The Indian Villa, Zinnowitz (Usedom)

The sole purpose of our visit to Usedom Island on the Baltic was to visit the Rocket Museum at Peenemünde. Staying at a Pension in Trasseneheide was the only economic way of achieving this. The price of Hotel Accommodation in this area is off the scale. We stopped off in Zinnowitz to take in this Baltic or Ostsee Resort. It is stunning, to think some people are impressed by Blackpool. This was Brighton, for the Rich.

Marg spotted an Elephant at the entrance to the Terrace on a Restaurant. The Restaurant was real, the Elephant was not. The Elephant aroused Hector’s interest, some Elephants are Indian, not that they are aware of this. The venue turned out to be the Indian Villa (Neu Strandsrasse 33, 17454, Zinnowitz), a Half Indian, Half Italian Restaurant. This could be the Best of Both Worlds as Marg enjoys both, but we had Italian last night in the very Disappointing – Restaurant Sara (Osloer Strasse, Wedding, Berlin).

After a wander we returned and sat outside in the late evening sunlight. Menus were secured and Marg’s attempt at ordering a Soda and Lime produced Weinschorle. For once I had a Bier, a local Brew.

Marg suggested Fisch Pakora, why not? Mango Chicken was once again too irresistible for the Lady. The Menu was not to extensive, there were only three Lamb dishes from which to choose. Punjabi Mutton Masala (scharf) sounded just about the Perfect Curry for Hector, just how realistic this would be would create the necessary suspense. There have been some very good Deutsche-Indien Curry served over the years, one never knows until one tries. Mix Gemüse at €2.50 is exactly the Side Dish at the perfect price that Hector has come to seek in recent times. This should guarantee an Interesting Vegetable, or three.

 Poppadoms and Hot Dips

Marg had watched a family at an adjacent table visibly suffer when they applied their Dips to their Poppadoms. I was warned. Carefully spreading the Oily Green Leaves and Brown, Chutney-like, Sauce over my Seeded Poppadom there was a moment of uncertainty. There was a Subtle Blast, nothing The Hector could not handle. The Poppadoms themselves were poor, neither Crisp or Stale. I did see a pile of them later stored in the open, they must have been lying out all day.

 The Starter

The rather Bland Pils was a momentary distraction, the Fisch Pakora came within a brief period of waiting. This immediately impressed, it simultaneously rang the Alarm Bells, how often does an impressive Starter give way to a disappointing Main Course? The Fish was in Batter, the latter is no doubt where the Spices were. The Fish was Fresh and packed a Punch, there was also a minimal Spiced Sauce. The Dish was completed by the usual Lettuce, The Plate Filler. The Lettuce was covered in Mayonnaise, a strange accompaniment.

One hates when the Main Course comes straight after the Starters, there was no such fear at the Indian Villa. Marg was Slightly in Despair at the lack of efficiency manifested by the Staff. New arrivals took ages to be issued with a Menu, Marg as ever felt like fetching them. There was plenty of time to inspect the Facilities and see the indoor part of this eatery. The Main Dining Room would no doubt prove to be sufficient on colder and wetter days. We are in The Baltic, this could be many.

Our plates were brought, a good sign. The plates were cold, a bad sign.

Three large Bowls of Curry and a fourth of Boiled Rice arrived, eventually. By now we were ravenous again. The Waiter spooned some Rice on to both our plates and left us to get on with it. The Lamb Dish looked Creamy, Yoghurt one presumes. Marg’s Mango Chicken I had already seen being brought by the Waiter to other tables, it was not Soup, but close to it. The Mixed Vegetables was served Dry, this looked to be the most visibly pleasing of the three Dishes.

There was no Bread order, the only Bread I had seen on the Menu was neither Chapatti or Roti and cost €2.50, what could be worth this? And so, Lamb, Masala and Rice together – not bad, not Spicy at all. So much for Scharf. There was a single Flavour, a weak Cinnamon possibly, this Dish lacked so much. The Lamb was reasonably Tender and there was enough of it. The base price for each Curry was around the €14 mark, so a skimpy portion would have been insulting. There so called Punjabi Mutton Masala did contain Potato and Peas as did the Mix Gemüse. The latter also had Broccoli and the inevitable Capsicum, but Yellow ones for a change.

Did I enjoy this Curry – yes! It was a bit below average, nothing Special, but the alternative was another Lump of Deutsche Schwein, one can eat that any-time. Hector would rather eat an average Curry than a German Dish, end of.

Meanwhile Marg was chewing her way through the Chicken. Her first remark was how chewy the Chicken was. It was clearly not Halal. The Fruity content appealed as did the Sprinkling of Chopped Almonds. In the end Marg left two large pieces of Chicken, I have seen Curry served with this amount of meat to start. Hector took one and tried to cut it with his fork, no success. The knife was employed. I put half a chunk in my mouth, bloody hell, this was tough. The Lamb had just improved beyond all recognition retrospectively. I left the other half, I do not know the majority of Diners could have eaten this. This was Chicken?

The Bill

€44.30. It took us a while to get The Bill, not surprising given the lack of efficiency manifested by the Waiters. The Bill was produced from the Waiter’s Handheld Computer-Thingamybob. The Paper emerged from the bottom. All this technology – ‘No we don’t take Credit Cards’. Aye right.

 The Aftermath

The Calling Card was accepted after the briefest (Deutsche) explanation. I doubt if the Waiter was that bothered, so it goes. We were offered Schnapps but on realising there was a two hour gap in the train service back to Trassenheide, the offer was graciously declined.