Eat Like Ushi

After walking past many times, trying to get in a few times, and finally discovering that they actually take bookings and so guaranteeing us entry the final time, we made it into this Afghan little eatery in Angel.

The food is good, particularly the lamb with spinach £8. Fish stew with potatoes £8 was ok too. The aubergine with yoghurt £8 was a overpriced for 3 pieces. The £3.5 evening bread was very impressive to see and alright. £25pp overall wasn't as cheap as I expected.

Overall decent and glad to have tried it and supported a local business. Would happily go back but wouldn't need to.

After starting work in Tooting Broadway, I was pleasantly surprised to find a host of food places in the Broadway market there (no relation to the fantastic Saturday Broadway market near Hackney). Quite a few were closed in the evenings and maybe because it was a weekday. After bypassing the nice sounding (but a bit expensive) Latin American El Chuzo, and noting the very cheap £1-2 takeaway Chinese boxes (not worth it really I found out a few weeks later), I sat down for some BBQ meats complete with the endorsements they list on the side.

Smoked crispy chicken wings £5 small with Korean sauce, toasted sesame seeds, spring onion was good. Crisp outside, a bit chewy on the inside though, and with a nice sauce that I expected to have more chilli/gochujang flavour to it.

16h Smoked pulled pork in homemade bun £8.5 spicy (ginger, spring onion, chilli, coleslaw, salad) was ok from a texture point of view, but the pork didn't really have much flavour to it. I ended up needing to request and add a lot of hot sauce to give it more character.

I suppose I still have to go back to try the ribs and best voted beef burger, but that time may not come and I don't currently feel I will have lost out if not.

 I'd known about Opera Tavern since 2012 when their Iberico pork and foie gras burger made headlines. Unfortunately they don't serve that anymore, but a half price Sunday deal got me there enjoying the Spanish fare.

- Jamon & manchego croquetas £7.5;
- Courgette flower, monte enebro & blossom honey £5.5;
- Chargrilled lamb cutlet, heritage carrot, sheep ricotta & offal meatball £12;
- Skrei cod, jamon sauce, chanterelle mushrooms & pickled iberico tomato £10.5;
- Patatas bravas £4.5;
- Cantabrian anchovies on straciatella with largueta almonds £9.5.

A near perfect gelateria in Tirana that I stumbled across by accident. There's nothing like gelato on a winters day.

Excellent pistachio with a perfect colour (pictured with a decent chocolate) and also unpictured hazelnut (as expected from the name). A couple of ice crystals but otherwise perfect. 100 lek per scoop is remarkably cheap.

A secret seafood restaurant that isn't known about by anyone except friends and locals? And apparently Italians too as our waiter said 50% of their clients are Italians from word of mouth (and because the owners are Italian). It seems impossible that after 13 years serving up what is considered the best seafood in Tirana, that there are no reviews, no listing on Google maps, and the tourists haven't found it - granted it is maybe also that Albania still hasn't been fully discovered I don't think. And it's a beautiful thing.

Our Airbnb host told us roughly how to find it. Forget Fishop and Fishland and go there instead. On Google map now it is located behind Bar Cafe Tuneli in a passageway with a door that advertises a travel agency. From the main streets you can either turn off Rruga George W Bush at Cafe Aroma or from Rruga Myrtezim Kellici and go straight into the passageway rather than following the road.

As my father went in and made a reservation, they asked him how he knew about the place. They must have been bemused. We went back for dinner the following evening. Luckily our young male waiter spoke broken English, enough to ask questions and order, although not quite enough for us to order properly. Sometimes when two dishes were offered and we wanted one, we got both anyway. In the end even though we wanted just seafood, there seemed to be a good insistence that we try the local Albanian dishes (which would otherwise have been fine had we not already had them before and really just wanted seafood rather than to fill up on those).

Nonetheless it was a grand feast in a simple setting. Warm bread rolls started the evening.

- Marinated artichokes;
- Radish leaves;
- Fergese (blurred in the photo background);
- Cuttlefish, squid and octopus in tomato sauce. Apparently spicy but not really for our palate;
- Pasta like small macaroni but a bit mushy, served with beans and clams;
- Ring pasta much better and slightly al dente, with a good savoury fish that had texture almost like meat;
- Cuttlefish, squid and octopus grilled. Enjoyed this much better than the tomato based version as the charred flavours and unique textures came through. The olive oil was perfect to mop up with a touch of salt and some bread;
- A cutlet of dentice (described as a big fish) was firm and a bit dry;
- A fillet of soil fish was soft and served in a butter sauce. Delicious;
- Sorbet and some fruit finished off the meal.

I was keen on the fish soup, but we didn't end up having any. Similarly they were initially going to serve us 2-4 bits of each fish and we had to tell them not to. We were simply too full.

It isn't cheap by any means, particularly for an Albanian restaurant. Nonetheless 10200 lek (€83) to feed 4 of us more than we could handle is pretty good in the overall scheme of seafood eating life.

For the last meal before our transport to the airport, a local nearby Italian restaurant seemed a good idea. In our area of Blloku, all located within a few minutes walk was Vila Golosa (but looked a bit fancy) and Ejona (which also looked nice but more staple). We were the only people eating at the early time of 17.15pm on rainy Sunday.

Warm olive bread with olives and grassy EVOO and a small bowl of pumpkin soup were the complimentary starters.

- Antioxidant salad (wild cabbage, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, baked chickpeas, cereals, aceto balsamico cream) 400 lek;
- Volcano salad (caciocavallo cheese, spinach, pomegranate, sesame, dry grape, cherry tomatoes, cereals, aceto balsamico cream) 450 lek;
- Tagliatelle with beetroot (truffle cream, champignon mushrooms) 420 lek;
- Tagliatelle with spinach (red & green peppers, sliced almonds, chicken fillet, curry) 480 lek;
- Ravioli stuffed with ricotta, spinach cream, walnut muscat, grana padano (gorgonzola, ricotta, spinach) 420 lek.

The salads were fresh with excellent ingredients including the creative cheese bowl. The pastas were a bit more average with the truffle cream and ravioli having very strong flavours, and the "curry" sauce a bit unusual. Nonetheless cheap and tasty.

It's nice and reassuring when a place you've read about online is also recommended by the Airbnb host and walking tour guide separately. After the very informative and quite tragic history of Albania's communist dictatorship, it was a pleasant change to walk past the many smiling faces of restaurant staff along Rruga Luigj Gurakuqi enticing us to sample the grilled meats on offer. Indeed if we were staying in that area or had a spare meal, I would definitely have gone there.

It was surprising to find Oda so empty during lunchtime. Maybe because it's a tiny bit difficult to find as the entrance is off the main road. Or maybe people seek it out but end up in the meat places instead.

- Fergese (cottage cheese, peppers) 360 lek - cottage cheese with delicious colourful peppers. Simple and eaten beautifully with the bread that resembled more of a scone or cake with nice crust;
- Lamb cooked in wooden stove (300g) 700 lek - very soft meat and strong flavour;
- Village chicken cooked in wooden stove 1500 lek - a whole chicken which was a bit chewy but not dry at all. Probably because it's been running around making full use of its life. It had a delicious natural flavour.

There's plenty of other dishes I wanted to try - stuffed eggplant, head of lamb, maybe even lamb innards - but those will have to wait until next time. Although I'd have to get through the street restaurants first I think.

I can't remember how to pronounce the name of this place. But it's well rated everywhere you read and our Airbnb host recommended it also. It's also in the park in south Tirana making the atmosphere around. In fact in this January winter, it was actually sunny and warm enough to sit outside - although after a while as the sun set, it seemed a less bright idea. Nonetheless modern Albanian food (although probably a very very heavy Italian influence) was appealing to try.

It's a little more expensive than other places, obviously for the quality and the fresh pasta being ground and made continuously. You can also buy their pasta (and also some bakery items) to take home to cook for yourself - incredibly their fresh pasta is actually cheaper than pasta from a supermarket. Who knew?

Boze was a corn drink, but sweet with mild corn flavour. It was really excellent. Some delicious warm bread with outstanding crust was served to eat with quality grassy olive oil, and a little dish of warm pumpkin soup.

- Petka with duck & porcini 750 lek - flat pasta with strong duck strands and mushroom flavour;
- Jufka with wild berry 700 leg - thin fettuccine type but unfortunately the pieces were all broken up. It had a milder flavour overall;
- Goat brain with pickled cabbage 550 lek - deepfried in flour but overall a bit indistinct, not like the characteristic flavour and texture of lamb brains that I'm used to. Plum sauce was sweet and strong and underneath lay marinated lettuce;
- Grilled goose 1200 lek - soft tender meat and delicious. It was quite similar to duck if I'm honest, but a little stronger in flavour.

A free dessert finished, much like the bread and soup started. Although by this time my company was cold and really wanted to leave, so it wasn't so enjoyable.

The service was always friendly and attentive. No issues there.

There were so many other dishes I wanted to try, such as baby goat pie, beef cheek, quail and more. However the fresh pasta was actually a bit disappointing, not very al dente and also weak to the point of breaking. Maybe next time I'll stick to the meats... and I'd allow more time to enjoy the park too.

I was really surprised to find a tiny falafel joint is the TA #1 in Ohrid. Considering the lake and therefore seafood, as well as the town is probably visited by less budget-conscious tourists made it unusual. Even still the restaurants aren't that expensive, so why is this takeaway place so high?

A lady and her child sat inside waiting for the diners to come - it was a bit early at 5.45pm. But for 170 den, a serve of hummus & falafel (bread 100g, falafel 6x 15g, tahini 15g, salad, chickpeas 100g) was served. The 4 of us shared 2 of these and ordered another 10 falafels to share.

They were good cheap small falafels, a bit salty alone but good with the salad and bread. The tahini was excellent and thick. Salads are quite simple but pickled cucumber is nice. However the bread is served cold and not very soft, which is the only let down.

It's a good change from typical Balkan food and the price is great, although I'd had much better at Pilpel in London and also a random place in Amman. Not essential to try.

January was a beautiful time to be in Ohrid - cool temperatures however we were blessed with sunshine and perfect weather to wander around the cobblestoned town. After watching a marvellous sunset from the Church of Saints Clement & Pantelemon, it was time to settle for dinner. Unfortunately a lot of restaurants are closed during this quiet period, including Kaj Kanevce which was the one I wanted to try most in Ohrid. Next to it is Kaneo, which I had also read a lot about, however the prices are significantly higher and our host didn't rate it. Since it was a bit late and we were feeling a little lazy, we ended up at this restaurant right outside Saint Sophia church.

It had been recommended by our host and additionally the place was actually quite busy, much more than any other restaurant we had walked past.

A good local wine was served by the glass at 180 den for 0.2L. Bargain.

- Eggplant with seeds & mayonnaise;
- Eel in a pan 660 den for 300g - baked and served in a claydish with soft thick cuts and charred flesh. Excellent;
- Fried carp 420 den for 300g - like a soft schnitzel with simple flavour and ok firm flesh. Simple garnishes. It must be price per kg for the plate (as it can't be 300g fish);
- Ohrid cake - burnt hard caramel with walnuts, soft cake, chocolate coat.

A good meal and I did enjoy the eel from Ohrid Lake. It does remind me of the Butrint Lake eel I enjoyed in Albania not so long ago (https://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/the-mussel-house-ksamil-09-2019).