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What we’re eating: The 8 best things including over the top hot chocolates and the best Korean fried chicken burger

What we're eating
Looking for some inspiration on some dishes and places to try out? Check out our new monthly article called What We're Eating.

Festive over the top hot chocolates and cookies, plus a mouth-watering Korean fried chicken burger all feature in our monthly series What We’re Eating – highlighting the best places to eat in Aberdeen and beyond.

The P&J Food and Drink team often get asked what and where we’ve been eating so we thought it would be a good idea to share some of our favourite places to eat of the month with you all.

This can be us recommending the best places we’ve visited, a certain dish we’ve tried, or even something we’ve picked up on our travels around Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray and Highlands and Islands.


Cookie Cult

Best for: Mammoth-sized stuffed cookies

Karla: ‘Tis the season to be jolly – and to indulge in festive-themed goods by local producers.

One firm that recently released its festive range which caught my eye was Cookie Cult. And when I spotted the team’s stall at the Curated in the Quad Market at Aberdeen Christmas Village the other week, I couldn’t help but secure some items.

There were around seven different cookie flavours to choose from, including chocolate peppermint, white chocolate orange, yule log, and Maltesers Reindeer, but the gingerbread spice and hot chocolate prevailed.

The gingerbread spice, loaded with white chocolate and stuffed with dulce de leche, was our favourite of the two. However, both – recommended to us by the team manning the wooden stall – were absolutely delicious.

If you have a sweet tooth, I’d definitely recommend the hot chocolate cookie, which is loaded with milk and white chocolate, and stuffed with a marshmallow.

To order online: cookiecult.co.uk

A gingerbread spice cookie, front, and a hot chocolate cookie from Cookie Cult. Image: Karla Sinclair/DC Thomson

The Rustic Grill

Best for: An eclectic menu

Karla: When you head to The Rustic Grill, located on Balmellie Street in Turriff, there’s sure to be a dish that tickles your fancy.

Why is that? Because the food menus are some of the most varied I have come across in the north-east.

I have enjoyed everything from tapas-style plates, beef burgers, steak, chicken fajitas, salads, and bao buns to waffles, soups and scones at the establishment.

Overall, my favourite plate to order is their mouth-watering halloumi fries, which can be found under the ‘small plates’ section of the menu.

Drizzled in maple syrup, a pomegranate glaze and sour cream with a sprinkling of spring onion, it is the perfect accompaniment to a main dish or alongside one/some other small plates.

Address: 13 Balmellie Street, Turriff AB53 4DW

Halloumi fries are one of the tapas options available at Turriff’s The Rustic Grill. Image: Karla Sinclair/DC Thomson

Fat Batch hot chocolates

Best for: Mouthwatering brookies and cookies, plus Insta-worthy hot chocolates

Julia: There’s no denying baker Eve Smith has been talk of the town since opening her new shop back in June. She’s the mastermind behind Fat Batch who specialise in cookies and brookies, but the team has now launched their new hot chocolates which is what spurred my recent visit.

Flavours include gingerbread, Snickers, white chocolate and chocolate orange, my friend and I opted for the latter two and loved them. They were topped with whipped cream, plenty of chocolate, biscuit crumb and a ginger bread man, or Jaffa cake.

Address: 57 Elmbank Terrace, Aberdeen AB24 3NL

The chocolate orange and gingerbread hot chocolate. Image: Julia Bryce/DC Thomson

The Hame Bakery

Best for: Wholesome bakes

Karla: Peterhead is an area I rarely visit, but I recently trekked to the town purely to try some items from award-winning family-run baker The Hame Bakery.

With two sites based in Peterhead, I headed to its flagship Queen Street location and ordered a toffee muffin and a festive pie, which featured all the traditional elements of a Christmas Day dinner.

The muffin’s texture was soft and fluffy, making it evidently fresh, while the toffee flavour really packed a punch. It was topped with a thin layer of sticky caramel and a drizzling of milk chocolate.

Address:

  • 13-15 Queen Street, Peterhead AB42 1TN
  • 57 Clerkhill Road, Clerkhill, Peterhead AB42 2XF
Toffee muffin. Image: Karla Sinclair/DC Thomson

The best langoustine lasagne at Amuse by Kevin Dalgleish

Best for: Fine dining in the city centre

Julia: There’s one dish I will always order no matter what when I visit Amuse by Kevin Dalgleish, and that is the chef’s signature langoustine lasagne. Given it isn’t called that on the menu, you’ll find the shellfish dish on the fish section of the menu.

It isn’t described as a lasagne so to speak, but after Kevin descried it like one I can’t refrain from labelling it just that.

If you’re a seafood fan I guarantee you’ll be savouring every morsel. And what I would say is be sure to get a side of Bandit bakery bread to dip it into the sauce – you don’t want any of that to go to waste!

Address: 1 Queen’s Terrace, Aberdeen AB10 1XL

Langoustine lasagne. Image: Julia Bryce/DC Thomson

Korean fried chicken at The Braided Fig

Best for: Bistro-style pub grub

Julia: You know a dish is good when you end up ordering variations of it. That’s what I’ve ended up doing on my most recent visits to the Braided Fig.

It started with the Korean fried cauliflower, which then progressed to the Korean fried chicken, which ended with me finally ordering the Korean fried chicken burger just the other week.

The sauce is really what makes these dishes, and I must admit, the chicken too had been excellently cooked, and every mouthful is just as great as the last.

I promise you won’t regret ordering it. But you might have to be quick as rumour has it the dish might be disappearing soon.

Address: 39 Summer Street, Aberdeen AB10 1SB

Julia showing off the Korean fried chicken burger. Image: Julia Bryce/DC Thomson

Sticky ribs (and fingers) at the new Gidi Grill

Best for: Big flavours, big portions

Andy: This African-influenced restaurant is a firm favourite in Dundee, where owner Mo Adeniyi now has two outlets.

The Aberdeen restaurant, near the middle of Union Street, only opened this month and may take time to bed in among heavy-hitting neighbours Six by Nico and Vovem Meat & Liquor.

But it deserves a visit. My BBQ smoked pork ribs were worth the £22 price tag as there were a lot of them, and they were delicious.

By the end of the meal, my fingers were covered in sticky sauce, which is always a good sign.

I’ll need another visit to try Mo’s jollof rice, which I understand is a must-have. I hope I won’t have to wait too long before I get the chance.

Address: 263 Union St, Aberdeen, AB10 1TL

Slow Sizzling Sticky Smoked BBQ Pork Rack of Ribs with Fries and Jicama Coleslaw. . The Real Taste… simply mouth watering 🧡

Posted by Gidi Grill Dundee on Friday, 12 March 2021

Yorkshire pudding wrap at Aberdeen’s Upperkrust

Best for: A lunch-time treat

Andy: The Upperkrust sandwich shop and deli is just over the road from the Press & Journal office in Aberdeen and is my go-to place for lunch.

Sheila, Jackie and the rest of the Upperkrust crew are always bouncing around making their customers feel at home.

And they have a few surprises up their sleeve, too. Not least the Yorkshire pudding wrap they made me this month.

Stuffed with beef, carrots, potatoes and gravy it tasted exactly like a roast dinner wrapped in a Yorkshire pudding. And at just £5, you can’t argue with the price.

Thanks, Upperkrust! See you for lunch tomorrow!

Address: 44-46 Upperkirkgate, Aberdeen, AB10 1BA 

The Yorkshire pudding wrap from Upperkrust. Image: Andy Morton/DC Thomson

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