The Fourth Curry in Thirty Six Hours, there’s no point being in Manchester and not enjoy oneself.
Closed on a Saturday, there can only be one venue for Sunday Lunch – Kabana (52 Back Turner St., Manchester, M4 1LQ). Howard and Tracey were here two days ago. Tracey found her Keema to be too salty, gamey. Everything she described sounded exactly how I would seek Curry, Howard was more appreciative, this suited his palate more. They also had to queue to get in. I doubt if they were serving hot chocolate.
At 12.30 there was no such problem today, though a few tables were occupied. Rizwan was behind the counter to greet us as we entered. He was forewarned of the arrival of Hector. This would be Steve’s second Manchester Curry Café Experience. With Weekend Luggage to park a table at the far end was selected. We returned to the counter. Steve was reading the Mains Board, I drew his attention to the Specials Board, Lamb Karahi was listed first, no need to continue.
Once again Rice was Hector’s choice, with a Thinner Masala I currently find this more enjoyable.
I recommend on-the-bone – said Rizwan. Hector needed no persuasion. A Plate with more Rice than a man could eat was covered with Lamb and Masala. Rizwan kept ladelling on the Curry in the same way that servers of school dinners don’t. I helped myself to the chopped Green Chillies and Fresh Coriander that were on the counter. This looked good.
Steve went without bones and stuck to the more traditional Chapatti accompaniment. When he saw my Toppings he went back up and took some, chopped Ginger too. Had the Ginger been in Strips I could not have resisted.
Steve was instantly impressed. This was Simple Curry, with Flavours that take one back in time, to the 1960s. The Seasoning was remarkable, absolutely how we like it. Black Pepper could well have been the dominant source of Heat, there was a Kick. So simple, so effective. It’s so good – remarked Steve. I wish I was still hungry – he stated at the end, I could have another bowl.
The Generous Portion was slowly put away. The Rice had absorbed the Masala, this was Tremendous. Slowly, slowly, Hector made progress through the mass of food until the sheer quantity of Rice forced defeat. A Superb start to the day.
The Bill
We ordered separately, we paid separately. £5.80 for on-the-bone with Rice, £5.10 for boneless and a Chapatti.
Rizwan bade farewell, he appreciates that I always visit when I’m down in Manchester. He expressed his envy at how much I get around. Guess where I’ll be in two weeks…
The Aftermath
Meanwhile Howard was across the lane in Al Faisal, Tracey and Robin were in 57 Thomas St. Where to go next?