BACK LIST

from the long and informative menu.

EDINBURGH

I Buntoms 9/11 Nelson Street, 557 4344. Now well established and respected Thai restaurant in the large front room of the Linden Hotel. Some things are pretty high on the chilli scale. and I‘m not convinced the slices of raw green chilli in the Tom Yum soup should be treated as anything other than decoration. Fish is good, and in general the food here makes a refreshing change to anything else currently on offer. Wine can be ruined if you’re not careful.

I The Malaysian 176 Rose Street, 220 0059. Set price menu, with a large choice including freshwater prawns flown in extravagantly from Malaysia and cooked in chilli and coconut sauce. excellent satay for starters. and something called Hunter‘s Feast as a main course. which seemed to be a bit of everything. and was good. if heavy on the noodles. Beware homemade chilli sauce, and drink a soft Australian wine. as recommended by the

I Viva Mexico 10 Anchor Close. 226 5145. Mon—Sat noon-2.30pm. 6.30—l().30pm. Best Mexican in town. Entertaining ethnobilia on the walls and perfect Margaritas by the jug. Personally I couldn‘t care less about re-fricd beans. I'm there for the ceviche. (£27 with house wine)

I Pancho Villas 240 Canongate. Royal Mile. 557 4416. The food was mind-blowineg hot the only time I‘ve eaten here. so unless it was a mistake I can only recommend it to real Mexicans from Mexico. Presumably

things like ceviche and guacamole. when they have them, are not quite as devastating.

I Pachuko Canllna 3 Grove Street, 228 I345. Wed—Mon 6—1 lpm; Sun 6—10pm. Tiny atmospheric wood-lined hut serving ‘Californian Mexican‘ food to the accompaniment of Louis Jordan and the like (the menu comes in a folder made from old record covers and explains the Pachuko ethos. ifyou‘re interested). Cheap but not madly exciting, and my microwaved rice held amusineg together as one

piece when I attempted to eat it - but the puddings are suitably squodgy. and more Californian than Mexican. NB No licence. £15 without drinks.

I Szechuan House 95 Gilmore Place. 229 4655. Daily 5.30pm-Zam; Fri/Sat 5.30pm—3am. Owned and run by Mr and Mrs Liu. he from Szechuan. she from Canton. She described Szechuan food to me as ‘in between Cantonese and Indian'. I‘m not sure I agree but I think she meant it’s hot. and generally spicicr than Cantonese. which can be

CORNERSTONE COLLAPSES

The co-op which runs the wholelood restaurant in the basment oi St John’s Church at Edinburgh’s West End has been asked by the church to move out by the end at January. The Cornerstone has long been valued as a quiet, smoke-lree Iunching place and will be missed by its many regular customers. The church has decided to take direct control at running the restaurant and minister Neville Chamberlain hopes that the new restaurant will be very similarto the old. The co-op are looking ior new premises: ‘lt’s a sad

loss of a good place,’ says co-op member Sheila Cowtan, ‘a lot at people ieel very let down.’ The volunteers who helped to run the Cornerstone will be given special consideration for jobs in the new restaurant, which will keep the same name.

NATURE’S GATE

The owner oi Nature’s Gate, 83 Clerk Street, Edinburgh, would like to point out that his refusal to stock Israeli goods (mentioned in the last issue) is solely in objection to the policies of the Israeli Government. He would like to apologise for any oilence caused to the local Jewish community.

rather bland. ‘Almost all‘ of the menu is Szechuan- which can be sweeter than you expect it to be, too. Drink wine. as they do in Szechuan. The house wine is Italian, and Great Wall (Chinese) wine is also available, but I would not urge you towards it. (5519—5123 with a litre of house wine).

I Shamiana I4 Brougham Street, 228 2265. Mon-Sat 6—1 1pm (soon to open on Sundays). Subtle North Indian and Kashmiri cuisine (see above) served with cool good manners in a cool tiled ex-dairy with mirrors. Different wines are suggested with different dishes. £26—£32 with one bottle of house wine (French).

I Indian Cavalry Club 3 Atholl Place, 228 3282. Classy pukka place slightly overstaffed with hovering. uniformed waiting-wallahs. Everything I‘ve had here so far has been wonderful and I've eaten every single bit of it. If you crave something hot enough to require a cold beer, they‘ve got it.

I Kushl's Drummond Street. Usually described as an Indian transport caff, which is about right. Extremely cheap and pretty damned hot just

as well as there are no outstanding subtleties in the basic saucing of the food - except maybe a soupcon of Oxo? For all that it has its charm. Draught beer can be served from the pub next door, Kushi‘s will give you a jug. Canteen service.

I Negociants 45/47 Lothian Street, 225 6313. Mon-Sun. Eclectic menu leaning towards Asia with such things as Sri Lankan-style chicken curry, which was hot, coconutty and good, and Chinese-style lamb and mushrooms in soy sauce , which tasted rather as if someone had dropped the Radox in it (too much rosemary, a well-known Chinese herb) all served with rice, potatoes, two sorts of vegetables and salad, which seems extravagant. Garlic mushrooms for starters were delicious, as were the excellent classic puddings. Their liqueur coffees are diabolical in the most delightful sense. and you might as well indulge because , with two G&Ts and a bottle of non-house wine the bill was only £28. Yes, I ’ve only been there once, but I shall be back. Live and not unpleasant guitar music.

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The List 27 January 9 February 63