[Food police] Sisterhood

Lees in het Nederlands

Just say no, and you’ll get two. Brothers, naturally. After the Food Police’s negative critique last week, it’s up to Brothers in the Hood to restore faith in Pulse’s local heroes.

Restaurant: Brothers in the Hood

Day: Thursday, 21 March 2019

Time: 12:15

Opening hours: 08:00 to 19:00

Meals: Japanese wok vegan (vegetables, noodles, soy sauce dip, cashew nuts, coriander), Bruschetta with roast salmon and quinoa salad (pumpkin, rucola and mango)

Temperature

Japanese wok vegan (10)

Wonderfully hot noodles. We even need to blow on them before we can eat. The thermometer jumped up to 75 degrees. Just what we’re looking for!

Bruschetta with roast salmon  (-)

Quinoa salad (-)

A smashing thermometer, that’s what we like to see!

Texture

Japanese wok vegan (7)

Plenty of crunchy things on our steaming noodles: lightly spiced cassava chips and fried onions. And then there’s the leek, spring onion, pak choi and some hidden bell pepper. Unfortunately, we could not find the promised coriander and cashew nuts. A minus point.

Bruschetta with roast salmon (8)

You never know how hard a bruschetta will be until you eat it. Luckily the Brothers were paying attention and we enjoy the unexpected combination of melt in the mouth salmon on the hard bread. A minus point? It’s hard to use the cutlery.

Quinoa salad (9)

A rollercoaster of textures! We swing between crunchy bell pepper and soft quinoa and pumpkin, and loop the loop to the rucola and spring onion.

Taste 

Japanese wok vegan (8)

The Japanese wok is delicious. Not too spicy, not too bland. Just yummy. And do we detect an underlying flavour of lemongrass in the soy sauce? This version of the Japanese wok is to be recommended, despite the missing nuts and coriander.

Bruschetta with roast salmon  (9)

Just like hungry Norwegian fishermen, we wolf down the salmon. It is so delicious and we eat so fast that we get the hiccups. Hmmm, will they share the recipe for the lime mayonnaise with us …?

Quinoa salad (8)

We went for this salad because of the mango. But the only orange chunks that we taste are pumpkin. Tip: only eat this salad if you don’t need to talk to anyone! We woke up the next day with the taste of raw red onion.

Don’t be fooled by those orange pieces of pumpkin, because no … there is really no mango!

Quantity/proportion

Japanese wok vegan (7.5)

Brothers in the Hood serves generous portions. We’ve sometimes been served meagre meals on campus. Portion aside, there could have been a little more vegetables in the noodles.

Bruschetta with roast salmon  (9)

EUR 4.50 for a slice of toasted bread with salmon seems a lot. Until you see what you get. The bruschetta is drowning in avocado, salmon and rucola. The portions are certainly not measured here, but simply lovingly arranged by hand.

Quinoa salad (9)

The grains look so sweet and tiny, but they are deceptively filling. Add a mountain of vegetables and you are in vitamin heaven. Just to moan again, where was the mango?

Price/quality

Japanese wok vegan (7)

For Pulse standards, EUR 6.25 is OK, but it could also be a little cheaper.

Bruschetta with roast salmon (8)

We don’t want to call it cheap, but for EUR 4.50, you get a filling meal. We’ve bought more expensive sandwiches at Cormet eateries.

Quinoa salad (8)   

Quanto costa? EUR 5.75. The ‘hipster seed’ is a luxury item for students, so we are not dissatisfied with this price.

We ate this bruschetta so quickly that we got the hiccups!

Presentation

Japanese wok vegan (8.5)

The presentation has a real street vibe. A well-filled container with a piece of baking paper.

Bruschetta with roast salmon (9)

Vegetables and fish in an amicable mosh pit. Music on and go.

Quinoa salad (8.5)

We continue in the music theme as the quinoa salad is simply a festival in a dish. So may colours, shapes and tastes. Talking about festivals, do the Brothers have a food truck?

The brothers in action. 

Experience (9)

Just as predictable as a TV soap is our usual problem with receipts. But luckily no false promises this week, but immediate action. The food is again rung up on the till, paid for by one of the Brothers and the coveted receipt goes straight in our pocket.

Overall rating

Japanese wok vegan (8)

Bruschetta with roast salmon (9-)

Quinoa salad (8.5)

Scorebord: 

1. Gemista from Maria’s Home Made (9)
2. Bruschetta with roast salmon from Brothers in the Hood (new!)
3. Quinoa salad from Brothers in the Hood (new!)