Lahore Karahi

It's been a while since I've posted anything up but anyway, I recently signed up for Groupon and there was a promotion for Main, Dessert and Mango lassi for two people at Lahore Karahi which serves Pakistan dishes. I thought, "eh, why not?" I guess it's always good if you're first try is cheap that way you don't feel like you wasted your money if it turned out bad. So we made the reservation and went on a Sunday night (again).

Forgot to take a picture of the shop front so I got it off Google maps

I was quite turned off by the fact that we had to print it and we couldn't just show the coupon number off the phone. Their reason was that they're afraid that I can come in and use it again. I can print it out and use it again too now, can't I? But they were nice enough to let it go or I would have just left and sold it to someone else.

I was expecting the food to be a bit mehh cause of the low price but wow, when I saw the actual prices of the menu, I kept re-reading my Groupon voucher to make sure I could order ANY main (Click on the hyperlink above to see the menu).  But the food was pretty awesome. For the whole two hours I was there, I just saw a constant flow of customers entering and exiting the restaurant. 

Mango lassi

It's basically fermented milk/yoghurt drink.

I thought it could have been a bit more tangy or maybe I'm just used to those.

It's so thick and creamy that the straw just stood in the centre of the cup on its own!

Main course

you can request for the spiciness level. 

We went for the spiciest but I come from south east asia where we eat bird's eye chili like a snack.

Aloo Ghobi

a cauliflower and potato dish 

lamb chili masala

just lamb drenched in sauce.

It's a very small bowl in comparison to what a normal portion usually looks likes but don't underestimate it. It's quite oily and the sauce is very thick. You'll be so full that you feel like your pants buttons are going to pop off.

Garlic naan

This wasn't included in the voucher but they didn't charge me. 

I have to admit this is pricey (₤2.50 per piece)

I was so hungry that I just tore into the bread and forgot to take a picture. 

It smelled like popcorn, the bread was really fluffy and the taste of garlic was at a perfect amount.

Desert

I was already super full at this point but I still cannot deny that even the desert is great.

Gulab Jamun is the one on the left

Gajar Halwa on the right

They're both sweet deserts and quite healthy in comparison to the usual cakes and creams.

Bummer: He got our order mixed up for the desert. We wanted Kulfi instead of Gulab Jamun but we didn't know what either were anyway so it doesn't really matter. Classically, we all know that Middle Eastern or Indian cuisines have very strong smells- so you wouldn't be able to re-wear that shirt the following day. If I hadn't had the voucher, it would have been a very expensive meal.

Upside: The authenticity of the food was great! The indoors decor was really nice despite the shopfront looking very run down. We finished eating at 8.30pm, it's 1.30am now and I'm still stuffed! 

After eating Western food for several months and not having access to proper kitchen appliances and utensils, one's cravings for Asian food can become overpowering. 

I would have never imagined myself missing, of all things, PORRIDGE! but here I am, salivating just by the thought of it. The small crispy pieces of fried flour, the spring onions, shallots, century egg, chunks of minced pork...

I don't recall the price of it but when I saw it on the menu I just kept thinking how ridiculous it was. 

About  ₤6 or so. I could get 4 bowls of that back home but as usual, I was too quick to judge, the portion is good enough for 2-3 people.

Similarly to the dish below. Ridiculous price at first impression but it's good enough for the same no. of people.

Cha Sau Shao Rou Fan

(i don't think this is what they call it here though)

 Barbequed pork and crispy roasted pork with rice. 

The crispy roasted pork was to die for x.X

Bummer: I haven't found one yet.

Upside: We-me and a friend-ate these 2 dishes at around 2pm. We were still full until 8pm.

萬德福 Wonderful

Another Sunday night dinner!! We've walked past this takeaway several times. It's closed during the day and we managed to take look at the menu that was stuck on the window. Around last week on a weekend while me and my friend were walking back a bit late, we saw quite a number of people inside.

I am glad to say that this takeaway wasn't a disappointment! It is the best Chinese restaurant I have tried so far even if it is just a takeaway.

Sunday-Thursday: 4.30pm-11.00pm

Friday & Saturday: 4.30pm-12.00am

493 George Street, AB25 3YB

 a couple of snapshots of the menu

 shop front

average sized containers but it's really a lot of rice. I was expecting a measly rice bowl portion of it.

Honey Roast Pork  ₤5.50

+  ₤0.20 for fried rice

looks kinda like sweet and sour.

The often overcooked catered food at halls has made me appreciate food so much more!

King Prawn Egg Foo Yong  ₤5.80

+  ₤0.20 for fried rice

the prawns are bigger than the ones I usually get from higher rating restaurants and these were very, very fresh

prawn crackers that were given for free for order above ₤10

and thanks to dry weather I didn't have to worry about it going stale the next day xD

needless for me to explain this but it says

'Customers will receive one voucher per Adult Meal purchased.'

We ordered for two, so shouldn't we have two? I shall double-check on that again when I go there again.

Bummer: I ordered Roast Pork Egg Foo Yong but the lady took the wrong order and gave me King Prawn Egg Foo Yong instead.
Upside: Usually in restaurants an additional order of rice is about ₤1.80 but there its only extra 20p for either fried rice or chips and extra 50p for noodles. BUT it's only for some dishes, not all. It's stated below on some of the menu titles.

The Bobbins, T.G.I. Friday's

This was quite a while ago but here it is anyway. Went to The Bobbins for dinner on a Sunday(before the first semester ended) for their burgers. I heard a lot of hype about them so why not. I went there in December and they refused to serve us because we didn't bring our passports but served the person before us and clearly heard one of them mention, "Don't forget your passport next time." Whatever the deal was, I don't want to know. So lesson learnt. 

DON'T FORGET TO BRING YOUR PASSPORT!

We walked to Union Square already starving at this point. Just to satisfy our burger cravings, we headed to T.G.I. Friday's.

Double Cheeseburger with Fries and Onion Rings

Jack Daniel's Pepper Jack ₤12.99

I ordered hot sauce for 99p but it kinda tasted just like Tabasco. A bit disappointed.

But the burger itself didn't need any extra condiments tbh.

Jack Daniel's Monterey Double Stacked Burger w/ mashed potato and onion rings

+ Jack Daniel's sauce

The burger was really juicy and tender but there wasn't any hint of taste of Jack Daniel's in the burger. Or maybe that's how it's like after you burn off the alcohol. I couldn't remember the prices for the other 2 but the price range was about there. 

After winter break, somewhere during the first week of Chinese New Year 2012, we went to Bobbins again (remembered to bring our passports this time). Two other friends and I ordered the same burger. Didn't care about the rest =x

The Scream ₤4.75

Additional condiments of vinegar, mayo, ketchup and HP sauce were given.

It's worth the hype in terms of the pricing and how good the burger was. It easily matches up to Handmade Burger co. in Union Square and half the price. Correct me if I'm wrong, their kitchen only serves food up to 9pm and the only thing you can order past that time are the burgers.

The Khyber Pass

Dead hungry the other night and had missed the catered dinner so my friend and I went to the Indian takeaway just outside of the Aberdeen University halls. We bit off more than we can chew and ordered 3 kebabs and one Butter Chicken w/ rice.

Donner and chicken kebab

₤4.99

the phone is there for size comparison

 Donner kebab or chicken kebab on it's own is ₤4.25

it comes with this tangy red sauce. Not sure of the name of it yet.

The kebab kept me full for a good couple of hours, so I had the Butter chicken and rice the next day for lunch. My friend who had his other kebab said it was still as good even after keeping it in the fridge overnight.

Butter chicken ₤6.25

I was kinda skeptical when I saw how saucy it was

 and thought maybe that was all there is 

but there were so many huge chunks of chicken!

 Rice was an additional order of ₤1.99

it's a good portion for one person

this was half portion of the rice and chicken in a regular pasta plate.

No opinion on how authentic it is as I haven't tried proper authentic Indian food but it's really good(that is if you're not super picky about food) and it's worth it's money considering the size of it.