Foodle

Butter Chicken Wings - recipe up on Sunday 😮‍💨
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I first had a version of these at @ambassadorsclubhouse in London and have wanted to make them ever since. A proper butter chicken or murgh makhani is one of the most addictive sauces out there. Rich, spicy, creamy and tomato-forward, with cashews and plenty of warming spices giving it that luscious texture and depth.

In this week’s article, I break down how I build the sauce my way + how to pair it with these super-crispy chicken wings. There are four key stages for wings to get them properly crisp and all of that will be covered in detail. On the side, a cooling yoghurt dip with coriander and ghee-toasted crushed cashews.

For the full recipe and long-form video, head over to Substack - link in bio. NF x Less

Sticky rice roti with coconut-smoked short rib @manao_dubai @abhiraj_khatwani @m.orfali 🔥🇹🇭
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Back again. Man, I love Thai food - and this is easily one of the most impressive Thai restaurants I’ve been to. The creativity across the menu and the way flavours are layered and balanced is genuinely next level. Every course feels like it shouldn’t be able to top the last, and somehow, it always does. A well deserved star for the team here .

Their short rib taco is one of my favourite bites of all time, and I’m so glad it’s stayed on the menu. Perfectly tender, ultra-juicy, beautifully charred short rib, served on a sticky rice roti “taco” with kaffir lime relish and fermented sticky rice. A two-bite explosion of flavour - rich, spicy, smoky and fatty, yet perfectly balanced.

The grilled king crab shoulder with green chilli nam jim and coriander stem was another standout. An underutilised ingredient that’s incredibly buttery and sweet, handled with restraint and just the right hit of heat. I loved how gently this was flavoured. The lobster khanom krok is a wild dish that’s hard to describe - think a crisp-cased dumpling filled with warm, fermented rice custard, topped with smoked lobster tail. Completely unique. Beautiful to look at and even better to eat.

So many layers to every dish here, with nothing out of balance. This is the kind of fine dining I love - creative, flavour-led cooking that’s bold, punchy and never predictable. An all-time favourite. Food, service and vibe all in check Less

Many things to write about so I must be brief with my words.

A zeugma is a linguistic trick where you join two mismatched things together - like ‘holding the door and a grudge.’

El Primo Taqueria is built entirely on this tension. It serves authentic carnitas and mid-century nostalgia with equal conviction.

To honor that friction, I’ve gone for a strictly old-school flat lay style - a visual echo of a place that exists somewhere between a Mexico City street corner and a 1980s diner.

The room radiates a specific cinematic grit. I half-expected to find Dominic Toretto at the counter, muttering about ‘family’ over a lime Jarritos. I know it is a culturally incoherent fantasy – he is a Cuban-Italian paradox in a drag-racing franchise - but in this specific lighting, it feels entirely appropriate, and I’m sticking with it.

The music transition was wild – starting with Celia’s Oye Como Va, and moving through to Return of the Tres, by Delinquent Habits and Si Senor by Control Machete. You basically travel from a 1960s dance hall to a 1990s East LA house party in the span of 3 songs. Love it.

Shout out to Valeria, our taco consultant, who showed elite emotional intelligence - subtly moving to block an aggresive sun beam to my face, while walking us through the menu. She also suggested the salsa macha (Not Matcha, as the Serb quickly found out) for the shiitake tostadas and validated our two-dessert strategy without a trace of judgment. It is a rare luxury to be in the hands of genuine hospitality.

As for the food, Chef Jon Collin (LPM, Zuma) brings the ruthless discipline of fine dining to the chaotic joy of street food. Success is rarely an accident - this is decades of technique & hard work distilled into a single corn tortilla.

We worked through the pastor, the beef cheeks, and the shiitake truffle tostada. Did I mention the desserts. Plural. The execution was “correct” - a technical term for absolutely without fault. Delicious & delightful.

It managed a rare paradox: my mouth danced with flavour, yet my soul felt grounded by a deep, ancestral comfort.

A taqueria with serious intent & zero pretense. The kind of place that upgrades your week. Less

Mibu Ginza, membership Kaiseki. Early September 2025. Awesome. Ice rice.
壬生さん九月。会員制。とても美味しい。

朝つゆ
有明の月　良寛のお軸
しじみ出汁　酢飯
お椀　見返り兎　朝花摘み　薬玉　秋の草花　道明寺炊いて干したもの
向付　鯛　メジマグロ
冬瓜　十六捧
太刀魚　昔の黄桃
もずく　独活　数の子
山葡萄のゼリー
仏足　百合根 Less

The Whisked Away series returned last month with a terrific Filipino-centric dessert tasting. Highly recommended! 🤤🇵🇭😋

1) amuse - lumpia with sweet chili sauce

2) bread - ube pan de sal, salted egg yolk butter, whipped goat butter

3) salad - lato (popping seaweed) tomato, onion, kalamansi

4) entree - lechon with spicy garlic vinegar

5) refresher - ube ice cream, red bean, nata de coco

6) dessert | take one - bibinka, salted egg, cheese, banana leaf

7) dessert | take two - sans rival, cashew meringue, chocolate buttercream

8) to finish - polvoron, ube bon bons, pandan marshmallow, turon truffle

9) treats for later - ube crinkle cookie, food for the gods, karioka, puto
~
#hungryglomad_washingtondc #buzzfood #filipinofood #filipinofoodmovement #filipinocuisine Less