Tag: offal

Lamb Overload at Bareh Sefid

Published on by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Bareh Sefid
Location: 9325 Yonge Street, Richmond Hill
Website: https://barehsefid.net/

I was pretty excited to check out Bareh Sefid after seeing it on Suresh Doss’ great show, Locals Welcome.  They specialize in big platters of various braised lamb parts.  I feel like lamb is seriously underappreciated, so yeah, I’m all over that.

Their menu consists entirely of lamb, and if you want to try it all, you’ve gotta go with the Darbari plate: “2 Sides Lamb Head Meat, 1 Tongue, 2 Eyes, 3 Lamb Trotters, 1 Brain, 2 Bowls Of Lamb Broth, With Full Service: Pickled, Home Made Bread, Lime.”

Bareh Sefid

The lamb is all seriously well prepared and unctuously tender.  The head and tongue are probably the most straightforward — you’d never know that they’re off cuts just by tasting them.  The eyes and trotter both have a similarly squishy texture, and are also quite tasty, if a bit one-note soft.  The brain is the most interesting of the bunch, with a firm texture and a slightly liver-esque mineraly flavour.

Bareh Sefid

It’s all nicely spiced, but mostly, the preparation ensures that the lamb flavour is front and centre.  The meal comes with a side of lime wedges and zippy pickle relish, with the relish, in particular, doing a great job of cutting through the richness of the lamb.

Bareh Sefid

It’s so much lamb.  The platter consists entirely of fatty/collagen-rich lamb along with a couple of types of flatbread to eat it with, and while I was in lamb heaven for the first few bites, eventually, I kinda wanted some other flavours?  I like lamb a whole lot, but — for me, at least — this might have been too much of a good thing.

Pork Overload at Fushi Co.

Published on by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Pork Overload at Fushi Co.
Location: 4186 Finch Avenue East, Scarborough
Website: https://fushi.co/

Fushi Co. mostly caught my eye thanks to the photos of the pork and rice they have posted in the window of their restaurant, which reminded me a lot of a mind-blowing pork dish I had in Taipei.  That was back in 2019, and I still occasionally think about it.  I’ll be sitting there minding my own business, and boom, I’m thinking about that pork.  It was magical.

Pork Overload at Fushi Co.

The dish I had here was a bit more deluxe — I could have had the one which just comes with braised pork knuckle, which I believe would have pretty much been identical to the one from Taiwan.  But the “Signature Four Happiness Pork” comes with pork knuckle, pork belly, a bone with a decent amount of meat attached, and intestines.  Why yes, I would like all the pork.

Pork Overload at Fushi Co.

Is it too much pork?  I think it’s too much pork.  Certainly, it’s more pork than any reasonable person should eat in one sitting.  But did I eat it all?  You bet I did.  Did I feel good about it after?  I sure didn’t!

Pork Overload at Fushi Co.

It’s quite tasty.  All the pork is reasonably tender (even the intestine, which has none of the chewiness or gaminess you might expect), and the deeply savoury flavour is very satisfying.  I wish there had been some kind of hot sauce or chili oil to kick things up, but such is life.

Pork Overload at Fushi Co.

It’s not even remotely as good as the Taiwanese pork of my dreams (that was legitimately one of the best things I’ve ever eaten), but it’s still an enjoyable dish.  Plus, at 15 bucks for enough rice and meat to comfortably feed two, it’s a great deal.