United Kingdom
If you're tired of Italian, Indian, and Chinese restaurants, then this might be just up your street.
Eemaan is a Kurdish restaurant in Newcastle,so when I saw it I felt I just had to try it. The food was delicious and the surroundings friendly. I got an even better surprise when I checked out the bill, which was fabulously value-for-money.
Kurdish food, I found out, is mostly rice and delicious casseroles with fresh naan, washed down with loads of mastow. The Kurdish and middle eastern people drink lashings of this yoghurt drink. If you've still got any room left after the huge portions, try a steaming hot Kurdish tea which they brew in a samovar and a selection of pastries.
This restaurant makes cooking rice an art form, and I loved the yummy naan. If you've never tried Kurdish food before, I wholeheartedly recommend that you do, although a word of warning - as a halal restaurant it does not serve alcohol.
Address: 5 Mill Lane, Newcastle Upon Tyne.
Tel: 0191-2734743
Link to review by Evening Chronicle: icnewcastle.icnetwork.co.uk/0300entertainment/nightsout/tm_headline=eemann-newcastle%26method=full%26objectid=19564620%26siteid=50081-name_page.html
This is a five minute crossing of the River Tyne between North and South Shields which presents a panorama of cranes on the banks of the mighty Tyne. They stand like giant preying mantis etched on the western sky, looking bereft. The ships which were once their prey are gone, now made in warmer climes where the workers can be paid less. The lovely wee ferry provides a glimpse, an echo, of more heroic times when a worker took pride in wages earned by real skills.
And to the east lies the North Sea, as cold and uninviting as it sounds. Yet still the trawlers venture out of the mouth of the Tyne in search of the mighty cod, and Norway beckons, inviting the Geordie to embark on a yet more arduous ferry journey to frigid fjords where they can languish on the latitude of an Arctic circle.
Take the metro from the centre of Newcastle to North Shields then follow the Pedestrian Ferry signs to the River Tyne. Upon disembarking take the metro from South Shields back to Newcastle. The Day Saver ticket on the metro covers the cost of the ferry.
Children love this adventure, and a great pint of ale can be had at the Alum pub by the ferry at South Shields.
It is only a £1 or 50p for concessions to get in, and it is a museum but is set in an uncluttered way in that you can explore the various rooms of the keep yourself. The view from the top is more extensive that the one from the Baltic viewing platform, as you can see up the Derwent valley and out past Byker.
Near Newcastle Central Station, also next to The Bridge Hotel
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