Pink Garlic, Bromley

Wednesday 11^th June 2014

It was Bromley’s ‘new’ Indian restaurant, Pink Garlic that we paid a visit to this month.  The added punctuation is because Indian food has actually been served here for many years but in its previous incarnations  ‘Ruby’  and the short lived  ‘Indian Ocean’.  Both were good but could not survive the competition with popular Shampan 2, almost next door.

The Urban Rajah

The Urban Rajah is a food writer, cook and traveler. His cookbook, Urban Rajah’s Curry Memoirs commissioned by Headline Publishing is out now and tells the story of his love affair with curry through over 80 familial recipes. A practical, easy to follow and inspirational cookbook, it expresses his family’s food story through the eyes of the men in his family and was nominated for the World Food Awards Cook Book of the year.

Beckenham Curry Club

Wednesday 12th March 2014

We’re a bit late with this month’s Chilli Diaries review but on the 12^th March our connoisseur’s visited ‘Beckenham Curry Club’ in, er, Beckenham.   This is an unusual sort of place, it’s quite small and the décor is reminiscent of a yuppyish 80’s wine bar.

The Bombay, Green Street Green

Wednesday 12th February 2014

I arrived at The Bombay before any of my fellow curry clubbers, so was shown to the waiting area where there was a selection of newspapers to pass the time.  There was also a large bowl of Bombay mix on a coffee table - which doubles as a fish tank.  An early indicator that this would be my sort of place!

Brick Lane Brasserie

Saturday 14^th Dec 2013

After a day at the football, Beano and I decided to wander over to the East Ends famous Brick Lane to try one of its many Indian/Bangladeshi restaurants.  We made the mistake of not having a particular curry house in mind before trekking through ‘Banglatown’ and were at the mercy of the PR’s who all tried to entice us into their restaurants.

Outside Brick Lane Brasserie, we listened to some spiel offering us a free cobra beer and 20% off the bill and decided to give it a go.

Bangla Beer

25 November 2013

For the first of our product reviews, we take a closer look at Bangla Beer.  This is always popular with the curry club but is unfortunately much rarer than either Cobra or Kingfisher, who currently dominate the curry house beer market.

Bangla comes in a striking green bottle and its bright green and gold label features Bengali text and a map of Bangladesh on the front.  Quite rightly, it emphasises that its origins are Bangladeshi rather than Indian, as are most curry houses.  However, like almost all Asian beers found in this country, it is in fact brewed in the UK.

The beer is an attractive clear amber colour and there’s a good head which, as it dies down, leaves a nice foamy top.  Its smell is rich and grainy with a hint of spice.

As you would hope with a beer aimed at the curry market, Bangla has a crisp and clean flavour but it’s more than just a tongue cooling lager.  Its taste is dry and hoppy as well as refreshing.  There’s a full flavour and it’s actually more ale-like, than you might expect.

Dishoom, Shoreditch

Sunday 27th October 2013

Submitted by Murali Para

As someone who usually enjoys going to Indian restaurants in the London Boroughs of Bromley and Croydon, I was intrigued to see what the dining experience would be like at Dishoom Shoreditch in the city. Dishoom, after all, has been rated as one of the ten best Indian restaurants in London by Time Out quite recently, so my expectations were high.

The Darjeeling, Bromley

Wednesday 9th October 2013 

Last month’s visit to such a posh Indian restaurant was a shock to the system for a number of the club, so we got back to more familiar territory with The Darjeeling in Bromley.

Indian restaurateurs have been trying to make a go of it on this site for years.  It was formally ‘Café East’ and more recently the short-lived ‘Bromley Masala’.   So I was interested to see if this new incarnation has what it takes to become a permanent fixture on the Bromley curry scene.

First impressions were good.  It is all very smart and new but it has cool atmospheric lighting, cosy tables and carpet, which I always think helps create a warm atmosphere.  It looked like it could be our sort of place.

Cinnamon Culture, Sundridge Park

Wednesday 11^th September 2013

 

Something out of the ordinary for the curry club this time as we visited the renowned Cinnamon Culture on Plaistow Lane.  Many of the club are staunch old-school curry fans.  They like no-nonsense British Indian restaurant fare;  ‘onion bhajis’,  ‘chicken korma’,  ‘tikka masala’,  -  but these are all missing from the menu in favour of ‘tamarind quail’,  ‘quillon duck’  and  ‘travancore lobster’.

I was very interested to see how this more sophisticated dining experience would go down.

Raj of India, Orpington

Wednesday 14th August 2013

Raj of India is one of those restaurants I always notice but never had the chance to try out for myself.  At the latest curry club I was finally able to put that right.

Belash Tandoori, Penge

Wednesday 17th July 2013

It was the hottest day of the year so far as we made the journey to Belash Tandoori in Penge.  First impressions were that this a proper old-school place.

In2 Papadam, Beckenham

Friday 28th June 2013

Submitted by Murali Para

On Friday night I went with a friend to In2 Papadam which is located on Bromley Road near Beckenham town centre. We often meet up for a curry and are always looking out for new Indian restaurants to try out, mostly in the borough of Bromley. So when it was suggested that we visit In2 Papadam - which I gather has only recently opened in Beckenham - I was very much interested.

Homesdale Tandoori, Bromley

Wednesday 26^th June 2013

The latest curry club outing saw some new recruits make their debuts, so we were hoping for a good performance from Homesdale Tandoori in Bromley.  

Spice Guru, Reigate

Thursday 13^th June 2013

was my birthday last week so the missus and I visited Spice Guru in Reigate to celebrate.  The first thing you notice when approaching the restaurant is the funky signage which looks surprisingly old-school for such a posh area.

Jail Time for Curry Con Man

Following on from hair-gate at curry club last week - when curryspondent Murali found a hair in his lamb samosa – a man has been jailed for trying to get a free curry by putting pubic hair on the remains of his lamb bhuna!               
        

Hair-brained scheme: Lee Tyers

The Papadom, Bickley

Wednesday 5^th June 2013

.

Though reasonably close to the town centre,  Bickley isn't an area of Bromley that is especially familiar to most of the club and few of us were even aware of this restaurant, so this was definitely uncharted territory.

Asha Tandoori, Hayes

Wednesday 15^th May 2013

Round 5 of the 2013 curry season took place last week at Asha Tandoori, in Hayes.  This quiet area of Bromley is not to be confused with Hayes in Middlesex which strangely enough, also has an Indian restaurant called ‘Asha Tandoori’.

Hayes’ small High Street on Station Approach, has three curry houses and to be blunt, Asha is the poor relation. 

Village Cuisine, Farnborough

Wednesday 24^th April 2013

Submitted by Murali Para

This week saw another successful meeting of the CCB, this time at Village Cuisine, Farnborough. The evening was a very good one and, although only four Connoisseurs were present, by the end of the meal there did seem to be a general opinion among us that the food and service had clearly been above average.

Spice Society, Beckenham

Wednesday 3rd April 2013

Another week, another curry house for the CCB as we visited the highly rated Spice Society in Beckenham.  Established in 2000 and recently expanded, the restaurant has a relaxed ambience and understated glamour.

Blue Bengal, West Wickham

Wednesday 20^th March 2013

 

The latest curry outing fell on a special week for me personally as my wife had just given birth to our son Louis,  so this curry club meeting also served to ‘wet the baby’s head’!