CHILI INDIAN RESTAURANT

THE VILLAGE (it’s only a small mall)

READING TOWN CENTRE

So carrying on from the last place and our idea of more budget eating as yes interest rates rose again this week just to help everyone who’s normal out of a few quid more, so here we are soldering on with this place which we booked at short notice on a Saturday night. I have no idea why we did a Saturday night because usually it’s going to be the worst meal of the week as places are normally stacked so service and the kitchen literally goes to pot. The other unusual thing for us is going to Reading, ok it’s our nearest town but to be perfectly honest the best things about the place is the high speed rail link into London and the M4 motorway that avoids the place altogether as thirty years or so ago it was full of yokel carrot crunchers but has now become an overspill town for London and has turned into one of those generic places with no identity and has the same high street as the majority of towns in England so boring and as dull as dishwater. Just a short cab ride to the place which is situated in a sort of small mall which has been pretty much empty for the past god knows how many years and seems to be full of cheaper eateries with a dominating smell of grilled food emanating from what I would call a dodgy Korean place where you cook your own at a table and smell of grilled meat for the rest of the week and they charge you for this ?.

Anyway the Indian was upstairs and it’s a restaurant we didn’t actually see the inside of as we were given one of two tables at the entrance where the bar and a number of fridges were holding pre packed deserts and various beers, but to be honest I couldn’t have cared less as it was fine and the actual restaurant was behind a wall where the fridges were but at least it was quiet which was better than the noise of people and small kids coming from the other side. Service was good and the Kingfisher lager arrived promptly and well chilled while we looked over a fairly extensive menu which looked very different to the normal run of the mill rubies we get in the UK with a standard day glow sauce and everything tastes pretty much the same regardless of what you ordered. Must admit that there was quite a few dishes which were new to me so whatever they were I was having regardless and if you don’t try you’ll never know.

Must admit there wasn’t much to photograph seeing as where we were sat and it’s rare that I take a picture of the food unless it’s something different or total shite and anyway a curry in a skillet looks like a curry in a skillet however you look at it. As usual we were told we‘ve ordered too much but then again I want to try it so if I leave it that’s my problem as I’m paying regardless of what I leave but it was no problem as they could pack it for a take home if we wanted so I went to town. The pepper chicken sounded interesting and it was, a southern Indian dish and very tasty, plus all dishes could come mild medium or very spicy which was a nice touch I thought. We skipped the basic run of the mill masala, jalfrezi type dishes and had something called Góngora chicken a new one on me which is slow cooked in an hibiscus gravy another southern dish but a family special. Andhra Chapará Pulusu (are they making this up ?) a fish dish with ground cumin paste and chilli. Keeping up the pace we followed on with Lamb Kalimirch in chefs special sauce with again black pepper which was probably my favourite Kaddish Chicken made up of another mix of chefs spices all tossed in a Kadai pan whatever that is and I have no idea if it added to the flavour but it was also good. We only pumped for one rice which was mushroom and a couple of hand rolled nan breads which were great. We just had to wash this down with an Indian Shiraz which I did have doubts about and we had had an amazing Indian Cab Sauv when in Jaipur. The Shiraz turned out to be an excellent accomplishment to the food and for £26 odd quid was great so don’t ever knock an Indian wine.

Whoever did the graphics for the wine label I admit needs to go back and retrain for whatever they did but as they say don’t judge a wine by it’s label just because it has a picture on it but yes it’s beyond naff. All in all a very good Indian meal with each dish tasting completely different from the other which to me is a great result, it’s not something that I could eat weekly but we will return but not on a Saturday night as the wait was a bit ridiculous, but on top of that they did get a second bottle out of us and a bill for £100 plus and a wait of 90 mins before the main course but also as we were the only non Indian type patrons it’s got to tell you that the food is good.

Leicester Square Kitchen

Leicester Square WC2 London

Life is getting to be a real ball ache in the UK at the moment what with cost of living crisis and household living expenditure going through the roof and the Bank of England racking up the interest rates every month to help the economy but screwing everyone by making mortgages and borrowing more expensive really doesn’t help anyone. So hospitality is suffering as nobody has spare cash to shell out on enjoyment so to do our bit we decided to step down and try a few more what we would call main stream type establishments or to put it plainly cheaper. So after a hard days shopping or what amounts to following the blond around numerous places that have vast arrays of material hanging limply from coat hangers in sizes that are barely made for the average female human form at prices the majority of people can’t afford. During this time I’m being useful looking for food haunts and nodding in agreement and looking excited at the right moment of the what do you think of this as she emerges from yet another changing room.

Sunday evening is usually a bit difficult as all the normal places we go are shut but stepping down market a bit there seems to be a wider choice and I found this place which is also part of a hotel so the restaurant is usually open. This hotel is also a group that we wouldn’t stay in which is a Radisson Blu, I know they’re all over the place but apart from that I’ve never looked at one so can’t comment. The place is also in an area that’s best avoided unless you’re a tourist, hooker, rent boy or pickpocket, so an area along with Piccadilly Circus that’s not our favourite for an amble around. Getting a cab was a complete pain and we were close to jacking the whole thing in as it took us 45 mins to find a cab as the bloody tube was shut for some reason strike or whatever I don’t know as there’s a strike every other day here at the moment but as I know the area it was a good bet getting off the main drags and knowing where cabs take a short cut which was fine until we got half way up Piccadilly and came to an abrupt stop. The cabbie then Informed us that the roads were closed off for the bloody Chinese new year and there’s me thinking all those buggers were queuing in Louis Vuitton in Harrods or Sloane Street. So it was easier to leave the cab outside Fortnums and walk for ten minutes.

The place itself looked fine and is in what is a quieter section of Leicester Square and being around 5.30pm was fairly quiet unlike the north side which leads into China Town and was obviously heaving with people. Inside was nicely fitted with various low tables and some high bench type numbers, so we would call it bistro type of place and the food was described as Mexican and Peruvian rolled into one. Staff were nice both Easrtern European girls who served us drinks quickly and explained the dishes were like tapas plates and sounded pretty cool. I was looking forward to what is described as contemporary cuisine or is that just another name for let’s sound trendy. Soon after the girls told us they were off shift and we were now being looked after by two Indian lads with heavy accents so probably or most likely on student visas but pleasant enough. We started with the tacos me crispy baja fish slaw and habanero mayo very tasty and spicy which surprised me and also included the staple Peruvian lime juice everywhere, the other half had dry rubbed (is there a wet rub ?) short rib with chili mayo also tasty but not spicy. There was a vegetarian chicken but I’m still trying to get my head round that and why a vegetarian would want to eat what I imagine to be a plant based chicken whatever that is, if you don’t eat meat why give it an animals name, madness.

We stayed with the tapas plates and followed with the sliders or a fancy name for mini burgers of Wagyu beef ( who knows) and chorizo with chilli cheese which turned out to be that processed tasteless Monterey cheese which to me is a bit like Kraft dairy lee slices, but at least these were ok burgers much better than the cow pat served up the other week in the Bush. We also munched through the paprika calamari chilli and customary lime which were a bit soggy but ok and finished with the habanero matchstick chicken a kind of fish finger but chicken with spice.

To wash this all down I plumped for the safe bet an Argentine Malbec which was drinkable and what I expected, Helen went for and I told her not to some dodgy Pinot Noir from Roussillon and we all know if it’s not French from Burgundy costing a kings ransom it’s going to be shit and it was. Couldn’t be arsed to take photos as it’s not that interesting and is also part of a chain of four or five others in town. Peruvian and Mexican food I like but contemporary I’m not sure it could ever be put into that class or be elevated to something else as it’s good food and is what it is. One other thing is that and I’m not sure if it’s law but they put the calories of each dish on the menu and from the size of one of the blokes eating here I can guarantee that it’s not working, I for one am not interested in that at all but it may work for one or two who are calorie counting. The place was enjoyable and food was fine but am not going to return as it’s the sort of food I could get down the road at any TGI’s