ZEUGMA

Named after the ancient city in Turkey, this small London Road eaterie in Sheffield is forever packed. When you have a crowd that finds a 20-minute wait is worth getting in line for, you know the food must be great. Zeugma serves the best Turkish grill in town.

I can never make my mind up, and my plate of choice tends to be the mixed grill, a semua taruh concoction comprising adana (minced lamb), lamb shish (lamb cubes), lamb chop and chicken shish. The kaburga is another killer dish (pun not intended), comprising ribs from probably half a side of a kambing. not for the weakhearted! All main dishes come with rice, bread (the fluffiest this side of Istanbul. Kot.) and salad. They’ve got great humus for starters, and the tea’s lovely (they have apple tea on some days only, though) and you’ll get some lokum (turkish delight) as pembasuh mulut when you pay the bill. Oh, to successfully get a table without making any reservation, get here by quarter to seven. Check out their glowing reviews here on Tripadvisor.

SEA GRILL at Harrods

I’ve never eaten at a Harrods eaterie before. Since dad wanted lobster, I thought why not have it, err.. in Harrods. The Sea Grill is not really a restaurant as it’s essentially like a diner, like those American ones that serves pie and cu-offee, located on the ground floor Harrods Food Hall. This time the meja is marble. We were waited on by a lovely lass (*sigh*) named Brooke who was ever so polite. We knew what we both wanted and we had a half lobster thermidor each. I’ve had a non-thermidor Newfoundland half lobster once at Livebait in Manchester, which was lovely and was half the price, but hey – this is Knightsbridge SW1. The half lobster was somewhat sizeable and the creamy sauce mixed with the lobster meat was essentially a more divine version of the baked crab at the Coliseum Cafe. Served on a bed of rocket, it was surprisingly filling. And at the end of the meal, you’ll be handed a rolled hot towel, soaked in real lemon juice. Class.

COLISEUM CAFE

One dish stands out – the quintessential sizzling steak. Over the years, this has been one dish I’ve religiously ordered whenever I am here for lunch. As a kid, I remembered being served by the captains in white, and in those days I usually had the fish (?breaded ikan kurau)and chips instead. Mom would have baked crab followed by meehoon goreng and dad his steak. The baked crab now costs a lot more as compared to what it was in the 70’s (merely stating the obvious) but since I’ve not had it for the longest time, I ordered it as a starter. It was essentially a crab cake stuffed in a shell and it didn’t disappoint. I always wash the meal down with their fresh oren (minuman drama minggu ini). The steak was tender although I thought the kuah today was a tad masin. I’ve learnt over the years how different steaks are in Malaysia when compared to the ones I have tasted in Britain, not that one is superior over the other. In Malaysia, the gravy rules supreme, and the popular ones being the dark, almost kicap-like peppery variety.