March meeting - Liss

The table is booked! Madhuban, Liss on Wednesday 12th March. We'll be meeting at the Bluebell for aperitifs from about 19:30 that evening. This is the pub at the T-junction of Station Road and Farnham Road (map here).
As usual please e-mail your intentions so that we have some idea of numbers. We look forward to some great food at this excellent restaurant.

Punjab - London, Covent Garden

After a day on my feet taking in the magnificent and varied architecture of central London it came as a relief to sit down all the same. Al Cochrane, one of the nicest people you could hope to meet, a guy with an insatiable thirst for life who I hadn't seen since I was eleven and almost another person, joined me for beer and curry. He said I hadn't changed at all, he's probably right - I've still got enough hair to make a winter coat and the same amount of freckles (on the last count at least).

Once inside the Punjab, poppadoms and dips included a lovely mint chutney, the recipes on their webpage. Chosing from a short list of appetisers I opted forAloo Tikki. They arrived swiftly and turned out to be two lovely potato croquettes full of hot creamy mash sour with resinous green chilli.

For main course I decided on chefs special Annari Gosht, ignoring the spinach based dishes ('for the Punjabi musclemen'). Cubes of firm, supple lamb like steak in a moreish curry sweet with lush, exotic pommegranate at the same time intense and sour. Good Vegetable Kofta, herby, fleshy balls in a tart pumpkin sauce were similarly flavourful. Al’s chicken korai tasted good despite paultry serving (!) – at least compared to large mound of rather watery pilau.

Service was calm and quietly efficient, the restaurant was full including a fair number of turbaned seekhs, dignified and handsome. We received our bill (£40 with drinks – toothsome buttermilk lassis) from a particularly fine, tall, soldiery punjabi. The place has been run by the same family for decades and generates a warm atmosphere with resplendent burnt yellow wallpaper, soft lighting and the buzz of contended chatter from diners full of robust food. Among the amusing quips on the menu one Mr Lawerence ate lunch and dinner here for forty years. It's easy to imagine the place as a home from home.

FOOD (& DRINK): 4
VALUE: 3
SERVICE: 4
AMBIENCE: 4

Willp2328score: 7.5/10

Midnight Tandoori - Palmerston Road, Southsea, 17/2/08

The sense of calm in the air of the smart, new high ceilinged dining room and the politeness of the young waiting staff have made this a recent favourite of mine. For the aforementioned atmospheric and the reliable fare offered from the narrow kitchen up the stairs I have no qualms about taking myself and anyone else along (on this occasion Steph and Louise, both enjoyed their food).

An appetiser of flaked crab meat in a moist preparation of tangy ginger and garlic served with a wheaty puree succeeded as did an undeniably tasty house special chintzily entitled ‘Tamarinda’. It was medium hot, patia like. Chunks of tandooried chicken in a saucy, smooth blend of bitterswet vinegary tamarind and green chilli. Soaked up with yellow pilau and Aloo Gobi – floury fried potatoes and cauliflower in a pleasant margariney onion curry – it all amounted to another worthy meal.

FOOD (& DRINK): 4

VALUE: 3

SERVICE: 5

AMBIENCE: 3

Willp2328 rating: 7.5/10

Rasa W1 - Soho, London

Das Sreedharan is a venerated culinary master in fact he’s ‘a complete genius and such a nice guy’ according to Jamie Oliver and he should know! I looked forward with high anticipation to a visit to Rasa in Derring Street, the W1 of 5 rose pink restaurants in London.

My cousin and I tried to make the most of it, i.e. order as much as we could and try new things. Not difficult as the menu is unrecognisable from Bangladeshi houses (circa 80% of the ‘Indians’ in the UK) – it’s Southern Indian.

No Naans (the tandoor oven in which they cook originated in the North), instead we had citrussy rice pancakes called ‘Uzhunappam’. These arrived a few minutes after ‘Malabar Erachi Chaaru’ and ‘Adipoli Erachi Mulegu’. The former, an aromatic pale brown curry of meltingly tender little morsels of lamb prepared with coconut milk, limey curry leaves, underscored by earthy tumeric, was good but rather mild. However, a superior side of Savoy cabbage, fresh, crisp, nutty and a little sweet as well as ‘Mysore Bonda’, large deep fried balls of mellow yellow mustardy mash were memorable. Similarly a fine range of chutneys (6 including delicious creamy coriander and raw candied mango) and ‘Medhu Vadha’ albeit for their unusual texture – bland, spongy, savoury doughnuts with shredded green chilli. Pleasant but in need of the coconut dip provided.

The place largely trades on reputation but judging by one or two comments some still expect too much. ‘Portions are small’ wrote one internet critic. I can only assume Mr Creosote has broadband at home, I left stuffed with tasty food, washed down with a glass and a half wine and tap water given ungrudgingly. A reasonable return for 30 pounds sterling.

FOOD (& DRINK): 4
VALUE: 4
SERVICE: 3
AMBIENCE: 4

Willp2328 score: 8/10

Juboraj II - Cardiff (Centre)

The Juboraj Group operate 3 restaurants in Cardiff. One can dine in Georgian splendour, raj style opulence or in the warm, snug, confines of their city centre digs as I did with sisters and Jo last Friday.

After warm eggy poppadoms, run of the mill accompaniments, a starter of Salmon steak (Machli Biran), gently pan fried until oily and succulent, dusted with ground spices satiated the appetite. A perfect meat madras stimulated it again – supple cubes of lamb in a hot, sour gravy with a lovely deep red hue – while a heavily salted spinach bhajee made me nothing but thirsty.

We enjoyed decent fare though not as good as the excellent Lakeside West branch (aka Juboraj III).

FOOD (& DRINK): 3
VALUE: 3
SERVICE: 3
AMBIENCE: 3

Willp2328score: 6/10