Bravo, my dear Indian Spices
The Oakham Curry Club (OCC) is a well-respected Institution with multiple international franchises.
The OCC takes pride in searching out the finest Indian Restaurants, and providing an impartial review of Curry Houses all over the world.
Members vote anonymously on 5 categories - and an average score is given to each restaurant we review.
On January 12th the OCC convened at Indian Spices, on High Street, with curry and frivolity in mind. With only five OCC-men turning up, attendance was poor. But what a five they were—and what a night was to be had.
We had been drinking in the bar next door prior to the meet, and when we rushed in to the restaurant, not be late for our scheduled start time, the restaurant staff kindly let us finish the beers we’d brought in from the outside. A fresh round of Kingfishers was promptly served. As we begun to quench our thirsty throats a fragrance flowed from the kitchens into our carnivorous nostrils—samosas and poppadoms were on their way. Both were crisper than the driest New Zealand Sav Blanc. The onion on the poppadoms were sweet and crunchy. The meat in the samosas was deep and comforting, bringing our international outfit a sense of home, where we know we are loved. The only slight downside was that the pastry was slightly buttery and ever so marginally undercooked on the inside. Small price to pay, though, for such exquisite flavours.
Once we had washed down these sensational starters with another round of Kingfisher we moved onto the main courses. Paneer makhani: So sweet it could have been milked from the bosom of Annapurna Devi Mata herself. Beef vindaloo: Firey and tender Punjabi passion food that lacerated and inflamed our foolish taste buds. Lamb Rogan Josh—lamb so succulent and tomatoes so fresh we didn’t know whether we were in Swansea or Syracuse. And of course the sides: naan as fluffy as Himalayan clouds dancing on mountaintop, and as buttery as a Jersey farm. Rice so subtle, yet so impactful, as to make us question our senses.
The quality was extremely high. The service was attentive yet not overbearing. The customer care, given that three of the attendees were Danish (a positively precious posse of pagans), was endearing. The atmosphere among the other guests was somewhat flat, mournful even, as if they were attending the wake of their Friday evening, ruined by a bunch of rowdy curry-men. This was entirely caused by us, and is no fault of the restaurant. For us merry men had been smashing through the kingerfishers like a Sri Lanken tsunami. Best of all was the value. Such culinary contentment will only set you back a modest sum here, so over order.
All in all the score speaks for itself. Never, in the illustrious history of the OCC (HK branch), has a restaurant scored so highly. Bravo, my dear Indian Spices, bravo indeed.
Scores
Quality: 8.6 Value: 9 Service: 8.6 Customer Care: 8.8 Atmosphere: 7.6
Total: 8.52