Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Rasa Dering Street - Nige is the Only Critic Standing it would appear!
Venue = Rasa, Dering Street
Date = Tuesday 30th January
Attendees = Nige, Dicky & Brooker D
Different day of the week, different curry venue, same start point - a handful of gentle pints in the Coach & Horses just off Berkeley Square, a pub I am finding myself rather fond of, then transfer by the miracle of taxi-cab to Dering Street just south of Oxford Street, and the delights of Rasa.
Derek had suggested this would be a good venue for a date, and while the couple who were snogging in the corner may beg to differ, I wasn't so convinced - Rasa is a pretty small place (albeit with an upstairs which was closed last night) and the tables are pretty tightly packed together. Or maybe we're just getting wider.... The core skill to take with you to Rasa is pronunciation. The menu has a wide range of exotically-named dishes with a strong emphasis on fish and vegetarian. The trick, I think, is to order quickly - a surreptitious point of the finger will tell the waiter what it is you are ordering, and your fellow diners will have no idea as to the accuracy of otherwise of your diction, and hence will be left with no choice but to admire your highly developed linguistic skills. The exception to this, however, is the stir-fried Savoy Cabbage, which needs to be pronounced "Stir-Fried Savoy Cabbage" whichever way you look at it.
Kick-off is an upgrade on the standard popadom with a selection of starters whose name eludes me (this will be a recurring theme) served with various dips and spices more eclectic than your average run-of-the-mill onion-salad-lime-pickle-mango-chutney combo. The lemon had a particularly invigorating kick to it.
Round two was a mixed bag in terms of success. The doughnut type thing was disappointing, the one that looked like a scotch egg (only without the egg and the sausagemeat) was ok, whereas the lamb puff (hasn't there been some news items about gay sheep recently?) was very tasty. For the main course, the afore-mentioned stir-fried cabbage sounded too good not to try, and the beetroot and something else was an unorthodix choice also.
Main dishes were fish (very tender and tasty), lamb (served dry, not too shabby) and byriani (didn't have much room left to tackle this one). 5 beers between the 3 of us took the total to £35 a head I'd rate this one behind Bombay Palace and Masala Zone and ahead of Clifton.
7 out of 10 overall. The staff were very pleasant and helpful. Blow-back factor, on the other hand (not literally, I hasten to add). scores a 9 - this definitely qualifies as a high-impact curry!
My turn to call the next one - we have had a bit of a charge at the central locations so it may soon be time to widen the net a little...
Fifteen more to fit in before the end of April!
Date = Tuesday 30th January
Attendees = Nige, Dicky & Brooker D
Different day of the week, different curry venue, same start point - a handful of gentle pints in the Coach & Horses just off Berkeley Square, a pub I am finding myself rather fond of, then transfer by the miracle of taxi-cab to Dering Street just south of Oxford Street, and the delights of Rasa.
Derek had suggested this would be a good venue for a date, and while the couple who were snogging in the corner may beg to differ, I wasn't so convinced - Rasa is a pretty small place (albeit with an upstairs which was closed last night) and the tables are pretty tightly packed together. Or maybe we're just getting wider.... The core skill to take with you to Rasa is pronunciation. The menu has a wide range of exotically-named dishes with a strong emphasis on fish and vegetarian. The trick, I think, is to order quickly - a surreptitious point of the finger will tell the waiter what it is you are ordering, and your fellow diners will have no idea as to the accuracy of otherwise of your diction, and hence will be left with no choice but to admire your highly developed linguistic skills. The exception to this, however, is the stir-fried Savoy Cabbage, which needs to be pronounced "Stir-Fried Savoy Cabbage" whichever way you look at it.
Kick-off is an upgrade on the standard popadom with a selection of starters whose name eludes me (this will be a recurring theme) served with various dips and spices more eclectic than your average run-of-the-mill onion-salad-lime-pickle-mango-chutney combo. The lemon had a particularly invigorating kick to it.
Round two was a mixed bag in terms of success. The doughnut type thing was disappointing, the one that looked like a scotch egg (only without the egg and the sausagemeat) was ok, whereas the lamb puff (hasn't there been some news items about gay sheep recently?) was very tasty. For the main course, the afore-mentioned stir-fried cabbage sounded too good not to try, and the beetroot and something else was an unorthodix choice also.
Main dishes were fish (very tender and tasty), lamb (served dry, not too shabby) and byriani (didn't have much room left to tackle this one). 5 beers between the 3 of us took the total to £35 a head I'd rate this one behind Bombay Palace and Masala Zone and ahead of Clifton.
7 out of 10 overall. The staff were very pleasant and helpful. Blow-back factor, on the other hand (not literally, I hasten to add). scores a 9 - this definitely qualifies as a high-impact curry!
My turn to call the next one - we have had a bit of a charge at the central locations so it may soon be time to widen the net a little...
Fifteen more to fit in before the end of April!
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Masal Zone - A Nige Report
Venue = Masala Zone
Date = Friday 19th Jan
Attendees = Nige, Dicky, Poohie, Craig & Bear's handiwork in a cardboard tube
"THALIi-Ho" was the cry! After a couple of sharpeners at the Guinea in Bruton Street (sans Dickster at this stage) we elected to move on due to the over-priced beer. Oh, and we were standing outside and it was bit-THALI cold.... Across Berkely Square we scurried, picking up some fellow who had worked with Craig a decade or two ago (He didn't recognise Craig by sight - he heard him....) and repaired to the Coach and Horses on Hill Street. No blues here: we were inside, it was warm, there was Spitfire and Oranjeboom for all, and the Fordmeister was able to join us! Even-THALI it was time to move on and we hailed a THALI-cab to deliver us to Masala Zone in Soho. Derek had promised us quality food, reasonably priced and a fun atmosphere and I have to say I to-THALI agree with him. We were quickly introduced to the ut-THALI charming Genevive (to whom I must apologise for dubious spelling) who looked after us very well, and provided us with some en-THALI encouraging comments on the other eat-THALIs on our list. Ordering was very straight-forward - a mix of starters which disappeared in no time, followed by a selection of (as if you hadn't guessed) THALI's, including one specifically designed for Diabetics which no doubt Fordimus Maximus will report on separately. The service was tip-top, even though we tested the theory that flat-THALI will get you everywhere to the limit, and the bill was about £25 quid a head - great value! Overall 8 out of 10 Food = 8/10 Service = 9/10 "Backstage Facilities" = 7/10 (tested on more than one occasion) Morning after rating = 5/10 Lat-THALI we crossed the road to the nearest pub (whose name eludes me) and rounded off the evening with a pint of cider. Eclectic I know, but hey, Brooker was in da house.....
Date = Friday 19th Jan
Attendees = Nige, Dicky, Poohie, Craig & Bear's handiwork in a cardboard tube
"THALIi-Ho" was the cry! After a couple of sharpeners at the Guinea in Bruton Street (sans Dickster at this stage) we elected to move on due to the over-priced beer. Oh, and we were standing outside and it was bit-THALI cold.... Across Berkely Square we scurried, picking up some fellow who had worked with Craig a decade or two ago (He didn't recognise Craig by sight - he heard him....) and repaired to the Coach and Horses on Hill Street. No blues here: we were inside, it was warm, there was Spitfire and Oranjeboom for all, and the Fordmeister was able to join us! Even-THALI it was time to move on and we hailed a THALI-cab to deliver us to Masala Zone in Soho. Derek had promised us quality food, reasonably priced and a fun atmosphere and I have to say I to-THALI agree with him. We were quickly introduced to the ut-THALI charming Genevive (to whom I must apologise for dubious spelling) who looked after us very well, and provided us with some en-THALI encouraging comments on the other eat-THALIs on our list. Ordering was very straight-forward - a mix of starters which disappeared in no time, followed by a selection of (as if you hadn't guessed) THALI's, including one specifically designed for Diabetics which no doubt Fordimus Maximus will report on separately. The service was tip-top, even though we tested the theory that flat-THALI will get you everywhere to the limit, and the bill was about £25 quid a head - great value! Overall 8 out of 10 Food = 8/10 Service = 9/10 "Backstage Facilities" = 7/10 (tested on more than one occasion) Morning after rating = 5/10 Lat-THALI we crossed the road to the nearest pub (whose name eludes me) and rounded off the evening with a pint of cider. Eclectic I know, but hey, Brooker was in da house.....
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Bombay Palace - Nige reveals Nearly All
Nige glanced at his watch. There was no doubt about it. Bear would be propping up the bar within the next five minutes, and there was no way (barring immediate and successful introduction of Star Trek “Beam me up Scotty” technology) that Nige could get there to meet him. Desperate times called for desperate measures. As rallying calls go, there are few to rival it. Sadly, measures came there none. With a forlorn shrug of the shoulders Nige donned his overcoat, wincing in annoyance as he jabbed his thumb on the pin securing his poppy to his lapel. It had all the hallmarks of another dreary November evening – a couple of pints in an over-crowded pub served by disinterested bar staff, then a walk through the rain to an identikit curry house for a tired-looking chicken tikka masala then not the sniff of a cab in the late evening drizzle.
Little did he know……
Early indications were not encouraging. Bear proffered a £20 note in exchange for two pints of foaming ale (ok, one pint was foaming, the other was fizzy lager) and was presented with about 5 quid in shrapnel in change. Much has been made in the press recently about the returning threat of inflation but this was undoubtedly a surprise. If the MPC held their Christmas party in the Pontefract Castle, we’d be reading about a different set of minutes, no mistake. On the plus side, Dicky received the message about the change in venue and was with us in good time, such that we were able to move on to dinner without over-indulging in excess beerage beforehand. Remind me to check with my lawyer about the definition of excess….
A short cab ride took our intrepid adventurers to the Bombay Palace. The place is immediately impressive because it looks full from the outside, even though it turned out to have plenty of capacity. That nothwithstanding, they did still check whether we had a reservation, to which we had to confess in the negative. A quick glance around the restaurant provided the first of many positive signs – there were a substantial number of Indian diners in the restaurant. In curry-crawlers’ parlance this is deemed to be a good sign. The popadoms arrived without prompting (unless Dicky ordered them – I forgot to ask him) and the menu offered plenty of choice. I couldn’t resist the starter called Bombay Tiffin which didn’t disappoint, other than that Sid James didn’t appear at any stage in the proceedings. Round two was a Duck dish whose name eludes me, but whose taste didn’t disappoint. Sneak previews of Bear’s lamb chops and Dicky’’ leg of lamb were equally memorable (even though I can’t remember the name of my dish). For control purposes we ordered a Mutter Paneer for which they charged us the best part of a tenner, or a little under two pints of Cobra at their own exchange rate. Tasted ok, but I was left with the sense that the chef was less interested in the “off menu” dish as opposed to the fare he was advertising in the menu.
Overall, very good – 8 out of 10 for both food and service. Filing this report early, so unable to report on blow-back factor, although I cannot help feeling sorry for Bungle for the role she has unwittingly undertaken…..
The mantle passes to the Dickster, although I think we forgot to hand the list over to him in the cab….Never mind
Hats off to Derek for a fin recommendation!
Bombay Palace, Connaught Street, W2 2AAThursday, October 19, 2006
Curry fans still taking the tikka
Come on chaps lets have a bit of variety!
Curry fans still taking the tikka
ONE in five curry lovers still orders chicken tikka masala when eating out, despite efforts by Indian restaurants to move upmarket.
Many of the 11,000 curry houses in Britain have tried to introduce regional dishes from places like Goa and Kashmir in a bid to wean diners off populist choices like chicken tikka masala. Some Indian restaurants have brought in skilled chefs from the sub-continent to spice up menus with regional specialities, featuring vegetarian delicacies and alternative meats such as mutton and goat.
However, new research out shows British curry fans find it hard to shake off old habits when it comes to ordering an Indian meal. Number two on the list of popular dishes was jalfrezi, followed by dansak, balti, madras, korma, biryani and korai. A separate poll found Bangladeshi restaurants were favourite, followed by Punjabi, Kashmiri and Goan/south Indian.
Sadness as 'biggest curry house' closes
Giant goes the way of dinosaurs!
Sadness as 'biggest curry house' closes
By Jenny Loweth
The shock closure of a landmark restaurant - dubbed the world's biggest curry house - has been greeted with dismay.
Tribute was paid to the vision of Mohammed Iqbal Tabassum who created the flagship 860-seat Aakash Restaurant from a derelict chapel in Cleckheaton.
The Aakash shut down last week after it was repossessed by its bank. A notice on the door of the 19th century building banned Mr Tabassum from entering the premises. It said the Bank of India had repossessed the building under the terms of the mortgage. The notice was put up by the bank's solicitors Mohindra Maini, of Manchester.
Mr Tabassum opened the Aakash in July, 2001, after a £1.7m restoration project. Ward Councillor Kath Pinnock, a former leader of Kirklees Council, said: "Mr Tabassum had a great vision for the building, which had been lying empty. He invested a huge amount of money in it and the project was recognised nationally. I am dreadfully sorry for him and the people who worked there because it was a great place to go to eat."
Coun Pinnock said the Aakash was "a fabulous local venue" that was sensitively restored.
Keith Joplin, president of Spenborough Chamber of Trade and Commerce, said: "If the restaurant is permanently closed it is a sad day for everyone in the area.
"I would like to pay tribute to Mr Tabassum who invested a lot of money in the town and rescued a building that was decaying."
Councillor Ann Raistrick (Lib-Dem, Cleckheaton) said: "It's a big disappointment for everybody." She said a dual use might be found for it to split the running costs.
The chapel was on the English Heritage buildings at risk register. Built in 1857, it is Grade II-star listed and featured on the BBC's Restoration series. Neither the Bank of India nor its solicitor was available for comment.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Curry hurries drug mule
Curry fighting crime - is there anything it can't do?
Curry hurries drug mule
October 17, 2006
MALAYSIAN police fed a spicy curry to a Zambian drug courier to hasten the passage of a bellyful of heroin that he swallowed to smuggle from Burma.
The New Straits Times reported today that the 27-year-old, who had flown to Malaysia on Friday, was given curry, bananas and some oily roti canai flat bread before expelling 210g of the drug.
"We waited 24 hours before the suspect passed the 37 tubes, which were filled with pure heroin," it quoted Penang state police chief Christopher Wan as saying.
The daily quoted police as saying they believed the suspect was a member of an international drug syndicate headed by a Malaysian who they were trying to locate.
Monday, October 09, 2006
Can Curry Cure Altzeimers?
No chance of Nige forgetting his vows as the article below shows!
Chemical Found In Curry May Help Immune System Clear Amyloid Plaques Found In Alzheimer's Disease
UCLA/VA researchers found that curcumin -- a chemical found in curry and turmeric -- may help the immune system clear the brain of amyloid beta, which form the plaques found in Alzheimer's disease.
Published in the Oct. 9 issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, the early laboratory findings may lead to a new approach in treating Alzheimer's disease by enhancing the natural function of the immune system using curcumin, known for its anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties. Using blood samples from six Alzheimer's disease patients and three healthy control patients, the researchers isolated cells called macrophages, which are the immune system's PacMen that travel through the brain and body, gobbling up waste products, including amyloid beta. The team treated the macrophages with a drug derived from curcumin for 24 hours in a cell culture and then introduced amyloid beta. Treated macrophages from three out of six Alzheimer's disease patients showed improved uptake or ingestion of the waste product compared to the patients' macrophages not treated with curcumin. Macrophages from the healthy controls, which were already effectively clearing amyloid beta, showed no change when curcumin was added. "Curcumin improved ingestion of amyloid beta by immune cells in 50 percent of patients with Alzheimer's disease. These initial findings demonstrate that curcumin may help boost the immune system of specific Alzheimer's disease patients," said Dr. Milan Fiala, study author and a researcher with the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the VA Greater Los Angeles Health Care System.
"We are hopeful that these positive results in a test tube may translate to clinical use, but more studies need to be done before curcumin can be recommended." The patients ranged in age from 65 to 84. Fiala noted that the patients whose immune cells responded were younger and had higher scores on a Mini-Mental State Examination suggesting that curcumin may help those with less advanced dementia. Some of the patients may have already had additional curcumin in their systems due to participation in another UCLA study, which may have impacted findings.
"Our next step will be to identify the factors that helped these immune cells respond," said Laura Zhang, a study author and a UCLA/VA research assistant in Fiala's lab. Fiala noted that the method researchers used to test the immune cell response of macrophages may provide a novel way of evaluating the effectiveness of drugs in clearing amyloid beta from the brain and may help to individualize Alzheimer's disease treatment.
According to Fiala, macrophages are the soldiers of the innate immune system -- the part of the immune system which is present at birth. Curcumin may support the body's natural immune fighting function in directly helping macrophages clean away amyloid-beta. The treatment of macrophages with curcumin is radically different from some of the vaccine approaches currently being studied.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=53451
Chemical Found In Curry May Help Immune System Clear Amyloid Plaques Found In Alzheimer's Disease
UCLA/VA researchers found that curcumin -- a chemical found in curry and turmeric -- may help the immune system clear the brain of amyloid beta, which form the plaques found in Alzheimer's disease.
Published in the Oct. 9 issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, the early laboratory findings may lead to a new approach in treating Alzheimer's disease by enhancing the natural function of the immune system using curcumin, known for its anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties. Using blood samples from six Alzheimer's disease patients and three healthy control patients, the researchers isolated cells called macrophages, which are the immune system's PacMen that travel through the brain and body, gobbling up waste products, including amyloid beta. The team treated the macrophages with a drug derived from curcumin for 24 hours in a cell culture and then introduced amyloid beta. Treated macrophages from three out of six Alzheimer's disease patients showed improved uptake or ingestion of the waste product compared to the patients' macrophages not treated with curcumin. Macrophages from the healthy controls, which were already effectively clearing amyloid beta, showed no change when curcumin was added. "Curcumin improved ingestion of amyloid beta by immune cells in 50 percent of patients with Alzheimer's disease. These initial findings demonstrate that curcumin may help boost the immune system of specific Alzheimer's disease patients," said Dr. Milan Fiala, study author and a researcher with the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the VA Greater Los Angeles Health Care System.
"We are hopeful that these positive results in a test tube may translate to clinical use, but more studies need to be done before curcumin can be recommended." The patients ranged in age from 65 to 84. Fiala noted that the patients whose immune cells responded were younger and had higher scores on a Mini-Mental State Examination suggesting that curcumin may help those with less advanced dementia. Some of the patients may have already had additional curcumin in their systems due to participation in another UCLA study, which may have impacted findings.
"Our next step will be to identify the factors that helped these immune cells respond," said Laura Zhang, a study author and a UCLA/VA research assistant in Fiala's lab. Fiala noted that the method researchers used to test the immune cell response of macrophages may provide a novel way of evaluating the effectiveness of drugs in clearing amyloid beta from the brain and may help to individualize Alzheimer's disease treatment.
According to Fiala, macrophages are the soldiers of the innate immune system -- the part of the immune system which is present at birth. Curcumin may support the body's natural immune fighting function in directly helping macrophages clean away amyloid-beta. The treatment of macrophages with curcumin is radically different from some of the vaccine approaches currently being studied.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=53451
Thursday, October 05, 2006
The Clifton - A Bear's Eye View
Picured the Mayor fills his boots at the Clifton Whilst not the best curry I've ever eaten, if all of the places we visit are at this standard then I think we will be well served by following the wisdom of the new guru in our life, namely Derek.
The food bit
The grub wasn't just standard Brick Lane slop and each dish had a deeper than average flavour. I think that the use of the word twist in their marketing is a bit of a fancy way of saying they put some spices in their food but never let the truth get in the way of a good story. Suffice to say, I ate all that was put in front of me but that doesn't really tell you much you couldn't have guessed ....
The evening
Talking of not letting the truth get in the way of a good story we were saddened to learn of poor Derek's deportation and speculation as to its reasons was rife. Coming up with a quality curry list should have fast-tracked him for citizenship but they do say that imiigration rules are seldom fair. Other than this sad news we had a very strandard night of wibble, beer and curry with the added fun of taking the piss out of Nigel and his forthcoming marriage. If the venue for the wedding continues to be hard to pin down, we may be enjoying the sight of Pam and Nige saying "I do" in the winner of this curry tasting fest - so lets hope we find a spectacular one with room for a piano.
The place
Its got a room you sit in to eat and one where they cook the food - what more do you want ? (apart from the pot to piss in which when they designed it they tyook the American "can" expression a little too literally.)
The morning after the night before
This section will be called the Bungle test from now on and I'm happy to say that the curry rated a zero bruise mark with both quantity and quality of dawn chorus within acceptable parameters - although I should point out that she has always been very forgiving in this area. I doubt I shall escape unharmed in the next few months but there should always be some suffering involved in an epic quest such as ours.
Looking forward to the next evening, although I've already lost the list Nige gave me so I may be off the team - Is this quicker and even more hopeless than when we lost the pub crawl book I wonder ?
