YumBrum! had a fab day out at the Birmingham Food Fest today at Victoria Square in the City Centre.
The square was packed out with people eating from various stalls run by local restaurateurs. BRMB’s DJs emceed the event, offering an opportunity to hear from the chefs and owners who make Birmingham’s independent restaurant scene a vibrant success. The Gastro Card was available to purchase for just £10 for 6 months as a Food Fest special – it provides exclusive offers and discounts in over 170 locations in and around the Midlands. So if you don’t already have a Gastro Card this is the perfect opportunity to purchase one and reap the rewards! You can make your money back in just one visit to one of the listed restaurants! This week is also the best time to go out and buy the Big Brum Cookbook. A selection of signature recipes from 29 chefs working around the city including Aktar Islam of Lasan, Glynn Purnell of Purnell’s and James Wong of Chung Ying featuring all their best secrets for success. We picked ours up straight away for just £10! See the website for details of where to pick one up.
It was great to see such a diverse mix of cuisines representing the best of Birmingham’s fantastic independent restaurants. We ate till we could eat no more! Here’s a lowdown of our favourite bites:
– Ming Moon: we tried sweet and sour chicken with fried rice and also lamb and chicken kebabs. The sweet and sour was a delight on the taste buds, moist and tender chicken enclosed in a crispy batter with a liberal coating of sweet and sour sauce. The kebabs surprised with subtle spices and depth of flavour.
– The Vaults: redefined street food today by offering quaint ice-cream pot morsels of roast lamb or pork with mash and gravy for just £1. We opted to try just the lamb (not wanting to fill up too fast). The minty gravy was a perfect accompaniment and the succulent lamb melted in the mouth! A novel way to introduce people to the quality of food in The Vaults and a super way to get the punters in.
– Imran’s: the best value of the day offering rice, curry and naan bread for £3.50, but not scrimping on flavour or portion size. The chicken makhani was full of flavour complimented by the pilau rice and naan bread. Not too spicy, but with a subtle kick – for those wanting something with more of a punch there was a mutton rogan josh on offer as well.
– Kitchen Garden Cafe: chose to stop for some desert here in the form of a huge, squidgy chocolate brownie. Absolutely divine! Couldn’t help ourselves however and decided to try the roast belly pork sample on offer as well. Covered in a sweet, fruity glaze it was well worth being tempted! Would have loved to try the breaded risotto balls, but we were just too full by that point.
– Chung Ying: despite being full, we still managed to sample the cuttlefish fishcakes here, which are part of their new dim sum menu. We recently ate at Chung Ying Garden, so keep an eye out for the review coming soon.
– Other establishments present today were: The Angel, Filini at the Radisson, Caffe Chino, Chez Jules, Soul Food Project, Sabai Sabai, Kababish, Chamberlains Fish and Chips and The Drum. Sadly we were defeated by our own greed, but picked up plenty of leaflets to try these at a later date 🙂
The Birmingham Food Fest is a great idea and a super way to celebrate and showcase Birmingham’s independent food scene. Thanks everyone!
Go to the website for more discounts and vouchers – there’s still a whole week of events yet to come!
Happy Dining,
YumBrum!
YumBrum! 