Eat Goody

Dear readers, as you will no doubt gather if you venture out to Oxford road, that the academic year has started. The congestion has only been added to by those pesky Tories, who have been heard loudly complaining about the lack of decent restaurants in our great, non-tory city. Not followers of 'Aroundtheworldin80dinners' then. They scurry back to whatever God forsaken holes they crawled out of today, hopefully never to darken our doorsteps again.
I have to say that around the University, they are nearly right. There is little in the way of good eats ('haochi' as they say in China). So I was happily surprised when I happened upon 'Eat Goody' on my very doorstep. Not a cannibalistic tribute to the late, sainted Jade, but a Korean fusion cafe. Though given the peccadilloes of Kim Il Jung, I'm always a little nervous when I see the words 'Korean' and 'fusion' in the same sentence.

As it turned out 'Eat Goody' is an excellent eatery, serving Korean goodies not normally found in Manchester. Such as the tasty chicken chili stew you see above, also beef bulgugi, bibimbaps, dupbaps and kimchi juns to a discerning University clientele seeking sanctuary from the usual pizza and kebab joints the infest the area.

I went with my colleague and 'hanyu laoshi', Qi (Chinese teacher), who appeared to enjoy her chicken ramen with gusto. We both agreed it was indeed 'haochi, hen haochi!'.

Azad Manzil

Despite a strict code of conduct here at 'ATWIED' Global Headquarters, Beijing, our worldwide network of highly paid operatives (application form on request) are only human and as such, have been known to commit the odd sin. Unlike our overpaid, underworked and corrupt MPs, 'ATWIED' agents have their expences examined to the point of torture but ,as mentioned in the last post, we are guilty of minor sins like omission and now another, the sin of return! While some of our more religious readers might be choking on their communion wine, we are aware that 'return' isn't even an eleventh comandment. However, during a minute audit and review of policies and procedures after customer complaints about 'ATWIED's failure to deliver a reliable and regular service, we found that this systemic failure was down to one factor. Put simply, our operatives (you know who you are- Robert Hamilton) have been returning, time and time again, to restaurants already crossed off our global list of eateries.To managment's horror, it was even found that they returned to restaurants not on the list or to countries already 'red-dotted'. Such as Manzil's of Chorlton. During an interrogation (tough enough to make the CIA blush) our Manchester agent confessed to going back to Manzil's having discovered their Wednesday night 'Bangladeshi Tapas' menu (6-9pm). After several hours under the spotlight, he broke down in pain and tears admitting the the short tapas menu of reasonably priced Chicken Desi or Bangdladesi Fish Aloo too good to resist.

We at 'ATWIED' Global Headquarters, Beijing, shall endeavour to ensure that this disreputable practice ceases to continue, despite the excellence of the food and staff of unscrupulous restaurants like Manzil. It will be added to our list of proscribed establishments such as Red Chilli, Tai Wu, Al Jazera, Turkish Deilght, Samsi, Aladdin, Great Kathmandu.....

Yadgar Cafe

Of the seven deadly sins, the sin of omission is not there. I mention this as I was planting my red dot on Syria to mark my 50th meal (see previous post) there was no such dot on Pakistan. Given the ubuquity of the food from the sub-continent in Manchester, such an omission is a sin indeed. To make up for this grievous oversight, we at 'Aroundtheworldin80dinners Global Enterprises (Beijing) PLC' will bring you 2 reports from Pakistan with no expence spared. The first is from the Yadgar Cafe, a rememant from the ragtrade in the increasingly trendy Northern Quarter. I have been going to the Yadgar for more years than I care to remember for the authentic taste of Asia, as the Curry mile catered for Anglo-Indian (usually drunk) palates.

I always have the Aloo Gobi, as genuine a dish you'll find this side of Lahore and a firm favourite with us at 'ATWIED'(Beijing) PLC. My next visit is to an upmarket joint in the 'Mile' that too claims Pakistani authenticity. To be continued.....

50th Meal Celebration Commemorative Edition

Welcome, valued readers, to the '50th Meal Celebration Commemorative Edition'. It's been two years since the founding of 'Aroundtheworldin80dinners Global Enterprises (Beijing) PLC' and we have reached a milestone, our fiftieth meal. To mark such a momentous occasion, I took the entire staff to 'Moonlight' in Rusholme for a celebratory ice cream. Mmmmm!

While not as romantic as Lindy's on Route 66, we had a wonderful time and look forward to continuing our exploration of the culinary landscape of Manchester and beyond until we reach the magic '80'. We also continue to lose pounds (£) and gain a few (lbs).

Around the World in 50 dinners

Alladin

Once again, good readers, I must thank you for your patience as I have finally reached 50 restaurants. We at 'Aroundtheworldin80dinners' Global Headquarters (Beijing) realise that after getting half way last year, it has taken the best part of a year to crawl through the next 10. All will be explained in the forthcoming '50th Meal Celebration Edition' (signed limited edition available). To mark this momentous occasion I invited 'The Blonde' to celebrate at Alladin in Withington.

Alladin is a hidden gem of a Sryian eatery, serving exquisite Middle-Eastern food to Manchester's great and good for many years (Dev from Corrie was there!). We ate Kibbeh, fathoosh, tabbouleh and fayatar wth a fruity BYO white and a sweet Turkish coffee with a heavy hint of cardamon. A feast worthy of the occasion.

'The Blonde' is a relative newcomer to our great city and the newist member of 'Aroundtheworldin80dinners Exclusive Dining Club, (invitation only). She is fantastic company and the perfect companion on such a special event. 'Dev from Corrie' signed a menu, which is now availble as a limited edition '50th Meal Celebration' porcelain plate (price on request).

Zorba's

On my way to the cinema to see 'Blood, the Last Vampire', which according to the Guardian was 'Japanese school girls with swords fight vampires', the hunger struck. I stopped at a newish Greek Cypriot stall at the Arndale Food hall called 'Zorba's'. Now I'm old enough to remember the film with Anthony Quinn and Alan Bates, and that famous dance on the beach.

While lazily grazing on kefthes and rice (and wondering if there was a Turkish Cypriot restaurant- answers on a postcard), I realised this was a rare thing for a film historian and food lover, a film\food franchise. The only others I could think of were 'Tampopo' and a small take-away in north Manchester, 'The Omar Shariff'. I began to think of possible others-'Good bye Mister Chips', a health-conscience chippie or 'Hamberger Hill', a war themed fast food place with staff dressed as Rambo or, my personal favourite, '101 Dalmations', a Korean bosinting (dog stew) chain.

Someone said that life was all disappointment then you die-well there was only one school girl with a sword and Zorba was from Crete.