Despite the fact that this is the middle of the summer holidays, we had a good turnout for Malabon on Wednesday 14th. We decided to move the rendezvous from the Old Drum to the Red Lion, to help our less mobile members, and so it was just a short walk from aperitifs to a warm welcome at the restaurant.
After papadums with a good selection of pickles, hot as well as mild, the starters were an interesting and unusual selection. Panner (curd cheese) tikka, aloo chana chat (potato and chick-pea), deep-fried keema mushroom and onion bhaji were all tasty, and quite different to the usual selection - and almost exclusively vegetarian.
The main courses were exactly what we wished for - a great combination
of medium to hot dishes, including king prawn jalfrezi, garlic chili
chicken massala, handi lamb (dry Madras-hot), and Darjeeling chicken
(mint-marinated in a tomato-based sauce). Several other main dishes as
well as rice, naans, and vegetable side dishes made for a feast that we
struggled to finish - one of our number had a takeaway for next day's
lunch.
We're also glad to say that no-one kidnapped an ornamental camel, though
one of our members was eyeing up the possibilities, to general
hilarity. All in all, we had a great evening and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
We decided that Madhuban should be the venue for September.
Malabon details:
14 Dragon St, Petersfield GU31 4JJ