Firing it up at Biryani House, London

Dear friends, for the sake of clarity the use of the word "hot" in this article is meant to represent the burning sensation on your tongue, throat, stomach, (and butt in the later evening) whereas "spicy" is used to denote the amount of spices (marjoram, thyme etc) in the dish.

Back in the day when there were more than a mere handful of Malaysians studying at City University we used to make these spontaneous and crowded pilgrimages to Whitechapel, which sits comfortably at the edge of Zone 2 and Zone 3 of the eastern end of London. Having seated itself thus, Whitechapel only very narrowly avoids being branded as dodgy, or perhaps worse. What then, could possibly coerce a bunch of plump and spoilt Malaysian brats to brave the dangers of Eastern London? Nothing other but the legendary Biryani House and its devilishly hot offerings of authentic Indian food.

Notwithstanding the confused failings of its misspelt name and its perilous surroundings, the Biryani House was quite the popular eatery for us Malaysians. The portions were generous, the food scrumptious, and the prices more than reasonable. Most memorable perhaps, was that due to the scarcity of other patrons (the Biryani House was still relatively unknown back then), few if any reproachful glances were thrown our way when pressing Malaysian issues and arguments were offered and then hurled between our tables halfway across the simple, small restaurant.

Therefore there was little doubt, when Sandee suggested that we bring his cousin Ash to sample the fare there, that I would jump at the opportunity to make the journey. Now, I am not exaggerating when I say that Ash's mother is THE goddess of Indian cooking and we knew that Ash would be hard to satisfy. We were confident, however, that the Biryani House would more than qualify. The Biryani House is about 15 minutes walk from Whitechapel station. As you exit the station cross the road and turn left, persevere and you will eventually see the bright red banner of the Biryani House promising an evening of delicious Indian cuisine and a scorched tongue.

The Legendary Red Banner and the Fail of Spelling

The menu at Biryani is huge and mostly Ala Carte. The closest item resembling a set is the Briyani House Special - compromising of a Chicken Briyani (traditional Indian spiced fried rice with herbs), a poached egg, a vegetable side dish, a piece of Naan (an Indian flat dough normally taken with curries) and a soft drink, all for £7.50 - which I heartily recommend. The House Special shares the menu with other Briyanis, of which you may find the chicken and mutton variety, and a whole host of curry side dishes and other vegetable side dishes. No stranger to the Biryani, me and Ah Seng decided on a House Special with curried potatoes and a vegetable Sag as our vegetable side while both Ash and Leng opted for the ala carte mutton Briyani. Eventually we also decided to order a curry side dish each, and Indian Yoghurts were ordered all around as somewhat of a fire extinguisher should the curries prove to be overly punishing.

Hungry Kean, is Hungry

It goes without saying that the signature dish (if thou shalt be so kind to conveniently ignore the spelling shortcomings of the restaurant owner), the Briyani, was expected to be magnificent.

Chicken Briyani

Unfortunately however, it seemed to be the general consensus among the table that the Briyani was lacking inspiration and shockingly underseasoned. Certainly it was not the mouth watering and generously spicy dish which had so rightly cemented its place in Kean's Hall of Food Fame. The portions were also disappointingly smaller, and the chicken chunks were distressingly too huge for such a fine dish as Briyani. Having said that, the Briyani was still more than decent, and miles ahead of other Indian eateries about London.

On a happier note were the 4 side curry dishes and the curried potatoes. The curried potatoes was a worthy supplement to the Briyani and its dhal (nut sauce) is perfect if you deem the Briyani too dry. The mutton Bhuna (Garlic sauteed mutton curry with onions, tomatoes and herbs) was absolutely heavenly; each bite reminded me why the Biryani was so frequented in past times. The mutton was cooked to perfection, the garlic and onions managed to lend its flavour to the dish without overpowering it. In my opinion few other dishes can represent fine Indian cooking to the level Bhuna at the Biryani has.

Shameless Promotion of the Mouth Watering Bhuna

My dish, the mutton Rogan, was but a carbon copy of the Bhuna, albeit lacking the heavy spices and a tad more hot. Therefore, it was also a delight to the palate and I would heavily recommend it unless you already have another Bhuna dish. Ash's dish, the Sag (Garlic sauteed meats cooked with a generous helping of tasty spinaches) was confusingly inconsistent. The side dish on the table was depressingly lacking in flavour, but a quick taste of Ah Seng's Vegetable Sag brought a smile to Ash's face whereupon he declared it one of the best Sags he had ever tasted.

Finally, what record can be made of the Biryani House without any mention of its legendary dish, the Phal. Firstly, 2 things must be said of the Phal. Firstly, it isn't on the menu, and therefore only the most devoted customers know of its existence at all. I don't even know how its spelt! Secondly, I have not the slightest idea of what Phal is, except that it is evilly delicious and extremely extremely unforgiving on your tongue's heat detectors. An initial tasting of the phal suggests few other ingredients but curry powder. However, once you get past the initial stream of tears and sweat, the true flavour of the phal and its ingredients emerge, making it a unique culinary experience and truly unforgettable.

Hellfire and Phal

In conclusion, the Biryani may have lost some of its impressiveness upon me. However, it is still a whole level above other Indian restaurants in London. The price of the food, a major factor contributing to my decision, is more than reasonable, but the isolation and distance of the restaurant from city centre is somewhat of a balancing factor. Nothing can be said of the ambience, while the restaurant is neat and clean, there is hardly any decor at all. A major redeeming factor is the service. The staff were extremely friendly and helpful. In my opinion, the Biryani deserves a strong 7.5 / 10 and is recommended.

Biryani House

100 Mile End Rd,
London.
E1 4UN.

020 7790 7519

Bonjour, Pardon, and the Goo Goo Dolls

The more astute amongst you may have noticed that this blog has been suffering from a recent bout of neglect :) Indeed my computer has been sulking in the corner of my room, lonely in its dissension. My excuse for this is twofold: I visited Paris for 6 days and immediately upon my return I was compelled to embark upon a treacherous road trip lasting 10 hours to and fro from Nottingham. Mistake me not, dear friends, it was but a minuscule price to pay to finally see the Goo Goo Dolls in person!

The Goo Goo Dolls were extremely entertaining and their showmanship was astounding. By the end of the concert the Polish lads practically had the audience eating off the palm of their hands. Johnny's hair was legendarily impeccable as always, and at one point he could not even sing "Iris" for the tremendous amount of roaring the crowd was making. All in all it was a wonderful experience and after 25 years together the Dolls certainly still possess the chemistry and talent which thrusted them from poverty to super-stardom. This hungry writer was definitely not disappointed.

Waffles and Surprises in Brussels!

Aight so Leng, Chuen, Sandee, me and Ah seng decided to travel, and travel we did. We were mostly burnt out from the recent final exams and so none of us were quite up to walking and sightseeing. Certainly we've earned the right to holiday, we were now officially stress free upon the completion of our degrees! 3 cheers to the end of our childhoods and heya to the endless years of mortgage paying and income taxes and I think I better stop before I become too depressed.

Ultimately we decided all we wanted deep down was to plunk our bums in a cafe sipping good coffee and to laugh at those unfortunate souls hurrying past us about their business and work. Brussels it is then, we decided. Brussels! The capital of the European Union, the city of mussels, waffles and all things chocolate. Needless to say we were much surprised to find the citymates of Manneken Pis actually more relaxed than we were. At times I wondered (with genuine fondness!) if the City's economy was fueled by the mere laziness of its denizens.

Onward to official stuff, crisp and all business-like now am I. 4 eateries of note in Brussels. But first, Waffles.

Forgive me if I laugh at your misfortune and stupidity if you do not at least try the Belgium waffles at the Café du Vaudeville ("Vauderville"). Having heard much of the apparent overratedness of Belgium waffles (not to mention our first experience with Belgian waffles, see pic below, seriously wtf it was horrendous. Absolutely terrifying) I must admit that I approached the Vauderville with much reservedness and skepticism. Fortunately my mistrust was misplaced! The Vauderville is located inside the Galerie de la Reine ("the Arcade") and is on your right approximately halfway through if you enter from the direction of the Grande Place. The head waiter was extremely courteous and was glad to seat us outside the cafe, in an excellent location to laugh the day away. Preliminary glances at the price menu caused many initial anxieties, in the book of Kean waffles priced at 7 Euros a piece better be frickin good.

Example of FAIL Waffle

I picked the Apple Waffle in a rare moment of fickleness. Now, we all know apples are fine when sweet. Baking with apples, however, is a rather risky venture. Bakers rarely, if ever, cook with RED apples. Red apples tend to brittleness and do not bake well at all. There is therefore the usual risk of having sour green apples in your pastry if you have the nerve to order such. Remember friends, that in pastries and starters you are either looking for sweetness, acidity, or if it suits your fancy, god knows why, back of the tongue bitterness (For the love of Assam Laksa people, this is why coffee was invented. Sheesh); never saltiness or sourness.

Ah Seng also chose the Apple Waffle. Leng had the Ice-cream and Strawberry Waffle, Sandee and Chuen picked the White and Black Belgium Chocolate Waffle. The Chocolate Waffle was the first to arrive and was an instant delight to my palate. Allow me to emphasise: no chocolate, No Chocolate in this world that I have thus tasted can even hold a candle to Belgium chocolate. Sweet, distinct and creamy, yet possessing that subtle hint of bitterness that lingers in your mouth after the first swallow, it is the perfect companion to a good pastry. Which brings us to the waffle itself. Served warm and taken fresh from the oven, it was baked to perfection. Tender is a word normally reserved for meat but I shall take the liberty of applying it here. What the heck, a tender waffle? You have to try it to believe it. The taste of the waffle itself represents another wonder. The batter must have been perfectly compositioned, I wouldn't be able to reproduce it in a gazillion years. Every bite was a delight.

Rofl in my Wafl Imba Chocolate Waffle

Perhaps my palate longed for more chocolate, for the ice-cream waffle, although also masterfully prepared, seemed to be lacking in impressiveness. The Ice-cream was high qual stuff don't get me wrong, but it appeared insignificant compared to the chocolate.

Ice-Cream Waffle!

A happy ending to this waffle story! My apple waffle finally arrived, and I was shocked initially to see the amount of syrup flowing on the plate. Certainly, I thought, the apples cannot be sweet, why otherwise did you coat it with syrup if not to conceal the sourness of the apples? How wrong I was! The apples, baked perfectly, were sweet and juicy! Sherbet was sprinkled on the waffle making it the perfect "icing" for the whole deal. All in all I was once again pretty impressed with the meal. I for one certainly finished my portion happily.

Sweet Happy Ending - Apple Wafls

In general, everyone appeared genuinely satisfied with the snack. What then did we do? Obviously we proceeded to order a couple of drinks, to sit back, to laugh the afternoon away, inwardly smiling at the busy townsfolk while savouring the remnants of a unforgettable meal in our bellies. But that is a story for another day :)


Café du Vaudeville
Galerie de la Reine
1000 BRUSSELS ( CITY )Phone: 02.511.23.45 Fax: 02.512.40.77

Closed on Open 7/7 (close on Sunday at 8pm)

First!

Greetings weary travellers of the internets! Pray take a seat, are you comfortable? Good! Let's swap seats this wooden one is murdering me arse.

Some amongst your number are undoubtedly already familiar with me, unquestionably many of you have a reason or another for wanting to smother me with a teddy bear, for that I apologise, I sincerely do! As for those of you who don't already know me, pray allow me to remedy that.

Hi! My name's Chui Kean, you may call me Kean thank you very much! Some of you lifeless World of Warcraft players may want to armory me and gape at my epix, but lets not get waylaid here. I am, or well at the time of this writing, a law student. Bless the gods and George Lucas for not making a 5th Indy Jones Movie, I will be graduating on the 24th of July 2008 and thereafter I will have acquired the ability to SUE!

As the intellectually competent amongst you would have gathered by now, this is, or primarily is, a food blog. Now! I wouldn't go so far as to review the places I write about, I am not nearly qualified enough to do that. Anything recorded hereinafter are merely musings, (Yes musings! Imagine me swirling and sniffing my Milo Ais while whining how the vile flavours decimate my palate and you'll have a good idea of my personality. At least before the mamak owner butchers my face) of the places and restaurants where I dine at.

Two criteria suit my idea of a good place to eat. Firstly and foremostly, the quality of the food. Nothing, and nothing will ever corrupt that, and this is my promise to you. Along this journey I shall be using many technical culinary terms, I trust you will pick them up along the way. Secondly, and only slightly behind in importance, is the price of the meal, the sacrifice you must offer, the deal you must seal. This obviously includes your money's value for the meal, the availability and accessibility of the restaurant in question, and finally to a lesser degree the service afforded.

Several disclaimers! Firstly, I do not, or rather, cannot, drink any form of alcohol. I am notoriously allergic to it, much to my dismay I assure you. Therefore wine tasting is unfortunately out of my league. Secondly! If you post any legal questions here, and if I answer them, don't come whining to me when you find my bill in your post box the next day. Thirdly, take whatever I say with a pinch of salt, I am only legally competent and I apologise if I offend any culinary professionals in this blog.

Having said that, any recommendations and requests for reviews are absolutely welcome! Regrettably I may only visit those restaurants you recommend in London or in Malaysia. My team will be in charge of tasting in London, while I will traverse Malaysia in search of good foods meselfs.

Phew finally! I hereby declare this blog christened! Without further ado, let the tasting begin!