A fond Gubei or an Indian Curry Hut to forget?

The OCC ventured out to Gubei to visit the Indian Curry Hut of 1078 Hongquan Lu for their second meet of the year. Getting to the meet caused trouble for some as the member, formally known as Angry Pat, flawlessly timed and guided the Chairman and Kam through line 10 and to the Jingting Mall. It was, however, every man for themselves as all three legged it to the location to be wonderfully greeted by the rest of the OCC members and Executive Chef Mr. Balveer, himself.

The Indian Curry Hut had an impressive menu (without swaying) with a history of curry, a bio of the Indian Curry Hut franchise, and Executive Chef Mr. Balveer. The ICH proclaimed they were, “… a destination for delicious food that’s both healthy for you and aligned with your values.” It goes without saying the OCC values delicious food, but for some of us the ‘health’ portion hit close to home, as we welcomed back Dave from his tandoori-like-chicken-in-the-groin health scare.

ICH’s extensive menu contained your standard Indian favorites, but also had some fusion starters that led to many compliments from the OCC members. The chili cauliflower was a hit at the table. Other standout starters were the hara bhara kabab and the aloo gobi, while the mains consisted of garlic chicken tikka, paneer tikka, and chicken saag to name just a few. The menu states that “great dishes start with great ingredients…” to which the OCC agreed with by giving the Indian Curry Hut a score of 7 for quality.

As the night progressed, the Kingfishers and curries were flowing. The staff were very accommodating and keen to refill drinks, replace dropped utensils, and were quite timely with bringing out the dishes. Their efforts did not go unnoticed as they scored a 7 and 7.4 in service and customer care, respectively.

Among the scores, the ICH ranked lower in the atmosphere category with a 6.6 rating. This was due in part to the overall cleanliness, or lack thereof, to the mall in which the restaurant was located in. The ICH itself was nicely decorated and clean. A welcomed sight of Bollywood music videos played on the TVs, to which a certain unnamed Indian restaurant competitor that advertises heavily on Facebook, brags of its close proximity to the Bund, and played US top 40 music videos despite being Indian and cricket-themed restaurant, failed to do.

The highest score of the evening was a 8.1 going to the value category. With 11 OCC members, a trialist, and a cardboard cutout of Gandhi himself, the bill came out to a total of 210RMB. The OCC felt this was wonderful value for the amount of food, drinks, and care it received from the Indian Curry Hut.

With a final score of 7.2, the Indian Curry Hut is OCC approved and is tied for 11th on the all-time list of curries in Shanghai. If you find yourself in or live in/around Gubei, you will not be disappointed with a meal at the Indian Curry Hut!