Restaurant Challenge

[misswills]

Hello Everyone,

Firstly, thanks to everyone for their comments on Green Valley. Went and had a shop around today and I must say it was quite productive! The excursion today also made me miss Chinese Islamic food. I know this is an long shot, but are there any Chinese Islamic restaurants in London? I know this is a very unusual cuisine, so if you're not sure what it is, here's some information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_...

'Chinese Islamic' food is not a very good term but I didn't coin it! But it's basically the food of ethnic Chinese Muslims, or the Hui people, as termed in Chinese. It shares some similarities with various mainstream Chinese cuisines, but it's indeed a very distinct style of cooking in and of itself. It features hand pulled noodles & noodle soups, lamb (which is not popular in other Chinese cuisines), kebabs & roast meats, and pickled vegetables.

Also, I find myself craving Tibetan food. Any Tibetan restaurants still in existence? Or even a really good Nepali restaurant serving a few Tibetan dishes?

Any information on either type of restaurant would be appreciated. Thank you! :)

[cavorting]

There's the Great Nepalese near Euston, but it tends more to the Indian spectrum rather than the Tibetan. Aparently there used to be a Tibetan near Leicester Sq, but no more.

[paulcox]

I was wondering about that one-- it's just around the corner from me. In my mind, "more to the Indian spectrum" would be more Nepalese, as their cuisine is, on the whole, more influenced by their southern neighbor. Tibetan dishes are restricted to minority Tibetan groups living in the country.

[howler]

sadly, the great nepalese is no great shakes.

[paulcox]

After a brief search the closest I can find to Hui cuisine is a number of Chinese Halal restaurants which serve lamb dishes, though these seem to be run by and for South Asians, so they're probably closer to the Indian Chinese discussed here. To add something to the search, Lanzhou hand pulled noodles with beef or lamb (lamian, cognate with ramen) is the standby of Hui restaurants, and this is what you're most likely to find if anything. Lamian has been pretty mainstreamed in Beijing and Shanghai cuisine as well, however, so it won't necessarily be Hui.

While the Hui are ethnically Chinese in origin, there's another huge group of Turkic Muslims in China called the Uighur or Uyghur who have a fantastic cuisine as well. The Hui and Uighur overlap quite a bit in Xining Autonomous Region, so some of the food is shared. Uighur restaurants were my regulars in China. I can confirm that there are none of these in London, but I did take the liberty of writing to the president of the Uighur U.K. Association (http://www.meshrep.com/addressbook/ui...) and he kindly offered to invite me when they come around to their food-heavy New Year celebration. Now I just need to figure out whether that would be the lunar or Gregorian New Year, as I won't be around for the latter...

[misswills]

Paulcox, thanks for the info. I use "Hui" or Chinese Muslim because it's a good generic label for the different foods eaten by Muslims in China. I figured it would be even harder to find Uyghur food (even though I like it more than Hui food!) Anyway, I definitely find myself missing Uyghur food and I can't seem to find any recipes for reproducing it or Hui food. I won't be going back to China for a while, so I was wondering if any place offered something, anything to hold my appetite until I got back to the country. And don't even get me started on Dai food and all the other Chinese minority cuisines.....mmmm...

But I guess no such luck this time. Thanks for the information (and I'll definitely keep an eye out for the Uyghur New Year celebrations)!

[paulcox]

I've cooked Uyghur before, in the form of the basic lamb kebab you'd buy on a street corner or outside a bar in China. You just grill some very fatty chunks of lamb on a skewer, then sprinkle/douse with cumin and chili powder. Anything more advanced than that, you'd have to ask a pro.

[bombaybeauty]

If we're on a quest, could we add Indian Chinese to the list? Every Indian will assure you that there is no better Chinese food to be had than in India. Though this is not true, it does reflect the fact that Indian Chinese food is wonderfully hybridized for the Indian palette and an interesting fusion cuisine. BB

[paulcox]

Ah, that's an easy one. Chinese food was brought to India long ago by the fascinating and eminently migratory Hakka people of south China. They produced the classic Chinese Indian dishes: chili chicken, gobi manchuria, soft noodles, etc. A search reveals the existence of a highly regarded Indian Hakka restaurant called Dalchini in Wimbledon Park. http://www.dalchini.co.uk/
I'll have to add that to my list...

[oonth]

I got into Dalchini at one point and it´s certainly worth a visit albeit a bit of a schlep down to South Wimbledon. Not stellar but good, part of the Sarkhel group of restaurants.

There´s also a veggie place in Kingsbury which I recently recommended to Howler, I´ll try and dig up the details. I think it´s called Rose.

[misswills]

BB, I read something in Vogue (American) and some other magazines about Indian-Chinese fusion being the next "it" cuisine. So I don't think people in the States and Britain are too far off from seeing an influx of it! :)

[oonth]

Just to emphasise that this is not a fusion cuisine as this phrase is used in modern parlance but rather an adaptation of the Chinese food brought to India by Hakka immigrants.

[zuriga1]

As long as it doesn't feature foam.... South Wimbledon isn't too far from us in the Southland, so I'm going to give that restaurant a try soon. My husband thinks I am so clever.

[oonth]

Impress him even more by telling him that "Dalchini" is the Hindi word for "cinammon" :-)

Here´s a link to the website - http://www.dalchini.co.uk

If you go, please report back, would be interesting to hear what this place is like nowadays.

[zuriga1]

I'll certainly report back when we get there. Mr. Zuriga was telling some of his colleagues about Dalchini and they are anxious to try it, too. It looks as if we'll be having a small party there one of these weekends.What's Hindi for cassia bark? :-)

[oonth]

Aha very clever. I suggest some name changes along the lines of "Cassia Bark Toast Crunch" and "CassBaBun".

Any idea what the Hindi word for "camel" is? There´s a clue every time I post :-)

[zuriga1]

oonth, are you saying you're to be associated with humps and holding large amounts of water? I learn something every day.

[minyming]

I sadly can't help you find your cravings, but I reply in commiseration. Your mention of Chinese Islamic food reminded me that there was a well regarded restaurant in Alhambra in CA, which reminded me of the numerous Chinese vegetarian restaurants in that area. I did do some scouting when I first arrived, but quickly came to the conclusion that London isn't ready for this, if it ever wants to be. I did get some satisfaction from one of those Tai Buffets near Angel tube, but that has since moved away from processed mock meats, so perhaps the majority of their patrons don't know what to make of them?

[Theresa]

Far be it for me to be defensive, but I don't think it's a case of not being "ready" for something - the availability of food from other continents tends to depend on migration patterns over the centuries. Britain, and London in particular, has embraced a wide range of cultures and the foods which go with them - I'm willing to bet that the reason there is no Chinese Muslim food, is because there are few, if any, Chinese Muslim people living here - not because the people of the city aren't ready.

[zuriga1]

You make a good point, Theresa. There are also Chinese Jews (and Indian Jews as well). I have yet to see *their* cuisine anywhere, including the U.S. I think the reason is the one you give,

[howler]

zuriga - there are about 5 indian jews left in india; most went to israel. sadly, its an extinct cuisine.

[zuriga1]

Thanks, howler. I once read a most interesting novel about Indian Jews (migrated in the 11th century) called, 'Flowers in the Blood,' or something close to that. It was about a people I knew nothing about. existed. Some German Jews ended up in China (very lucky and fairly left alone by the Japanese). I think most of them moved to Israel, too.

[bombaybeauty]

There actually is a distinctive cuisine of Indian Jews, but has Howler mentions all but vanished. I recall once speaking through filtered Marathi to an Israeli taxi driver who picked up the language from his neighbors in Israel....

[howler]

thats fantastic!

one of the reason i think we bombayites have the best view - narrow as it may be - of all the glorious cuisines of india is that we got to eat in our friends houses. in which other city could you have breakfast at rustams house, eat lunch at david ezekiels and finish up with dinner at the shahs?

next time you're in cochin, check out the paradesi synagogue

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradesi...

if you havent already.

[minyming]

Alas, I did not mean to be offensive, hence the clause of self-determinism. I believe Chinese veg food comes from Chinese Buddhists, of which there must be a few in London. A brand of Chinese vegetarian food does exist in London, but I see many of their outlets closing down, so it seems it is not so popular. Sigh, that's all I'm saying.

[zuriga1]

There are two good Sherpa/Nepalese restaurants in Surrey, but it you're based in London, that's a long way to go. I've really enjoyed the food in both very much - something new for me.

[misswills]

Too bad they're in Surrey. Much too far to go for a meal. But would you mind posting their names just in case I find myself in the area? Thank you!