I eat, therefore I am.

Welcome to the Curry Mile - This page is dedicated to all you currymonsters favourite Curry Houses in the UK. It will contain reviews of restaurants by us here at Currybeast.com and allow you, the connoisseur to submit your favourite curry haunts.
 

Curry Crew Review 

NEW - Food and Think - Antony Bolter

The Beast’s Crew is proud to present the first of many reviews of takeaway and restaurant cuisine.  Our opinions are just that – opinions.  If you get food poisoning as a result of any of our recommendations, take it up with the establishment that sold it to you!

 You may not agree with our spice advice, but we don’t really care about that.  All we want is a good time, with good food and twenty minutes on the loo the following morning to relive the whole experience.

 A special message to all Restaurateurs out there:  If you want your establishment to feature on this site, please email the Curry Crew.  We guarantee a fair and honest appraisal, especially if you are offering free chow!  We would also be keen to learn of any of you offering Cheese Naan and Cheese Pakoras on your menus.  We tried both in Goa and were hooked. 

Review Date: 27 January 2004

Restaurant: Cwrt Rawlin Public House

Location: Caerphilly
Antony Bolter

 Chapatti New Year everyone!!!

 One major casualty at the start of this annus curribilis has been the planned trip to the Railway in Nelson.  Determined efforts to reduce the waistline mean that we cannot test ourselves with their “Railway Rocket” belly stretcher.  Never mind – there are other delights awaiting us, I’m sure.

 This review brings in a departure to the established theme – not a curry in sight last night, when we visited the Cwrt Rawlin pub with only our youngest in tow (big brother was at the youth club).  My only justification for reporting is that my meal contained a fair amount of spice.

 The Cwrt Rawlin is well known for the generous portions it offers.  Indeed, several meals on the menu are prefixed with the lovely word “mega” and this is fully justified in some cases.  Previous visits have been enjoyed by all the family, with the pub’s combination of good service, friendly atmosphere and space for the kids to run around.  Add a large portion of tasty food and a decent pint (Bankss beer) at a silly price and you get a good night out. 

 They also have a curry night (Wednesdays), which is OK and pretty good value, but it’s not an Indian restaurant and you should remember that.  A sound rule of thumb whenever ordering curry in a pub is not to expect authenticity or even the usual westernised version of “authentic”. 

 Anyway, to last night’s fare.  I ordered the mega chilli, hoping for a lovely bucketful of spicy slop and a big mound of sticky boiled rice.  What I got was a pile of chips, rice and cheese covered potato wedges – with a tiny bowl of chilli and a paper cup full of sour cream to dip them in.  Don’t get me wrong; it all tasted good and certainly filled me up, but it was more mega chippy than mega chilli. 

 The service was excellent again, and my daughter enjoyed her run around the room, but we agreed that the food was a disappointment – my better half ordered the chicken chasseur, which arrived partially burnt and was served with vegetables that had had all the taste boiled out of them. 

 We left with the unfortunate conclusion that it will be a while before we return.  Next time, we shall go back to the excellent carvery in Whitchurch, Cardiff.  The review may well focus on my preferred techniques on how to pile your plate full of food in an all you can eat environment.  And of course, with the abundance of veg on offer, it need not harm the diet.  Oh, the joys...

Review Date: 31 December 2003
Restaurant: Paradise Balti (Takeaway only)
Location: Llanbradach, Caerphilly

Antony Bolter

Seasoned greetings to all!!!

The family was laid low with the lurgy over Christmas and my daughter’s Chicken Pox seemed to deter all potential baby sitters for New Year’s Eve.  So we decided to cheer ourselves up with a blow out from Paradise!  Just to make a change, we phoned the order through and collected it.  Ready in 20 minutes as promised and a nice chat with the staff and management when I got there as well.

To blast away the debris of too much turkey and ham in the belly, we ordered:

·        Omelettes and chips (for the kids)
·        Tandoori Mixed Grill
·        Chicken Fillet Masalla
·        Chicken Tikka Bhuna Special
·        Tarka Dall
·        Keema Rice
·        Keema Naan.

 Despite the fact that this was a very busy night for them, our meal achieved the top banana rating again.  I am really finding it difficult to criticise – the food is creamy when needed (lovely Tarka Dall and ages since I had that) and well spiced in the hotter dishes (a good zing to the Bhuna Special, which I was not expecting to be that hot!).   

Which reminds me of a good tip I was given years ago: if you are struggling to decide what to have, look at the Chef’s specials.  These should be the dishes he/she cooks the best so they should not disappoint.

 Another thing to check out are the special offers.  Paradise has several running at the moment, including a free bottle of Coke with orders over £15 and a free Chicken Tikka Masalla if you spend over £25.  They also take 15% off your bill if you collect.  I must have gone wrong on New Years Eve though, because I didn’t get any of this.  Not to worry, I shall remind them when I next visit, which will be to try out their offer of £14.95 for a meal for 2 consisting of:

·        Any 2 starters
·        Any 2 main dishes
·        Any one side dish
·        Any 2 sundries
·        Any one Naan Bread.

 Sounds good to me!  Have a great 2004 everyone.

Review Date: 15 December 2003
Antony Bolter

Restaurant: Paradise Balti (Takeaway only)

Location: Llanbradach, Caerphilly 

A return to the Paradise Balti and another excellent meal delivered in after a hectic day’s shopping in Cardiff.  I think a word is needed in support of the milder dishes.  Too many people think that choice of curry reflects on status.  This is clearly bull and there is nothing wrong with a decent Korma now and again.  We are not all Jalfrezi or Phall types! 

There are also worthwhile alternatives to the noble Korma – try a Passanda or Moglai, if you like eggs.  On the subject of eggs, Cambridgeshire has borne witness to my eggy exploits in the past and I can heartily recommend the curry house in Soham for a delicious starter using curried scrambled eggs on fried bread.  My favourite egg-based excess, however, belongs to the Raj Belash on Hills Road in Cambridge.  My main course consisted of Special Biryani (with hard boiled eggs in it), sitting on an Egg Paratha, with a side order of two fried eggs.  Absolutely top class, although potentially explosive.  That night I slept alone… 

Getting back to last night, again the delivery was punctual and was hot.  Our meal consisted of:

 ·        Onion Bhajees
·        Prawn Puri
·        Tandoori Mixed Grill (served with a Plain        Naan)
·        Chicken Korma
·        Lamb Tikka Biryani
·        Keema Rice
·        Keema Naan. 

Most of this was to the standard expected of this fine establishment.  But last night, I was not as satisfied as I have been in the past.  Two main reasons for this – firstly the Prawn Puri was rather hot.  I have no problem with this in principle, but our main courses were not overpoweringly strong and the starter tended to dominate my taste buds.  A Prawn Bhuna on Puri may be more appropriate for a starter. 

Secondly, I was rather bemused by what arrived with the Biryani.  This was the first time I have sampled a Biryani from the Paradise and I was a bit disappointed.  I am used to eating a decent vegetable curry with the rice part of the dish, but there was no such thing on this occasion.  Instead I got a lurid red Masalla Sauce – with no veg in it!  It tasted OK (I guess), but as an accompaniment to the excellent rice and meat, it let the Paradise down.  I think a quiet word may be needed. 

Overall and the Paradise is still a winner in my book.  Curry again tonight as the policy of over-ordering always gives us a second night bonus meal!  This usually tastes better than the original and I trust that everyone engages in this wholesome practice. 

Check out next month’s review – a departure from the norm.  The Curry Beast is taking the Crew to The Railway in Nelson to tackle the Railway Rocket, a prodigious mixed grill.  All those who complete the marathon will be awarded with a t-shirt.  Nuff said.

Review Date: 18 November 2003
Antony Bolter

Restaurant: Paradise Balti (Takeaway only)

Location: Llanbradach, Caerphilly

 We had a meal delivered to the home to enjoy when the kids settled down a bit.  We have used this establishment in the past and were not disappointed.  The food arrived exactly on time (3/4 hour after the order was phoned through) and was piping hot.

 Our meal consisted of:

·        Tandoori Chicken Tikka Balti

·        Murghi Masalla (Chicken in a rich sauce with minced lamb)

·        Keema Rice (rice with mince)

·        Keema Naan (to describe would insult you)

·        Saag Bhajee.

We have no complaints regarding any of the above.  The Balti dish was quite hot and well seasoned/spiced, but still allowed the more delicate flavours of the tandoor to come through.  The Masalla was very rich but quite mild and this balanced the strength of the Balti.  Keema Rice is an old favourite, as is Keema Naan and the Saag adds a pleasant texture to the plate.  Overall, the meal was excellent and adds to the Paradise’s reputation. 

One minor criticism of the Paradise is the size of the menu.  You may not find your favourite dish on the menu, but this should encourage you to try what they do have, which is usually top quality.  However, I would like to see Paratha, especially egg ones, represented. 

You will see more reviews of food from the Paradise in the coming months.  The food is consistently good and the delivery service is punctual.

The Stool Checker