Topic: Hilal Timperley

[JerryM]

My expectations were clearly too high and found myself disappointed.

i remember a comment by Goulie sometime ago that i disagreed with suggested i might not find all as expected. Goulie was right for sure.

The expectations were based on the Warrington Hilal which at its best was a 10. Moved from its grand premisses and the rot set in.

4 curry members visited timperley and i think the other 3 were impressed.

i tasted 3 out of the 4 mains. yes crafted with care and passion. my sauce was had just too much zing (thought to be lime juice).

1 off of the mains was 10 - a south indian garlic dish. this brought home what i already know. there is still a gap between what i can produce and that of the best BIR.

the naan bread was the best it can be a 10 for sure. i think the butter coating contained garlic powder - it tasted really good.  the other thing that hit was how good the bread element was - even with all the knowledge gained from h4ppy-chris naan i'm well short. i cant even think how i could change to improve.

i think much of my disappointment was down to the decoration - i was hoping for a step back in time - its one of those glitzy places. i'm in no doubt many of the public would actually expect such quality in the fit out.

the iceing was that the company was absolutely fascinating and had real enjoyable night (and a few things learn't to try out).

[Ghoulie]

I am more a fan of 'real asian' cuisine I suppose than what has come to pass as 'bir' curry stuff - and to me, the Hilal epitomises everything I don't like about 'bir' - i.e. the Indian meals adjusted to what is thought to be the British palate taste.  I visited the Hilal 1st time round in the early 70s and was very underimpressed compared to other Indian restaurants around even at that time - e.g the Taj in Altrincham was vastly superior in the taste and quality of its meals. The Taj no longer around sadly - it  was run by an ex Gurkha.
I made the mistake of trying the Hilal again in @ 2005 - nothing had changed re my opinion of the meals.

Try Essence in Broadheath, or the Ganges (was Curry Cottage) at Woodheys, West Timperley or Swadesh - Bowdon or Seven Spices, Cheadle or Jai Kathmandu Northenden, Mughli Rusholme, Mughli - Knutsford - all offer far superior cuisine / taste experience than the Hilal - but that is just my own taste buds at work.

Another one to avoid in Timperley is the Mhariam - just doesn't cut it for me at all compared to many others which are well worth the visit.  One visit to the Mhariam - which will be the last.

Also made the mistake recently in trying the once excellent Dilli in Altrincham.  Expensive bland rubbish.  It closed down a week later which didn't surprise me.  When Dilli 1st opened 10 years ago it was excellent - some incredible regional dishes on offer - but soon the variations available reduced and the quality of taste dropped - after 4 visits in 2 years I stopped going to the Dilli.

[JerryM]

Ghoulie,

Good to hear from you.

I got lost getting there and won't be going back to anywhere near anytime soon. Will stick to Warrington.

will lookout for Mughli Rusholme though as I do get to the mile and would like to change my perception of as an eating destination. 

[Ghoulie]

Jerry - Mughli is VERY good - book if you can - it gets very busy.  You won't regret it.

Rusholme has often disappointed me in the past - so I only go there when I hear of something 'promising'.

[Ghoulie]

Forget my Essence push in Altrincham above based on recent experience - garbage now.

[Ghoulie]

Hilal original owner now retired and one of his old staff has bought the place and renamed Zafraan.  The last tripadvisor reviews on Hilal in 2019 were pitiful. Hopefully the new owner was not responsible for the poor quality. I won?t be rushing to try.