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Kebabs
Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2026 11:26 pm
by Mr Moofo
My halcyon days were the late 70s and the 80s. Weekends spent watching new wave bands, drinking Hardy Hasens in Nottingham and grabbing a kebab on the way home.
In the older days , when you woke up, mutton fat had permeated every pore, your fingers , and the fat soak pitta at the bottom of the tray was the best bit. A stunningly flavourful end to the night.
Had a kebab locally the other night, and the meat is some insipid grey mystery meat, I am guessing high in soy and other grains. And no taste of mutton at all.
Do we just have a crap kebab house or has health and safety robbed it of its raisin d’etre
Re: Kebabs
Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2026 6:49 am
by KungFooBob
Re: Kebabs
Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2026 10:33 am
by Taipan
I think the minced lamb, elephants leg are always crap and most places local to us et them from teh same place. But we have a few Turkish/Cypriot/Greek places which do lovely Adana and shish kebabs etc
Re: Kebabs
Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2026 11:09 am
by gremlin
Taipan wrote: Wed Jul 01, 2026 10:33 am
I think the minced lamb, elephants leg are always crap and most places local to us et them from teh same place. But we have a few Turkish/Cypriot/Greek places which do lovely Adana and shish kebabs etc
And in the proper pide bread. Soft and fluffy. Gyros FTW
Pitta is like cardboard.
Re: Kebabs
Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2026 11:48 am
by Mr Moofo
I guess the Serbs running the Arnoutti Pitta bread company will have the answers ( they were a nasty bunch).
Proper Turkish is still fantastic - North London ones seem to be a cut above everywhere else.
The elephant leg always seemed to be highly seasoned and salted - which it is not now. And the meat quality is far worse (unbelievably). The good food practices of meat having to go into the broiler doesn’t help as you rarely get millard browned crispy bits , it’s just soggy wet pieces of meat dough.
Lesson learned - it’s shish kebabs from now on
Re: Kebabs
Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2026 11:50 am
by dern
Mr Moofo wrote: Tue Jun 30, 2026 11:26 pm
My halcyon days were the late 70s and the 80s. Weekends spent watching new wave bands, drinking Hardy Hasens in Nottingham and grabbing a kebab on the way home.
In the older days , when you woke up, mutton fat had permeated every pore, your fingers , and the fat soak pitta at the bottom of the tray was the best bit. A stunningly flavourful end to the night.
Had a kebab locally the other night, and the meat is some insipid grey mystery meat, I am guessing high in soy and other grains. And no taste of mutton at all.
Do we just have a crap kebab house or has health and safety robbed it of its raisin d’etre
Drink ten pints and then have one.
Re: Kebabs
Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2026 8:51 pm
by Ian
Mr Moofo wrote: Tue Jun 30, 2026 11:26 pmNottingham and grabbing a kebab on the way home.
Nope, I've never had a good kebab in Nottingham, we were just too pissed to notice when we were young.
Re: Kebabs
Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2026 1:57 pm
by gremlin
I find in my local area the terms 'Turkish restaurant' and 'Albanian money laundering front' are one and the same.
Re: Kebabs
Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2026 1:59 pm
by weeksy
gremlin wrote: Thu Jul 02, 2026 1:57 pm
I find in my local area the terms 'Turkish restaurant' and 'Albanian money laundering front' are one and the same.
but how's the food ?
Re: Kebabs
Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2026 2:04 pm
by Mr Moofo
gremlin wrote: Thu Jul 02, 2026 1:57 pm
I find in my local area the terms 'Turkish restaurant' and 'Albanian money laundering front' are one and the same.
The irony from someone working in the City !
Re: Kebabs
Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2026 2:06 pm
by gremlin
weeksy wrote: Thu Jul 02, 2026 1:59 pm
gremlin wrote: Thu Jul 02, 2026 1:57 pm
I find in my local area the terms 'Turkish restaurant' and 'Albanian money laundering front' are one and the same.
but how's the food ?
'Samey'
I like a bit of grilled mean on a skewer as much as the next man, but it does get a bet repetitive after a couple of visits to the numerous 'Turkish' restaurants that proliferate most of the high streets I frequent. OK, hummus kourvama is nice and a slab of baklava never goes amiss, but I'm maxed out on grilled meat and bulgar wheat.
Maybe we need another bunch criminals with different cuisine to come and set up money laundering restaurants over here.
Re: Kebabs
Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2026 2:42 pm
by Count Steer
'In culinary lore, Chinese, French, and Turkish traditions are collectively celebrated as the world's "Three Grand Cuisines". Each represents a foundational pillar of global gastronomy, characterized by rich imperial histories, diverse regional agricultural products, and deeply influential cooking techniques'.
Now one of those is associated here in the UK with day-glo orange sweet and sour, another with a Friday night doner (of questionable provenance) after a skinful of beer and another with pimped-up cheese and ham toasties given a posh name.
Re: Kebabs
Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2026 3:29 pm
by Rockburner
Count Steer wrote: Thu Jul 02, 2026 2:42 pm
'In culinary lore, Chinese, French, and Turkish traditions are collectively celebrated as the world's "Three Grand Cuisines". Each represents a foundational pillar of global gastronomy, characterized by rich imperial histories, diverse regional agricultural products, and deeply influential cooking techniques'.
Now one of those is associated here in the UK with day-glo orange sweet and sour, another with a Friday night doner (of questionable provenance) after a skinful of beer and another with pimped-up cheese and ham toasties given a posh name.
The English skill to homogenize virtually anything to it's lowest form is something that you can either feel pride for, or utter bewilderment.
Re: Kebabs
Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2026 3:49 pm
by Saga Lout
I read that yesterday. I'm still feeling sick.
Re: Kebabs
Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2026 4:06 pm
by Count Steer
Rockburner wrote: Thu Jul 02, 2026 3:29 pm
Count Steer wrote: Thu Jul 02, 2026 2:42 pm
'In culinary lore, Chinese, French, and Turkish traditions are collectively celebrated as the world's "Three Grand Cuisines". Each represents a foundational pillar of global gastronomy, characterized by rich imperial histories, diverse regional agricultural products, and deeply influential cooking techniques'.
Now one of those is associated here in the UK with day-glo orange sweet and sour, another with a Friday night doner (of questionable provenance) after a skinful of beer and another with pimped-up cheese and ham toasties given a posh name.
The English skill to homogenize virtually anything to it's lowest form is something that you can either feel pride for, or utter bewilderment.
Or commercialise it and call it 'Greggs'.
However, I think it'd be, maybe, a tad harsh on British cuisine on the basis of what we've done, at scale, to Asian food, Chinese food, Italian food, Turkish food etc on the High Streets to condemn the best of what we can do.
We're having a bit of a moment apparently with some British restaurants serving non-gastro grub opening - and doing well in Paris! I did hear of a French woman served a traditional roast dinner who declared it 'Very nice although the soufflé was rather over-cooked'. (It was the Yorkshire pud).
Re: Kebabs
Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2026 6:58 pm
by Dodgy69
In the olden days of getting pissed up every weekend in town, a kebab was the go to. Elephant leg with salad and chilli sauce, served by some horrible looking people with dirty white coats, like butchers wear. Always went down well.
Re: Kebabs
Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2026 7:06 pm
by Mussels
Count Steer wrote: Thu Jul 02, 2026 2:42 pm
'In culinary lore, Chinese, French, and Turkish traditions are collectively celebrated as the world's "Three Grand Cuisines". Each represents a foundational pillar of global gastronomy, characterized by rich imperial histories, diverse regional agricultural products, and deeply influential cooking techniques'.
Now one of those is associated here in the UK with day-glo orange sweet and sour, another with a Friday night doner (of questionable provenance) after a skinful of beer and another with pimped-up cheese and ham toasties given a posh name.
I've not been to Turkey but food in the other two has been decidedly meh when I've been there. Hong Kong was good but that was before the handover.
Re: Kebabs
Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2026 8:03 pm
by MrLongbeard
Our local Turk does a banging kofte and sheesh, it's a shame he know it too as he's priced himself out of being a cheap takeaway.
Re: Kebabs
Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2026 8:15 pm
by Mr Moofo
Mussels wrote: Thu Jul 02, 2026 7:06 pm
Count Steer wrote: Thu Jul 02, 2026 2:42 pm
'In culinary lore, Chinese, French, and Turkish traditions are collectively celebrated as the world's "Three Grand Cuisines". Each represents a foundational pillar of global gastronomy, characterized by rich imperial histories, diverse regional agricultural products, and deeply influential cooking techniques'.
Now one of those is associated here in the UK with day-glo orange sweet and sour, another with a Friday night doner (of questionable provenance) after a skinful of beer and another with pimped-up cheese and ham toasties given a posh name.
I've not been to Turkey but food in the other two has been decidedly meh when I've been there. Hong Kong was good but that was before the handover.
I would agree with that whole heartedly. I prefer North London Turkish to Istanbul, France has always been “meh”, and Chinese food a lottery of what you are eating. The best food i ate was in a Uyghur restaurant. Hong Kong, on the other hand , had some great offerings
Re: Kebabs
Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2026 10:01 am
by derek badger
BBC News - Lamb kebabs made of goat compared to horsemeat in lasagne scandal - BBC News
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce9 ... =deep-link
