Latest news with #JorisMinne
Belfast Telegraph
31-05-2025
- Business
- Belfast Telegraph
Noodle chain Madame Pho opening first restaurant outside greater Belfast
Madame Pho, which specialises in pho noodles and other rice dishes, has announced it will soon open its first restaurant outside of greater Belfast. The new location will be at Bishop Street in Derry. 'Derry/Londonderry we heard you. We are delighted to announce that we will be opening our first northwest store on Bishop Street very soon,' a post on social media said. It's currently looking for new staff to join its team. A new limited company for Madame Pho Derry was registered on Companies House earlier this month. Madame Pho has grown to several locations across the wider Belfast area. It started out with a branch on Belfast's Botanic Avenue. There are now multiple locations, including St Anne's Square, Botanic Avenue, Lisburn Road, the Ormeau Road, Longstone Street in Lisburn and the Antrim Road in Glengormley. However, it recently announced it would be closing its Dundonald location. In a 2022 review for the Belfast Telegraph of the Botanic Avenue location, the pho noodles were described as a 'hefty, steaming bowl bringing forth a rich and well-seasoned, slow-cooked broth, thin slices of ribeye, a healthy portion of noodles, and a few additions to help enliven the dish, including fresh herbs and chilli'. 'It's clean, yet meaty, and permeated with zest and freshness from ginger and mint. The beef brisket is an even stronger option.' And in a recent review, Joris Minne said the spot's curry was one of the best in the city. 'A relatively mild yet well spiced sauce made from coconut milk and a variety of Thai-adjacent ingredients, it is quite honestly one of the best in the city,' he said. 'This is like a refined Thai green or red curry, golden in colour and well populated with meat and vegetables.'
Belfast Telegraph
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Belfast Telegraph
Restaurant review: Portrush has become the Nantucket of NI – and the food at this new hotel is as dreamy as the location
Joris Minne heads along the Causeway coast to the new Dunluce Lodge. Two of the world's most expensive bits of coastline are thousands of miles apart but share a common theme. Understatement. The two locations share a space at the opposite end of a spectrum where the other end is Dubai. We are talking about Nantucket, the island off Cape Cod made famous by Herman Melville and his Moby Dick and more to the point, Nicole Kidman and her central appearance in The Perfect Couple. In this series, Nantucket is portrayed as a super wealthy enclave where everybody has an innate sense of impeccable taste and style. The clapboard houses are in perfectly blended Farrow & Ball type colour schemes, the interiors are chic-rustique and the views to the beaches and sea beyond interrupted only by lush green lawns, marine pines, picket fences and salty boardwalks. About 3,5000 miles back east on the Normandy coast is the equally well appointed super posh Deauville. Known since the 1800s as an upscale holiday destination with its elegant casino, golf courses, horse races and the American Film Festival, this town can match Nantucket on the style, elegance and good taste readings no bother.
Belfast Telegraph
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Belfast Telegraph
Restaurant review: Portrush has become the Nantucket of NI – and the food here is just as dreamy as the location
Joris Minne heads along the Causeway coast to the new Dunluce Lodge. Two of the world's most expensive bits of coastline are thousands of miles apart but share a common theme. Understatement. The two locations share a space at the opposite end of a spectrum where the other end is Dubai. We are talking about Nantucket, the island off Cape Cod made famous by Herman Melville and his Moby Dick and more to the point, Nicole Kidman and her central appearance in The Perfect Couple. In this series, Nantucket is portrayed as a super wealthy enclave where everybody has an innate sense of impeccable taste and style. The clapboard houses are in perfectly blended Farrow & Ball type colour schemes, the interiors are chic-rustique and the views to the beaches and sea beyond interrupted only by lush green lawns, marine pines, picket fences and salty boardwalks. About 3,5000 miles back east on the Normandy coast is the equally well appointed super posh Deauville. Known since the 1800s as an upscale holiday destination with its elegant casino, golf courses, horse races and the American Film Festival, this town can match Nantucket on the style, elegance and good taste readings no bother.
Belfast Telegraph
10-05-2025
- Business
- Belfast Telegraph
Madame Pho: Vietnamese chain shutting up shop at NI site
Vietnamese street food chain Madame Pho has announced that it will be closing its Dundonald restaurant today (Saturday, May 10). Revealing the news on their social media channels yesterday, the owners stated: 'It's with a heavy heart that we have to announce the closure of our store here in Dundonald. 'Thank you for the memories but don't fret because we are not fully going away! Our staff will be staying on with the new owners Waka Asian Fusion! 'Our last day operating as Madame Pho will be Saturday 10 May (closing at 9pm) - come down and get your pho fix before then!' Madame Pho, which was established in 2020, officially opened its eatery in Dundonald just last August. The unit at Eastpoint Entertainment Village in the Co Down town was the company's fourth opening in around six weeks at the time. The chain started out with a branch on Belfast's Botanic Avenue. There are multiple Madame Pho locations in Northern Ireland now, all in or near Belfast. They operate at St Anne's Square, Botanic Avenue, Lisburn Road, the Ormeau Road, Longstone Street in Lisburn and the Antrim Road in Glengormley. They also opened a location in Dublin in October 2024. Madame Pho serve a wide variety of Vietnamese food, including the famous noodle soup dish it is named for. Guests can also try Banh Mi baguettes and Ca Ri curry. In 2020, the Belfast Telegraph's Joris Minne described their Pho as 'wholesome… you can feel the health benefits as it flows down your throat, and the additional lime, chopped chillies and coriander on the side allows you to spice it up, and it does need a bit of a gee-up'. Madame Pho founder William Chan sold the business to new owners in 2023. He opened specialist Vietnamese coffee shop Phin on the Ormeau Road in April of last year. He told the Belfast Telegraph he had a 'passion' for hospitality after growing up in the trade, with his family owning Furama, a Chinese restaurant in Antrim for over 30 years.
Belfast Telegraph
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Belfast Telegraph
Restaurant review: Small Belfast spot serving top-rate Chinese food – with some of the best BBQ duck around
We honestly haven't eaten this standard of Chinese since a visit to London, writes Joris Minne after a visit to Same Happy Ever tried to substitute your desert island disc choices for favourite things to eat? I do it all the time. And every week my list changes. A while back nothing would do, but I had to have the lobster roll Stevie McCarry used to make before he went all Great British Menu, stopped smoking and became a proper restaurateur with Lir in Coleraine. The lobster roll in his former parish of Native Seafood in Portstewart made with a golden toasted brioche bun and supported by chopped lettuce and tomato, mayonnaise and sprinkled with paprika and finely chopped chives was worthy of last supper status. Eat that, and your work here is done. It was definitive and perfect.
