A restaurant and bar in Wirral is serving plant-based Asian food from local takeaway business Forked Up every week.
Habibi is in New Brighton, based in the town’s vibrant Victorian Quarter. The restaurant and cocktail bar recently announced its partnership with Forked Up, with the takeaway business serving plant-based Asian food from the venue four days a week.
I visited Habibi on a sunny Thursday afternoon when there were people sitting out on the terrace enjoying Habibi’s drinks and Forked Up’s food. I was greeted warmly and told to choose any table I fancied. Wanting to take advantage of the glorious weather, I selected one at the centre of the large terrace area in the sunshine.
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Habibi has an extensive drinks menu featuring a variety of cocktails, mocktails, beer, gin, rum, wine and more. I decided to go for the Strawberry Lemonade (£3.50 or two for £6), which was the perfect refreshing beverage I needed to cool me down in the hot weather.
Forked Up’s menu consists of nibbles, small plates and bao buns containing a variety of fillings. I’m not a vegan or vegetarian, but everything on the menu sounded appealing. It was difficult to decide between a number of small plates, so I appreciated the recommendation of The Oriental Bowl (£16) which included everything I was craving.
The Oriental Bowl consists of two spring rolls, two gyoza (small Japanese dumplings filled with tofu and vegetables), jarg peking duck bao bun, crispy salt and pepper tofu, sticky jasmine rice, mild chip shop curry sauce and Japanese pickles.
At first glance the dish may seem quite pricey, but if you bought each component separately, you’d be paying a lot more. For example, one bao bun is £4.50 and the spring rolls and gyoza cost £4 each, so The Oriental Bowl is definitely worth the price.
My meal arrived within 15 minutes of ordering it, and I was very impressed with the appearance of the dish when it was placed in front of me - it almost looked too pretty to eat! I’m pleased to say The Oriental Bowl tasted as amazing as it looked.
The fluffy but sticky jasmine rice was cooked perfectly, a match made in heaven with the chip shop curry sauce which had just the right amount of kick to it. The spring rolls were crispy on the outside and packed full of tasty filling. I hadn’t had gyoza before, so I was intrigued to try it. I was delighted to discover the little dumplings were packed full of flavour.
I thoroughly enjoyed everything in The Oriental Bowl, but the bao bun was the star of the show for me. The soft bun was full of delicious jarg duck meat, spring onion, cucumber, five spice and hoisin sauce, with all of the flavours and textures complimenting each other beautifully.
Overall, Forked Up’s menu at Habibi was delicious - it's hard to believe it's entirely plant-based due to the impressive flavours and textures. Despite the food being plant-based, I believe everyone can enjoy it, regardless of whether you’re vegan or not.
Habibi can be found at Victoria Quarter, 3 Grosvenor Rd, New Brighton, Wallasey, CH45 2JD. Forked Up serves its plant-based food at the restaurant and bar every Thursday to Sunday. You can book a table here.
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