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This week I was accompanied on my travels by my daughter Ground Zero and Dolly, a pocket bully puppy who can only be described as an animated potato filled with joy, preciousness and goodwill to all… Just like me, apart from the last three characteristics.
As I failed to consider that we had the potato in tow until we were en route to Preston City Centre, I had to think fast about where we might get food at 3.45pm on a Wednesday afternoon. My ancient chihuahua Archie and I have already reviewed most of the eateries that allow dogs inside. He wasn’t with me today, as he finds Dolly’s happiness utterly abhorrent.
We decided that GZ would wait outside Preston Market with Dolly, and I’d get us something to take away from Lakhey Asian Street Food, which opened in late September, in the space that Tipsy Chef vacated last year.
I sent GZ a photo of the menu, and she responded with ‘sorry, I don’t like any of that’. I’d already got excited about Lakhey so I bought her the last, rather squashed sub for £4 from Redmans, filled with ‘just everything, really’, according to the person who was serving.
I asked if they had any salt and pepper and was told a little curtly that the shakers were empty as they close at 3pm, which was confusing as it was now 3.45pm. I’d either been vacantly buffering for 45 minutes after I’d taken possession of the sandwich, or Redmans/Schrödinger’s shop was both open and closed simultaneously, and I was being dragged into the realms of quantum physics on an empty stomach again.
I returned to Lakhey and waited to get my food order to go. It took slightly over 30 minutes for everything to be ready, which I didn’t expect because there were only one or two other tables occupied when I arrived, but the staff were friendly and the food was being freshly cooked.
The menu wasn’t huge, being mostly a choice between Korean corn dogs with various coatings, a selection of momos (Nepalese dumplings) and potato sides.
Review: The Himalayan eatery making Mountains out of Momo-hills in Preston City Centre
I’d only ever had a corn dog once before. It was in Florida in 2005 and I’m still reeling from that horror, but this was clearly a sign that I need to give them another go.
The choice of filling was either hot dog sausage, cheese, or half and half so I went for the latter, choosing the option of spicy coating and sweet chilli and garlic sauce for £6. It came in a long, cardboard box and, despite smelling nice, wasn’t the most Instagrammable food I’ve seen. The mildly spicy outside had a nice crunch and the added sauce livened things up, but the mozzarella didn’t do much for me as 90 per cent of it seemed to have scarpered when it melted. The sausage was a generic hot dog type. It was okay for a snack but wasn’t enough for a meal just on its own.
I’d ordered the pork Lakhey’s special momos for £8. They were ten little parcels of seasoned pork, steamed, fried, topped with crunchy sprinkles similar to the type on the corndog and served with a curry sauce. I enjoyed the savoury filling in the momos and the curry sauce, which tasted predominantly of sesame and peanut and was mild enough to be tolerable to people who don’t like hot food. I’d have preferred it with a little more salt and chilli, but there is chilli sauce on the counter for customers to add for themselves, so I’ll bear that in mind next time I order food to go.
A portion of keema loaded fries was my favourite part of the meal. The fries were crispy and generously topped with mild, masala spiced chicken mince, cheese and onions. There was enough for lunch on its own, which was great value at £4.99.
Lastly, I added a tornado potato for GZ in case the ‘everything, really’ on the sub turned out to be an ancient curse or a thumb. When we got home and opened the box there was a deep fried, forlorn spiral of skin-on potato that had wilted in its own steam like it had spent a sweaty hour trying to escape from a bodycon dress in an H&M changing cubicle. I assume that it was originally all perky and crispy, but it did not travel well at all and, for the small amount of twirled potato, seemed expensive at £3.50.
The Redmans sub, despite looking like it had forgotten its safe word at the worst possible time, tasted far better than it looked. It contained a generous amount of salami and chorizo, as well as cheese, rocket and mayonnaise, so nothing too scary after all.
Our food from Lakhey was a bit of a mixed bag. The corn dog was a fun item but hollow inside where the mozzarella had melted, so the sausage option is better. The tornado potato was spoiled by the steam, so definitely something best eaten immediately or swerved altogether. The keema loaded fries were great, and the momos were lovely too. It would be good to also see some salad options on the menu that could be paired with the steamed momos for a healthier meal, but I’d visit again for the keema loaded fries and to try the momo soup, which looked fab.
Have you spent a floppy hour crying in an H&M changing cubicle? Are you still there? Comment below and we’ll send help.
