BEST CHINA
Diner Tec visits the Manchurian
GIOVANNA EUSEBI, the owner of Eusebi’s in Glasgow, urges shoppers to step away from the supermarket shelves and support local food firms...
SCOTLAND Food and Drink Fortnight, which gets under way on Monday, is a chance to recognise those who grow, produce, and cook the best of Scotland’s food.
My nonna made the most of locally sourced Scottish produce for over 40 years, having arrived from Italy shortly before the Second World War.
I grew up with a fusion of Italian recipes and Scottish ingredients which educated my palate and I’m still amazed by the deliveries of local produce arriving in the kitchen each day.
My passion is Italian cuisine but using locally sourced food to make authentic dishes and we get the most amazing seafood from our fish supplier – Stevie Fish of the Fish Brothers.
We’ve worked hard over the years to build relationships with the local experts, to ensure we always have the best and freshest ingredients.
We want to know exactly what we’re serving to guests, as the restaurant is like my home: I would never serve anything I wasn’t happy to serve to my own family.
Another Scottish supplier we use is Peelham Farm, which specialises in organic meat and charcuterie.
My nonna wouldn’t throw anything away and breadcrumbs were often substituted in many pasta dishes instead of expensive parmesan.
My advice would be to step away from the supermarket and start speaking to local farmers, fishmongers and butchers to learn where real food comes from and how best to cook it.
Once you taste fresh, local produce, you’ll be sure to celebrate Scottish food and drink all year long.
WE were rolling along in the Buick when the Moll announced she fancied a traditional Glasgow place for dinner.
I asked “what sort of thing do you have in mind?”
“Oh you know Tec, a good old fashioned Glasgow restaurant.”
I wasn’t really getting a picture in my head, then as we cruised along Dumbarton Road, west of the West End, she called out, “There, like that. let’s go there”.
She pointed out across the street to the Manchurian Chinese Restaurant.
Somehow it was difficult to argue with her. The Manchurian has been a fixture here for years.
We turned up with no booking and were taken to a table for two by a friendly waitress.
The restaurant has been in Partick for a long time and it’s been a long time since it had been re-decorated. But it was still ok, and it’s the food that counts.
For starters we ordered the quarter aromatic crispy duck and the combination platter.
It came with two ribs, chicken skewer, beef skewer, two prawn spring rolls, four veg spring rolls and seaweed.
It was quite a plateful.
And it was a good tasty plateful and excellent value for money. The duck was plentiful too and the Moll said “this was why I wanted Chinese”.
So far so good on the food front and the staff were on top form too.
I remarked to the Moll that they had chicken Maryland on the menu.
“Don’t you even think about it Tec”, she warned. “Remember that time you ordered pizza in a steak house?”
“I was only joking with you my sweetheart” I informed her. “As If I would do such a thing.”
For the main course I had the chicken Cantonese style with egg fried rice. It was a decent dish, no complaints but was becoming a little bland by the time I finished.
I think the variety of the starter platter had been such a treat for my taste buds that the main was going to have a hard job no matter what.
The Moll chose the Prawn Morning Glory, a Thai dish, which she was very complimentary about.
The Manchurian was reasonably busy when we were there and a range of menus, including an all you can eat-style pick and mix looked to be popular.
I can see why it has lasted so long, providing well-cooked Chinese and Asian food at prices that don’t break the bank.
I liked the Manchurian, It wasn’t pretending to be anything other than what it was, which is a decent Chinese restaurant.
The decor may be in need of a refresh but that wouldn’t stop us from returning.
The food was good and the staff were lively and engaging.
The prices were good value for money and that’s what keeps people coming back.