Here I am again, enjoying the extreme sport that is eating street food in Scotland.
It’s lashing with rain and the 4x4s that are zipping past seem to purposefully be aiming for kerbside puddles, so our jeans get splattered by a tsunami of Tollcross stink water.
At least we know that our potential drowning is going to be worth it. We’re at Tony Singh’s new venture, Radge Chaat, which he runs with his brother, Lucky.
It’s open Thursday to Saturday, from noon until 10pm. We’ve rocked up on a Friday afternoon, and are the only customers, so it seems that not everyone is as hardcore when it comes to street food. They’re all in their houses, eating toast and drinking tea, while watching Homes Under the Hammer.
Today, Tony isn’t in the little converted shipping container, which is painted cobalt blue and sits beside two other street food offerings, Exile Cooks and his son Balraj’s Japanese fried chicken business, Kaptain Karaage.
Although Tony is more than just an Edinburgh celebrity, known for his spells heading up Oloroso, Apex Grassmarket, The Old Bakehouse in West Linton and Tony’s Table, among other restaurants, he’s also a telly star/author, with various programmes and cookbooks under his belt. My mum loves him.
Currently, he’s also still doing his at home supper clubs, alongside this veggie street food venture.
I wonder if he gets pestered by fans, when he’s in situ.
Anyway, Lucky is representing today and there is excellent jolly banter, as he prepares our chaat, which is a savoury street food that has five essential components (according to Tony’s website) - the base, the sauces, crunch, vegetables and umami.
He’s heaping the greenery on our orders, and tells us we’ll definitely get our five-a-day.
“Will it cancel out the unhealthy stuff?” I ask.
“Well, he used to be 15 stone, but look how much weight he’s lost since he started working here,” says Lucky, pointing at the very svelte sous chef, who obviously also doubles as his long-suffering comedy straight man.
They recommend that we shelter and eat in the doorway of the church, just along the road, but we’ve got the car, so there is no instant gratification.
It feels like an epic journey, from here back to the Usher Hall, where we’ve managed to get a parking spot.
I cling onto the giant golf brolly with one hand, and clutch the bag of food in another. My precious cargo. I want to shove people out of the way, like in The Verve’s Bittersweet Symphony video. My hangry is strong.
Our food is a little cold when we get home, but that’s our bad, for not wanting to eat our lunch among the winged rats.
The set of six gol guppa (£7) - like sea anemones or delicate bird’s eggs - have retained most of their crunch, and are filled with a mulch of spiced potato, and topped by a large handful of pomegranate seeds, coriander, chopped tomato, raw red onion, orange and crispy noodles, and a jammy tamarind-y chutney, the thought of which will make my mouth water for days to come.
We also went for the Begbie-style Mad Radge (£10), since they said it was good for sharing. You can also choose the Wee Radge (£6) or Big Radge (£8). There’s no Total Radge.
This is topped by the same mixture as the gol guppa. After a bit of an archeological dig, we unearth a beautiful and soft vegetable-filled samosa, with crumbly pastry, some mellow and cumin-y chana chaat chickpeas, and two large mahogany-coloured and non-stodgy pakora, which feature grated carrot and onion.
There’s lots of spice lurking among the shrubbery, and my tonsils are aflame.
Our last dish is the Chippie Chaat (£5), which consists of skinny fries, also topped with some of the pomegranate and coriander mix, but this time with a triple whammy of Jackson Pollock-esque colourful and splurged-on sauces - a zingy coriander and mint chutney, tamarind sauce and spiced yoghurt.
Well, that was a vibrant wake-up call. My taste buds had felt as if they were going into hibernation, but now they’ve been wired to the electricity and reanimated. I can feel them jangling, like tubular bells in a breeze.
I’m sure that radges of all types will enjoy Tony’s latest offering.
Don’t let the weather put you off.
Just take your brolly, stand back from the kerb and be prepared to eat alongside the pigeons.
5 West Tollcross
Edinburgh
The Verdict
How much? Lunch for two, excluding drinks, £22
Food: 8/10
Ambience: 8/10
16/20
Places to try Nearby
Guru, 408 Lochrin Terrace, Edinburgh (0131 221 9779, www.guruedinburgh.co.uk)
This Indian restaurant recently moved from its Dundee Street premises to the old Mr Boni’s venue, where it’s serving its signature giant naan breads and their lamb pathia curry with garlic, red chilli and onion.
Bentoya, 13 Bread Street, Edinburgh (0131 629 3993, www.bentoya-edinburgh.com)
Head to this reliable and casual Japanese restaurant for a bento box and BYOB. They’ve also just launched a vegan menu, for those who prefer their sushi to be completely fish free.
Gooseneck Cafe, 222 Grindlay Street, Edinburgh (www.gooseneckcafe.com)
After ordering from Radge Chaat, we may have also slipped in here, to pick up a cinnamon bun. There are lots of other lovely cakes, scones and brownies too, and coffee, for a post chaat caffeine and sugar fix.AssigneesNo assignees defined for the content
Here I am again, enjoying the extreme sport that is eating street food in Scotland.
It’s lashing with rain and the 4x4s that are zipping past seem to purposefully be aiming for kerbside puddles, so our jeans get splattered by a tsunami of Tollcross stink water.
At least we know that our potential drowning is going to be worth it. We’re at Tony Singh’s new venture, Radge Chaat, which he runs with his brother, Lucky.
It’s open Thursday to Saturday, from noon until 10pm. We’ve rocked up on a Friday afternoon, and are the only customers, so it seems that not everyone is as hardcore when it comes to street food. They’re all in their houses, eating toast and drinking tea, while watching Homes Under the Hammer.
Today, Tony isn’t in the little converted shipping container, which is painted cobalt blue and sits beside two other street food offerings, Exile Cooks and his son Balraj’s Japanese fried chicken business, Kaptain Karaage.
Although Tony is more than just an Edinburgh celebrity, known for his spells heading up Oloroso, Apex Grassmarket, The Old Bakehouse in West Linton and Tony’s Table, among other restaurants, he’s also a telly star/author, with various programmes and cookbooks under his belt. My mum loves him.
Currently, he’s also still doing his at home supper clubs, alongside this veggie street food venture.
I wonder if he gets pestered by fans, when he’s in situ.
Anyway, Lucky is representing today and there is excellent jolly banter, as he prepares our chaat, which is a savoury street food that has five essential components (according to Tony’s website) - the base, the sauces, crunch, vegetables and umami.
He’s heaping the greenery on our orders, and tells us we’ll definitely get our five-a-day.
“Will it cancel out the unhealthy stuff?” I ask.
“Well, he used to be 15 stone, but look how much weight he’s lost since he started working here,” says Lucky, pointing at the very svelte sous chef, who obviously also doubles as his long-suffering comedy straight man.
They recommend that we shelter and eat in the doorway of the church, just along the road, but we’ve got the car, so there is no instant gratification.
It feels like an epic journey, from here back to the Usher Hall, where we’ve managed to get a parking spot.
I cling onto the giant golf brolly with one hand, and clutch the bag of food in another. My precious cargo. I want to shove people out of the way, like in The Verve’s Bittersweet Symphony video. My hangry is strong.
Our food is a little cold when we get home, but that’s our bad, for not wanting to eat our lunch among the winged rats.
The set of six gol guppa (£7) - like sea anemones or delicate bird’s eggs - have retained most of their crunch, and are filled with a mulch of spiced potato, and topped by a large handful of pomegranate seeds, coriander, chopped tomato, raw red onion, orange and crispy noodles, and a jammy tamarind-y chutney, the thought of which will make my mouth water for days to come.
We also went for the Begbie-style Mad Radge (£10), since they said it was good for sharing. You can also choose the Wee Radge (£6) or Big Radge (£8). There’s no Total Radge.
This is topped by the same mixture as the gol guppa. After a bit of an archeological dig, we unearth a beautiful and soft vegetable-filled samosa, with crumbly pastry, some mellow and cumin-y chana chaat chickpeas, and two large mahogany-coloured and non-stodgy pakora, which feature grated carrot and onion.
There’s lots of spice lurking among the shrubbery, and my tonsils are aflame.
Our last dish is the Chippie Chaat (£5), which consists of skinny fries, also topped with some of the pomegranate and coriander mix, but this time with a triple whammy of Jackson Pollock-esque colourful and splurged-on sauces - a zingy coriander and mint chutney, tamarind sauce and spiced yoghurt.
Well, that was a vibrant wake-up call. My taste buds had felt as if they were going into hibernation, but now they’ve been wired to the electricity and reanimated. I can feel them jangling, like tubular bells in a breeze.
I’m sure that radges of all types will enjoy Tony’s latest offering.
Don’t let the weather put you off.
Just take your brolly, stand back from the kerb and be prepared to eat alongside the pigeons.
5 West Tollcross
Edinburgh
Places to try Nearby
Guru, 408 Lochrin Terrace, Edinburgh (0131 221 9779, www.guruedinburgh.co.uk)
This Indian restaurant recently moved from its Dundee Street premises to the old Mr Boni’s venue, where it’s serving its signature giant naan breads and their lamb pathia curry with garlic, red chilli and onion.
Bentoya, 13 Bread Street, Edinburgh (0131 629 3993, www.bentoya-edinburgh.com)
Head to this reliable and casual Japanese restaurant for a bento box and BYOB. They’ve also just launched a vegan menu, for those who prefer their sushi to be completely fish free.
Gooseneck Cafe, 222 Grindlay Street, Edinburgh (www.gooseneckcafe.com)
After ordering from Radge Chaat, we may have also slipped in here, to pick up a cinnamon bun. There are lots of other lovely cakes, scones and brownies too, and coffee, for a post chaat caffeine and sugar fix.
