FOOD// THE GOURMET BOYS
OUR APRIL FANTASY MENU THE GOURMET BOYS Here’s our April 2020 Fantasy Menu.
cabbage dumplings, Smoked seafood gumbo and Crispy Cajun squid “Double starters” is a great way to sample the excellent food at this busy East Belfast bistro! And we also had some of their delicious artisanal bread, perfect to soak up the fabulously smokey gumbo sauce. We simply couldn’t find fault with any of the food but, without doubt, our two favourite dishes were the smoked fish gumbo (terrific value for £6) and the hoisin mushroom pancakes - a vegan take on hoisin duck, and just as tasty.
STARTER GUMBO SEAFOOD LFAST AVENUE, BE CYPRESS
Starter Seafood Gumbo: Cypress Avenue (Ballyhackamore, Belfast) The menu pricing here offers the opportunity to mix and match “small plates”, as many of the dishes are either around £6 for a small portion or £11 on average for a large, so we prefer to order a number of smaller dishes rather than a starter and a main. That way we can sample a variety of dishes from the menu, which works out brilliantly. The vegetarian menu is particularly good, giving a lot of choice. As mentioned, we were dining with friends, so we really didn’t eat all of these dishes between the two of us - honestly! Roast gnocchi with vegetables, Hoisin mushroom pancakes, Goats cheese bruschetta, Kimchi
EIGHTY SIX // GNIMAG.COM
Main Smoked Cod Fillet & Poached Egg: North Down House/TT Bistro (Comber) Two of the starters of particular note were the crispy duck spring rolls served with a hot and sour sauce, and a deliciously unctuous smoked cod, pea, and prawn risotto.
Prosecco, and a mezcal-based cocktail. From the regular menu we ordered a selection of dishes, and we were also tempted by some DESSERT CHURROS WITH DOLC delicious E DE LECH LA TAQUER E IA, BELFAS T sounding specials. In La Taqueria, food arrives at your table when it is ready. Firstly, came a dish of guacamole especialé (delivered to our table with a little Latin shimmy courtesy of our wonderful waiter it’s a 10 from us!) and some citrusy ceviche accompanied by tortilla chips and refried beans. This was followed by a selection of Tacos; the crispy prawn special, oyster mushrooms, and fried cauliflower with a portion of papitas fritas.
SMOK M NORTH ED COD FI AIN LLETT DOWN & POA HOUS CHED E / TT EG BISTR O (CO G MBER )
The main courses included a wonderfully rich mushroom and spinach vegetarian lasagne with strong flavours of tomato and smoked cheese, and our star dish, smoked cod fillet on a bed of champ smothered in a white wine sauce, and topped with an oozing, perfectly poached egg. Comfort food at its best! We’ll certainly not leave it as long before our next visit to the TT Bistro. Dessert Churros with Dolce de Leche: La Taqueria (Castle Street, Belfast) We started with drinks; a very VERY hot margarita caliente (not for the faint-hearted),
We finished our evening with some sugary fried churros served with the most delicious salted caramel dipping sauce we’ve tasted in a long time, and I’m ashamed to say that one of us drank the remaining sauce after the churros had been eaten. No names mentioned! Follow the @thegourmetboys on Facebook and Instagram Email - thegourmetboys@gmail.com
See you in the next issue. If you have any requests for restaurant recommendations send us a message and we’ll get right back to you.
