Belgian Belly

Another day and another country.And still in the parish of Chorlton. 'Belgian Belly' is an oasis of lowland culture serving sandwiches, great chocolates and a raft of choice Belgian beers as well as coffee and waffles .
With not a moule or frite in sight, it's a good and homely place to play '10 Famous Belgians'. I had a rib-warming cup of rich hot chocolate and contemplated the Guardian Quickie- just what is 'descriptive of a church window'[7,5]'

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Canada Grill

Is there an authentic Canadian cuisine? According to the menu at the Canada Grill, it consists of burgers, fried chicken and pizza. In what the Quebecois would call "un grand scandal de Bleu Pierre" , my friend Paul pointed out that I had not actually ventured into 'Canada Grill' and therefore, was a cheat. Quite right. In order to rectify this indiscretion I went in the other day and had a burger and fries , which they wrapped quaintly in a paper bag for the short journey home.



I have to report that , unlike Miss Lawson, the burger was flat , rubbery and tasteless. I am writing a strongly worded letter to the Canadian Ambassador.

Thai Spice

There is a certain Thai flavour to Manchester at the moment. I read that Thaksin Shinawatra is a wanted man and it is unsafe for him to return to Thailand. Should he feel home sick and in the need of some home cooking he need go no further than 'Thai Spice' on Beech Road. Purely by coincidence and on the evening of Citys' first home win under Sven, Sophia and I visited 'Thai Spice'. And very tasty it was too.



We had Yum Neua [beef salad] and Gaeng Penang [red chicken curry] as well as Thai spring rolls and prawn crackers. A lively and spicy addition to culinary Chorlton.

Around the World in 5 dinners

Palmiro

Sunday lunch and off to Palmiro's,a rightly famous Italian eatery of the parish, with Steve and Ashley of Sandbar fame [more of their Polish menu later] As you can see ,on a sunny Sunday ,you will often find a lamb being roasted for the great lunch that the restaurent puts on every sabbath.
The menu offers you a classic 4 course structure. 1 Antipasto 2 Primo piatto 3 Secondo piatto 4 Dolce.As Italy is the home of the Slow food movement, it was fitting that after sitting down to lunch at 1ish ,we arose ,full and happy, sometime near 5.

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Red Chilli

Ni hao. To complete my visit to the Far East I stopped into Red Chilli on Friday with my guru of all things Chinese , Sophia. Red Chilli is a purveyor of Szechuan and Beijing cooking and represents mainland China . As the name suggests , it is hot and firey and a thousand miles away from the blandness of most Cantonese food.
We had Spiced Braised Beef , which is a house speciality, an incandescent Tofu and Minced beef, and Beijing Aubergine for sweetness and balance. Sophia says the the food is even better than the restaurants she visited on a recent trip to Beijing and Red Chilli was voted the 4th best Chinese in Britain by the Observer Food magazine. I also get to practice my nascent Mandarin on a bewilered staff. Zaijian. For Alison-it's on Portland Street.

Out of the Blue

'Out of the Blue' is a fishmonger in Chorlton and might seem an odd choice for me to tick Japan off my list ,at least as far as sushi is concerned. However, OTB employ their own sushi chef on sight to ensure that it is as fresh as possible.
Will ,the Sushi Chef

You can also watch Will create his little masterpieces.The sushi, sashimi and nigiri are lovingly presented in take-away boxes and are utterly delicious.Each box comes with soy sauce,wasabi and pickled ginger to add to the flavour. Wash it down with the miso soup.Go along and watch an artist at work.Out of the Blue also doubles as a great fishmonger