Finding Afghanistan, Georgia and Peru in London

Whenever I’m overseas, I insist on eating only that country’s cuisine — Hungarian in Hungary, Israeli in Israel, Brazilian in Brazil, Tanzanian in Tanzania, and so on. Whenever I’m in highly urban cities with huge melting pots of cultures, I hunt for cuisines that are not readily available in Manila, such as Ethiopian in New York City (Massawa) and Capetown (Addis In Cape); Venezuelan (Caracas) and Bosnian (Djerba) in New York City; and Russian (Buyan) in Singapore.

When I was in London last week, I made it my mission to try Afghan, Georgian and Peruvian cuisines, as I’m not sure when in my lifetime I would be traveling to these places. One of the best ways to get to know a culture is through their food, and it made me so happy — as if I had been transported to Kabul, Tbilisi and Lima — just by eating at these restaurants. It was like hitting three birds with one stone.

THE GEORGIAN

This little café is located right across the Clapham South tube stop — a residential neighborhood (in between zones 2 and 3) that’s a 15-minute Tube ride from central Charing Cross. Decor is quaint, with mismatched plates, tea sets, tables and chairs adding to the charm. On the counter are cakes and pastries that seem to ring popular with regulars who like to order takeout.

Georgian cuisine, which uses a lot of meat, herbs and spices, has influences from its neighboring Middle Eastern and European countries. I am a sucker for dumplings, so first thing I ordered was the pelmenis — dumplings filled with seasoned beef and pork topped with yogurt and fresh mint — along with a spicy dip made from peppers called ajika. The meat filling of the pelmenis reminded me of the ground pork in our local molo soup — only this time, wrapped in pasta instead of wonton. It was hearty, yet mild in taste and the ajika worked wonders in adding a fiery kick.

Unfortunately their bestselling khachapuri, or traditional Georgian cheese bread, was out of stock, so I settled for the kababi, which was minced lamb kebab served in a wrap, alongside a heap of mashed potatoes and a side salad. I found it rather dry and bland and had to ask for hot sauce just to pepper it with some flavor.

Nonetheless, I walked out feeling like I was about to explode. As soon as I got to my hotel, I weighed myself, and saw I had gained two pounds already since that morning! It’s true what I read on food blog Mycustardpie.com: “Georgians don’t eat — they feast — at every meal.”

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The Georgian is located at 27 Balham Hill, London, SW12 9DX. (Tube stop: Clapham South). For reservations, phone +44 20 8675 4975, email cafe.georgian@gmail.com or visit http://www.georgianrestaurant.co.uk/

ARIANA

I’m now in love with Afghan food! When I told my friend I wasn’t leaving London until I tried Afghan cuisine, she took me to Ariana at the residential Mile End (the neighborhood Trainspotting and Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle calls home, also located in between zones 2 and 3). “Ariana is a blend of Persian and Afghan cuisine which offers its customers a diverse variety of traditional dishes brought together from different regions,” its website reads.

We went for an early 5:30 p.m. dinner, as we had planned to go cycling that evening. As it was BYOB, we stopped by a convenience store and I took the first bottle of white I saw — a £6 blend of Colombard and Chardonnay that was cheaper than a glass of wine at any other restaurant. Since it was early, we cashed in on the garden area seating, savoring the beautiful London summer. 

Borani-e-badenjan was the recommended Afghan appetizer by our friendly waitress. It’s a saucy eggplant-tomato-yogurt dip that’s incredible on its own, but even better with homemade Afghan flatbread — the most perfectly baked naan I have ever encountered — a dexterous combination of crispy and slightly fluffy that cracked when folded but wasn’t dry at all.

The Qabili Pulao or Kabuli Palaw is a traditional Afghan pilaf dish that’s usually a complete meal in itself. (In fact, one order of this was good for two.) It’s steamed long-grained rice cooked in lamb-shank juices — that come from three hours of boiling — mixed with fried carrots, raisins, almonds and pistachios. When served, the lamb was buried in the middle of the dish, but unearthing it from the pile of rice revealed the most tender meat that fell gracefully even with just the nudge of a fork. It complemented the sweetness brought by the raisins, and was just — to put it simply — really, really good. This was my most memorable meal in London this trip.

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Ariana Restaurant is located at 2 Midlothian Road, London E3 4SE (Tube stop: Mile End). For reservations, phone +44 20 8981 8266.

CEVICHE

Martin Morales’ Ceviche has been described as “the sexiest restaurant in London” (Glamour magazine) and “one of the capital’s big restaurant stories” (Sunday Times), among a slew of other accolades. On my visit, I experienced first-hand the reasons for such praise.

Known for their small plates, their fresh raw seafood are naturally standouts, like the Don Ceviche — the signature dish of sea bass ceviche in Amarillo chili tiger’s milk served with small cubes of sweet potatoes and red onions, and the Black Kingfish Tiradito served with yuzu tiger’s milk. They are not only healthy, but tangy as well.

The seasoned mashed potato, causa, is turned into the Rocan-Rol ’68, stuffed with salmon and Amarillo chili, spring onion, salmon roe and wasabi mayo — almost like a sushi roll but with potatoes instead of rice. Meats are tender and flavorful like the Panza & Higo, braised pork belly, confit figs in Pisco and aji limo glaze. The beef fillet in the Lomo Saltado is sliced and flame-cooked with red onions and tomatoes and topped with chips.

Coincidentally, I was Whatsapp-ing my Peruvian journalist friend Soledad Marroquin (whom I had just met the week before at the 2014 Diageo World Class Global Finals) that I was at a Peruvian restaurant. It turns out she is friends with Morales, and even has a cocktail on the menu named after her — Sol y Luz — a lovely concoction made with strawberry-infused Pisco and rhubarb liqueur! Sweet!

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Ceviche is located at 17 Frith Street, Soho, London W1D 4RG. (Tube Stop: Tottenham Court Road or Leicester Square) For reservations, phone +44 20 7292 2040 or email welcome@cevicheuk.com or visit www.cevicheuk.com.

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You can reach me at inbetweendeadlines@gmail.com, on my blog www.cheryltiu.com, on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cherytliu or on Instagram at www.instagram.com/chertiu.