Biryani Kings, Roath, Cardiff restaurant review

Burger King. Don of Doner. Meatball Monarch. Chicken Chairperson.

It’s common for hospitality businesses to anoint themselves the ruler of a foodstuff.

Whilst you could say that a name like Tortilla Titan smacks of bravado. You could also argue that if you’re not trying to be the best at a particular cuisine, you may as well not bother.

Even I quite fancy opening a Belgian-style chip shop called Fry King just so I can use the strapline “So Fry King good” (I’ll get my coat).

All this preamble brings me to City Road’s newly opened Biryani Kings, who opened just a week ago and are the self-crowned rulers of this hugely popular South Asian rice dish.

With a very basic yet bright and modern décor, Biryani Kings is the kind of place for a quick bite to eat rather than a romantic date night. Ordering happens at the counter whilst other diners noisily chat to family and friends on their video phones.

Biryani Kings specialise in Hyderabadi style biryani (according to my old friend Wikipedia it’s the most famous style around) and offer seven different types of the stuff. Three are billed as being cooked “dum” style, where all the ingredients are combined together and slow-cooked over a low heat.

But, there’s a lot more to Biryani Kings’ menu than just rice. Also on offer are tandoori grilled meats and a selection of curries, many of which are on display in a counter by the till.

It's also worth mentioning that Biryani Kings doesn't yet have their Scores on the Doors as they've only just opened... I'll be very interested to see what they get. 

On my first visit, I ordered the lamb dum biryani (£6.99) and it arrived just a few minutes after I sat down.

 

A generously heaped bowl was laden with fluffy, buttery, and fragrant rice that was layered with a pretty decent amount of tender and well-flavoured lamb on the bone coated in a big-flavoured spice paste with cardamom and a decent whack of chilli.

At £6.99 it was a delicious, hearty and cracking value lunch. But, I spent an extra £4 on upgrading to a combo meal, which also bought me a portion of chicken 65 and a soft drink (a lassi wasn’t part of the deal). With hindsight I’m not sure if it was the best deal.

A rather dinky plastic dish of chicken 65 saw tender morsels of boneless meat coated in a sticky, spicy and sweet sauce. However, other versions of this dish I’ve eaten have been deep-fried and crisp, and this wasn’t the case here. Also, it wasn’t piping hot.

On a second visit, I avoided the combo meal and had a better deal. A big bowlful of chicken dum biryani was spooned from a vast metal cauldron and even tastier than the lamb version. 

Every grain of fluffy and buttery rice was beautifully perfumed and there was a decent thrum of chilli too. Nestled in its depths was a drumstick and thigh, which both nudged off the bone with ease as a result of their long and slow cook. At £3.99 it was a bargain.

On the side, a pot of tangy yoghurt sauce dotted with carrot and coriander provided some balance to the biryani’s richness.

I also gave a curry a whirl and whilst it was good, it didn’t hit the same level as the biryani. Palak paneer (£4.99) combined cottage cheese cubes and a thick spinach sauce with earthy notes of cinnamon and cardamom and a medium chilli kick.

An exemplary naan was pillowy and crisp in all the right places and once again cracking value for a quid.

As I was leaving, a friendly member of staff asked me if I’d enjoyed my meal. I said I had, and he asked me if I’d put a review on Google. I said I would, so here it is.

Biryani Kings’ delicious bargain biryani is definitely worth checking out. Do they hold the crown for the best biryani in Cardiff? I'm not sure, but it’s certainly the best value that I’ve come across.

The Details:

Address - Biryani Kings, 130 City Rd, Cardiff CF24 3DR
Web - https://biriyanikings.co.uk/
Telephone - 029 2297 0695

Small Canteen, Sandyford, Newcastle restaurant review

As a Geordie I’m probably slightly biased, but Newcastle is a bloody cool city.

It’s not just its beautiful setting on the banks of the Tyne, the stunning Georgian architecture, the 50,000 seater stadium located in the heart of the city, and the thriving cultural scene. It’s the food and drink scene that I’m primarily talking about. And I don't just mean the number of branches of Greggs.

Newcastle is a city where it’s possible to stumble between pub after pub serving excellent craft beer. It’s something that I always find strangely lacking in Cardiff, except for a few notable exceptions (and probably explained by the dominance of Brains pubs).

And it’s a city where there's always a huge list of restaurants that I want to visit, from street food to something swanky.

This time around it was the turn of Small Canteen, in the Sandyford area of the city, which we made our way to after a mini pub crawl that culminated in a half of Northern Helles at the excellent Donzoko Brewery.

Small Canteen is a restaurant that more than lives up to its name.

With just fourteen covers and the feel of a tiny café where chef-owner Sam Betts quietly cooks singlehandedly behind the counter, it’s undoubtedly one of the smallest restaurants that I’ve visited in the UK.

Understandably, Small Canteen’s menu is compact too – there are just three starters, mains and desserts. But, they all sound like compelling eating and the prices are impressively small as well - starters are £8, mains £18 and desserts around £8.

Whilst the dining room and prices might be small, the generosity of hospitality is huge.

There was excellent service all evening from the sole member of front of house. And when we arrived, our table was already set with baskets of crusty bread and kaleidoscopic dips - a punchy garlic allioli, sweet peppery romesco, and a vibrant salsa verde.

No sooner had we polished them off than we were brought a complimentary plate of golden salt cod croquettes, loaded with flakes of fish and light mash. They were delicious dunked in herb flecked mayo.

All the while, we got going on carafes of gluggable house wine, a fragrant viognier and berry packed Provencal red, which cost a mere £10.50 per half litre.

To start, a trio of mushroom arancini (£8), continued the deep-fried golden ball theme. Well-fragranced with fungi and light in texture with a molten mozzarella core, their richness was balanced by a good dollop of herb yoghurt.

 

Potted sweet white crab (£8) was capped with a slab of butter. Its accompaniments, a trio of super short cheesy biscuits and cleansing dill cucumber slices, made the dish really sing.

Onto mains, and a hunk of gorgeously crisp confit duck (£18) was joined by iron rich Swiss chard, sweet and sharp berries, roast shallot, and a fruity berry jus. It was a lovely bit of hearty cooking. 

So too was a fennel and gruyere gratin (£18), the soft anise-twanged vegetable a lovely pairing for a thick, cheesy sauce. Whilst it was already a hefty portion, an excellent potato and pine nut salad added even more ballast.

Lighter but equally comforting was a slow-braise of gorgeously tender octopus (£18) dotted with soft spuds and sweet slow-cooked onions.

The generosity didn’t let up with dessert.

A slab of soft and sticky honey and polenta cake (£8) was topped with fragrant pear and served with an excellent scoop of crunchy nut flecked pistachio ice cream.

Cheese and fruit cake is an epic combination and a salty and funky brick of Colston Bassett stilton (£10) paired with a light, spiced fruit loaf was no exception. On the side, a shot of Courvoisier was included in the £10 price – I'm sure my palate isn’t refined enough but it always just tastes like fire water to me.

We had an excellent meal at Small Canteen and I’m all in favour of the killer combination of small dining spaces, menus and prices combined with big hospitality and flavours. Small Canteen adds further weight to my argument that Newcastle is a damn cool place. If you haven't yet visited then I can't recommend it highly enough. 

The Details:

Address - 17 Starbeck Ave, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 1RH

Web - https://www.instagram.com/smallcanteen/

Telephone - 07816 524826