How many times have their customers come back from a couple of weeks holiday in Agios Nikolaos convinced they can speak fluent Cretan? Fortunately Konaki’s owners are endlessly patient with all the halting Glaswegian kalisperas. Regulars treat this place as a holiday home from home; the prices are certainly closer to Crete than Glasgow and the staples (an authentic village salad, a massive moussaka, great slow-cooked lamb) will whisk you back to that little taverna by the bay as fast as a sniff of house ouzo. They even make their own desserts, things like baklava and kadaifi — those honey-rich cakes that are so sweet and sticky they render speech impossible.
Thai Lemongrass, 40 Bruntsfield Place, Edinburgh, 0131 229 2225
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You’re more likely to hear Cantonese than Thai in the kitchens of many of Scotland’s Thai restaurants but Lemongrass seems to be the real thing, and if you want to get your tongue round a traditional Thai greeting just ask the waitress. On the other hand, if you prefer to get it round a proper Thai spring roll just point to the starters. Grilled pig’s neck is an unlikely sounding star, with loads of meaty flavour livened with a sharp, sweet tamarind sauce, and the chicken pieces wrapped in pandanus leaves and tenderised with soy sauce, garlic and sesame oil would be a winner in any language.
Loon Fung, 417 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, 0141 332 1240
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That old adage about lots of Chinese customers in a Chinese restaurant being a good sign sometimes seems as convincing as Americans in a McDonald’s being a recommendation for McNuggets. But the journey to Loon Fung can take you several thousand miles with every step. Lunchtime dim sum is the thing here, particularly on a Sunday. Point to what you want, try to copy the waitress’s pronunciation and you’ll be fiddling with all sorts of exotica (chicken feet, pork and crab dumplings and crispy fried squid) in no time.