A Break From Shopping, Lunch At Giraffe, Meadowhall, Sheffield
Published On Wednesday 1 Aug 2018 by Sticky Beak
See Recent Dining Out Reviews | See All Recent Reviews
School’s out for summer and the weather is el scorchio; so what do me and my flock do? Yep, go shopping to the indoor retail Mecca that is Meadowhall! In fairness though, we did have a purpose for this journey – holiday clothes – else we’d have been at a park picnicking.
We kicked things off with a yummy brekkie; well, with a hard day’s retail therapy ahead we needed to fuel up didn’t we? His Nibs was definitely getting more than a gentle workout carrying the bags around for Chick, Mummy Bird and me! I have to say that all the staff members we met in the shops were lovely, and very helpful.
The Man Bird decided to off-load the bags to the car before we headed to Giraffe for lunch, so “us girls” waited for his return on one of the padded benches on the way to the food court. As we approached Giraffe we could see that a lot of the outer tables were taken so we were glad that we’d rung ahead and reserved a table. We were taken to a table inside that was smack-dab in front of the open kitchen – perfect!
First thing on the action plan was to get some drinks ordered. It’s thirsty work trying on oodles of lovely garments y’know. Chickadee fancied the Elderflower Collins, a lovely thirst-quenching drink and I had a glass of Sauv Blanc from NZ. Mummy Bird had her fave, Pinot Grigio, and The Man Bird had a large Peroni – he’d earned it bless him!
On account of having a big breakfast we all decided to skip starters, and get straight to main courses; a wise decision as it turns out, the Chef at Giraffe is certainly a feeder. Mummy Bird and His Nibs both fancied the Enchilada Chicken Tinga, Chick had the Katsu Chicken Noodles and I had the Chicken, Prawn and Mango Salad. We ordered a portion of the Homefries to share among us all.
The Enchiladas were very generous in size; they had my Mummy Bird’s eyes popping out on stalks! Smoky Chicken, rice and Black Beans are crammed into the tortillas, smothered in a rich, zingy Tomato sauce and covered in a generous layer of cheese. Oven baking these morsels melts the cheese into gorgeous gooeyness, then this delicious package is topped with Pico de Gallo and cooling sour cream; perfect on a warm lunchtime.
His Nibs and Mummy were both impressed by the amount of moist chicken in the dish, and really got their chops around the wonderfully zingy sauce. The whole dish was tempered nicely by the sour cream, and their verdict was one of total positivity.
Across the table from me, Chickadee was merrily chowing down on her thick strips of Katsu Chicken that was perched on a deep bed of noodles and stir-fries veggies, all topped with wonderfully rich, creamy Katsu sauce. Such was her gusto, she abandoned the chop sticks provided and used her fork instead; much quicker and easier for a hungry fledgling! The Panko coating on the chicken was superbly crunchy, even when it had been among the sauce for a bit. The stir fried component of the dish wasn’t at all greasy, so she got all the flavour and spices on her tongue.
My salad was a veritable smorgasbord of taste and texture! As well as an assortment of fresh salad greens my palate was getting to grips with crunchy Radish slices, creamy Avocado cubes and sweet, aromatic Mango slices that had all been tossed in a fresh, fragrant Pineapple, Lemongrass and Ginger dressing. It was lively and bright in my mouth, and really brought the natural sweetness of the King Prawns out. The addition of succulent Chicken breast gave another element of texture and taste to the dish, and really satisfied the appetite.
It took a bit longer than usual for us to polish off the grub, as there’d only been 3 ½ hours between brekkie and lunch, but eventually there were four clean dishes on our table. We swerved dessert too, although I had been sorely tempted by the Churros! I listened to my protesting waist band on this occasion; I think that I would only have managed a couple of bites and had to leave the rest – and I really don’t like to waste food.
Throughout our meal, our server had been so lovely; checking we were happy with our food, bringing a bottle of chilled, iced water out for us, and asking if she could do anything for us. We left Giraffe feeling very happy and contented; we’d happily go back to eat there again, so Hot Wings awarded to this busy team.
Sunday Lunch At The Robin Hood Near Baslow Before you all jump on me, I'm just going to clarify that I do like the warmer weather. But.... Come on, 30 degrees+ is just too much for a pasty English Rose; I can't function: I'm sweaty, lethargic Read The Article | |
Dinner At Roka Turkish Kitchen In Ripley After a day at the Spa, the last thing either myself or The Man wanted to do was cook! We scratched our heads as to whether to get food delivered, order pick-up takeaway or just bite the bullet and go out Read The Article | |
Dinner At Nicco Restaurant & Bar, Pride Park, Derby The Man and I have eaten in Pride Park before, but this was our first visit to Nicco Restaurant and Bar. I'm happy to say that the car park is a decent size and we found a spot for the jalopy Read The Article | |
Out For Dinner At The Merchant's Yard In Tideswell I've always been a huge fan of our stunning scenery here in the Shire, but I'd forgotten just how glorious the scenery is on the drive up to Monsal Head. Even with storm clouds threatening Read The Article | |
Sunday Lunch At The Bulls Head Inn, Foolow The Man and I had kindly been invited along for the Sunday Roast at The Bulls Head Inn at Foolow and, I tell you what, you'd be hard-pressed to find a traditional English village Read The Article | |
Sunday Roast Platter By Hogbroast At The Mixing House, Derby Well, what a blast from the past! The Man and I were kindly invited along by Matt and Jordan of HogBroast to sample their Sunday Roast Platter at The Mixing House Read The Article | |
Back To The Village Inn In Marehay For Their Pizzas The first rule of life? Don't razz your Mummy off; or, if you prefer to look at it a different way, keep Mummy on-side. Happy Mummy = Happy Sticky = Happy Man Bird, Fledge, BB etc.. Read The Article | |
Out For Dinner At The Dog In Pentrich The Dog at Pentrich is [now] the sister site to Tony's Bar and Grill in Beeston, a restaurant His Nibs and I recently visited, and enjoyed. It's been a fair while since we've pootled out to Pentrich, so Read The Article | |
Sunday Lunch At The Scotsmans Pack, Hathersage I don't care what anyone says, as a Brit, there's one meal that screams home: the iconic Sunday Roast. The Man and I were on our way to Hathersage and The Scotsman's Pack Country Read The Article | |
Dinner At Anoki Indian Restaurant At Egginton Near Burton-upon-Trent Well, after more years passing than I care to admit for us to visit Anoki Indian in Egginton (near Burton-upon-Trent), we nearly whizzed past it! You need to keep your eyes Read The Article | |