Fried noodles with sweet & sour chicken at Tai Won Mein

Rewind about twenty years ago and there were about three or four noodles joints in London like Wagamama and Tai Won Mein etc along with Tai Tip Mein.
Both Tai Won Mein and Tai Tip Mein pride themselves for big portions at affordable prices.
I decided to revisit these restaurants to get an update on quality and how they are these days.
Visited Tai Won Mein which is located at Cutty Sark and there is another branch somewhere in Catford.

Without further ado I got the sweet and sour chicken with fried noodles which are basically curly noodles which are similar to instant noodles which I also had at Tai Tip Mein later for comparison.
In the early days, these curly noodles were not served.
The noodles arrived a few minutes after ordering which was really efficient.
Each and every strand of noodles were well tossed and evenly coloured.

The fried noodles were executed better at Tai Won Mein as they were not so oily or too salty but I didn't like the beanshoots.

As well as the noodles, the sweet and sour chicken was also top notch.

The plain noodles or noodles with black bean would have probably been tastier but I felt that I had to try the most popular dish.

Returned for some plain fried curly noodles with extra curry sauce and it was so worth coming back because the curry sauce is the usual takeaway stuff but their version was extra hot because you could really taste the chilli oil in it!

The noodles and curry sauce was just heaven together.

I also managed to see the stir fried beef ho fun which looks phenomenal, again will return to try that some time.

Big Bowl noodle at Speedy Noodle

Paid Speedy Noodle a visit because their menu was really captivating and I like their canteen style spacious restaurant.

There were so many things that looked good like the fried mushrooms and fried broccoli which come in a crispy coating, then their is the salt and pepper calamari as well as the big bowl noodles.

Started with the beef brisket noodle which indeed came in a big bowl and reminded me of this place called Tai Won Mein.

Basically it was instant noodles in a beefy broth.

Overall it was nice but it was beef shin and not beef brisket so I don't understand why it was called beef brisket noodles.

Big plate of noodles at Tai Tip Mein

Rewind about twenty years ago and there were about three or four noodles joints in London like Wagamama and Tai Won Mein etc along with Tai Tip Mein.
Both Tai Won Mein and Tai Tip Mein pride themselves for big portions at affordable prices.

I decided to revisit these restaurants to get an update on quality and how they are these days.

Visited Tai Tip Mein which is located in Woolwich Dockyards.

There used to be a branch in Elephant and Castle but has recently closed down.

The staff at Tai Tip Mein were really good because are the counter staff are probably second generation BBC's that speak English.

Without further ado I got the plain fried noodles which are basically curly noodles which are similar to instant noodles which I shall be ordered at Tai Won Mein later for comparison.

In the early days, these curly noodles were not served.

The noodles arrived a few minutes after ordering which was really efficient.

Each and every strand of noodles were well tossed and evenly coloured with a wok aroma.

Adding chilli sauce took it to another level.

As mentioned earlier, the portion is huge and probably good to share with the equivalent of 2.5 portions of instant noodles.

Persian Kunafe (Knafeh) at Mawlana

Kunafe (Knafeh) is a popular Middle Eastern dessert made of spun pastry in syrup with a layer of cheese or clotted cream or nuts depending on the area.

I don't know why but there so many spellings for it eg kanafeh, kenafeh, knafeh, kunafah, kunafeh, konafa, kunafa.

There are other versions found in Turkey and Greece as well.

Having found Turkish desserts really sweet, I tried the Egyptian version in Edgeware.

You will find a whole street of Persian restaurants and cafes there.

I chose Mawlana because I saw a glorified version of it topped with clotted cream.

Sadly, the one I got didn't have clotted cream on top and traditional ones don't have cream on top but I can imagine it tasting even better with cream.

Although, it wasn't topped with cream, the chewy dessert was really decadent and not too sweet with some nuts and apricot at the bottom.

Will probably buy Knafeh from a Persian grocery shop and add cream to it myself!

Mawlana Restaurant:

161 Edgware Rd, Tyburnia, London W2 2HR

 

South Indian food at Royal Chef

When I found out that this joint did VADA, I had to go there and try it.

Royal Chef is located in East Ham known as Little India which has so many Indian/Pakistani restaurants.

You can't get more East than East Ham.

Brick Lane used to be the place for curries but East Ham is couldn't be more authentic.

I liked the simplicity of Royal Park and the transparency with the clear cabinet where you can see all the curries and sides.

Without further ado I ordered the Vada, Idli and Idlyappam with chicken curry and coconut chutney.

Their coconut chutney is amazing and you can really taste the creamy blended coconut.

The star of the show was the Vada and Idlyappam.

The Vada was fresh and moreish with a nice crispy exterior and the Idlyappam was like similar to rice vermicelli.

Would definitely be revisiting and their food is really affordable.

Royal Chef:

223 High St N, London E6 1JG

Paya (lamb Trotters) at Laziza Hut

I discovered Laziza Hut after dining at Royal Park because of the product shots on the window!
The picture of curried legs definitely stood out and they looked like some kind of shanks.

After googling Paya, I found out that it was lamb trotters which is definitely something I want to try as I have tried Nepalese Pork Trotters before which were really tasty.

Went back another day just of the Paya and the guy at the restaurant was surprised that I knew this dish.

He even asked if I tried it before so I said I only tried the Nepalese version.

I didn't know how the consistency of the curry sauce was going to be so I did not order any rice or naan.

When the Paya came, it was like soup so I was glad I did not get the rice but it makes sense to have it with naan which is what they recommended.

I found the sauce quite spicy so I only managed to eat the trotter but it was delicious as expected but there was not much on it.

The trotter was soft and gelatinous as I hoped but I wonder if there was meant to be two according to the product shot.

As well as these dishes, they also do Peri Peri chicken which I believe is to diversify their menu.

Overall, I would definitely recommend paya if you haven't tried it.

179 High St N, London E6 1JB

The Friendly Dolphin Fish and Chips

As a chippy fan, I am trying to check all the chippies out.

The Friendly Dolphin Fish and Chips is located accross the road from Sutton Station.

It was my first time, so I just got a pound worth of chips to start.

The chips were not greasy with a full on potato tastes strangely like crisps and it desperately needed some ketchup as well as salt and vinegar.

Overall, not bad but not the best.