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Prompted by the Michelin thread, and mention of the delicious and cheap Liao Fan in Singapore, where else have you had astonishingly good and astonishingly cheap food?
Another for me would be Tsim Chai Kee in Hong Kong. So cheap, I had my expenses claim questioned, "Lunch? For about £4? Really?", so good I try and visit every time I'm there.
Another was* the pub at Low Newton. Only about four things oh the menu, all cheap, and all utterly delicious. A spicy tomato soup was probably the highlight.
*Haven't been back since it got more settled/well known, so this may have changed.
The Ship Inn is overrun by tourists now, well has been for a good few years.
There’s better and cheaper places now.
Refuge du Requin - after the seracs de geant. One of my best lunches ever. An omelette!!
Safeway staff canteen.
3 courses for 80p. All cooked by Wee Fat Susan, probably the grumpiest woman who ever lived but a helluva cook.
- CJ's cafe in Acton.
- Peckham Bazaar
Anywhere in India where you can watch it being made and cooked in front of you (apart from the Taj Mahal - after 6 months wandering about india on a pittance per day we stayed in the Taj for our last night and the food was shite, the bed was so comfortable though and the power shower was bliss).
On a more serious note - There's a small chinese restaurant behind the st enoch centre in glasgow, looks a bit scruffy but always full and the authentic food is "oh my god" good, costs a pittance as well.
Liao Fan in Singapore, where else have you had astonishingly good and astonishingly cheap food?
You know it's the MSG that makes it taste so good, don't you?
Another was* the pub at Low Newton. Only about four things oh the menu, all cheap, and all utterly delicious.
Far from cheap now and not good value for money. Their lager is excellent though, tastes like real lager. Loads of "lager" drinkers complain about it!
Sakonis on Ealing road Wembley (need to book or queue for ages at the weekend), Miras on Finchley Road (take away only). The restaurant next to Neasden temple has an amazing buffet. All Cheap and flipping tasty, you will also find mainly Indians eating at these places, which is a good sign.
India for me is just great, so many gems for eating. I have my favourite Dhabas on the road home from Delhi, a roti specialist behind Delhi station, the tiki fryer in the mountains, the yogurt maker in Calcutta, the evening samosa man near our house....the list goes on.
I just ate a can of vegetable soup,from the can.
Well 1 out of 2 ain't bad.
The pub in knoydart. Unbelievably fresh seafood which was great.
Beats normal pub grub into the ground
Petticoat Lane market near liverpool street, various street food vendors but the Indian is amazing for a fiver.
Also Culture Grub in near The New Vic Theatre good noodles for a few quid.
Cheap? Quality?
Hmm.. there are plenty of seaside restaurants in Sagres Portugal that will cook you langoustines caught earlier that day with a tomato and garlic and rosemary sauce.. and a snifter of wine for €15
And plenty of French bistros on the Aquitaine coastline that will do very similar for similar money..
And Naples for pizza for €4 if you avoid the tourist Spacca’
Sadly I can’t think of a UK one that does similar for similar money...
The pub in knoydart. Unbelievably fresh seafood which was great.
A few years ago yes. However it's gone downhill a lot since that Dutch bloke took it over. We were there last year and the food was nothing special, plus the bloke is a grump. Lots of the locals were complaining about him too.
Would love to see it get back to the way it was.
Sadly I can’t think of a UK one that does similar for similar money...
Angel lane chippy in penrith, as good a fish supper as you'll taste for a fiver.
Excellent, I love chip shops on the sea front.. best feeling ever scoffing good fish’s nd chip with a breeze rattling around your ears whilst sitting on the causeway..
In India, the Nepali restaurant that was on a rooftop in paraganj in Delhi.
I didn't try the magic lassi though
Bugger about knoydart, yes it was a while ago.
Want to go back there but might go self catering rather than camp and pub next time then
Redcars finest
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Had the best sausage roll in a pop up Greggs in Chelsea a few years ago.
I didn't try the magic lassi though
Bhang Lassi (made right) is the food of the gods 😀
Lots of places in china in the cities that nobody's heard of. You know it's fresh cos it was walking around outside a moment ago.
A shed next to an oyster farm in France a few weeks ago
Sardines in a fairground in Lisbon 15 years ago
Had a curry from a roadside buffet in Fiji, it was about £3 for 4 of us, and it was amazing.
I think I've been to every chippy, so I can say with authority the best fish supper is from Ullapool - Seaforth Chippy.
A proper Greek pita gyros, €2 for food of the (Greek) Gods!Sotiris Grill, Nidri main street, Lefkada if you want the best
There were some Thai places in Sydney near where I lived that were almost suspiciously cheap back in the day that were amazing.
Found a fish restaurant near the port in Barca, two streets back from the main drag that was as less than half the price of the main road places and the food gave me a chubby.
Fish and chips from the chippy in Balham under the bridge behind Sainburys, lovely lady who used to wave as we went past.
Someone I know keeps his own chickens. They rummage around the hedgerows and eat worms. He has more eggs than he can cope with, so he gives me the surplus.
Those eggs. On toast. Made with homemade bread. Honestly, it’s hard to beat. If I’m ever lucky enough to eat out for a prolonged period (usually on holiday), I get to a point after a few days where I dream of those freshly laid eggs, poached, on toast. A sprinkling of salt. Cannot be beaten.
Refuge du Requin - after the seracs de geant. One of my best lunches ever. An omelette!!
Surely not cheap in the Requin though?
I have some brilliant simple meals in french bars but my vote goes with 3 and rice at This and That.
Kebab Express, Queens Rd, Brighton, mid 90s.
They used to do "homeless specials" - as much hummus and doner meat that you could fit into a pitta bread for 50p.
Otherwise, the basic business strategy seemed to be that after you'd been in once then you were their friend and everything would cost 50p or so.
Saddam and Julia, I hope they are well.
Having worked away from home for 13 years, Tuesday night would invariably mean a search for Wetherspoon's for Steak night! I could count on one hand how many bad steaks I've had over the years.
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Candolim, Goa.
2 starters, 2 mains, 1 (massive) mixed rice, 2 tablecloth sized garlic naans 5 Kingfisher beers.
£8.80 the lot. Spot on, just don't go into the kitchen instead of the bog cos they both look the same (ish)
I can add a chicken Tagine in Moulay Barhim, Atlas Mountains.
Pi$$ing with rain, last day of a four day trek including a summit of Toubkal, stunning scenery, great company (mrsdts. a guide, a muleteer and Muffin the mule*).
We arrived in the town on market day and went straight to the cafe for lunch..
Probably the scrawniest bird to have ever lived but god damn did it hit the spot.
*Muffin didn't come to the cafe.
The flat bread baked in a pan over an open fire at an oasis in the south of Tunisia. I struggled to find coins small enough to pay the man who baked it over an open fire, and it tasted fantastic.
You know it's the MSG that makes it taste so good, don't you?
... so?
When I lived in Streatham there was a deli that sold pure MSG. I used to buy it and dab it- tasted like electric sherbet.
Found ourselves in a food court set up in a multi-story car park in Singapore.
Piles of food, plenty of Tiger beer. £8 each, you pay that for a pint in most places in Singapore.
Kowloon, Hong Kong, ended up in a 'Korean Bar-b-Que'. Managed to communicate somehow that food was required. There were gas hot plates on the tables. After receiving many platters of raw meat/fish/veg sauces etc the only guidance was "Please not use plastic chop stick on hot plate..."
Cheap and delicious.
Finest Chinese meal ever... Cochin, India (?)
Finest Indian Meal... Surabaya, Indonesia (?)
Grahamt1980
Knoydart ..The Old Forge Inn.
Totally over-hyped in my opinion ..although I've never seen bigger meatballs ..much better was the small cafe just along the road which did incredible Bacon / Sausage / Egg ..butties ..for breakfast.
There is some fantastic riding on that peninsula ..on our last day we had chartered a boat to take us from Inverie to Tarbet ..then cycled back along the shore of Loch Morar ..brilliant !
The best fish & chips anywhere ..Fenham Fish Bar , Cowgate , Newcastle .
So poplar that it is always busy and your order is taken as soon as you walk through the door ..not the cheapest but the Haddock is huge and fantastic quality..
You know it's the MSG that makes it taste so good, don't you?... so?
MSG symptom complex anyone?
MSG symptom complex — include:Headache
Flushing
Sweating
Facial pressure or tightness
Numbness, tingling or burning in the face, neck and other areas
Rapid, fluttering heartbeats (heart palpitations)
Chest pain
Nausea
Weakness
Quite similar to caffeine.
haha dabbing msg is pretty good! My choice is Pete's eats in llanberis.
The [url= http://www.skyeoysterman.co.uk ]Oyster Shed[/url] in Carbost, Skye, is just incredibly cheap. Lobsters, oysters, all manner of other seafood caught locally. Couldn't be fresher.
The word has got out now, so it's a good idea to arrive early... Oh, and you have to eat al-fresco, albeit with a roof of sorts.
MSG symptom complex anyone?
Selective quoting syndrome, anyone?
However, researchers have found no definitive evidence of a link between MSG and these symptoms.
Marstons chicken shop in Huddersfield
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A truckstop on the road from Luxor to Hurghada. My taxi driver stopped for a piss and grabbed himself a snack. I pointed and acted hungry, he got me the same as him. Fresh local bread, goat cheese and that was it. The sun was rising, it was freezing cold and with a glass of hot, black tea I have never eaten anything that tasted better. I had nothing small enough to pay for it. I gave him a decent tip when we got to town.
I can still remember that snack from 15 years ago.
Bugger about knoydart, yes it was a while ago.
Want to go back there but might go self catering rather than camp and pub next time then
Sadly yes, it is no longer the great place it used to be. Check out the recent TripAdvisor reviews. Would love to see the local community buying it. For me it was up there with the Applecross Inn in terms of fresh food (and I suspect this ridiculous North Coast 500 nonsense will see standards there dip).
If you are in Knoydart check out a place called Doune. Not the easiest of places to get to, but the food (if you like seafood) was superb.
Maureens pie and mash shop in Chrisp st market, Poplar, the best pie, mash and liquor going and some seriously healthy portions of saltbeef, great value at less that a fiver each!
Any Beigels from the 24hr Beigel Bake on brick lane are good but the saltbeef with a pickle on the side is the one to go for.
http://www.beigelbake.com
KennyP
Right there with you on The Applecross Inn
I had the fish pie twice while staying in a holiday cottage in Upper Toscaig* a couple of years back ..considering how busy the place gets its a credit to them that their standards don't drop.
The take away fish & chips van over the road is also really good ( this also belongs to the pub.).
*The track over to Airigh Drishaigh is a great there and back short ride..if you can negotiate the deer fence about a km.into the ride ..dont be tempted to go around the coast from there ..the track on the map isn't there ..
Ohh cripes the Bagel shop in Brick Lane, only really good at 4am after a dance off in the clubs ... acceptable at any other time of course but 4am on a cold autumn morning just before sunrise 😉
For some reason no one has posted this, not sure why but I think we’re all turning into foodie snobs..
I give you:
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[url= http://www.thefatcat.co.uk/food/ ]The Fat Cat[/url] cooked by your Nan style homely dinners for a fiver, with school dinner style puddings, all served with lashings of extremely good beer. I guess a lot of this depends on your definition of brilliant, but it's in their for me.
And of course [url= http://www.thisandthatcafe.co.uk ]This and That.[/url]
And the palace of breakfast which is the [url= https://g.co/kgs/kyLHUS ]Cafe Delight.[/url]
Went on holiday to Langkawi in Malaysia and ate 6 curried potato samosa for 30p and their version of chicken korma which they translated as white chicken curry and it was amazing and that cost £1.50. It was in a small cafe in an incredible place which must have had no more than about 5 people passing it a day, i dont know how they survived but i guess my tips were probably more than he made in the week and i am a tightwad.
[quote=somafunk ]
On a more serious note - There's a small chinese restaurant behind the st enoch centre in glasgow, looks a bit scruffy but always full and the authentic food is "oh my god" good, costs a pittance as well.
What's it called? I need to get dinner in central weegie land on Tuesday night
Marstons chicken shop in Huddersfield
I'll be in Huddersfield next week, that place looks good 🙂
Ohh cripes the Bagel shop in Brick Lane, only really good at 4am after a dance off in the clubs ... acceptable at any other time of course but 4am on a cold autumn morning just before sunrise
+10000 🙂
Which reminds me, is that all-night cake shop/café still in Camden? Flouro lights at 3am but cake. And what cake.
Trip advisor tells me it's called [url= https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g186534-d7717727-Reviews-Angie_s_Cafe-Glasgow_Scotland.html ]Angies Cafe (link here)[/url], doesn't look like much but it is always busy with the asian community so i guess thats a good thing.
^ ta!
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Karl's Tea hut in Epping forest.
Cheese and pickle roll , coffee & cherry fruit cake for £3.80! 🙂
Seeing that Iceland ad reminds me of the staff canteen at Head Office Chester. Sample menu for the week below with all dishes £3 and cooked by a top chef.
Monday
Penne Pasta , King Prawns with Tomato and Lime
Pulled Beef Chilli with rice
Sea bass with, seared Cucumber, creamed Leeks and Shrimps
Roast Basil Chicken ,Fine Ratatouille ,Chorizo cream
Tuesday
Smoked Haddock fish cake, poached egg and Parmesan cream
Slow cooked spiced Lamb with flatbreads and Raita
Cod wrapped with Pancetta set on Butternut squash Risotto
Sesame roast Duck breast
Wednesday
Lasagne, herbed green salad
Roast best end of Lamb, garlic creamed Potatoes
Tandoori spiced Tuna steak, Spinach Pakora, curry sauce
Burgundy style braised Venison, Lardons and Mushrooms
Thursday
Jerusalem Artichoke raviolis ,Celeriac crisps , Mushroom cream
Breaded Chicken escalope, toasted Brioche, Kale slaw
Line caught and smoked Mackerel, Horseradish crème fraiche
Home made Pork pie, Wensleydale Cheese and Piccalilli
Friday
Fusilli Pasta spicy sausage meatballs ,Tomato and Basil Ragu
Vodka Battered Haddock, Fat Chips and mushy Peas
Rib eye steak, cracked Pepper and cognac sauce
Goujons of Lemon Sole, Mango Mayonnaise
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When I lived in Taiwan there was this lunch buffet shop that a lot of locals went to where you basically filled a card box with what you wanted to eat from the massive buffet and it was weighed and you paid for it. It usually cost around $NT 50 which was the equivalent of 30p or so. Delicious too. Eating out was so cheap there it really wasn't worth cooking anything at home.
It's a bit different finding brilliant meals on the cheap in developing countries - particularly asia. Street food is cheap, quick and tasty
Trying to do the same in the UK requires know how - I'm interested to know where that cake shop is in Camden....!
A good few years ago we stumbled into a food hall in Singapore airport that serves the airport workers, it was very good and very cheap.
LOL it's great having all these places in Singapore, Taiwan and India...
Sadly its £500 to fly to them to get the food.
Abroad... I stayed in a university in southern Thailand many years ago - the 'tented canteen place' was amazing, an 10 baht for any dish basically - at the time it was 70bht to the GBP...
But the absolue bomb was they fried mini donuts in a huge wok of oil... 1 baht per donut... me and may made were in donut heaven!!!!!
Here in the UK, I can't rate "Thai street food" in a little alley in Worthing highly enough.
Yamin, the women who owns and runs it, is mental!! You order a chicken dish, and she tell you "no daling, you want pork"... clearly she's got an excess of pork to use up.. I admire that level of customer service!!!
it's about £7 for a dish that will serve 2 easily.
DrP
[url= http://www.shahenshahsweets.co.uk ]Shahenshah[/url] in Derby is one of my favourites. You could easily walk past the place as it looks more like a sweet centre. It's been doing a fine job of filling my belly for over 20 year's!
Any vacancies shinton? I'll do anything.