Bude Tandoori, Cornwall (28th October 2014)

Tonight's outing was a take away for 8 from the Bude Tandoori in Bude, Cornwall!

Overall the food was very well received. All had a little spice to them, with my brother saying his madras was Birmingham-hot! Lee had a vegetable garlic chilli, which had plenty of both, served with garlic naan to add to the flavour.

Dishes of note: vegetable garlic chilli, chicken shatkori and the lamb sag.

The naan breads were a little dry

Overall a solid 7.5 / 10

12A Burn View
Bude
Cornwall
EX23 8BZ.

Tel: 01288 352504
Web: http://www.budetandoori.co.uk/

Hosseins Persian and Indian, Manila (22nd October 2014)

Tonight Lee chose Hosseins Persian and Indian restaurant in the Makati district of Manila.

Lee started with a masala poppadom, which is a regular poppadom dressed with onion and tomato salad with paprika the followed by veg samosas (4 to be exact) served with a very fiery green chilli chutney....

Then in rapid fire came aloo paneer and a fresh veg curry served with a plain nan bread (more of a cross between a Nan and a pita bread) and some toasted and fresh green chilli

The pineapple lassi was the star of the show! 

Overall a very pleasant meal

2nd Floor 7857

LKV Building

Makati Avenue

Makati City

Phillippines

Tel: 890-61-37 / 890-59-28
Web: http://hosseins.com/

Aryaas, Bangkok (20th October 2014)

Lee continued his January Bangkok vegetarian Indian restaurant tour with a trip back to the Nana indian district. Following Googles recommendation, lee visited Aryaa's Indian Restaurant specialising in both South and North Indian cuisine.

Lee ordered a samosa chat to start followed by a paneer Hyderabadi which the waiter warned is the hottest dish on the menu...... Accompanied with onion nan and a Dal tadka with a mango lassi to calm thing down if the main proved to be too fiery.

The samosa chat, a samosa covered with tomatoes and onions in a yogurt sauce was lovely....tasty, spicy and full of flavour.

The main was as billed, hot hot hot with a mix of fresh green and dried red chillies with a flavoursome dal and the second best nan bread I've ever had! Tremendous. The mango lassi did help calm the mouth down afterwards....

All in all a very good meal, so Google was right again! Maybe Bangkok is on the list for next years SLT trip.....

Shop No. 164/1, Sukhumvit Road

Corner of Soi 8 

Klongtoey

Bangkok 10110

Thailand

Tel: + 66 2653 1 446

Website: http://www.aryaas.in/index.php

The Kathmandu, Torremolinos, Spain (27th September 2014)

Score: 8.667

Price: £20

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Tonight the lads went to the 2nd best restaurant in Torremolinos!

A day of beer drinking and watching football set up the evening, so the boys started with the complimentary Poppadoms and chutneys.

Starters included paneer pakora for Lee and Simon who thoroughly enjoyed it, meat samosa for Ian, Tony selecting a prawn puri and Paul going for chicken pakora two days on the trot. Everyone giving a solid 9 out of 10!

Mains followed, Lee going spicy veg curry with paneer with cheese nan, Tony with veg curry and keema rice, Simon and Paul going house special, chicken kathmandu (chicken, keema and egg) with cheese nan and Ian choosing a staple chicken jalfrazi, with garlic and chilli nan. Again, everyone enjoyed the quality food, all scored 9 out of 10!

All in all a very good meal with Ian stating it might be his best curry ever, however that comment was stricken from the record as he was 10 pints in, so had lost some objectivity    

     

Highly recommended!

c/Antonio Giron, 7

29620 Torremolinos

Malaga

Tel: 915-909-791

Website: http://kathmandutorremolinos.com

Raj Mahal, Torremolinos, Spain (26th September 2014)

Score: 7.125

Price: £20

NOT RECOMMENDED

Tonight's restaurant was the first restaurant on the boys latest overseas trip, this year to Torremolinos. The restaurant is the Raj Mahal and was a conveniently located a 100 yards from the hotel!

Although only their second night away, the evening started a little subdued, probably accounted for because the boys were battered on their first night with beers, cocktails and gin, plenty of gin!

Ian and Lee decided some Faustino VII Rioja would be a good accompaniment to their spicy food, whilst Simon and Paul stuck to the large beers and Mr Codd wimping out with a diet coke!

Poppadoms started and were quickly followed by the starters, Tony selected the vegetable platter, including pakora, bhaji's and a samosa - a little dry! Lee, Simon and Ian chose Paneer Tikka, paneer served in a flavoursome yogurt sauce, extremely tasty and scored a 10 from Lee and Paul having the large portion of chicken pakora.

Mains followed, Lee and Tony going for mixed veg curry with nan, Lee's being very spicy, chicken bhuna for Paul, Ian chicken jalfrezi and simon selecting chicken balti with a cheese nan

Most enjoyed there food although commenting that the mains were nothing special. Tony struggled with his food....not a statement regularly made about Mr Codd, but he said he didn't like it, but I feel the previous evenings drinking played a part in his lack of appetite.   

Overall a pleasant evening!

C Jesus
Santos Rein
Torremolinos
Spain

New Bombay, Bedford (2nd September 2014)

Score: 6.416

Price: £20

NOT RECOMMENDED

It had been a while since the lads had an SLT Curry night, so an impromptu night at the New Bombay, Bedford was arranged late afternoon.

Poppadoms with chutneys to kick off, with some tasty red onions and a flavorful lime pickle.

For starters, Lee went off menu with paneer tikka which was very good and Simon and Tony both having a rather stylist (albeit small) prawn puree. Scoring 6.667.

Main we're a little different with Tony going veg biryani which his feedback suggested was a little stodgy with a veg naramish side dish, Simon going chicken shashlick with rice, salad and mutter paneer and Lee, predictably going veg and paneer Balti vindaloo and plain nan. Also scoring 6.667.

Service was average, scoring 6.333 out of 10.  VFM scored another average score of 6.

Not the best curry house in Bedford and one which we would not recommend for a visit.

53B Harpur Street

Bedford 

MK40 2SR

Tel: 01234 218218

Website: http://newbombay.co.uk/

Indian City, London. (3rd July 2014)

Lee visited the Indian City tonight, a recommendation made to Lee nearly a year ago but somewhere he has failed to visit!

Poppadoms and a large cold Cobra got the evening started. Standard 4 pickles accompanied the poppadoms.

Lee was meeting his cousin, Martin for a catch up, the first in a long time!! For starters Lee had a predictable Paneer Tikka with Martin selecting the Green Chicken Tikka. The paneer was fresh, so on the softer side and with only 2 pieces was slightly disappointing.

For main, Martin boldly ordered Lamb Phall, which drew a rye smile from the waiter (the first and only one of the evening), with Lee wimping out with just a veg Vinda. The food came and the dishes were good! Lee felt a light sweat appear on his brow and Martin commented the same. Lee did notice a slight bulging of Martin's eyes but he covered the heat well and went on the clear his plate.

Overall a good curry and being so close to the office, one that will be revisited again.

4 New Bridge Street

London

EC4V 6AA

Tel: 020 7353 5525

Website: http://indiancity.co.uk/

Bombay Inn, Brussels, Belgium (25th June 2014)

Lee's latest venue was the Bombay Inn in Brussels just off the Grand Place. After watching Argentina beat Nigeria in the last game of the group stage of the world cup and enjoying some Belgium beers, Lee and Tom were in a mood for some spice - a quick Google search and they were at the Bombay Inn. 

Poppadoms with a tangy lime pickle and mint sauce started the meal. A starter of veg samosa for Lee and tom having seek kabab - both were tasty and enjoyed.

Mains included chicken dansak, aloo chana and veg madras served with rice and nan - the extra green chilli was needed to add to the flavour.

Overall, Lee and Tom enjoyed the food although not as good as UK Indian restaurants, was a pretty good European offering.

Rue de la Fourche 38, 

1000 Bruxelles, 

Belgium

Website: http://www.bombayinn.be/index.html

Radhuni, Bedford (15th May 2014)

Score: 9.1334
Price: £20-25

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Tonight's outing was to the highly recommended Radhuni Indian on the Embankment, Bedford. Reportedly the best Indian in the 3 counties (Beds, Herts & Bucks).

The 4 courses started with freshly cooked popodoms and 5 pickles, onion salad, mango chutney, mint sauce, lime pickle and a chilli chutney. Score 7.1667.

The 1st starter was a vegetarian mixed platter consisting of aloo tikka, paneer tikka, onion bhaji and a veg samosa served with a side salad and relish. All 4 portions were tasty and well cooked, only criticism would be that the samosa looked like it may have been shop bought from the freezer section. The relishes included a spicy chilli chutney, mint sauce and the introduction of a new chutney, a bean-based pickle that had a little spice. Scoring an impressive 9.5 overall with all saying they'd order it again!

The 2nd course was a spicy Paneer Pepper Tikka - the waiter warned us twice that is was on the hot-side, that'll be due to the naga chillies.....the reality was it was not silly hot but did hold some heat. We skipped scores as the Second course was out of the norm, but the consensus from the group was full markers, 10 out of 10! So highly recommended.

For mains, Lee ordered veg jalfrezi with a garlic nan, simon chose chicken rezalla (a spicy dish with a base of crushed chillies) with pilau rice , Tony having Sho coo tee chicken (a complex spiced Goan dish) with mushroom rice. Again, well cooked food with good spice and flavours. After some serious deliberating and cogitating and overall score for the mains was 9, TC scoring 10, Lee 9 and Simon 8.

Service was very good, attentive and friendly with a visit from the manager to say hello. The offer of a free drink at the end of the meal isn't unusual but at the Radhuni, the waiter comes round with a drinks trolley with a choice of 20 drinks to choose from which was a really nice touch. Service scored full marks again at 10/10.

With regards to value for money, looking at some of the prices on the menu, there was an expectation this could let the Radhuni down, however the lads were pleasantly surprised with the bill, and the fact that the owner gave each of the lads a £10 voucher for next time meant scores hit another full marks, 10/10 again!

So overall the Radhuni scored  9.1334 making it into the top 5!

38 The Embankment

Bedford

Bedfordshire

MK40 3PF

Tel: 01234 272227

Website: http://www.radhunigroup.com/bedford/

Urban Tadka, Eastern Mumbai, India (9th April 2014)

Today Lee visited the new Urban Tadka restaurant in Eastern Mumbai.  This would turn out to be a tremendous visit.

After poppadoms and chutneys, to start Lee chose a Dilliawali Chilli Paneer - spicy with fresh paneer in a sweet/chilli sauce served with peppers and onions.  The dish packed plenty of flavours with a good amount of spice.

A mild course came of corn on the cob rolled in butter and chilli powder - it left the lips tingling with the spices.

Then for main, Lee had Paneer Karahi served with Tarka Dhall and garlic nan bread.

Lee can honestly say that the food was the best he has ever eaten,  The garlic nan was amazing and the depth of flavours in the Dhall were unbelievable.  So, as Lee's last meal in India on this trip, it was a good one!  Therefore the Urban Tadka gets a good rating and if in Mumbai definitely worth the short drive from the airport.

After leaving the restaurant Lee then had an Indian Pan, a palate cleanser made on the street, including a leaf, chutney, spices and herbs - a very fragrant taste but seemed to work!

Punjabi by Nature, India (8th April 2014)

Lee's paneer extravaganza continued! Having had a paneer tikka sandwich at the local Costa Coffee in Gurgaon for lunch, Lee followed this up with dinner at Punjabi by Nature.

To start, he ordered stuffed tandoori mushroom kebabs (stuffed with a paneer filling) and Dahi Ke Kebab, a blend of curd cooked with coriander and green chilli - it was like a spicy soft cheese dumpling!

For main lee had Lahori Masala Paneer served with a Lachedar Parantha (a whole wheat bread from North India) and an accompanying Kishfisher Ultra

Overall and thoroughly enjoyable meal!

RC-1
Ground Floor
DLF Infinity Tower
Tower C
DLF Cyber City
Gurgaon
India

India Grill, Saket, Delhi (6th April 2014)

For dinner, Lee chose the buffet offering at the India Grill in Saket, Delhi, India!

The 4 course menu included: pea and corn soup as course 1; paneer tikka and cardamon dumpling served with mint sauce and mixed pickle. Mains included paneer butter masala, cauliflower bhaji, tomato palak and veg achari all served with steamed rice and plain nan.

The buffet included desert, so Lee finished with a strawberry gateaux, fresh pineapple and a kiwi and cream mousse

Overall, very good food and great value at 1495 rupees (£15) + tax and service!

Hilton Garden Inn
DLF Place
Salket
Delhi
India

Tikka Town, Saket Delhi (6th April 2014)

Lee has finally made a long awaited trip to India so he can now report on authentic Indian food from India - Delhi and Mumbai particularly.

For lunch Lee visited a fast Indian food outlet in a shopping mall called Tikka Town in the DFL Place Mall in Saket Delhi. He chose the tandoori special (veg) which consisted of 2 types of paneer, tikka and masala served with pistachio dumplings, fresh onion & green chilli, nan bread and a dall along with a paneer tikka paratha. 

The food was exceeding good, and was very cheap at the equivalent of £3.50. Lee noticed on his was out that even McDonalds in Indian does a spicy paneer burger....but he'll save that for another day!

Food Court
DLF Place Mall
Salket
New Delhi
India

Tel: 011 461 02721

Lounge India, Sandy (27th March 2014)

Score: 7.417
Price: £10-15

NOT RECOMMENDED

Tonight's outing of the SLT Club was to finally make it to the Lounge India in Sandy - less than a mile from home and yet the SLT have taken 3 years to make it here on an official night! 

The evening was worth the wait! After poppadoms and chutneys, there was a medley of starters, including a vegetable pakora platter, aloo chat on puree with green chilli, chicken momo and lamb samosa.

For mains, the boys had veg Balti madras, chicken bhuna, chicken Bengal and chicken terror served with a selection of rice and breads and sides including chilli garlic mushroom (which was very mushroomy, garlicky and spicy), mutter paneer and mushroom bhaji.

Coffees followed and the obligatory pineapple ice cream for Tony! Simon chose a tea however this was charged on the bill as only 'coffee is included in the deal.....'

The food was good however the service was very poor - lacking basic attention to detail which resulted in a score of 5.667 out of 10!

Vfm was ok as the £10.95 banquet night was on, but not as good as expected - score was 7.667 out of 10

Overall, the Lounge India did ok, however the boys (especially Lee) felt guilty eating somewhere other than the Gandhi when eating in their home town! The score of 7.417 puts the Lounge India average at best 

Tel: 01767 699986

Website: http://www.loungeindiarestaurant.co.uk/

Planet Dosa, Milton Keynes (19th February 2014)

Today's outing was at Planet Dosa in Milton Keynes courtesy of a good value Groupon!

The evening started with a little confusion.....Mr Codd unsure of what was included and what was extra. On the third attempt to explain Lee gave up!

So, the Groupon included a vegetarian thali, but more about that later.

The boys took the Popodoms from the thali as their first starter and followed it up with a starter each. Lee going for a no-brainier Chilli Paneer, scoring a very respectable 9.5/ 10. Mr  Codd choosing Mushroom "delish" Manchurian, small ears with Chilli Mogo (potato in spicy masala sauce) and Simon Egg Dosa. Tony was hoping for generous portions as he hadn't eaten all day, and he wasn't disappointed, even commenting he would have been happy with half the portion presented!

The thali included chana masala, veg curry and a dhall served with rice, a chapati, raita and very limey lime pickle.  Lee ordered his hot, the other lads going for the safer milder option. The food was South Indian so a little different to the usual and received mixed reviews - Lee enjoying his but small ears was not so keen.

For scoring tonight the SLT went for an overall score, Lee with an 8, tony 7 and Simon 6. Small ears ineligible to score. Giving a 7 overall.

1-3 Duckworth Court
Oldbrook
Milton Keynes
MK6 2RX

Tel: 07979 818749
Web: http://www.planetdosa.com/

Dosa King, Bangkok (20th January 2014)

Lee's latest Bangkok curry saw him and Emma return to the Nana District (Indian District) to visit the Vegetarian Dosa King.

With too much choice on the menu, Lee and Emma decided to share a selection of food items: veg samosa, Dosa Thali and Punjabi Thali. The food included Idli Dosa, Vada Dosa, veg curry, potato curry, spicy veg curry soup, dhall, samosa with popodoms, rice, nan and chutneys. Then an indian desert and a donut to finish.

All in all very nice - the Idli dosa was light and slightly sweet, the dhall full of flavour and the soup left Lee with a light sweat on his brow from the spice.

Lovely place for an inexpensive lunch

Nana District

Bangkok

Bawarch Indian Restaurant, Bangkok (19th January 2014)

Tonight Lee and Emma ate at the Bawarch Indian restaurant - I say "tonight" however it is 2:47am in Bangkok! As we ordered the waiter said we'd be the last covers of the night and over the next half hour turned away 6 or 7 people - a popular place for early hours curry - or more likely the only one still open that I saw!

Lee ordered Vegetable Tawa Massala with rice and nan and a Vegetable Pakora starter. Emma ordered Paneer Tawa Massala

Popodoms arrived with mint sauce, pickled shallots and tamarind chutney - all packed a punch!

The mixed veg pakora included onions, potato and cauliflower, all served in a light, slightly spicy batter with a spice topping that bought out the sweetness of the batter - very enjoyable.

The mains were, as expected, very similar as based in same sauce - a slightly creamy tomato based gravy. Full of flavour, a bit on the hot side for Emma, but just the ticket after watching football and drinking in the bars of Nana.

If you want a curry in the early hours in this district of Bangkok, its the place to go!

Nana District
Bangkok

Pakwan Indian Restaurant, Bangkok (18th January 2014)

Tonight's Indian was at the Pakwan in the Sukhumvit district of Bangkok. Lee had been travelling on business and had been enjoying Indian food all week, but tonight he was out with the wife and a couple of friends.

To start Lee had poppadoms with 4 chutneys, mint sauce, spicy shallots, lime pickle and a tomato chutney - everyone registering 7 or 8 on the heat scale (normal for Bangkok)

As starter, Lee had Paneer Tikka - no surprises there! The food was lovely, good spice, big portions. The paneer came with grilled peppers and onions and interestingly, served on a bed of grated cabbage!

For main, Lee had a vegetable curry madras hot with a steamed rice and plain nan - again good food. The sauce was slightly creamy, but well cooked fresh veg in a nicely spiced sauce.

The others had Lamb Tikka Wada Massala, Chicken Tikka Massala and Tandoori Chicken - all said how much they enjoyed it. 

Sukhumvit Road

Bangkok