5 of the best: Cheap Cardiff workday lunches


MALAI THAI [pictured] With just a few tables, you’ll want to


get to Malai Thai  aroline Street early if you plan to eat in. Their set menu, for £7.50 including a bottle of water, offers a choice of 13 dishes, from aromatic green and red curries to pad thai and tom yum. Some big Thai brands have recently moved into the city centre, one of them just metres away, but this is a small independent you need to know about.


FRESH You might not feel like spending your


precious lunchtime minutes queuing, but sometimes it’s worth it. There’s high demand for the brilliant baguettes at Fresh  oyal rcade, and the menu changes frequently. Try the Indian


spiced chicken with toasted cumin and mini bhaji, or roast beef with trufe mayo, or chicken teriyaki or… you get the picture. Around £6.50 – pre-order before 10am on 029 2022 3158.


TUKKA TUK With Tukka Tuk, Anand George brings the eralan avours of his acclaimed Purple Poppadom to Cardiff Market’s balcony level. My tip is the Build Your Bowl option. It’s a quick 1,2,3: pick your base (pilav or wholegrain matta’ rice, chips, a sauce (coconut dal, chicken and spinach, beef short rib curry and top with fried chicken, cauliower kempu or chilli prawns. £6-£9, also on UberEats and Deliveroo.


FFWARNES


Just metres away on the same balcony, Ffwrnes continue to produce some of Cardiff’s best pizza from that hulking oven. Light, airy bases loaded with high-quality toppings, how they do it at that price – starting at £5.50 and topping out at just £8 – is a mystery to rival the Marie Celeste.


INDIAN EXPRESS


Piping hot naan, straight from the tandoor, wrapped around chicken tikka or paneer or lamb kofte? You’ll love Indian Express  aroline Street. Eat in or takeaway, it’s no-frills, but makes for a substantial upgrade on your meal deal!


INGREDIENTS Serves 4 to 6 For the ganache


2 boned skin-on chicken breasts 2 boned skin-on chicken thighs 3 garlic cloves, finely diced 4 sprigs of thyme leaves, tripped 25ml extra virgin olive oil 250g natural yoghurt Juice and zest of one lemon 1 tsp ground cumin


12 large mint leaves, finely chopped 180g sobrasada Sea salt


The do-ahead stuff


Place the chicken skin-side up on your board, cover it with cling film and atten it out a little with a rolling pin.


Then put it skin-side down on the board. Mix the garlic, thyme, olive oil and 2 large pinches of salt in a bowl and pour over the esh, massaging it in.


Move it to a plate, remembering to place it skin- side up. Cover it and refrigerate for 2 hours.


Mix the yoghurt, lemon juice and zest, cumin and mint, and set aside at room temperature.


45 The cooking bit


You can either break apart the sobrasada or chop it. Cook for about 10 minutes over a medium heat, stirring: it will look like mince as it separates and the paprika-rich oils render. Set aside for later, but try to resist the temptation to dip crusty bread into the mixture. (Or cook extra just for that little treat


Now for the chicken. Heat a large heavy frying pan over a medium heat, until very hot.


Sprinkle olive oil and salt over the chicken skin, then add, skin side down, to the hot pan. Press the chicken down, rendering the fat and giving you crisp golden skin. This should take 6-7 minutes.


Turn the chicken and cook for another 5 minutes, until it is cooked through (75 degrees in thickest part, or until the uices run clear. Turn off heat and let it rest in the pan for 5-10 minutes.


Spread your spiced yoghurt on the plates and lay chicken on top. Drizzle the hot sobrasada over the crisp skin and the yoghurt.


Serve as a tapa, or plate it up as a sharing dish.


Bar 44: Tapas Y Copas is available from bookshops, online retailers and direct from Bar  price: 


Chicken, Sobrasada and Spiced Yoghurt


We all need one of these in our repertoire: something which impresses with minimal preparation. Besides, when it comes courtesy of Bar 44 yo ko itll be a hit. This ses sobrasada, the sreadable Mallorca chorio available locally from Mercado  olie or allys deli i Cardiff.


Recipe


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