March meeting - Paradise Balti

The table is booked!  The March meeting of Petersfield Curry Club will be at Paradise Balti on Wednesday 13th.  Dinner will be at 20:30. The thirsty amongst us will gather at the (Old) Square Brewery from about 19:30. 

Did you know they'd changed the name of the pub?  I didn't until recently, but maybe the Old was putting off younger potential customers.  Still, they haven't banned over-18s and I'm sure all members of the Curry Club will be welcome there as usual. 

Please use the feedback page of the web site to let us know if you'll be there.  I'll also send out an e-mail to the membership in the next day or so.  Looking forward to a great evening!


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Web site changes

The main Petersfield Curry Club web site has just had its spring update.  Here are the main changes:

Amazon Shop: there's now a selection of food and drink guides in the category Eating out 2013.  Sorry but at present the Good Curry Guide 2013 is not available. 

Directory: updated to give better details for restaurants and pubs.  All of restaurants that we currently use should have a link from the directory to the latest reviews in the blog. 

One other change - see if you can spot it and let me know if you approve!

Dhanmondi - meeting report - 13th Feb

Our visit to Whitehill took place on a coolish February evening, but the welcome was warm and the food was hot.  Once again we had a great turnout, with at least one very interesting dish to excite the palate. 

The main dishes included a house special murgh massala, podina gusht (lamb), and a chicken tikka massala to the chef's own recipe; maybe we'd had too many papadums, but the feedback from members on these was neutral rather than brilliant.   For me the highlight of the evening was the 'authentic naga chicken', a chilli dish which had a tremendous kick but no burning mouth after-effect. Quite remarkable, and for the chilli-mad amongst us, there were a couple of takeaway containers at the end of the evening.  It tasted very good for lunch the next day, with a little plain rice.  

We enjoyed a very convivial evening, and decided that in March we'll go to Petersfield.  On 13th March, dinner will be at Paradise Balti and aperitifs will be at the Old Square Brewery.  A notice will be posted when the booking is made.

Dhanmondi details:
1-3 Petersfield Road, Whitehill, Bordon, GU35 9AR
Telephone: 01420 477666
Web: Dhanmondi

Dhanmondi - February 13th

The table is booked (actually, it has been for a couple of days). In February, our meeting is at Dhanmondi in Whitehill.  It's well known for a friendly welcome and great food, in the top 100 in the British Curry Awards in 2007, so we can look forward to a very enjoyable evening.  Aperitifs will be at 19:30 at the Woodlark, just a couple of hundred metres down the road, and then dinner will be at 20:30 as usual.

Beware taking your navigation from Google Maps - someone moved the Dhanmondi marker about a quarter of a mile down to a place called Pizza Time.  Maybe they couldn't take the heat.  I've requested it be moved back to the right place but this may take a little while.  

Please respond to the meeting notice e-mail or let us know of your attendance through the feedback page on our web site.  Let's hope we'll have a good turnout again; January's was excellent, and the February meeting doesn't clash with Valentine's Day this year.  

Malcolm's firm, Cargocall, is hosting the pre-match lunch at Petersfield Rugby Club on Saturday 9th Feb, 11:45-12:00 meet for 12:30. The main course: roast beef carved at table with all the trimmings - £20 a head. Followed by the first XV v New Milton at 14:15, then 6 Nations on (hopefully) the big screen.

El Presidente (Trevor) is coordinating numbers - if you want to come to the lunch, please say so on your response to the meeting notice, and if you've already booked, that would be good to know too.

Looking forward to a great February and a fine start to the Six Nations too - see you on the 9th and the 13th. 

Madhuban, 9th January

Happy New Year to all our members, and to start really well, what better place could we pick than the Madhuban, recently listed in the Michelin Guide for 2013?

We met at the Spreadeagle for a beer or two by the log fire, before making our way to the restaurant.  Despite the time of year, the weather was dry, so no problem for those of us on foot.  The restaurant was welcoming as ever, and after the first drinks and papadums had been served, came up with a delicious mixed starter that included chicken tikka, stuffed mushrooms, hussaini (chicken) kebab, sheek kebab, and onion bhaji.  I particularly like the fact that Madhuban serves a choice of spicy pickles with it papadums, and the stuffed mushrooms were delicious. 

There were three main meat courses.  The first, chicken korma Mirchwangan includes beetroot and so had a deep red sauce. Chicken tikka Darjeeling is made with a green marinade and is a favourite of many club members.  Finally a lamb with apricot (darjali ?) dish had deep and subtle flavours.  Vegetables included panch mela - five (or more?) mixed vegetables and sag aloo.

We thought the cooking was great.  It would have been good to have at least one hotter dish, but that's my fault.  All in all, it was a fine evening, and enjoyed by a record turnout for January.  

The chosen venue for February is Dhanmondi, in Whitehill.  That's on Wednesday 13th, so at least we don't have a direct clash with Valentine's Day!