CHAI STREET | FOOD REVIEW
153 Cowbridge Road East, Cardiff. 029 2022 8888 / www.chaistreet.com
When Chai Street was open in its previous location, the other side of Cardiff on Whitchurch Road, the trend of ‘street food’ was – well, a trend, rather than the hollow, marketing co-opted buzzword it’s since become. Cardiff, especially, was an untested market, and their initial gambit – only opening for breakfast and lunch, expecting the district’s workers to grab some spicy Mumbai fodder instead of a Gregg’s sandwich – didn’t quite pan out. Overall, though, Chai Street was successful, and only closed because Mint & Mustard, its high-end parent located next door, wanted to expand.
Finally, it’s reopened in Canton in the immediate vicinity of mediocre Italians, dicey pubs and a sex shop, and seems to have hit the ground running. My friend and I are given the last two (window) seats and are shortly treated to the forlorn faces of two other pals of ours who can’t get in.
Starters arrive quickly and hit the mark, although both could benefit from an auxiliary sauce of some kind. My poricha kozhi – aka chicken supreme, if we must be British about it – has a remarkably good breadcrumb coating, tempered by the chicken’s tenderness. A ‘bajji basket’ (actually a miniature aluminium bucket) of onion, potato and aubergine varieties isn’t overly stodgy or greasy.
Aiming to see how they handle the staples, a lamb dum biryani (‘dum’refers to the method of cooking) bears fruit. The rice and spice isn’t leagues above the curry house 40 yards away, but the slow-cooked meat gives it a leg-up, and £6.95 is a steal. An eight-part fish thali is met with approval, especially the coconut-zingy fish curry, although marks are deducted for the puny serving of pickles. Two desserts – the syrup depth charge of gulab jamun and carrot halwa, both with ice cream – plus a pint of Cobra and glass of wine leaves us sated, not bloated, and over three years since my last visit still weighs in under £40.
words NOEL GARDNER photos EVOKE PICTURES