Tuesday 17 June 2014

Lahore One - great value, tasty food

Lahore One is a great value Pakistani restaurant near Shadwell, London.  It's a relatively low-key restaurant in that it has very simple décor and exterior - but the food is good, which is the important thing.

Saag meat - Chunks of boneless lamb cooked with spinach, fresh ginger, garlic and spices.
We ordered two main dishes - a saag meat (lamb) and a korahai chicken - and both tasted excellent.  They were accompanied with rice, some naan bread, and kebab on the side. 

Korahai chicken - Hand prepared, boneless diced chicken cooked with fresh garlic, ginger, onions, tomatoes and spices. Garnished with chunks of tomatoes and sprinkled with fresh coriander and ginger.
I really do have to give a shout out to their mogo (yam) chips.  I've never had yam chips before and I am really glad they were ordered - they really were excellent and I thoroughly recommend them.  Yams have quite a distinctive texture and taste, while the deep fried process gave them a satisfying crispiness as you bite into them.

Mogo chips - fried yam with chilli and garlic.

We rounded off the dinner with a half-and-half kheer (rice pudding) and kulfi ice cream.  I didn't massively like the kulfi ice cream, but the rice pudding was really good - a perfect combination of (not too) sweetness and creaminess.

Kheer and kulfi.
A quick note - Lahore One does not serve alcohol.  However they are perfectly happy for you to bring your own, which is fine as there's a Tesco pretty much next to it.

As we were paying the bill, we got a nice surprise as we were presented with a special t-shirt each.  That's certainly a first for me - a bit different but thoroughly welcomed.  My friends have already decided we will wear them the next time we go there...


Nearest DLR: Shadwell

Lahore One on Urbanspoon

Wednesday 4 June 2014

Sukhothai: excellent Thai restaurant in Hornchurch

Sukhothai is an excellent Thai restaurant in Hornchurch, Essex.  The food is great, the staff are friendly, the restaurant is busy (always a good sign) and the interior has a clean feel. 

Tom Yum soup.  Sorry for the shadow >_< 
There's a good selection of food on the menu.  There are soups, curries, salads, rice, noodles - the usual you'd expect from a Thai restaurant.  But the great thing about +Sukhothai Restaurant is that - from two separate visits - every dish I've tried is excellent.

Moo Ping - grilled pork skewers.

Tiger Cry - grilled beef sirloin (medium) with mint and coriander. 
Thai curries are always popular and a visit to Sukhothai wouldn't be right without trying one.  There are various meat curries available - beef, chicken, duck, pork, prawn - with different degrees of spiciness; this means there's a good chance you'll find the right dish for you.



I believe the restaurant is family-run and I had the same waitress on both of my visits that were five months apart.  Either way, the staff are really friendly and are knowledgeable about their menu and were keen to advise on what to order.  I'll definitely be heading back to Sukhothai next time I'm in the Hornchurch area.

Nearest Tube: Upminster Bridge or Hornchurch