Topic: Eurostar curry

[George]

Lahore, Tayaab's and Zaza's are the only curry places I've got on with in London - I've been disappointed elsewhere even where a restaurant gets excellent reviews.

I agree with you re. Lahore and Tayaabs.  I will now try Zaza's after your recommendation, thanks.

My understanding is that the first two, at least, are Pakistani based, so perhaps that's why you like them.

[Garp]

Fair point there George, and one which has came up before.

Most of the restaurants where I am in Scotland are Punjabi - from what I've read on here, most southern restaurants are Bengali. Not sure about the bit in between. But as the wee man in Bordeaux restaurant told me, there is a lot of difference between Bengali and Punjabi cuisine.

Personally, I think he was talking shite. There are subtle differences, but there are only so many spices you can combine in a BIR dish and only so many cooking techniques which will make a difference to the final taste. But he was FIR.

Would be interested to hear from the other Scottish/Northern English people as to the type of BIR cuisine available there. I'm a bit limited in my town to four sit-ins and about 8 TAs.

[Exiled Bradfordian]

Phil - thanks for your comments. It would not do for all of us to like the same things of course - but I personally think the curries are delicious at Lahore (1). As for being overpriced it may be the case; I don't remember how much they were individually last time I went, though the overall bill was reasonable enough, certainly compared with Brick Lane. Looking back over my comments they might have been a bit harsh on Tayaabs' curries and Lahore's kebabs - both are fine, but I think they respectively do the opposite one better, if you see what I mean 

I'd have a grilled starter and a curry main no matter which I was eating at. In fact, what a good excuse to go back to each to check whether my opinion has changed!!!

Funnily enough, my wife HATES Lahore. She won't go there. I don't know what it is and she can't, or won't, give me a specific reason why she doesn't like it, but if we are going out, say, with friends for a curry she'll either not go or have the venue changed. Which is a real shame in my opinion as I like it.

George - yes, both Lahore and Tayaab's are of Pakistani origin, as are most Bradford curry places. I find Bangladesh-style curry too sweet for my tastes though that's obviously entirely subjective personal opinion! Definitely give Zaza's a try - the staff are pretty good and the food has been awesome every time I've been. If you get off the tube at Whitechapel, cross over and turn right, it's on your left hand side before you get to the East London Mosque. I don't normally "do" lassi but this is one place I make an exception.

Garp - personally - and again - massively subjective personal opinion - I can tell a massive difference between curries influenced from different areas - Bangladeshi-style being sweeter and with bigger pieces of meat and more sauce than Pakistani-style, which tends to be drier, sour-er and with smaller pieces of meat (which in my mind gives a higher surface area for the flavour to absorb bur in my wife's puts doubt in her mind as to the authenticity of the advertised meat - as Phil rightly says you can't please everyone!!!) Given that India has a population in excess of 1bn and neither Pakistan nor Bangladesh are in India, it's reasonable that there'll be a fair bit of variation between the different regions and, of course, different cooks/chefs.

Even though my preference is for Pakistani-style Indian curries - probably because that's what I'm used to from growing up in Bradford - it's not to say I like every single Pakistani-style curry house, restaurant and takeaway...quality varies massively and in some curry houses, like the Kashmir in Bradford (possibly my favourite ever curry place on a good day) it can vary day to day.

Slightly off the subject of Indian food if you're into grilled meats you can do an awful lot worse than Ariana, on Midlothian Road - just off Burdett Road - near Mile End station. It's a Persian/Afghan place and the aubergine starter with mint and yogurt is fabulous...if there's two or more of you grab a mixed grill. It's BYO, staff again are fantastic and they know how to cook meat! Apologies if it's poor etiquette to discuss anything other than BIR here.