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/

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

Grand Indiana, Milton Keynes (23rd December 2013)

Score 7.083

NOT RECOMMENDED

Tonight's curry was courtesy of a Groupon from Lee at the Grand Indiana in Milton Keynes (well an MK postcode 32 miles away from Sandy)! After a short bout of road rage, the boys arrived at the restaurant, next to a service station on the A5...

The child waiter seated the 4 some, Simon, Lee, Tony and Lee's Dad Dave.  After establishing the rules of the Groupon with the man waiter we were in.

Poppadoms served with 2 trays of the 4 pickles, onion salad, red onions, mango chutney and mint sauce. Nothing special but a steady 5.667.

There was nearly scare when the waiter said they were running short on mushrooms....but after a little persuasion he popped over to cost cutters to buy some

Starters were 2 x veg pakora and 2 x prawn puri. Tony constructed what can only be described as a prawn puri kebab sandwich and seemed to thoroughly enjoy it given the lack of talking and the mmmm noises. Simon enjoyed his but commented that more prawns would have been nice. Lee's veg pakora was freshly cooked but could have done with a bit of spicy in the batter. Overall scored 7.33.

For mains Lee went veggie balti (a little greasy), Tony lamb balti ("...absolutely delicious") and Simon chicken karai. Served with freshly purchased mushroom rice. The clean plates suggested a good meal was had by all....scored did well, at 8.334. 

The lack of any deserts was a little disappointing (for Simon), so it was the bill and the long journey...... 

No score for VFM due to the Groupon. Service was mixed, a bit slow in parts but on the plus a trip to the shops to buy mushrooms and an extra chocolate for Lee

Overall score 7.083

Buckingham Road

Milton Keynes

MK19 6JU

Tel:01908 261 212
Website: http://www.grandindiana.co.uk/

The Regency Club, Edgware, London (29th October 2013)

Score: 9.7085

Price: £20

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Tonight's outing was the first reunion following the Benidorm experience.  The SLT were accompanied by Benidorm invited guest Ian; Tony forgot to invite small ears so the reunion was not truly complete.  The restaurant was Tony's recommendation following advice from his work mates.  Lee arrived at the Regency Club, Edgware first and had a beer while he waited for the others to arrive,not a long wait given Tony's driving prowess.

Starters included Paneer Tikka special, Chilli Paneer, Mari chicken and very spicy Chicken wings. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the starters, Lee and Simon shared the paneers, both packed a punch heat wise but had delicately different flavours. Scores wise, it would be a perfect 10 with all scoring the maximum.

Mains, Lee went mixed Veg madras/vinda, Tony Karai Chicken Massalla, Ian selected the equally fiery Chicken Chilli Massalla accompanied by a Chilli Garlic nan (even the waiter shook his head at Ian's choice!!) and Simon went for a predictable egg curry! As with the starters, everyone enjoyed the mains, all leftovers were taken home as takeaway! As for scores, fell short of the perfect 10, but a very respectable 9.5.

As for service, the waiter was very understanding, knowledgeable and patient with the more demanding members of the party! Score reflected this, giving an overall service score of 9.667.

VFM was left, now, this caused a little debate before the bill arrived. We thought the bill was going to be high, +£25 each, it turned out to be £22.50 (incl tip) so resulted in a 9.667, again very impressive.

So, the overall score for the Regency Club was a rather impressive 9.708*, a whole 0.5 points higher than the previously scored 1st place, Al Faisals. *The only caveat being, Al Faisal's served poppadoms which The Regency didn't, so the score without poppadoms  to make the 2 restaurants comparable, would also have been 9.708, even to 4 decimal places, the restaurants scored an equal 9.7085, so I think fair to say an very fair draw!

19-21 Queesnbury Station Parade
Edgware
Middlesex
HA8 5NR

Tel: 020 8952 6300
Website: http://www.regencyclub.co.uk/

Nawaab, Benidorm (28th September 2013)

Score: 4.667

Price:  €20.00

NOT RECOMMENDED

The 3rd curry had a stuttering start with the first venue of choice having closed down so the helpful taxi drivers took us a couple of streets away to the award winning Nawaab - the boys have visited their sister restaurant in Magaluf and Lee thinks he's eaten at their sister restaurant in Leeds!

Poppadoms were served with just 3 pickles, mint sauce, mango chutney and some spicy red onions - the scores came in low - 5 out of 10 - due to the limited choice.

Starters were a mix of veg samosas, meat samosas and vegetable pakora - the samosas went down very well! Overall starters  scored 7.5 - the boys all agreed it would take something special to get a 10 for a samosa!

For mains, Lee went vegetable madras, Paul chicken curry, Simon chicken rogan josh, tony veg bhuna and Ian chicken madras all accompanied with rices and nans. The mains failed to impress, the vegetable dishes were made with frozen or tinned veg so were really unpleasant, the mushroom rice was made with tinned mushrooms which ended up being left and the chicken rogan lacked flavour. The chicken dishes were well received - scores came in as expected at a very disappointing 3 out of 10

VFM wasn't great either scoring just 2.67 and Service was interesting - one friendly demeanoured waiter and one rather surly waiter, scoring just 3.667!  

The overall score was a very disappointing 4.400 which interestingly was the exact same score as the sister restaurant the Nawaab in Magaluf - so both are consistently bad!

Calle Ibiza
03503 Benidorm
Spain

India Gate, Benidorm (27th September 2013)

Score: 7.375
Price:  €20.00

RECOMMENDED

Tonight's restaurant was the India Gate - the "best Indian restaurant as rated by TripAdvisor  and the "only Indian owned restaurant in Benidorm"

Poppadoms started proceedings and they were a significant improvement on last nights offering - they were crispy not bendy!!

The poppadoms were served with 5 pickles, mango chutney, tamarind chutney, lime pickle, mint sauce and some very fiery onion salad - all were replenished, especially the onions!

Starters included paneer tikka, chicken chat on puri and king prawn pakora - the paneer could have been cooked more and the prawns could have been tailed, but overall the boys enjoyed their starters!

Mains today were, veg balti madras, chicken jalfrezi, chicken korai and chicken bhuna served with Bombay aloo, some rice and different nans. Lee's veg balti disappointed as the sauce tasted a little artificial and not overly curry-ish, he preferred yesterdays.  However, Simon, Tony, Paul and Ian enjoyed there's which was reflected in the scoring

VFM faired less well than the Lal Qila and service was friendly and attentive without being overly obtrusive.

The overall score came in at 7.375 putting the India Gate in the third quartile.

Calle Gerona 2/14
03503 Benidorm
Spain

Lal Qila, Benidorm (26th September 2013)

Score: 6.600
Price:  €15.00

NOT RECOMMENDED

So, the boys decided Benidorm was the venue for this years curry club away trip - the SLT were present, Simon, Lee and Tony accompanied by Paul for first time and Ian as a regular (2nd year in attendance)

The first night restaurant was Lal Qila, just a short walk from the four star hotel.

Customary poppadoms to start - the poppadoms themselves were a little rubbery causing consternation among the group as they went beyond perpendicular before breaking! Lee scored 6, talking up the pickles, however Simon scored 3 and expressed extreme dissatisfaction. whilst Tony agreed with Simon, so an overall scoring a disappointing 4 out of 10

Starters included vegetable pakora, vegetable and meat samosa, onion bhaji and chicken pakora. Like poppadoms Lee enjoyed the food presented as did Ian, both opting for samosas. Tony's onion bhajis exceeded expectations and Simon's pakoras were acceptable but only scored 6 out of 10.

Mains were veg balti madras, chicken jalfezi, chicken shashlik, with a selection of rice and nan. Lee's veg balti madras packed flavour so warranted an 8.5/10 however, it was questionably a balti dish! Simon, Paul and Ian raised concerns about the grease/ oil level of their dishes along with the authenticity of the jalfrezi so the overall score for mains was 7.333

VFM was good at just €75 for 5 people including drinks, so overall scores were 6.600 which puts the Lal Qila in the bottom quartile of all restaurants.

Lal Qila
Avda Doctor Severo
Ochoa 2
Loc 3
Benidorm Spain.