Gupshup, Hale

29 January 2022
https://gupshup.co.uk/

Okay, I admit it, I have been looking forward to this one. Jane and I both love Indian food, and Gupshup in Hale - that fancy bit of '“Is it East Cheshire? Is it Greater Manchester?” - is good. Like, really good. The exec chef is Ashwani Rangta of Great British Menu fame, and his reimaginings of classic Indian dishes and flavours are something special. I also admit that I am going to cheat you during this blog. The whole point of the ‘toast sandwich’ is to identify the part of the meal that is the best thing we didn’t expect. Going into Gupshup, I already had a pretty good idea of what my toast sandwich would be. It was the dish I’d thought about again and again since our previous visits in summer 2020 for its freshness, unexpected mix of textures and appeal to something lodged in the memory of a hundred much enjoyed Indian meals past.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s start at the beginning…

…with cocktails. Jane LOVES a cocktail, being a big fan of all things fruity and sweet. She’s also American and, of course, Americans love a mixed drink, be it a Cosmo, a Mint Julep or (God help us) a Long Island Iced Tea. Maybe its something to do with having half decent weather (at least in the South) and vernandas to drink them on. One of my resolutions for 2022 is to stop thoughtlessly defaulting to beer or cider when I go out to eat, so now I make myself at least open the wine and cocktails menu to see if there’s something without hops or apples that takes my fancy. Plus, it was Saturday night and I had been working during the day, so something brightly coloured and full of liquor seemed like just the ticket. And Gupshup’s cocktail menu is FUN. Heavily inspired by Indian flavour profiles and with good, pun-filled names. So we kicked off with the Her-malaya, with pink gin, lychee and blue curacao for Jane and the Slumdog Billionaire, with No. 3 gin, cumin and mint, for me. The latter was particularly good - really refreshing with a great hit of warming cumin. I don’t think I’ll struggle too much with this non-beer business.

The first course menu at Gupshup, I think, is the most exciting and creative part of the menu. This element seems to be particularly good at taking flavour profiles of well known and much loved classics of the Indian restaurant and elevating them to something very special. Jane and I chose to share the Chicken Tikka Pie and the Papdi Chaat. The former very much put us in mind of the classic chicken tikka samosa - flaky pastry with a rich, creamy and warming chicken filling - but served ‘pot pie’ style in a skillet. The Papdi Chaat is like the cucumber raita of your dreams - sweet yoghurt and fresh mint with layers of crispy wafer, chick pea ragout, savoury tamarind chutney and sharp pomegranite seeds. The layers of texture and sweet/spicy/fresh flavour work so well together that I still vividly remember the “WOW” moment of tasting it for the first time back in 2020. And this second experience did not dissappoint in any way.

After giving ourselves a short break to bask in post-starter afterglow, we ordered a second round of drinks (soda for her, white rioja for me - see how well I was doing?) before plunging into our main courses.

I ordered the Monkfish Alleppey. I love fish curries, and due to its meaty and firm texture, monkfish holds up well to both the rich spiced flavours and the low simmering cooking that curry necessitates. The sauce was both rich and bright with coconut milk and mango, and chunks of tomato gave an intermittent tangy kick. Served with a side of basmati rice, it had all of the things that you want from a Saturday night curry, but elevated to something really special.

If you’ve read some of our other blog entries, you will know by now that one of Jane’s favourite things is shrimp. Deep fried, boiled, sauteed, in a casserole, on a sandwich or pizza, she rarely meets a shrimp that she doesn’t like. And at Gupshup she met three she liked a lot in the Tarare Tiger Prawns. The three prawns had been prepared in the tandoor oven with garlic and curry leaf, and came with slices of pink pickled onion and three accompaniments - a mint chutney, a spicy naga hummus and a good ol’ wedge of lemon. Given that Jane is not a fan of mint, I was surpised that her favourite was the chutney, until I tried it myself. It had a bright, fresh flavour with a good vinegar kick, and a consitency similar to pesto which meant that it ahered to the shrimp really well. The presentation gave the dish a sharing platter feel, which we both liked.

And, of course, we had to order naan bread. Because why would you go out for Indian food and not order naan bread? Gupshup always has a really good selection, and we ordered the truffle and the cheese and chilli. Truffle is always my choice and, honestly, it probably isn’t the thing that you’d be advised to order with an already rich monkfish curry. But I don’t care - it was decadent and earthy, and I loved every bite. The cheese and chilly was really good too, with a great contrast between the chewy cheese topping and the cruchy, hot chilli. It was an inpired choice on Jane’s part, as it went particularly well with her smorgasbord of shrimp.

I remember a friend once telling me that he didn’t understand how people could possibly eat both rice and naan bread with an Indian meal, given the sheer volume food and he had a point. I was exceptionally full, and was all for getting the bill and going home. But then Jane asked for dessert menus. And then there was gulab jamun on there. Damn.

The Gulab Jamun Rabri was everything it should be. Sticky, sweet, succulent and, even better, it was served with a fabulous cardamom-spiced condensed milk. Jane and I shared a portion, which meant just one each, and it was perfect way to finish.

The bill came and we found that the reaturant had a promotion on for 30% off food. In total, we ended up paying about £90 for both if us including tip, which was excellent for the standard of food and drink. Superb quality and value, we can’t wait for our next visit.

And what about the toast sandwich?
Sarah - I did warn you that I was going to cheat you here… it was the Papdi Chaat all the way. I have just never eaten anything like it and, calling it right now, it’ll probably be my toast sandwich next time I eat at Gupshup too.
Jane - the mint chutney with the shrimp. Who’d a thunk it?

Mana, Manchester (*)

American Pies, Manchester