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Tag: rustic

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 14 2019

Fatt Pundit, London

Food, Indian, london chicken tikka masala, gourmet, MICHELIN, rustic 0

Hey, Foodwala’s… another tale of the trials and escapades of Alfie Foodwala and on this occasion Shai Foodwala.

The other day I was perusing the local bookwala, and I stumbled upon a book called the Art of Flavour by Danial Paterson, I was much intrigued with this tome so I took it off the shelf, dusted it down and expectantly opened it up, the blurb in the ketab said…

“science of cooking from an olfactory and culinary perspective”

It got me thing… particularly about the past… (cue the wavey blurry thing on TV to show the past), I was on my grandfather’s plantation in the deepest darkest Punjab and we were having lunch under the trees and enjoying the gentle breeze.

I asked my grandfather why a particular food was sweet and why another food was savory, My grandfather was a very patient man and eventually, he said let’s go for a wee drive.

We got into his ancient Land Rover and we set off into the plantation, we first arrived at the mango plantation, it was harvest time and we got out and went to the first mango tree and took off the large plump perfectly ripe Sindrie mango, he cut a slice and we silently eat it, it was the sweetest mango I had tasted , my grandfather explained the different nuances in the sweetness.

Next up was the lemon grove, we did the same thing and again my grandfather explained the sour flavor, I was enthralled by his knowledge and the way he explained.

Further, into the plantation, we came across Oranges which were 12 weeks from harvest and still green, my grandfather cut a tiny slice and told me to gently lick the orange flesh with the tip of my tongue, it was the bitterest thing I have ever tasted, even more than when you accidentally bite into a paracetamol tablet!!

My young tongue was smarting from the bitterness so with a gentle chuckle he took out some salted peanuts and gave me them to offset the bitterness.

Eventually, we reached the outbuilding on the periphery of the vast estate and some of the labourers were having their lunch, my grandfather sat down at the table with his men and joined in, they were eating a humble meal of Palak Paneer with chapati, at the table my grandfather explained that the savoury taste was actually called Umami.

On that day I learned about flavour profiles just by hanging with my grandfather and spending the day on the farm and eating the most delicious, organic and natural produce.

This week we went to Fatt Pundit in Soho, who boasted the fusion of East Indian and Chinese flavours

Here we go, first up was the Crackling spinach chat, I tried this for the first time and it was delicious fresh spinach leaves, flash cooked in oil and then topped with yogurt, chat masala and pomegranate, the result was a feather-light chat with an amazing flavour profile.

To be honest I have not come across crackling spinach before so I was very pleasantly surprised.

You learn something new every day.

The chicken momo was lovely and moist and when you bit down the momo exploded with a delicious rush of chicken and its juice,

Since the Kid Goat Momo was not halal, I was reliably by Shai Foodwala that it too was sensitive, moist and delicious.

The momos were the exact opposite of the momo I tasted in Soho Wala last week.

This victorian looking contraption is where the momos are steamed.

The Chicken Kolkata was chicken shredded with copious amounts of fiery chili and garlic, the resulting flavors was amazing not too hot but hot enough, the garlic notes were prominent without leaving a bitterness.

Chinese style stir-fried King Prawns with Szechuan masalas. Again the King Prawns were cooked en point and the fiery Szechuan spices gave a nice kick, all in all wonderful.

Since West Bengal is allowed to consume beef this dish is a rarity in India, however, the beef was stirfried in cashews and chillis giving some serious Kung Po vibes, again could not fault it.

We washed all the fiery masalas down with this delicious Guava Sour Mocktail, whereas Shai Foodwala had the full-fat alcoholic version.

In Conclusion

I loved the Fatt Pundit, the food was true and fiery, the Momos were moist and the curry was flavorsome.

It definitely reminded me of the Chinese we used to have in Faislabad when we were growing up.

The service was cheerful, knowlagable and efficient.

The only downside was that it was “tapas” style sharing dishes but it was very expensive, we left with a £100 hole in the wallet.

Halal Rating

Fatt Pundit serves alcohol.

Chicken and Lamb were certified Halal by the management.

Kid Goat is not halal

October 4 2019

Soho Wala, Soho London

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

21 Great Marlborough St, Soho,
London
W1F 7HL

Hey, Foodwala’s… Welcome to another trial and escapade of your truly, Alfie Foodwala

I was back in the big smoke of London once again with Larry Foodwala, we share many things in common, we are both restauranteurs, we love food and we love watches.

While we toured the watch houses of New Bond Street, admiring all beautiful baubles behind the armored window’s a similar window shopping story came to mind.

Cast your mind back to the bleak midwinter of 1969 and my grandfather decided it was cheaper to drive overland from Pakistan to Glasgow, so he trussed up his 1965 Mark 1 Ford Transit and set off for Glasgow with my Chacha Nasim Foodwala and Larry’s dad Anwar Foodwala, when they reached Istanbul the van broke down with a broken axle and had to be repaired, the repairs took all their spare cash and took 3 weeks to fix, as parts had to be brought in from England.

While Nasim and Anwar had plenty of time to explore they did not have money to eat more than one meal a day so they passed the time by touring the eating houses of Istiklal Caddesi peering into the steamed-up window and salivating at all the delicious street food until they were shooed away by irate owners.

It was ironic that 50 years later Larry and I were doing the same thing but instead of looking hungrily at piles of the delicious hot steamy mounds of food we were doing the same but with Rolex’s and Pateks and this time we could purchase as well as just salivate on the other side of the glass.

All this window shopping made us rather peckish and as an homage to my chacha and uncle, we decided to go to Soho Wala, who are purveyors of street food from the streets of Lahore and Bombay.

We kicked off the proceedings with steamed Chicken Momo’s, these are Nepalese steamed dumplings, stuffed with chicken and steamed in a flour shell, the momo was served in a steaming bamboo pot, however, these momos were premade and were dry and a little bit stodgy. not an auspicious start.

The Gulafi Kebab has its origins in the mountains of Anatolia and the recipe was given the Mogul Jahangir by the Turkish ruler as a peace offering, ideally the Gulafi kebab is tempered with finely chopped onions and bell peppers and the moisture then make the lamb kebab melt in the mouth, these kebabs were dry and tough, again i suspect they were premade and heated up.

The Rajasthani Lamb Laal Maas is supposed to be a deep, complex rich lamb stew, exuding fragrance and slow-cooked flavour, however, this tasted like a simple lamb curry served in curry shops the world over, so far 3 misses, things don’t look good for Soho Wala.

Next up was the delicious Keema Pao, this is a staple of the Bombay street food scene, The keema as spiced just right and the buttered brioche buns were moist, soft and delicious.

things were looking up!!

The chicken biryani was another hit, the chicken thigh pieces were soft and delicious and the biryani spices were deliciously balanced with the right amount of masalas, where no masala overpowered the other. overall the biryani was delicious and the pomegranate raita helped to add a coolness to the spices.

In Conclusion

In conclusion, Soho Wala was a hit and miss affair, the Kebab, momo’s and Laal Maas were definitely a miss however the Keema Pao and biryani wes a hit.

It could be possible the time of day we visited or Soho Wala is situated in a hotel and could be that the food coming from the central kitchen had a distance to travel and went cold and dry in the service process.

The service in Soho Wala was friendly, if not a little unsure.

Halal Rating

Soho Wala serves alcohol.

Chicken and Lamb were certified Halal by the management.

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.

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.

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.