A serving of Humble Pie

Last week it was the mother-in-law’s birthday, and it was decreed we would go to Made in Belfast for dinner.

Actually, it wasn’t decreed at all, my mother-in-law is a very good egg. Instead, she chose a decent restaurant that she enjoys going to, and suggested we join her, as one is supposed to do on one’s birthday.

To be honest, until that night I was never really sure of where I stood on Made In Belfast. They pride themselves on things like posh fish finger sandwiches, and pies, and serving things in enamel ware, and going retro, and mad interiors, and all sorts.

And there was a big, big part of me that thought it was all hype, and they were somehow TRICKING us all into paying a tenner for a pie, and then got away with it, because of the mad interiors, and all.

That was until the birthday, that was.

For a start, there wasn’t even pie on the menu (apart from the humble kind).

The interior really is funky. It’s properly eclectic, with random bit of wallpaper and mismatched furniture, and spray painted lampshades and probably a million and one other things I didn’t pay any attention to. They also have a pink Smeg fridge, and we all know how badly I want one of those.

Pink….Shiny….Fridge….

Anyway, once I managed to drag myself away from staring at the big shiny fridge of loveliness, I looked at the menu, and to be honest I was a bit disappointed. No pie, but Chicken and chips? I don’t care that it has a honey and lavender glaze, its chicken and chips for goodness sake. Same with the burger and chips. And the fish and chips. And the scampi and chips. And the mussels, with, erm, bread.

Then my eye was drawn to the outdoor bred pork chop, with chorizo cream and glazed carrots. It was calling to me. It was like someone had actually THOUGHT ABOUT THE MENU. Like it was filled with things that people actually want to eat, but with one or two choices to keep pretentious food wabs people like myself happy.

It really was lovely, too. Potatoes and cream usually are, generally. And I’m on Operation Flat Stomach (I have a bikini to get into in exactly a month) so I’ve rather limited myself recently. add chorizo to the mix and you have a heady concoction of deliciousness.

The pork was simply cooked, and because of its upbringing? heritage? wonderful outdoor based lifestyle? this was a wise choice, because it really allowed to flavour of the meat to shine.

The sweetness of the carrots finished the whole lot off beautifully., and they even put it on a normal plate, so I couldn’t whine about style over substance.

And then I tasted the chicken. And the fish. And the chips. And the scampi. And something involving mushrooms. For research purposes, obviously. If you are precious about your own food, never invite me for dinner with you, that’s all I’m saying.

It all became clear why these things are consistently on the menu at Made In Belfast. They are on the menu because they taste RUDDY BRILLIANT.

All were simple, unassuming dishes, but really wonderfully executed. Everybody was hoovering up the food in front of them, and the in-laws used to own a chip shop, so are generally tricky to please when it comes to things with chips.

No puddings were necessary after the amount of meat and chips and cream we had all consumed. I shunned coffee and had an Elderflower Collins so delicious I wish I’d ordered one when I’d arrived. Because then I could have had two. Next time…

The only slight downside is the service. On the whole, it’s very good, but lacks confidence. We bought the mother in law a bottle of champagne (Tattinger, which is always nice to see) as a surprise, and it sort of arrived at the table apologetically, rather than with the finesse a bottle of champagne deserves.

Aside from that minor gripe, the whole experience was a total surprise to me. After my starter of humble pie, I discovered that there really is substance behind the funky presentation and upside-down lampshades in Made In Belfast. It’s a Belfast restaurant, and the people of this city still like simple, honest food. The team here manage to carry that off without being boring, or stodgy, or pretentious, and I salute them for it.

Made In Belfast
4 Wellington Street
Belfast BT1 6HT
028 9024 6712
http://www.madeinbelfastni.com/
 

For lazy Friday afternoons

The Lee Garden chinese restaurant on Botanic Avenue is a bit of a Mr & Mrs P favourite. The food is fab, and bears some kind of resemblance to what I ate in actual China, there is a nice waiter who talk about motorbikes with Mr P, the food is fab and, oh, the food is fab. Did I mention that already?

The picture above was taken at Mr P’s 30th birthday dinner last month, but we aren’t here to talk about that, we are here to talk about this….

Dim Sum. Glorious, glorious Dim Sum. The good stuff is always a bit of a rarity here in sunny Belfast. A few eateries make an occassional offering of pre-packed frozen ‘dumplings’ as a starter, but I nearly passed out with joy when I discovered Lee Garden do dim sum lunches, handmade by their in-house specialist chef. I was even more excited when I saw the place full of Chinese nationals. Always a good sign, in my book.

So, when mid-week days off happily, collide, Mr P and I decamp to one of the table beside the big glass window, order a steaming pot of green tea and gorge ourselves silly.

This time round we had lovely spare ribs in a super garlicky sauce. Appearances can be deceptive, because they were delicious. Beautifully seasoned, well-cooked, and unbelievably tasty, they are on our ‘favourites’ list.

We also had rice noodle rolls, with beef. The filling was gorgeous, but there was a bit too much of the flabby rice noodles, which started to taste a little claggy after a while.

Crispy duck spring rolls are another regular choice chez P. The pastry is crisp and freshly cooked, the duck filling tasty and the accompanying hoi sin sauce bringing a lovely sweetness to the dish.

Roast pork rolls are a favourite of Mr P, and remind me of the tall oil barrel that was brought into the playground at break times during my teaching days in China. The doughy bun is a lovely house for the sweet pork within.

The final selection, dear readers, are the holy grail of dumplings for me.

One little mouthful brings me back to enduring an English lesson stern bankers on a Saturday morning, simply because they always rewarded my efforts with the most fantastic lunches.

One day, when I asked about dumplings, instead of our usual 5 star hotel restaurant, they led me down a darkened alley to a dingy cafe. I was precariously balanced on a plastic stool and presented with a basket of these. It was love at first bite.

On the menu at Lee Garden, they are described as ‘Shanghai style Pork Dumplings’, and I urge you dear reader, to go forth and eat. If you need a friend, I’m more than happy to come along. I’m nice like that.

Lee Garden Restaurant
14-18 Botanic Avenue
Belfast
BT7 1JQ
Phone: 028 90 278 882

Dim Sum lunch served 12 – 5pm