YAY! Yalla Yalla

Visited this great little Lebanese street food place again yesterday. I believe we have a new convert as well!

The Mezze's are the way to go, and there are some stand-outs that just have to be had.

Here's what we had (five dishes are more than enough for two NORMAL eaters).


SOUJOC
Homemade spicy Lebanese sausages with tomato, parsley and lemon juice.


JAWANEH MESHOUE
Charcoal grilled marinated chicken wings with garlic and harissa sauce.


ARAYES
Grilled crispy pitta bread filled with spiced minced lamb, onion and tahini sauce.

SAMBOUSSEK LAHME (N)
Pastry filled with spiced lamb, onion comfit and roasted pine nuts.

HOMMOS SHAWARMA
Chickpea purée topped with marinated thin slices of lamb fillet.

Everything i've had so far off the menu has been on the mark. But two dishes constantly stand out. The Soujoc Sausages have a tangy flavour which is hard to describe but impossible to resist.

Next up are the Chicken Wings. I wouldn't normally go for these having experienced them in the past as you wait 10 minutes for the Chicken Burger and Chips to be made late on a Friday or Saturday night. In desperation, we've all said "oh, just give me 4 chicken wings while i wait"... right? Those deep fried bones never live up tot he hype, but the ones here are something else. The sauce is what makes it, and there is a welcome sweetness to it all.

Don't forget to wash it all down with a house special 'lemonade'. The APPLE, MINT AND GINGER is fantastic.

http://www.yalla-yalla.co.uk/

Banana Tree

Bit off time off, but back in action now. And what a great way to start! Just discovered Banana Tree which has several restaurants all over London.

Best of all, there is a new branch in Soho, Wardour Street in fact.

Definitely going there soon.

Kebab TV

I've been past this kebab place many times before, largely because it is on the same road as the most often visited screening room in Central London. 

But now they have a new hook to get you in... CCTV Kebabs!

Check it out, the meat is on camera in the window. No idea why, but i'll check it out soon to see what the food it like. 

FrightFest Burger

Still taking up the GBK voucher offer, it was time for another burger today. Even the news that such offers were killing off small businesses did little to ruin my appetite.

I opted for a Chicken Satay burger, much to the disappointment of @ECForde who insists that "you don't mix food like that with sweets like nuts (?!?)".

I must say i thoroughly enjoyed this. Very filling peice of chicken with out too much relish to ruin the flavour.

GBK further won brownie points with the selection of sauce for today. Having been disappointed by the BBQ source last time out, the garlic mayo was a fantastic accompaniment to the onion rings and fries. A great side dish at last! Kudos to the person who recommended it.

To cleanse the pallet i had a hankering for an Ice Cream. It was a wait, a bit of a FrightFest film got in the way (Kill List is excellent), but i made the perfect choice. Raspberry Sorbet... tangy, tasty goodness. 

One thing i am glad is not halal is peperami... someone has taken it upon themselves to eat these in copious amounts at EVERY SCREENING during Frightfest. Plus i suspect his mum has packed his lunchbox. Ewww. 

Another day, another burger

Well i found today VERY tough. I wouldn't go as far as saying GBK saved my life... but it did help.

Taking full advantage of the 2 for 1 offer (or more accurately buy one get one for £1), i went for a Pesterella chicken burger. 

Pesto, mozzarella, salad, mayo and relish

Very nice it was too. Lacks a bit of seasoning, although my taste buds are totally out of whack so it's probably my fault. Big portion, and with the voucher it worked out at a fiver. BARGAIN,

Don't bother with the extra sauces though, that little brown tub in the picture (no i'm not talking about @ECforde, whose hands you can see there) cost £1.75.

I thought i had it tough...

Wake up at 9, write a few news stories, watch a movie or two... Ramadan is tough!

Well spare a thought for (multi-millionaire) footballers. Ok so the money is great, but it can't be easy to play and train whilst fasting.

Great article in today's Independent:

Fasting and Football

Here is their list of Premier League Muslims...

Marouane Chamakh, Abou Diaby, Samir Nasri, Bacary Sagna, Armand Traoré Arsenal 

Habib Beye Aston Villa 

Nicolas Anelka (left, in better days), Salomon Kalou Chelsea

Marouane Fellaini Everton

Hatem Ben Arfa, Cheick Tioté Newcastle

Edin Dzeko, Kolo Touré, Yaya Touré Manchester City

Adel Taarabt Queen's Park Rangers

Ahmed Elmohamady Sunderland

Younes Kaboul Tottenham

Youssuf Mulumbu West Bromwich

Ali Al Habsi, Mohamed Diame Wigan

Day 22 - KFC day

Sometimes you just need the fastest of fast food.

Went to KFC on Tottenham Court Road, and ordered a meal with all the trimmings.

Streetwise popcorn meal (a favourite of @moulder5000)

And a Zinger burger with gravy. (courtesy of @nataliepeck)

Yeah i was hungry, what of it? It was really filling, popcorn meal is amazing value at £1.99

Gravy is a hidden gem. Bit expensive, but so good you could drink it. (and i've actually seen someone do that!)