Tipu Sultan - Sumptuous Halal Fine Dinning

Assalamualaykum warahmatullahi wabarakatu. Ya Hayy!!! I cannot believe it's been so long since I've last blogged!!! And so much to catch up on and even more to reflect upon. All khair, Alhamdulillah. In that little time, yours truly has gotten married and had a baby boy, Alhamdulillah. Of course with juggling marriage, moving, commuting, work, etc. (ahem procrastination), I didn't really have much time for blogsville but I've had you all in mind. Thought I'd come back with anther restaurant review seeing as I've been to so many amazing restaurants in the last few months and of course enjoyed some more than others. Therefore, before I archive the pictures, I thought it might be worth posting them here first.

So what do you do, when you bump into a few friends at a conference unexpectedly, you of course go for dinner afterwards. As I have never lived in Birmingham, we had to rely on a local who I must say absolutely impressed me with her choice.

Location
The restaurant is located at number 43 Alcester road Birmingham. I can't even really remember how we got there, got in the cab, got there - easy. However, I did not think the area was busy and I'd certainly say more residential than commercial. But if in doubt, ask Google maps.

Restaurant
I kid you not but this is perhaps the fanciest restaurant in terms of décor that I think I have ever been to. Yeah yeah, I know there are Michelin-starred restaurants that will cost an arm, a leg and a bit of your heart but you need to understand that I'm only a junior doctor so usually can't afford any of those. Take that Jeremy Hunt! So on getting there, the first thing I thought was whether or not we could afford it. Don't blame me, there was a Bentley parked outside and I was not prepared to feature in the daily mail for being unable to pay my restaurant bill.

The restaurant stands elegantly in it's own grounds with plenty of parking spaces as well as a banqueting hall on the first floor for events. I could not see any facilities for private dinning area that will let's say allow niqabis to take off their niqabs. However, the eating booths with their magnificent chandeliers create a cosy enough environment to eat your food without the feeling that someone is staring at you; not if you count the statues. Yes, there are several statues there that it gets disconcerting but you just have to ignore them. The food of course is halal but I could not remember seeing any HMC certification although they verbally confirmed that their meat is indeed HMC certified. 

Customer Service
As you walk in, there is someone waiting to find you a seat and although we went there on a Saturday evening without any reservations, we got seated pretty quickly. The food also surprisingly did not take that long to arrive considering how busy they were; partly because we did not order anything too fanciful. You also got given wet hot towels to clean your hands like they do in a lot of middle eastern restaurants.

The menu

Food
It is a North Indian restaurant so you should be able to find something to eat there. As said before, we ordered food that we could recognise but I must say one of the curries was Hot!! Even for my spicy Nigerian taste bud so if you cannot tolerate the heat, it is worth mentioning this to your waiter. In terms of taste, most of the food was spot on and even the mocktails made an impression on me.

          

Final Verdict
I could throw words like opulent and majestic at you but you've got to hand it to them, they do offer something different to your day to day halal restaurant, the luxurious environment. And that was well executed. So if you're looking for something different with the family or just want to dine out with that extra glamour, why not give Tipu Sultan a go. Did I mention, it was very affordable! And according to Tipu Sultan, they are opening new branches soon in London, Manchester, Bradford, Luton and Leicester. How soon? Allahu A'lam.

Restaurant review: An Najeeb Cuisine

Assalamualykum warahmatullahi wabarakatu. I feel like it's been forever since I've last blogged - ok it has been. So many things to do with so little time; I lie, most of it is just procrastination. But here goes another restaurant review. This restaurant is situated in Leicester; a heaven for food lovers. Leicester boasts a market that is apparently the largest covered outdoor market in Europe with market traders mostly selling fruits and vegetables; what more - they are dirt cheap! Don't even get me started on the food festivals which brings food and drinks from all over - in fact the County prides itself on it's Passion for food. With the risk of turning this review into that of Leicester, I would insha Allah write a destination Leicester food one day.

Location
The restaurant is located at number 1B Conduit Street right outside the train station which is very convenient as that makes it approximately 15 minutes walk from the two Universities in Leicester and about 5 minutes walk into Leicester town centre. And although it's not the easiest to spot, you can find it if you're on the lookout for it. There's a dedicated restaurant parking which is free at certain times and not at other times; I don't drive so this doesn't bother me much.

 

Restaurant
First thing first - it is HMC certified which is like the daddy of halal certification meaning your mind is at peace about the source of your meat. This is almost essential in a place like Leicester where even your KFC, your Nandos and your Subways have Halal meat - you get the drill. One thing I noticed is that the restaurant is very clean and very charming - perhaps due to the friendliness of the people in front of the House. It isn't that spacious but that perhaps adds to the cuteness and I am  almost certain that every time I've visited, there's Maher Zain playing in the background. So you're met with the seating place with some of the tables along the wall having curtains that can be drawn. This is perhaps my favourite feature of this restaurant because it provides the opportunity to eat without being stared at. Even more essential is this for niqaabi sisters who perhaps would like to enjoy meals out with friends and family.

One other thing I love about here is that they have a proper prayer area - even though the Leicester central mosque is 2 minutes away on the same street- amazing right? It often brings a smile to my face when I see a chef or a waiter coming out from the kitchen to say their salahs at the right time - subhanallah!

Customer Service
I have already alluded to the fact that they are very friendly masha Allah. There's this sister that never appeared too busy to give a smile and always kind to suggest what to eat. Having said that the food can sometime take a while - depending on what you order and how busy it is and there isn't a way to hurry them; trust me I've tried before so you just need to be patient and make sure you leave plenty of time before your train as I found out the hard way. Just have sabr because it probably means that your food is being freshly prepared.

Food
Indo-Chinese is their speciality and although there are some African dishes on their menu, I still say it's an Indo-Chinese restaurant. The food can be variable as I've been there several times and I try to order something new each time although I must say I now have favourites. Having said that, the food has never been bad but I've had some amazing dishes there. I must confess that their Naans are almost as perfect as you can get, absolutely amazing. In fact regardless of what I have, you can guarantee that I'll order a Naan bread in particular a Peshwari Naan; it's just my An-Najeeb thing.

They really do have a wide range of things and I have actually never been told that a meal on the menu is out of stock which is saying something as I can sometimes order some weird and wonderful things. Desert wise- there's a Movenpick stall in the corner of the restaurant where you have a range of Ice-creams and Milkshakes. And they always have these cakes that tempts even the hardcore no desert person like me. Did I mention that they have a take way menu as well?

Final Verdict
Great food, good location and amazing environment not to mention all at very reasonable prices. Well so if you're ever in Leicester and you're in need of somewhere nice to eat , then An-Najeeb is highly recommended. In fact if your train is calling at Leicester, it is almost worth breaking your Journey just to eat at An-Najeeb. The Take-away menu is a good bonus especially when you're running late as Ed-Miliband will let you know and this is in no way endorsing the Labour party!

Restaurant review: Idman Restaurant

Assalamualaykum warahmatullahi wabarakatu. One of the things I love about London is the diversity in the restaurants available whether you want something very specific to a country or perhaps intercontinental. It is also the best place to find your hard to find ingredients. I strongly believe you can find any ingredient on your list regardless of how exotic they may be as long as you know where to go. So you could imagine my excitement when I was told of this amazing Somali restaurant tucked away in the hearts of Shepherds Bush.

Location

The restaurant itself is located at 288 Uxbridge Road just down the road from Shepherds Bush Market and about 10-15 minutes walk from Westfield Shopping centre depending on where you exit from. The road is obviously teeming with several takeaways and restaurants but Idman actually does stand out so there is no missing it. It has also boasts of a separate Cafe which is what is visible from Uxbridge road, the restaurant is just behind the cafe.

Restaurant

My first impression was wow! It was very well decorated and really clean. You could tell that someone had made an effort with the decorations. There was an obvious African theme with the waiters & waitresses all being Somali ( I loved that by the way) and what I presume was Somali music in the background. There was an area that was separated from the rest of the restaurant that can accommodate a group of about 20. The main letdown was that although this area was separated, those sitting in the main area could still see inside. When asked whether a screen could be provided if a group of “hijabis” wanted to come there and be able to take off their hijabs or at least eat without being stared at, I was told no but that lights could be dimmed. Even though I didn’t ask specifically, I didn’t see any signs of prayer areas but this isn’t really important as Shepherd’s Bush mosque is only a stone’s throw away.

Customer Service

It was very good until it got busy ( which is totally understandable). The waitresses were quite professional and really patient. The starter arrived quick enough and the main dish not too long afterwards. The only delay was with the bill and I was actually beginning to think the food may have been free since we kept asking for the bill and were repeatedly ignored. It eventually came with some toothpicks which were gratefully received.

The Food

So after coming all this way to check what Somali food tastes like, you can imagine my shock when the menu came and it didn’t look like there was a lot of traditional food on it although everything on the main menu & starter was translated into Somali. For starter, I ordered King Prawn Salad served with hot chilli sauce (Shirimbis salad oo lagudaray basbaas) and although not as spicy as it sounds, it tasted absolutely amazing. Much so that I forgave the fact that I was not eating what I would have considered a Somali dish. For main meal I tried the Steamed tender lamb shoulder with tomato showered in Herb Sauce (Garab ari oo la huuriyey ama Xaniid). This was actually everything it said it was. I actually got a big chunk of the shoulder which was so tender that if it any tenderer, the lamb might actually melt in your mouth. There is a choice between Rice, Pasta or Pancake with every main meal. The portion was truly African – very generous which meant I had no room for desert although they had a very good selection. Smoothie enthusiast should also know that there is a fair selection of smoothies available. I still had space though for my version of real Somali tea (without milk).

Final Verdict

The price was very reasonable, customer service good and the food was amazing. Will definitely recommend it so if you’re ever out shopping in Westfield, provided you can find your way out of the shopping mall (it took me a while), then it is worth nipping down to have your lunch or dinner and you may even find a good scarf deal at the market nearby. Just so you know, I checked afterwards and the food was meant to be intercontinental not ‘Somali' so if you know of any “real” Somali restaurant, please let me know.