March meeting - Whitehill - report

On a mild March evening, we went to Whitehill expecting to enjoy ourselves, and we weren't disappointed. The rendezvous was at The Woodlark, a Marstons pub which opened less than two years ago. It has a Two for One meal offer, and on Wednesday night, it was full of diners. It's cheerful, obviously doing what people want, and not hurt by the fact that the next nearest pub, the Outback, is boarded up. Its only pub competition in the Bordon/Whitehill built-up area is the Woodlands Inn, a full 1.5 miles north.

The Dhanmondi staff were as welcoming as ever. However, the resturant wasn't as full as last time - whether due to the credit crunch, or the competition from the Woodlark, who knows?

The restaurant suggested a menu that comprised a mixed starter and then six main dishes - lamb tava (Kashmiri spices) and shahslik, and chicken jalfrezi, balti, shashlik, and gusht e'ada (ginger, onions, peppers, medium hot). A selection of rices, naans and vegtables accompanied the main meal.

Everything tasted good, and we left very little. We also enjoyed both the red and white house wines and the digestifs afterwards - thanks! In our feedback to the head waiter, we mentioned that all the main dishes seemed to be the same colour - a strong hint that they're using food colouring.

To sum up, we had another very convivial meeting and Dhanmondi certainly stays on our list of places to visit. Our plans for the next two months are that in April, we'll be visiting Haslemere again (Chilli Night), and in May, Liphook (Gurkha Chautari).