Credit Crunch Lunch: Jojolapa
Jojolapa, 55-59 Newhall Street, Birmingham. T: 0121 212 2511.
Why Go? Smart yet relaxed family-run Nepalese restaurant in the heart of the city. Veteran chef Ganesh Shrestha serves up aromatic, flavoursome food. Under-rated lunch service is swift and satisfying.
The Price: The lunch menu comprises lunch salads from £4.99 (tandoori chicken, sweet and sour chili, poached cod) and Thupa, Tibetan-style noodles (£5.50). The lunch-time set menu offers great value at £8.95, including a starter (choice of eight), main (nine), good nan (not the stuff that tastes of wet ears) and pilau rice.
Mains include fish curry, chicken moghlai (ginger, yoghurt and cream) and vegetable tarkari. It’s unfussy cooking and that’s a bonus in my books: food that makes you think too much is jolly tiring at lunch-time.
The Meal: Dining out with a friend, or family, is great but sometimes a chap needs to be alone, not because he is miserable or psychotic – and I have been both – but merely because self-imposed exile, albeit in a public place, is blissful. No yada, yada, yada, not on my table anyway. I dined alone for last week’s review, did so this week, and may make a habit of it. The group at the next table were on a working lunch, which is taking tedium to the extreme. They kept throwing out keywords during the conversation, like “Government Office,” “verification process,” “Trevor Phillips” and “Dudley.”
Thankfully, my angel was at hand, in the shape of Maddie, Ganesh’s delightful daughter, who is the restaurant boss. She asked if I wanted to order off the menu – there is an extensive a la carte, too, from which I recommend the chicken choyla as a lively starter. Or would I like it if she took care of the food, served me some traditional Nepalese dishes? Who can resist such an offer? Maybe Trevor Phillips can, but I find it impossible. In fact, I love it when restaurants have the confidence in their own ability to just get on with it, particularly at lunch, when my brain hurts.
To start, I had steamed momo, which really is a meal in itself. It’s no wonder these Nepalese can yomp up mountains. Lightly herbed minced chicken dumplings are served with two sauces, coriander and tomato.
It’s hearty fare, well presented and came with a plate of chilli chicken. Here, the chicken is fried in a wafer-thin, light batter – not a trace of greasiness – and coated in a sweet, sticky sauce with a punchy heat. Impossible not to like.
If the starters hinted at Nepalese cuisine’s Chinese influences, the main dish had the unmistakable aromatic waft of Indian cooking. A well cooked chicken Jaipur had light tandoor smokiness and a wholesome Punjabi sauce. The dish came with a lovely mixed vegetable curry with cauliflower, carrots, potato and peas. I love the Nepalese beer here but settled for a couple of diet soft drinks, thus ensuring lucidity until at least 3pm.
The Verdict: Now in its fourth year, Jojolapa (the name means “welcome”) ploughs a lone furrow for Nepalese fusion food in Birmingham – and it does so with aplomb and considerable charm. I like it very much.
Rating: ****
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