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.

Cinnamon Indian Restaurant, Grafham (28th August 2013)

Lee's latest outing was with the family at the Cinnamon Indian Restaurant in Grafham.

Poppadoms were shared with 4 pickles, onion salad, mint sauce, mango chutney and mixed pickle - replenishment of mango chutney was required!

For mains Lee unsurprisingly went for veg vindaloo, the rest of the family opted for veg biriani, chicken bhuna, chicken shlashlic with nan, rice and a side of gobi aloo.

Service was good as for the most part we were the only patrons in the establishment.  All in all a pleasant meal finished off with some ice cream delights, a Fantastica and a couple of egg men!

Price was a little high, so recommended to try on the Thursday banquet evening, with 3 course for £12.50!

43 Breach Road

Grafham

Huntingdon

PE28 0BA

Tel: 01480 811316

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

Raja Indian Restaurant - Buckhead, Atlanta, Georgia (14th August 2013)

Today's review comes from the USA again courtesy of Lee's latest trip! His visit was to the Raja Indian Restaurant in Buckhead, Atlanta in Georgia.

Popodoms to start served with a mint sauce and VERY spicy onions, which Lee had replenished quickly!

Started was a favourite, paneer tikka which was served with onions only.  For main, Lee had a rare vegetable tikka massala, albeit served hot accompanied with steamed rice and a plain nan, which were all extremely tasty.

The Raja is one of the oldest Indian restaurants in atlanta, running since 1976!

Certainly recommended if staying in the local area.

2955 Peachtree Road NE
Ste A2
Atlanta

Tel: 404-237-2661
Website: http://grandraja.com/

Kastoori Grill, Seattle (6th August 2013)

Today's trip for Lee was the Kastoori Grill in downtown Seattle. The restaurant can be found near the famous Pike Place Market on the intersection of Stewart and 1st.

To start Lee had the complementary popodom with 3 chutneys, mint, tamarind and a rather spicy chilli sauce

A predictable paneer tikka followed by way of starter then a vegetarian kofta in a hot spicy sauce accompanied with basmati rice and a plain nan

Reading TripAdvisor comments, Lee was expecting a shabby looking place but great food! The restaurant was indeed very shabby - wires hanging from the ceiling, bright yellow painted walls (a bit like the indian restaurant in Only Fools and Horses!) and a open kitchen. But at 6pm on a Sunday the place was almost full!

The food was a little pricey (again expected reading TripAdvisor comments) and it was good! The sauce had a good kick - and with a little extra chilli sauce gave it an extra little kick! The kofta balls were soft and the paneer was served sizzling with onions, green pepper and mushroom, which packed flavour.

Overall, a good meal, even if Lee did over order!

94 Stewart Street

Seattle

WA 98101

Tel: 206 441 5456

Website: http://kastoorigrill.com/index.html

Spice City, Liverpool (1st August 2013)

On a recent trip to Liverpool, Lee stopped by the Spice City Indian restaurant with work colleagues, Tom, Natalia and Sophie.

Sophie, being relatively new to indian food hadn't tried popodoms before, so she ordered for the table along with a pickles tray consisting of onions, mint sauce, mango chutney and mixed pickle

Lee went for a vegetable balti madras with a plain nan and sag paneer side. The curry had a strong flavour and was decidedly average.

Although this was the highest ranking Indian in Liverpool on TripAdvisor, it did not pass the SLT standard to be recommended.

Stanley Street

Liverpool

L1 6AF

Tel: 0151 236 4443

Wesbite: http://www.spicecity.co.uk/

Bombay Flames, Alpharetta, Atlanta (20th June 2013)

On Lee's last night in Atlanta he decided to pay a second visit to the Bombay Flames, given the exceptional meal he had first time around

To mix things up a little, he went for paneer tikka at heat level 5 out of 5. There was a lot of it and the spice level was good - a very filling option for a starter

For main, Lee upped the spice level again going for vegetable phall (again off menu) - wowsers that packed some heat! Served with a plain nan and cold beer...

Again, another fantastic meal!

3050 Mansell Road, Suite A
Alpharetta GA 30022

Tel: (770) 552-5575
Website: http://www.bombayflames.com/index.html

Bombay Flames, Alpharetta, Atlanta (19th June 2013)

Lee's latest US find was the Bombay Flames in Alpharetta Atlanta, Georgia conveniently located 2 minutes walk from his hotel.

Lee started with a twist on his favourite paneer tikka with Tawa Paneer - similar in that the paneer is cooked in a clay oven with peppers and onions.  The waitress asked Lee 'how' hot with a scale of 1 thru 5 with 3 being American spicy and 5 being Indian spicy - Lee opted for a 4. The dish was fantastic, served with a little bit more sauce than paneer tikka, but still quite dry. The sauce had a hint of sweetness with garlic and chilli. The 4/5 on the heat scale was the right call bringing on a light sweat and a tongue tingle

For main, or 'entree' as they say in the states, Lee went off menu, but for an all-time favourite, vegetable vindaloo. The chef did well, well spiced and full of flavour. 

To drink, beer was definitely on the menu with a pint of Taj Mahal Premium lager

If Lee was scoring, he'd be hard pushed to score anything less that 10 out of 10.  Highly recommended if ever in Alpharetta, Atlanta.

3050 Mansell Road, Suite A
Alpharetta GA 30022

Tel: (770) 552-5575
Website: http://www.bombayflames.com/index.html

Anokha Indian Restaurtant, St Pauls, London (3rd June 2013)

The latest review is from a lunch time curry Lee had in London, at the Anokha Indian Restaurant near St Pauls Cathedral in London. The restaurant is intimate with seating for around 24 people.  

Lee was attracted by the £6.95 lunch-time special menu for a vegetarian Thali. Other Thali options were available including meat, chicken and sea food at a small supplement each. For the price, you received a starter a vegetable dish, pilau rice and half a nan bread along with your choice of one extra dish from a list of 7 or 8. Lee chose the Paneer Karahi as the additional dish.

The group had poppadoms and chutneys to start then each chose their thali of choice. The food was well presented and full of flavour. Others in the party went for the chicken, meat and sea food options and all agreed, the meal was great value for money for some good quality food.

Lee looked at the al a carte menu and thought it was a bit on the pricey-side, so the value for money will not be as attractive for a regular meal, so a recommendation for the lunch-time special!

2 Grrenchurch Lane

London

EC3A 5AY

Tel: 020 7283 7729 or 020 7283 7747

Website: http://www.anokha-indian.com/

Bhujon, Mere Green, Birmingham (29th March 2013)

Score: 6.400
Price: £20

NOT RECOMMENDED

After a days drinking in Lichfield, the second Birmingham curry was at the newest Indian restaurant in Mere Green the Bhujon. 

After a 15 minute wait for the booked table poppadoms and pickles started the meal. True to form 3 x paneer tikka's were ordered as a starters, but the food was very disappointing. firstly there was not a lot of it and what there was, was lacking in flavor.

For mains, Lee went for the predictable Veg Balti with the unpredictable side order of chips!! Tony had a mushroom desire, so ordered mushroom Balti with mushroom rice and Simon carried on the egg theme with chicken jaipuri (chicken with egg - begging the question, which came first.....).

Unfortunately the evening came to an abrupt end for Lee who started to feel unwell so had to leave before the mains were served but the boys thoughtfully packed his food up and bought it back as a take away to have the following day.

Mains duly arrived, plenty of it too.  Simon's chicken and egg dish arrived, very tender but lacked a lot of flavour with very little spice so only scored a 7, nothing special.  Tony had lots of mushroom options with his meal and was happy with the food although again found that it needed a bit more flavour, bit better than Simon's but only marginally with and 8.

Summing up this restaurant as more style over substance, very popular but the food did not really score highly.  Not recommended and if you are in Birmingham choose another from our previous trips.

290-292 Lichfield Road
Mere Green
Sutton Coldfield
Birmingham
B74 2UG

Tel: 0121 308 0930
Website: http://www.bhujondining.com/index.php

The Lodge, Shenstone, Birmingham (28th March 2013)

Score: 8.133 or 8.917 (free pickles excluded)

Price: £15-£20

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Tonight was a finale in Birmingham, with Lee's parents likely to be moving from Sutton it was the last weekend for the boys. Harry and Chainsy joined the boys for this momentous occasion.

A couple of liveners started the evening on route to Brum (for Lee and Tony), at Lee's old dears, walking to the pub and at the Old Speckled Hen, then it was on to The Lodge, Shenstone for a welcome curry.

Popodoms and pickles started proceedings then Starters was the house special 5 x Chilli Paneer across the board! As far as scoring was concerned, the boys were unanimously agreed with 9.5 out of 10 - well flavoured and good portion sized! 

Mains, Lee went Veg Balti Madras with plain nan and green chilli, Simon unsurprisingly went Egg Masala with mushroom rice and plain rice and Tony going Veg Balti with egg.  Harry chose Veg Jalfrazi extra hot, Chris doubling up on the paneer with Palak Paneer as a main. As far as scoring went, Simon was a well deserved 10/10, tony enjoyed the meal really a lot scoring 10/10 with a lip tingle! Lee scored 9/10! Chris and Harry agreed with very high marks. 

Overall, a great curry with good value for money - very much recommended.  Two scores here to reflect Lee's thoughts that the pickles score of 5 should be excluded as they were free - you choose! 

Bring on tomorrow night to see if we can top the Lodge!

24 Birmingham Road
Shenstone Woodend
Shenstone
Staffordshire
WS14 0LQ

Tel: 01543 483334

Website: http://www.thelodgerestaurant.co.uk/index.php

 

Swagat, New York City (18th March 2013)

Lee's second curry in New York was a more informal setting at an Indian cafe, Swagat on 29th and 7th Avenue.

Starter was 2 vegetable samosas with a tamarind and a mint chutney, followed by vegetable madras with extra green chilli, rice and a plain nan.

Food was authentic and well spiced. Tremendous value at $11 (£7) including a soft drink.

Swagat Indian Restaurant (W 29th)

205 W 29th Street, (7th Ave. & 29th St.)

Tel: (212) 967-7373

Website: http://swagatindiannyc.com

Tamarind, New York City (17th March 2013)

After travelling half way around the world, Lee was certainly in the mood for a curry. After Singapore, New York City had plenty to live up too!  Andy booked a table at the Michelin starred Tamarind restaurant, so the anticipation of a great meal was high.

Vegetable pastry served with a ginger, garlic and chilli dip was bought to the table whilst Lee, Andy, James and Rajesh reviewed the detailed menu.  Lee started with a favourite, paneer, the dish was pudine wala paneer. Andy and James opted for nawabi shami kabab, rajesh chilli crab. Everyone enjoyed their starters and James summed things up with the comment "the food was served with the perfect amount of heat"

For mains, Lee went for vegetable jalfezi with green chilli on the side and a paneer kulcha, James Duck hari mirch, Andy Rogan josh (with an ensuing debate whether the meat was mutton or goat, but either way, it was very tender) and Rajesh Tandoori mix grill. Portion sizes were very good, bordering on too much. 

As for value for money, not bad for a michelin starred restaurant in Manhattan but was never going to be the cheapest place!

All-in-all a lovely meal, well served, well presented and well spiced.

41-43 East 22nd Street, New York, NY 10010. Tel 212- 674 -7400

&

99 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10013. Tel 212- 775 -9000

Website: http://www.tamarindrestaurantsnyc.com/

Night Safari, Singapore (14th March 2013)

Lee's second Indian in Singapore was at the Night Safari attraction at a take away food court, from Indian Tandoori!

The meal consisted of poppadoms with yogurt, biriany rice, mutter paneer, daal and aloo chat. Food well flavoured and spiced and tasted very authentic.

Great value for money at SIN $15 (£8).

102 Serangoon Road,

Little India

Singapore
218007

Shahi Maharani, Singapore (13th March 2013)

Todays choice was the Shahi Maharani in the Raffles city mall, Singapore.

Lee, accompanied by the Fizzback team, Andy, Dani and Baji found one of the highest rated Indian restaurants in Singapore. Popodoms were bought on arrival with onion salad and chilli mint chutney and pickled shallots - Lee asking for a second pickles tray from the off.

Starters consisted of a vegetarian sharing platter, veg samosa, veg pakora, stuffed mushrooms and aloo mint tinka (yes tinka) - all were amazing with the stuffed mushrooms winning the show (very closely followed by Aloo MintTinka), Dani commented, “all the starters were brilliant“

For mains, Lee went for the fiery vegetable jaipur, Andy mutton rogan josh, Baji chicken tikka massala (very spicy) and Dani butter chicken Makhanwala served with rice and nan. All the food was delicious with the right level of spice to leave a tingle in the mouth and a light sweat on the brow!

Thanks to Ravi for the recommendation, and if you find yourself in Singapore its well worth a visit.

252, North Bridge Road,

03 – 21B Raffles City Shopping Centre
(Lever 3, Fairmont Singapore)
Singapore 179103

Website: http://www.shahimaharani.com/index.html

Jannah, Gamlingay (4th February 2013)

Score: 8.000
Price £20-25

RECOMMENDED

After many months of waiting the SLT Curry Club finally got to visit Tony's choice of the Jannah and were not to be disappointed in any way.

The Jannah has that feel where the establishment was once a pub, but this has been transformed into an Indian restaurant of the highest quality.  The service levels were of a standard that you would expect from a well run restaurant, the food also achieved a higher than average score.

Pickles arrived and were good, but nothing special so scored an average 7.  Starters were a lot better; Simon went for the Prawn Puri, very good presentation and very flavoursome food, deserved a 9.  Lee and Tony both enjoyed their starters, Lee went for Paneer Tikka and Tony had Chicken Chaat.  All in all very good scores - a better than average 9 for starters.

Main courses followed, Simon went for Chicken Jalfrezi, with boiled rice, hot and spicy as one would expect but not too harsh, very enjoyable indeed.  Lee had his Vegetable Vinda with a naan, this was also fairly hot, Lee breaking out into a slight sweat.  Tony went for Vegetable Korahi with mushroom rice, main good but mushroom rice a little disappointing.  Simon and Tony shared a naan.  All in all good mains and decent sized portions, plenty for the following day.  Better than average score for mains of 8.50. 

Service was very good, price a little on the expensive side compared to other restaurants we have visited.  This is a great Indian restaurant and very much worth a visit, the Jannah does not have any gourmet nights but does have a set menu, willing to go off menu if asked.   

1 Church Street
Sandy
Gamlingay
SG19 3JH

Tel: 01767 652117

Red Chilli, Luton (15th January 2013)

Simon's second solo visit for 2013 took him to the centre of Luton to experience the Red Chilli gourmet night, deal included starter, main, side, rice or naan and coffee for £9.95.  Not surprisingly the restaurant was busy for a Tuesday.

Poppadoms arrived with a selection of six pickles, two onion salads, mango chutney, lime pickle, mint sauce and coconut - all very good and if on an official scoring night would have secured a high score.

Opted for a fish starter (£2.50 supplement) - Mass Bora which is a dry spicy fishcake, needed the mint sauce to help it out, had a decent amount of spice but probably not one I would choose again.

Main course - chilli paneer with boiled rice, very good dish, rich sauce, plenty of it too.  Quite hot as one would expect, with planty of green chillies. 

One of the better curry houses in Luton and worth a visit.

96-104 Wellington Street
Luton
Bedfordshire

Tel: 01582 480055
Website: http://www.theredchillirestaurant.com/luton/index.html