Walking and talking: creating a walking tour of the best eating spots in Govanhill
By Kim Supajirawatananon
If there is one thing we wish to capture with this blog, it is the wonderful breadth of knowledge among our MILK friends. During our conversation cafes, if anyone has a question, our hive mind can usually answer it. If we want an informed opinion on something, the MILK regulars are happy to oblige.
This is why our current walking tours project is such a great idea. A collaboration between MILK, Scottish Refugee Council and Migrant Voice, and funded by the Glasgow City Heritage Trust, this project gathers a myriad of diverse voices to tell us their Govanhill stories and describe their favourite places. Over the last few Friday morning conversation cafe sessions, fabulous local historian Katherine has shown us century-old photos of Govanhill and invited us to share the spots that are special to us since we’ve moved here. As well as a tonne of suggestions for charity and second-hand shops (Merry-Go-Round and Kinder-Handl got a lot of love) eating spot suggestions were plentiful. Old favourites like Kebabish, Yadgar and Pakistani Street Food were mentioned but I’d never been in Party Cakes on Vicky Road for their spinach and cheese flatbreads and Turkish baklava before. I went in straight after and can confirm: they are extremely delicious!
This blog has also covered several great local foodie havens. Our original blogging partner Shakya wrote a really informative guide to desi sweets (meethi) centred around Kundun on Victoria Road and I gathered some suggestions for other great meethi shops in the area. I’ve also dedicated posts to a couple of Govanhill food stars: Gomo Kimchi on Alison Street and our old neighbours Transylvania Shop and Coffee. And our pal Samia wrote this gorgeous piece about the best local desi street food.
Ultimately we’re hoping to collect these wee nuggets of personal history and local knowledge into a multimedia walking tour experience narrated by our regular MILK buddies. Govanhill has always been an exciting centre of migration-driven renewal and innovation in Glasgow, and I am so excited to hear what some of the people driving that change have to say about it.