Quite a few interesting little food places have sprung up in my local area over the last year or two.
If I were a better blogger I would have written about all my visits, accompanying the posts with a selection of artful photos, but I didn’t, so you’re out of luck!
That said, H and I did go to a place back in March (coughs apologetically), Gagan Chulo, that I wanted to write about.
We had to run some errands, so I suggested lunch at one of the many Nepalese restaurants in Aldershot. Gagan Chulo caught my eye as they had a few Tibetan specials I had not seen in other places.
The place itself is casual, with incredibly reasonable prices and very friendly staff. As we are now essentially vegetarian, our choices were somewhat restricted, but there was a vegetable option for each of the main types of dish.
The pictured dish (taken by H) was Tibetan Yellow Dry Laphing with Wai Wai. It was a cold plate of large soft noodles wrapped around crunchy uncooked noodles with some sort of spicy tangy sauce. We both absolutely loved it! It had a great textural contrast, not to mention quite a kick.
We naturally also ordered some momo (steamed vegetable) which were very good, along with a plate of Aloo Nimki. This was also cold, and the best way I can describe it is a salad of crispy pastry pieces and boiled potatoes, with onions, tomatoes and chillis, with a spicy dressing. There were a LOT of chillis in here – I picked some out and then incorporated them back with the momo 🙂
H also had a bowl of Vegetable Thukpa (soup noodles). When they asked how spicy he would like, he opted for “quite”, and as we ate our other food, our noses streaming, the anxiety began to kick in! Thankfully it was fine (even to my less heat-adapted tastebuds).
We also had a couple of Masala Chais, which (with extra sugar for me) were lovely.
The whole lot came to around £30 (no service charge and they wouldn’t let me add one!). An absolute bargain and we will definitely be returning.
As to the other new places in the area, they include:
The House of Dosai, Farnborough. Finally, a dosai place nearby! Best to eat in for maximum crispness of your dosa!
Pho T2, Farnborough. I can’t believe a Vietnamese cafe opened nearby now that I’m pretty much vegetarian. They do an Omelette Banh Mi though!
Kosu Mosu, Farnborough. Sushi and bento – with some good vegetarian options
Mooboo, Farnborough. Bubble tea has arrived in our local area. Brown Sugar Milk Tea with tapioca and caramel pudding for me!
Woof, Farnborough. Bubble tea and bubble waffles. Not had the latter yet.
Ocha Bubble Tea, Aldershot. This was nice for winter as they do some varieties hot!
Fingers crossed for more interesting openings. Sadly we did lose Waroeng Windsor in Aldershot, but it still exists, albeit back in Windsor!