, imagine our excitement of meeting one of the all-time greatest cricketers.
We gingerly walked up to Sachin
“Sachin Sir…we are your greatest fans”
we breathlessly and nervously chanted in unison
“Can we have an autograph and a photo”
Sachin turns around from the people he was having an animated conversation with and said
“get lost yar…I am busy”
the words hung in the air like a bad smell, maybe we did not hear right or got lost in translation.
“Mr Tandulkar can we atleast shake your hand”
Sachin just looked at us aloofly and brushed our hands away and walked past.
To say that we were disappointed is an understatement, any enthusiasm for messers Sachin Tendulkar drained away from us like shaving foam in a sink.
We found out the hard way to never meet your heroes.
This week I was with Shai Foodwala and we visited one of our culinary heroes, Six by Nico
We walked into the restaurant and it was full of couples reverently sitting at the tables, there was a weird absence of conversation and atmosphere.
as if they were waiting to worship at the altar of Nico Simione.
The menu on this occasion was titled “Guilty Pleasures” and it was described as
“Prepare for 6-courses of pure indulgence, inspired by moments we all long to enjoy…
From staying in pajamas all day to binge-watching your favorite tv shows, or enjoying breakfast for dinner, or even singing cheesy pop songs we all have a secret guilty pleasure that we are not so quick to share…
However, with our next six-course tasting experience we invite you to embrace and celebrate your guiltiest pleasures with a complete disregard for what others may think!”
Croquettes £5
We kicked off the Six-course tasting menu…hence Six by Nico, with an amuse-bouche of potato Croquettes, with a dollop of white grape sauce.
The Croquettes were a little boring but tasted decent, I would not say they were fantastic, not poor, they existed as Croquettes.
Spaghetti Loops
The first official course was the “spaghetti Loops” and my expectations came to a crash, this was bland and boring, I don’t know whose guilty pleasure is spaghetti hoops but certainly not mine.
STRAIGHT FROM THE CAN
Round 2, Straight from the Can, Ceviche Of Tuna, Pickled Watermelon, Tokyo Turnip, Bonito, Dashi Jelly & Avocado Puree.
Sound delicious but in reality, it was not what I was expecting, Ceviche is fish in citrusy “tiger Juice” where the fish is slightly cured by the acidity, In my humble opinion this missed the mark as the dense Tuna needed some acidity to cut it but was lacking, the trace of watermelon did not help.
LAMB KEBAB
Course 3…Thankfully things started to get better, next up was the “Lamb Kebab” the spiced lamb belly kebab was cooked en point and the
Pickled White Cabbage, Rose Harissa Emulsion & Cucumber Chutney was a refreshing and imaginative accompaniment to the lamb.
FISH SUPPER 2.0
Course 4…The mini Fish Supper was a tongue in cheek reference of fish and chips, the Scrabster Cod was delicious and well seasoned, and replacing the chips was
Definitely an imaginative, delicious, and playful take on Fish and Chips.
NICO’S FRIED CHICKEN
Course 5 was Nicos Fried Chicken, I was fried chicken but not as you know it,
Chicken, Nfc Crumb, Leg Roulade, Barbecue Corn, Hen Of The Woods & Black Garlic Emulsion. essentially it was a deconstructed chicken in its elements and cooked in different ways, sounds a bit weird but tasted delicious.
NUTELLA & WAFFLES
Course 6, was my favorite..Chocolate & Praline Cremeux, Sour Cherry, Stroopwafel & Creme Fraiche, simply irresistible and yummy
the Cremeux was creamy and had a smooth chocolate moose, which was accompanied cleverly with sour cherry sorbet, a nice combination.
well-executed.
In Conclusion
The meal started off unsure, it was bland and boring
However by the 3rd course it actually got a lot better, I became a believer in what Six by Nico was trying to achieve.
There was a lot of imagination in the execution and the ingredients.
The temperature of the food was inconsistent, some elements were hot some were cold
The service was a little too efficient and felt a little rushed and conveyor belt-like.
With Six by Nico scaling up and opening numerous restaurants nationwide it has lost its authenticity and quirkiness and becoming an another chain restaurant
The Star of the Meal?
My star of the meal would be the Nicos fried chicken.
The miss of the Meal?
On this occasion, I have two misses, the spaghetti hoops and the straight from the can.
Honorable Mention
So how did Six by Nicos do against its peers?
Well, the peer is actually next door … Crabshak, Crabshak was in my opinion better in its selection of ingredients, service and taste.
Six by Nico, possible takes the imagination and creativity points
all in all, I would go for Crabshak.
Halal Rating
The Chicken served in the restaurant and HALAL
Lamb is not HALAL
Alcohol IS served on the Premises
Pork IS served on the Premises
100% impartial Guarantee
Alfie Foodwala visits all restaurants anonymously and pays for the bill like any other customer, Alfie Foodwala does not accept free meals in return for meals
All reviews are the personal opinion of Alfie Foodwala based on his 30-year experience as a restauranteur.
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.
“Rendere pan per focaccia”
this means to give back the bread or give back to the community.
I am a great fan of celebrating with the community and breaking bread together
One of the most memorable food festivals was on my visit to Naples, I was staying on Via Gaetano Filangieri midway up the Chiaia Staircase overlooking the palazzo Mannajuolo.
it was a beautiful summers morning and I got up for Fajr, and you knew it was going to be a warm day as there was a stillness in the air.
As I looked out of the open floor to ceiling windows I saw an old man walking up the Chiaia Staircase shouting something, it was as if he was announcing an event
“Santa Lucia sta arrivando nessuno avrà fame”
he kept repeating this every few steps, Which obviously piqued my curiosity, as I did not speak Neoplolitan so I recorded the gentlemen’s mournful cries and translated it.
It translated as
“Saint Lucy is coming…no one will go hungry”
I was even more confused, in the street I was staying was a Louis Vuitton and a Gucci boutique, I doubt the residents of this area would be going hungry.
so I got dressed and decided to investigate this a wee bit more, so I went to the local bar for an espresso and I asked the Barista
The Barista told me to have a seat for a few minutes and all will be revealed.
Sure enough, a few minutes later a procession slowly appeared walking up the street, everyone was dressed in white and were carrying a statue of Santa Lucia.
It was a very cheerful and colourful profession and the participants were handing out candy and cake.
Apparently, every July the people of Naples celebrate the festival of Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia is the patron saint of the blind and the hungry and to commemorate, the feast of Santa Lucia is prepared and food is given out to everyone.
I love this community spirit and more importantly, food being the catalyst to bring people together.
So to celebrate our own festival the Alfie Foodwala family went out to the Santa Lucia restaurant in the Merchant City.
MARGHERITA D.O.C £11
To kick off the proceeding, we always chose a pizza, the reason being that if the pizza is made properly, using the proper 000 flour
then you know the chef is decent.
The Pizza base should be elastic and chewy without being soggy, the dough should bubble when in the wood-fired oven giving the tell take black bubbles on the crust.
The Pizza ticked all the boxes, the buffalo mozzarella was creamy and the sugo had a sweet tartness.
RISOTTO DI MARE £17
Carnaroli rice with chillies, mussels, clams, langoustine, squid, king prawns in a shellfish sauce.
This was a revelation, the fresh seafood was perfectly balanced with the al dente rice and the shellfish sauce stock made the rice plump.
I loved this dish, The seafood was prepared with an expert hand.
GNOCCHI AL GORGONZOLA E PISTACCHIO £12
The Gnocchi potato dumplings were prepared with creamy blue cheese sauce and crushed pistachios.
WOW! what a paring, blue cheese and cracked Pistachios, who would have thought that two diverse ingredients would make such a delicious combination. The Gnocchi was soft and pillowy, not at all stodgy.
Our taste buds were singing like Pavarotti.
POLLO ALLA MILANESE £15
Cream soaked and then Pan-fried breaded chicken breast with rosemary. The chicken Milanese is a simple dish but difficult to master.
The chicken breast is a notoriously difficult protein to master, Cook it too much and it becomes dry and stringy, cook it too little it leaves it unedible and dangerous.
This was cooked just right, the breast was light and fluffy, the breadcrumbs were golden and crispy.
Penna Arrabiatta £11
Arrabbiata sauce,
or sugo all’arrabbiata in Italian is a spicy sauce for pasta made from garlic, tomatoes, and dried red chilli peppers cooked in olive oil.
the Sugo was delicious, tart yet sweet, shiny with Olive Oil yet not greasy
In Conclusion
Santa Lucia was excellent, they did all the basic things with the proper effort so that the complex elements were made to look effortless.
The Pizza dough was using the right blend of 000 flour
The seafood was fresh and succulent
The Sugo was made from vine-ripened tomatoes and virgin Olive oil
The service was polite and efficient
The Star of the Meal?
My star of the meal was definitely Risotto Di Marre, a complex dish of many elements done right.
The miss of the Meal?
I honestly cannot think of anything, I don’t want to name something just to fill this section.
Honourable Mention
So how did Santa Lucia do against its peers?
Definitely on par with Oro and Cafe Parma
I loved it equally as La Lanterna.
Halal Rating
The Chicken served in the restaurant and HALAL
Alcohol is served on the Premises
Pork is served on the Premises
100% impartial Guarantee
Alfie Foodwala visits all restaurants anonymously and pays for the bill like any other customer, Alfie Foodwala does not accept free meals in return for meals
All reviews are the personal opinion of Alfie Foodwala based on his 30-year experience as a restauranteur.
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
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.
2ND FLOOR
The IVY menu is wide-ranging Bistro style dining, from dishes ranging from Fish and Chips to Monkfish and Prawn curry.
IVY Fish and Chips £15.50
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.
Chicken Milanese £16.95
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.
Blackened cod fillet £17.95
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.
Crème brûlée £6.95
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.
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.
Focaccia Rosmarino £7.00
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.
Rissoto Gambrioni £15.50
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.
Spaghetti Tiger Prawns £15.20
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.
Pizza Paporone £12.50
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.
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
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.
Chicken & Asparagus Risotto
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!.
Chicken and Mushroom Penne
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.
Tomato Sugo Penne
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!!
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!!
Vapiano Pizza and Pasta
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.
Live Cooking
This way you can decide which healthy ingredients to include in your pasta
Insalata Cesare £10.99
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.
Rucola Ravioli £10.29
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!!
Garlic Prawn with Cheese £4.89
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.
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.
Pastawalas at work
The menu is only small, six antipasti and ten pasta dishes.
MenuGnocchi with Nutmeg Butter £4
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.
Pici cacio & pepe £6.50
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.
