The Indian Summer, Bedford (16th December 2015)

Price: £20-25
Score: 7.500

NOT RECOMMENDED

This was the boys first outing since Gran Canaria. A quick trip to Bedford and a late switch of venue to the Indian Summer (Lee had eaten there before albeit jetlagged and after 8 pints so not a reliable assessment)

Poppadoms started and were very ordinary. Starters followed with 3 x Chilli Paneer and a Chicken Chat. The Chilli Paneer was very tasty with the extra heat of the green birds eye chilli!

Mains included Veg Balti, Veg Balti Madras, Chicken Tikka Korai and Chicken Tikka Bhuna. Lee enjoyed the madras, hot enough but not too silly. The very tasty large portions disappeared quickly off Simons plate! Tony was disappointed with the mushroom rice but enjoyed the Balti.

As for scores, starters came in at 8.334. Mains also scoring 8.334. Service an average 7.334 and finally Value for Money, a disappointing 6 - given location and day of the week, expectations were greater that the price would be more competitive.

Giving the Indian Summer an overall score of 7.500

69 Tavistock Street
Bedford
MK40 2RR

Tel: 01234 351251
Website: http://indiansummer-bedford.co.uk/
 

Zayka, Gran Canaria (27th September 2015)

Price: €20
Score: 8.833

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

The final curry of the tour was just a few minutes from the second curry house, a leisurely wander from the hotel after a day of drinking and relaxing around the pool playing cards. The Zayka is a quiet restaurant which had a homely feel.

 

The third curry of the tour and the usual poppadoms to start the meal. This time a different hot chutney, made from chili and yoghurt which certainly packed a punch, setting Ian off with hiccups and others taking large sips of water, beer or sangria, whatever was nearest quench the burning in the mouth. 

 

Starters consisted of Paneer Tikka for Simon and Lee, Tony opting for his favoured Prawn Puree.  The Paneer Tikka came on a sizzler with what looked like the same sauce as the chutney from the pickles tray. Luckily it was milder and very flavoursome.  Tony enjoyed his starter and all scored a very good 9. 

 

Mains followed, Murgh Dhania for Simon,  chicken in a very dark coloured sauce which had some heat but not too much. The dish was ok but nothing special and scored an 8.   Lee went for a Vegetable and Paneer Jalfrezi with another Tarka Dhall, which although tasty did not outscore the previous mains for Lee, 8 scored. Tony decided on a Mixed Vegetable Curry with mushroom rice, thoroughly enjoyed and scored a 9. Overall an average score of 8.334. 

 

Service was of an acceptable standard and scored a 7.5.  The VFM was better tonight, bill coming to less than €20 per head so scored an 8.

 

Overall score a very creditable 8.210.

Avenida de Gran Canaria 32
C.C. Gran Chaparral
Commercial Center Gran Chapparal
35100 Playa del Ingles
Gran Canaria

Tel: Spain 928769531
 

Gorkha Palace, Gran Canaria (25th September 2015)

Price: €25
Score: 8.833

RECOMMENDED

The second curry of the tour and the boys decided to go to a local curry house,  a ten minute stroll from the hotel.  Upon arrival the boys created mayhem in the Gorkha Palace as the staff tried to accommodate the group with some table shifting, which unfortunately spilled over into disturbing a couple out for a romantic meal.

Once settled plain and spicy poppadoms were ordered with the accompanying pickle tray. This included a hot chilli, mint and coriander pickle which was well received by Tony, Lee and Ian.

So on to starters, Lee went for Paneer Shashlik,  Cauliflower Pakora for Tony and Simon went for Paneer Pakora. Starters scored a combined average of 7.334, Lee and Tony scoring an 8 for their first course, Simon a disappointing 6 for his which lacked a bit of flavour.

 

Mains next, Mixed Veg Korai  for Lee, Paneer Shashlick for Simon and Chicken Tikka Balti for Tony.  All scored well, a nine from Lee who particularly enjoyed his Tarka Dhall side dish.  Tony and Simon went for an 8 each.  Overall average score of 8.334.

 

Service was as you would expect and nothing exceptional although we were offered a complimentary liqueur after the meal, reasonable 7 scored.

 

VFM next and the bill coming in at about €25 euros was what was expected and on a par with other meals, 7.667 scored.

Overall score of 7.584.

Avenida Gran Canaria 22
cc Jardin de sol E
35100 Playa del Ingles
Gran Canaria

Tel: +34 928 76 21 84
 

Maharaja Palace, Gran Canaria (24th September 2015)

Price: €20
Score: 8.833

RECOMMENDEDDay 1 in Gran Canaria was eventful - early start to Stansted, cheeky beer, 4 hour flight then bar, pool, bar, lunch, bar, cards, bar, then curry! And tonight was at Maharaja Palace.

The lads were rather peckish given their busy day.

Beer and poppadoms started off the meal served with mint sauce,  mango chutney,  onion salad and lime pickle.

Starters followed with chilli Paneer chat, shish kebab, chicken chat and Paneer Pakora - clear plates all round . The overall assessment was positive with Lee and Simon scoring 8 for the Paneer Tikka and Tony agreeing with 8 for the Paneer Pakora.

Mains followed with Paneer Tikka Balti, egg Balti, chicken Tikka masala, chicken Tikka jalfrezi and mix veg curry. Lee enjoyed his spicy Paneer Tikka Balti scoring a well earned 8. Simons egg curry was very tasty, everybody agreed, with Simon scoring a 9. Tony scored an 8 for his veg curry and mushroom rice with a side note of 'more mushrooms needed.

Service was very friendly if not altogether competent scoring 7.

And value for money was pretty good, again scoring a solid 7.667.

Overall a very enjoyable meal and one the boys would return too if in Gran Canaria in the near future.

Yumbo Shopping Centre Local 232
35100
Playa del Ingles
Gran Canaria

Tel: Spain 928961620

Kauq, Toronto, Canada (20th July 2015)

Lee hasn't been to an Indian restaurant on his recent work trips so looked to put this right in Toronto - his choice, just 40 mins after arriving he found the rather conveniently located Kauq restaurant, a couple of hundred yards from his hotel.

The simple inexpensive menu had a number of favourites, so Lee went for Veg Samosa to start, followed by Chilli Paneer and Veg curry served with a nan bread

The food did not disappoint! The samosas were home made and freshly cooked, the veg curry full of flavour and the Chilli Paneer stole the show - cubes of Paneer in a gravy with hot chilli, sweet chilli, garlic and what Lee thought was a hint of soy sauce to give the dish an Indian-Chinese fusion flavour

Great value for money too!

The restaurant is located close to Toronto Pearson airport, so worth a stop if passing by!

 

 

Indian Quality, Boston, USA (15th April 2015)

Tonight took Lee for his birthday celebration to the India Quality Restaurant in Boston, MA

The restaurant has held the 'No 1 Indian restaurant in Boston' title for consecutive years from 2003 + many other awards!

Popodoms accompanied the large Kingfisher to start proceedings! 

With such a varied menu, it was difficult for Lee to make his selection but went for paneer tikka to share amongst the guests. With 8 good sized pieces this worked well. The paneer was marinaded in a spicy coating which added to the flavour. To follow Lee choose a vegetable jalfrazi "hot". When checking how "hot" is "hot", the waiter agreed it would be either Phall or vindaloo and said it would be "hot"! He wasn't wrong!! The dish was a good UK vindaloo strength! 

With the bill coming in under £20 including 2 beers, very good value for money!  

Recommended if in Boston, Massachusetts

Taj Mahal, Sandy. (1st April 2015)

Price: £10-£15
Score: 8.833

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

The boys decided to keep their next choice of restaurant local and decided on the newly refurbished and newly managed Taj Mahal (previously The Akbar).  Wednesday is banquet night, starter, main, side, naan or rice and coffee for £9.95 which sounded superb value.  

 

Bring your own alcohol to the restaurant means that you don't pay the normally expensive prices for beer.

 

Poppadoms first, with four pickles, plenty of them too, included a chilli sauce with the usual mint sauce, mango chutney and onion salad.

Starters included three portions of Paneer Tikka for Simon, Lee and Tony, Paul decided on the Chicken Chat with a puree which on reflection was probably not needed.  The Paneer scored 9 from all, a very good start to the meal. 

 

Continuing the banqueting night Simon went for Chicken Sagwala, a medium spiced curry with spinach and a boiled egg.  Paul followed Simon's lead and had the same.  Lee and Tony opted for the Veg Balti, one vindaloo hot and one not!  Tony went for mushroom rice, Paul a special rice whilst Simon and Lee went for a chilli naan and cheese naan respectively.  A plethora of side dishes included a lot of spinach combined with other ingredients to give six in total.

 

• Sag Paneer
• Sag Aloo
• Sag Chana
• Sag Chandra (scrambled egg with spinach)
• Mutter Panner
• Mushroom and Potato Bhaji

Not unsurprisingly there was a lot left over, due to the over ordering rather than the quality of the food.  Mains scored a solid 8.5 from Lee and Tony, Simon scored his at 8 as it lacked a bit of spice.

 

An excellent standard of service and exceptional value for money, worked out that the banquet night saves approximately £5 per meal.  Far better than the old Akbar and well worth a visit to enjoy the good standard of food - in the top 10 of our restaurants visited.

 

144 London Road

Sandy

Bedfordshire

SG19 1DN

 

Tel:

Web: http://tajmahalsandy.co.uk/

 

Indian Summer, Bedford. (6th March 2015)

Indian Summer - Tavistock Street, Bedford

Lee's next curry was at the relatively newly opened Indian Summer on Tavistock Street in Bedford.

After poppadoms and pickles, Lee went for a favourite, Chilli Paneer - a large portion and with extra green chillies, hit high on the spice scale.

For main, Lee chose Vegetable Balti with a plain naan with a tasty tarka dhall and some sag paneer on the side.

Overall, good quality food at reasonable price and good portion size.

69 Tavistock Street
Bedford
MK40 2RR

Tel: 01234 351251
Web: Indian Summer

Bengal Tiger, New York, USA. (4th March 2015)

Bengal Tiger - 56th and 6th Street, NYC.

On Lee's recent work trip to New York he stopped at the Bengal Tiger with a couple of colleagues.  

Poppadoms and pickles started proceeding followed by vegetable samosa.  For main, Lee went for the Paneer Makhani which was a bit on the mild side, but with some green chillies on the side, picked up the heat nicely.

The restaurant is BYO booze, do make sure you stop at the liquor store en route.

58W 56th Street
2nd Floor
New York
NY 10019

Tel: (212) 265-2703
Web: Bengal Tiger Website

Saffrons, Bedford (26th February 2015)

Score: 8.417
Price: £15-20

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

The boys decided to go to Bedford on the back of a Groupon voucher which Tony acquired.

The Saffron has a bright & airy feel to it and can accommodate over 50 people.  The service is what you would expect from one of the better Indian restaurants on Tavistock Street or India Row as its sometimes called.  The food on the night did not disappoint either, with a varied menu that is packed with choice.  There is plenty to choose from whether your a vegetarian or a true meat eater. 

Prices in Saffrons are slightly on the higher side than other restaurants in the area but we feel this is due to the standards & quality of food and service received.
 

SLT choices on the night with scores below:-
 

Simon

Chilli Paneer (10) followed by Chicken Saffron with Pilau Rice (8)

Lee

Chilli Paneer (10) followed by Vegetable Korai Masala with extra green chillies (9)

Tony

Prawn Puree (8) followed by Bombay Chicken with Mushroom Rice (8)

The mains were accompanied with sides of Brussel Sprout Bhaji and Sag Aloo.

The Saffron also have a banquet night and a Sunday buffet.

64 Tavistock Street
Bedford
MK40 2RG

Tel: 01234 325655
Website: http://www.saffronbedford.com/
 

Lounge Inda, Marston Moretaine (23rd January 2015)

Score: 7.875

Price: £15-20

RECOMMENDED

Tonight the lads visited the Lounge India in the quaint village of Marston Mortaine in Bedfordshire.

Lee and Tony had eaten there before but S from SLT was MIA on that occasion so a return visit was necessary to complete the scoring and the official review.

Popodoms to start, served with 3 types of onions: plain Onion salad, red onions and a cumin onion salad as well as mint yogurt, lime pickle and mango chutney.

Starters, Lee went for a Dahll soup with extra green chilli, Tony, Prawn Purée and Simon a Ragda Pattice (potato cake served with a chickpea curry). Simon said his was a little dry and bland, whilst Tony's had a little kick. Scoring 8 overall.

For mains, Lee went Garlic Vegetable Chilli Balti with plain nan and a vegetable Niramish side, Simon went off the special menu, which is normal a mistake, but tonight turned out good with the Chicken Roshuni Modhu.  Tony also went for a special, chicken special Bengal style with a "fresh" mushroom rice. Mains did well scoring 8.667 overall.

Value for money would have been improved had the lads gone the night before and taken advantage of the banquet night, but tonight's score was 7.667

As for service, nothing bad but nothing special so a solid 7 scored!

Overall a good night at a good Indian.

171 Bedford Road

Marston Moretaine

Bedford 

MK43 0LE

Tel: 01234 767106

Web: http://www.loungeindia.co.uk/