McCoy’s are re-running their 2-4-1 curry offer. Buy a packet of the promo crisps (red top) and it could save you on your next trip to the curry house (eat in or collection but no delivery). Check out their website for details.
www.mccoys.co.uk
Author: Daniel Ford
Daniel Ford is a media entrepreneur, writer, editor and publisher who specialises in launches and re-launches. He is the Publishing Director of media company Chase My Snail. He was previously Editor-in-Chief of GQ (South Africa), Editor-in-Chief of Sunday Life magazine (Independent News & Media) and CEO of the African design magazine Ogojii. He has consulted on digital media, magazines and books in England, India, the USA and South Africa, including creating a glossy print edition of the SABC's TV show Top Billing and branding for the Laureus World Sports Awards. He has written a number of books on fitness, sport and travel, which have been published all over the world, from China to Africa and from Russia to Australia. He loves carefully crafted words, digital and print publications produced with passion. And curry.
Passage to Indian
Indian Jewel, Prague, Czech Republic
Few curry houses in the world can offer diners such a beautiful walk to their spice fix as the Indian Jewel. Although the actual restaurant entrance is low key, to get there you have to walk through the famed Staroměstské náměstí (Old Town Square) towards the fairy tale Tyn Church with its twin Gothic towers and cluster of spires. Pass through an archway to the side, along a narrow cobbled path, past numerous local restaurants tempting you with their local specialities and then you will reach a large courtyard area where you will find your curry reward. Your reward comes in a restaurant that is simply but tastefully laid out.
Greeted by a Bengali and served by a Czech, advice was quickly offered for descriptions of the dishes on the menu. It’s a fairly limited menu but the dishes are plentiful and well spiced, if a little pricey at around £15 a main dish.
Decor is simple yet attractive. Dhingri Mattar (centre left) and Chicken VindalooThe Chicken Vindaloo (360 Kč) had a decent amount of potato in it – it’s amazing how many restaurants hardly bother with what is an essential ingredient of this famous Goan dish. It had a slow burn to it, rather than the kick in the face some vindys deliver. The decent portion of Zafrani Pullao (100 Kč) delivered its delicate saffron taste perfectly, while the Chicken Sag (375 Kč) also got the thumbs up.
The four vegetable dishes are offered as main meals but half portions are offered if you want it as side dish. Dhingri Mattar (90 Kč half portion) was thick and juicy and didn’t hold back on the peas or the mushrooms.
After a quick bit of tourist information as we wrapped up the last bits of chicken and rice it was time to… and you know what’s coming don’t you?… you’ve got it, order the Czech. Boom, boom.
Indian Jewel, Tyn 6, 110 00, Prague 1 – Staré Město, Czech Republic. Tel: +420 222 310 156 or +420 725 107 059. E-mail:ind.jewel@savic.eu.
Indian Jewel snapshot
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Urbanspoon
Greenwich Curry Club reviews can now be seen on Urbanspoon (www.urbanspoon.com), the worldwide restaurant review site. The reviews have only been up a few days but we are already moving up the blog charts. More to follow…
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From the north
Royal Spice, Docklands, London
(Takeaway)
Fed up with the usual? When you’ve had your fill of Chicken Madras, Prawn Bhuna and Lamb Dupiaza for your Friday night takeaway give Royal Spice’s Gosht e Nobabi (£7.95) a try.
The North Indian dish is not found on too many menus, which is what makes it all the more appealing, and the tender lamb comes beautifully infused with the whole spices it’s been cooked in and is topped with soft pieces of green pepper. It’s got a deep, rich taste and is hot, but not too hot, so will appeal to a wide-range of curry lovers. The strong flavour is not too disimilar to a Rougan Josht that’s been traditonally cooked with whole spices (as opposed to the ‘fried-up with lots of tomatoes’ variety that’s served in most restaurants).
Plain rice (£1.75) would be a good choice to go with the dish so as not to detract from its flavours but those after a bit more from their side dishes could do worse than Mushroom Piloa Rice (£2.25).
But curry man cannot live on experimentation alone and Balti Chicken Tikka (£6.95), which comes with a nan, ensures you’ve get a decent portion of old-school tastes. The chicken is well cooked and the tandoori flavour doesn’t get drowned out by the sauce, although this may have a bit of an overload of onions for some tastes.
A nice move from Royal Spice is to offer two sizes of their vegetable side dishes (£2.50 for small and £4.25 for large). Too often you can fancy a couple of side dishes but find it sends the overall cost soaring. The small option is ideal for a couple of tasters. Niramish, mixed fresh vegetables in a dryish sauce and with a kick from green chillis, is to be recommended.
Parking: on West India Dock Road, Gill Street, Three Colt Street, St Anne Street or Burdett Road.
Delivery: free within five miles for minimum orders of £10. The receipt shows the food went out 40 minutes after the order was taken.
Specials: 10% discount on delivery orders over £30 and a 10% discount for orders that are collected. Free bottle of soft drink on delivery orders over £20.
Beer while you’re waiting: Royal Spice is a fully licensed restaurant so no problem with a beer if you are collecting your takeaway.
Royal Spice, 815 Commercial Road, London, E14 7HG. Tel: 020 7536 9902. Open: Mon–Fri 5pm–midnight, Fri and Sat 5pm–12.30am). Text: 07950 271 024 or 07588 833 555. Online orders: http://www.royalspice.uk.com. orders@royalspice.uk.com
Royal Spice snapshot
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Le curry
Le Popadom, Greenwich
(Takeaway)
Although there’s no apparent reason for the touch of French (menu includes Le Traditional Dishes and Le Tandoori Grills) this takeaway has quickly established itself as one of the best in the area.
Prices are very good (Chicken Madras £4.15, King Prawn Pathia £8.15, Sag Aloo £2.85), food tasty, service is quick (10-15 minutes) and staff friendly. The waiting area is small but smart. And a round of applause for whoever designed the menu; it’s not often takeaway menu will catch your eye, but this handy sized one is smart and classy.
One day you’ll be telling your children of the days when you could get dinner – Chicken Rogan (£4.50), Pilau Rice (£1.95), Keema Nan (£2.05), some Lime Pickle (65p) and a can of Coke (70p) – and still come home with change from a tenner.
Parking: on Greenwich South Street.
Delivery: free within three miles for orders over £10.
Beer while you’re waiting? it might be a bit down-at-heel for some but The Graduate is on the corner opposite.
Le Popadom, 141 Greenwich South Street, London. Tel: 020 8692 6686. Open: daily 5pm-11pm. le_popadom@hotmail.co.uk
Le Popadom snapshot
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Indians not cowboys
Little India, Calahonda, Spain
Run by friendly Punjabi Sikhs, Little India has a reputation for being one of the best Indians in this popular coastal area which attracts a lot of ex-pats and tourists who often go looking for a spice fix when it’s time to take a break from the beach and the umpteen bars.
Based along a road that is more commonly known as The Strip, which offers a plentiful supply of restaurants and bars, it uses the catchy slogan, ‘You’ve tried the cowboys, now try the Indians.’
One Brit, who’s been in Spain 14 years and run an Indian restaurant here himself, declares this a ‘seriously decent curry,’ and this in an area where he tells me ‘most curry houses aren’t really worth bothering with.’
The décor is striking and distinctive, with orange plates, bright, large, red (and comfortable) chairs and plenty of intricately carved arches. The bar, in particular, is worth checking out, for this alone.
Popadums were complimentary, while top of the dishes on the table was the tasty Chicken Patiala (€9; although note that seven per cent tax is added to the bill at the end), served in a large earthenware pot. The Lamb Madras (€9) also got the thumbs up, not only because it was ‘as hot as it should be’ but also because there was a decent amount of lamb despite fears of a small serving because of the cost of the meat in Spain.
A decent, if pricey, Bombay Aloo (€6), a generous double serving of Pulao Rice (€2.50 per serving), and tangy lime pickle (complimentary) completed a decent curry night. Only the Roti (€2), which was more like a half-leavened nan, fell short of the mark.
Little India, Conj. Buena Vista L-21/22, Avenida de España, Calahonda. Tel: +34 (0)952 93 18 29. Open: daily from 4pm.
Little India snapshot
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Hot décor
Maharani, Calahonda, Spain
This small but beautifully decorated Indian came highly recommended by locals. Run by an Iraqi guy who used to import spices for the other curry restaurants but decided he could do better, the exterior has beautiful wooden laticework, while the interior has a fantastically electic collection of lights, wall fittings and other objects. A trip to the toilets up the spiral staircase gives a great birds’-eye view of this little gem of a place.
The days when this place was overflowing at the seams with reps and sun-seekers thanks to the timeshare business has passed but it remains popular. It’s cosy inside for winter but has plenty of room outside for table in the summer.
The menu is a bit limited, although all the classic options are there. There are only six choices for appetisers but the Mixed Appetisers (€9) are a good option with onion, brinjal and cauliflower bhajees, chicken tikka and lamb seekh kebab piled up.
Quite unusually the super hot Phall (chicken €8.50, lamb €10, prawn €11.50) is actually listed on the menu (and not left to request only) so the chicken version was ordered to raised eyebrows from the owner along with its ‘junior’ cousin, Chicken Vindaloo (€8.50). They lived up to their expectations on the heat front but both had a slight rawness to the taste as if the spices neeeded frying off a bit more.
The Chicken Tikka Masala (€9.50) was tasty, although strictly for those who like it very buttery and the meal topped off with Pilau Rice (€4) and Butter Nan (€2.75), and all washed down with ice-cold draught beers.
Maharani, Ctra. Nac. 340, Urb Dona Lola, Calahonda. Tel: +34 (0)952 93 10 53. Open: daily from 6pm to midnight.
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Real tasty
Tasty Hut, Dublin, Ireland
(Takeaway)
One of many cheap-and-cheerful takeaway places along this strip, which is about a 15-minute walk from the centre. It’s worth the walk as the prices plummet as you head away from tourist central to the locals’ hangouts. This place also offers a ‘eat all you can buffet’ (€5.99) out back on a few tables but is essentially a takeaway place.
Delivery: daily 5pm to midnight (1am on Fri and Sat)
Specials: Rice/naan or chips with any main course, 1.5 litre Coke or 7up, poppadoms, mint sauce and onion dip free when you spend more than €50.
Tasty Hut, 61 Upper Dorset Street, Dublin 1, Ireland. Tel: +34 1 8733 756. Open: noon to 4am.
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Now we’re talking Brighton
Akash, Brighton
Despite its grand, red Mughal-esque shop front, the Akash is real-no-mucking-about-great-value curry house. As it should be when you’re in need of some spice at the end of the night.
The excellent, and extensive menu, has all the classics in the various guises (chicken, lamb, prawn, king prawn and tikka variations) as well as tandoori, balti, Ceylon and Malayan dishes as well as a few Englsih dishes (remember when all curry houses had Fried Chicken and Chips, £5.95, and Prawn Omlette, £5.95, on the menu for the friend in the group who ‘didn’t like hot food’?).
And while the house specialities (Chicken Tikka Green Masalla, Lamb Chat Masalla) are all around the £7.95 mark, there is value galore in among the classics (perfect amount of fresh tomato in the Rougan Josh, £4.65). Now, let’s be honest, at £3.95 for a Lamb Curry and £1.50 for rice, what’s the point of cooking yourself?
Prices are kept down by the cuts of meat so breast lovers should note the little footnote (65p extra for breast of chicken). But who says no to a bit of thigh every so often?
Akash, 26 Preston Street, Brighton. Tel: 01273 324 494 or 01273 820 213. Open: Mon–Sat noon-3pm, 6pm-midnight, Sun noon-midnight.
Akash snapshot
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The Royal Curry Club 