Food review: Got chickened in

A question came my way as we made our first order at the much-talked about restaurant. Was I going to turn vegetarian after that night, considering the amount of chicken we were all going to consume? Fortunately, I didn’t.

I’ve never been a big fan of the bird in the first place, but since nearly everyone was talking about the whole and multiple variations of the Peri Peri sauce, I decided to drop by this Afro-Portuguese restaurant.

Nando’s, bright and shiny, on Church Street, is only one of the restaurants on the lane, which gets active as soon as the sun goes down, does deserve some credit. It’s always busy and a warming energy gulfs the place as you walk in.

What started about in 1987 in an assuming town called Rosettenville, a suburb in Southern Johannesburg, Nando’s now has 30 locations all over the world, not counting the one in India. So there has got to be some magic in their recipes.

Apart from using the legendary Barcelos Cockerel, which has quite an interesting story behind it (look up the Nando’s website for the tale), the Peri-Peri sauce here is treated like a miraculous ingredient. Basically the African Bird’s Eye Chilli, this super spicy gift from God is reputed to have unbelievable qualities and can turn any dish into a work of art.

From the chicken wings we ordered, to the last dessert — the evening was fun, if not gastronomically divine.

Four sauce bottles are on your table — mild, hot, super hot and garlic chilli — as the waiter takes down your preferences. We started with the chicken wings — super hot, if I may add and some corn on the cob. The corn was perfect.

They take two halves of a big American golden corncob and grill it according to your taste — the lemon and herb was one of the best decisions ever, because the whole explosion of tanginess, butter, herbs, sweet corn, and juice running down the side of your mouth can be an ecstatic experience.

The wings too were elevating and I am referring to how sharp a dish can get. I had tears, not of joy, welling up as I bit into some tender and yet grilled to perfection meat. A slight portion of mayonnaise was on the side, but take my word for it, it doesn’t help! You will need a soda or beer to soothe your palate or the thing will just bite back.

The Scoville scale (a term to measure hotness of chillies) would have registered an all-time high on this one for sure. How good? Rather. I love chicken wings in its various forms and this too just joined the list.

For the mains we decided to share. Now that’s the thing, one is not quite sure how to split a meal three ways. But we went ahead with the Espetada and a Quarter Meal. About the Espetada, traditionally this Portuguese dish, where large squares of beef are marinated in garlic and salt, is skewered with vegetables and grilled.

Occasionally, pork or some seafood replaces the beef. But the ‘B’ word is a no-no in Nando’s (considering it’s just a chicken place) so they’ve sort of replicated the whole thing with the bird. It’s served with chunky grilled vegetables and tossed yellow rice and in the most daunting way ever.

A large metal skewer is dangled from a stand as it sits on your table. Hot stuff, don’t touch; use the knives and forks to free the meat. The flavours were just about okay. Considering Nando’s is part of a big chain, the dish lacked the rustic touch of the original dish and even the three of us couldn’t finish it.

The Quarter Meal was a bit depressing. All I saw was a massive piece of chicken (you have got to share this one) with some roughly cut coleslaw and a bowl of rice. After our experience with the wings, my friends thought I was too ‘chicken’ to eat it hot, so went with the mild version.

The chicken looked good and was grilled well; I loved the crust,  but once you’re inside, it’s a bit like well-boiled chicken! The service ranged from good to slow as it took them a good 15 minutes to clear up the plates at the end.

As a condolence note to vegetarians, there is the Peri-Peri Paneer and salads. The desserts are good and  the Caramel Cheesecake and the Chocolate Crunch Roll were fabulous. In case you’re interested, you can buy the sauces before you leave, for a Peri Peri Hot experience at home!