Sunday 11 January 2009

New Tayyabs

2008 passed by really quite quickly. A lot has happened for me; this blog was born, for a start. Relationships ended, new ones discoveries were made, and new friendships (some through this blog) were made. One such discovery was New Tayyabs. There are loads of food bloggers who have blogged Tayyabs, I am by far from the first, but it's generally accepted that Tayyabs is THE BEST. Really decent Pakistanni food, and cheap to boot. The queues are legendary, and it's BYO.

Recently I was having a discussion with fellow bloggers about lamb chops and who does them the best. We reckoned Tayyabs was it, and so myself, Niamh, Chris, Helen, Charles and Joel from Tipped made arrangements to go and have a blow-out. We really went for it, but there was a revelation from the evening -Tindi Masala, pumpkin curry. The picture (right) doesn't look like much, but it was delicious. Myself and Charles almost passed on it as we both said we weren't huge fans of pumpkin, but I'm really glad I gave it a go. The pumpkin pieces were juicy and bursting with flavour, with just a hint of sweetness. I've been thinking about it ever since. The chef came to our table and had a chat with us and whilst sadly he wouldn't tell me the secret to the lamb chops, he gave me a rough outline of what the pumpkin curry contained. Once I find some baby pumpkins I'm giving it a go.

Another excellent dish was the fish masala which took me by surprise. I'm not quite sure why, but I was expecting a whole fish to be brought but I was quite pleased. I'm all for eating fish as a whole beast but on a table of 8 with forks flying it would have been tricky. Anyway, the chunks were succulent and tender, with just a hint of spicing.


We did pretty well - some naan and roti, the rather unappetisingly named but extremely delicious 'dry meat' and a super spicy dhal set us up nicely and came to a mere £15 each with service. All this was washed down with another discovery made at the latter end of this year, thanks to Charles and Joel - Sierra Nevada IPA. I first tried this at The Rake, a brilliant pub in London Bridge. It was the perfect beverage for all the spice consumed.

New Tayyab on Urbanspoon

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great photos! And was waiting to read more about the pumpkin curry too. Devastated to have missed this and the lamb chops...

Anonymous said...

I still haven't been, Fred has been going for years but I haven't made it. I must rectify it soon. I've heard great things about their lamb chops too.

Anonymous said...

Ah the joyous and beauteous wonderment that is Tayyabs! It was brillilant wasn't it? I can't wait for my next visit - and I can't wait to see your Tindi Masala! Not to be made with an aubergine ;)

bellaphon said...

Great post; NT is best for most things but the best lamb chops come from Lahore Kebab House.

Unknown said...

I love Tayyabs - thanks for the tip as to Sierra Navada - hopefully you can get it at an off licence near Tayyabs?

Hollow Legs said...

I haven't tried Lahore, but I will add it to the list. If the lamb chops are indeed better then I'm very excited...

GC - you can pick it up in either of these places on Old Street: http://www.tipped.co.uk/listings/224810/utobeer
http://www.tipped.co.uk/listings/10882/the-city-beverage-co

Anonymous said...

Hello! Wasn't it great fun? And wonderful food as always. I didn't get those chefs secrets for the tindi masala, so I am looking forward to you sharing those :-)

Anonymous said...

I ahve been looking at food blogs all morning, and now I am SOOOOOOOO hungry! Before I ge and find some food, however, I thought I'd congratulate you on what looks like a fantastic meal - and for having a lovely blog!

Anonymous said...

Hmmm... hmmm.... hmmm... I feel tempted...

Pete said...

I SO want to go to Tayyabs.

Anonymous said...

So i agree that tayybs is one of the best east end spice vendors and merchants of the subcontinental chilli glow....but have you ever been to Lahore (specifically Laohre I..just head east down commerical road before Whately market...its better than tayybs with out the Queuing, crowds or table turning...really worth a visit.