Newcastle

[Tepee]

My page-boy, who's grown into a 21-year old young man (first time abroad), has just left for one-year studies in Newcastle. He has never cooked a day in his life. Apparently, he stuffed a bag full with his favourite instant noodles!!!

Would appreciate suggestions on where to eat and where to buy stuff for easy-to-cook meals. Thanks.

[Winot]

The problem in Newcastle is not how to eat on a tight budget -- there's plenty of cheap food about. The problem is that most of it is utter crap.

Having visited a number of times I have only eaten well once -- there's a great cafe/restaurant in a converted sweet factory up the hill from the Quay, if I remember right. Other than that in my experience it's either average and overpriced or cheap and dire.

[seanw]

Newcastle Brown Ale provides all the important nutrients to sustain a healthy student lifestyle- the stuff is a gift, unfortunately the expense tends to rise markedly through experience.

[Tepee]

Tks for the feedback. So...it's pathetic cooking in 1-2-3 steps vs "utter crap". Thank God for the important nutrients from the Newcastle Brown Ale!

[Gavin Jones]

Brighton Grove Tandoori

[Carlovski]

One odd thing I remember about a night out in Newcastle was a kebab shop where a large kebab was cheaper than a small one

Newcastle does have a large student population and as such you will find a lot places do deals at less busy times - Pizza/pasta places often do weekday offers where everything is under a fiver for example - that used to be the sort of thing we used to do for someones birthday etc (Usually means the wine bill is twice the food cost though!). Not great food, but half decent and cheap. Indian restaurants are another perennial student favourite, and are usually good value.

I seem to remember that Newcastle's student union is a lot better than most for food, although I was a bit less fussy in my student days!

It very much depends where he is going to live too, both in terms of location and whether he is going to live in Halls or live out somewhere. Cooking (And storage) facilities can be very variable.

A few basic cookery lessons might come in handy - how to make basic pasta sauces (Saves money on nasty and expensive jars), how to cook rice (which a lot of people struggle with) and a good idea is how to cook at least one more complicated and family sized dish so he can invite people round for dinner (Good for making friends, influencing people and getting free wine!)

Instant noodles are readily available here btw!

[Tepee]

Super! He loves Indian food.

As for learning some cooking skills, I think I'll point him here and the forums will make a cook out of him in no time.

Instant noodles are readily available here btw!

←

Ahhh....but is it 'Indomie' brand? Most of us are rather fussy about the texture of instant noodles as well as the taste of the seasoning.

[Carlovski]

Not sure if you can get those ones, if you can find a chinese supermarket they tend to have a HUGE range though.

I'm a nong shim man myself, unfortunately a large proportion of their products have been withdrawn in the UK due to an unregistered irradiation plant...

Most of the indian food will be of the British indian curry house variety - not authentic but delicious all the same. There may be a few more interesting choices in Newcastle though - I haven't actually been in Newcastle for a few years.

Edited September 19, 2005 by Carlovski (log)

[tryska]

pot noodles, pork scratchings and doner kebabs post-newcastle binge?

after a while ask him if drinking newcastle makes him argumentative.

[grahamR]

I was a student at Newcastle. Our restaurant of choice was called Mamma Mia's : if you enter the Big Market from the top of the hill, it's down a side street on the right. The calamari piazza was £2.59 during happy hour. It may have gone up a bit since I was last there in 1988. Okay, it's a million to one shot, but it just might be there (and any good).

[Tepee]

Thanks, Graham. Any help is appreciated. He's staying at the Halls. I encouraged him to do some cooking but he's saying the kitchen cabinets are already packed to the brim with his housemate's stuff. So, no cooking for the time-being. Methinks he needs some of that ale to make him a bit more assertive.

Edited September 27, 2005 by Tepee (log)

[beaker]

Pannis on the keyside is a pretty cheap OK Italian cafe, along with the cafe at the Tyneside live theatre (up a side street from the keyside). Cafe Paradiso also used to be relatively inexpensive for lunchtimes (it used to be split with one floor cheaper than the other - don't know if it still is) - it is up a side street off gray street/dean street near the Theatre Royal. There also used to be an OK place above one of the shops on what we called "the hippy field" - mind is blank as to its proper name but it is the square of grass between the back of the main bus station and the back of Eldon Square shopping centre.

There also used to be (and I think still is) a Chinese supermarket opposite the marks and spencers/bus stop (across the main road) which had cheap groceries and used to do a 10% student discount - incase he decides to shop for food!

[Tepee]

Nice list, thanks, beaker.