This Man has come all the way from Glasgow for Lamb Nehari – Men Host informed a Takeaway Customer as we stood together at The Counter. I was asked to sit having confirmed Chapattis as the Accompaniment. One and a Half Chapattis. Maybe One Day…
This time Last Year, Andy Murray had just been beaten in the Final of the Australian Open. No Final for him this time. Stan is The Champ. Not Dr. Stan who had declined the Invitation to Accompany Hector to Kabana (52 Back Turner St., Manchester, M4 1LQ). He likes Nehari, but Noon was too soon after his Extensive Buffet Breakfast.
As Their Sunday Special, the Nehari did not take time to Heat. I trust it was the Chapattis (£0.60) that took the few moments. Throughout my visit I observed that every Customer, both Sit-in and Takeaway was Warmly Greeted, indeed, Mein Host appears to know all his Customers. He even recognised me Two Days ago and that was only my Second Time at Kabana.
Nehari is a Wet Curry, Lamb Shank. With More Masala than I would normally tolerate, perhaps Rice would have been the Better Accompaniment. There is no Lamb equivalent to Beefy, but this Best Described the Overall Flavour. Very much a Spicy Lamb Stew, the Masala is not Onion-rich. Tender would hardly do the Lamb justice. Using my fork, I was able to shred the Large Chunks into more manageable pieces. Once again, the Fresh Chillies and Chopped Ginger had been added on Top at the time of serving. This added a Degree of Diversity. Overall, the Flavour took me back in time towards the 1960s. Old Fashioned, or Traditional?
The Menu Board listed Fried Fish under Specials at £3.50 and Lamb Chops Tikka at £4.00. Both of these were on display at the Counter. Next time I may try one of these, or both.
After Last Evening’s totally opposite Curry-Experience, One can marvel at the Array of Dishes from the Indian Subcontinent. One can eat Curry Everyday such is the Diversity.
The Bill
£6.20. When I met up with The Rest of The Company, they had paid around £8.00 for their Equivalent Breakfast. They did not have Curry-Heute.
The Aftermath
Mein Host is called – Rizwan. We bade each other Farewell, until the next time in Manchester.
The Head Waiter would deal with us. I said we did not require Salad and asked for Tap Water. He informed us that due to Health and Safety they do not serve Tap Water. The Bottle of Still water from the adjacent Table was placed before us. You can have this at No Charge – he offered. As Jonathan would relate later, Hector went into Full Haggling Mode and managed to decline the Offer of Free Water. Do you have sparkling Water? This was provided. I am Happy to pay for this! The Salad came Regardless and as Tired and Weary Travellers, we were Happy to Munch…
The Flat Karahi, maybe 40cm in Diameter, sat Proudly on The Table. A Pair of Rotis came at First, their Partners later. Same Quality of Bread as last Night, no Crisping. Here we go, again. As Dry as Last Night, same Minimal Oil, same Black Pepper Dominance, same Outstanding Pleasures, well almost. On-the-bone tends to have an Edge over Boneless. In terms of the Quality of The Karahi I tried to refrain from – I told You so.
Cheetham Hill is an area of Manchester that meant nothing to Hector until last month. On the 
A Mature gentleman, who was clearly The Head Waiter, came to take the Order. Lamb Karahi, on-the-bone, with Extra Methi and a Bit more Salt, and Dry. Four Roti (£0.70). This was recorded Electronically on a Pad, No Problem.
The Open Kitchen is at The Entrance to the Right. The Huge Hall must sit Hundreds. The Place was Quiet, maybe Twenty-plus Fellow Diners? Dr. Stan and Hector certainly stood out from the rest of the Diners.
I had deliberately not asked for The Bill at The Table as is my Norm when eating at an Establishment such as this for the First Time. The Manager was on The Till. He took The Cash. Whilst I congratulated him on the Outstanding Quality of The Food Served, I could not help but notice the Itemisation. £1.00 for the Salad, £1.50 for the Bottle of Water. Whilst I made it clear we were not unhappy with the Overall Price, I did tell him that this was a Sneaky way of Inflating The Bill.
Charming, or what? There was no way I was letting this Spoil The Event. He also stated that They are always willing to take suggestions on board. I was given a £5.00 Discount Voucher valid Monday to Friday.
On entering Lal Qila (
How can One Piece of folded A3, or was it less, contain so many Hector Compatible Dishes? There were Five that possibly could I have ordered. Lamb Methi, Karahi, but let’s stop at the Fish Karahi. Nowhere did The Menu mention the dreaded Mushy Green Vegetable. How Dry would the Karahi be? Oh, the Lal Qila Grilled Lamb Chops, maybe a Starter?
A Sparkling Water was brought with the Poppadoms, if it wasn’t a Pint it was as near as. There was no information as to the price of Soft Drinks. As a Licensed Venue, the Fellow Diners were swallowing Various Biers. In for a Penny.
Indeed the Chops numbered Four. Presented Sizzling on an Iron Skillet, the Onions were irresistible. Part of The Fun. A Waiter made the Polite Enquiry as I ate. The Exterior of the Chops was up to standard, I felt them a bit Peely Wally inside, maybe more cooking required, a Rush Job?
This is a welcomed declaration. Mother judges every Restaurant by whether it has a policy of Warm Plates. The Curry arrived along with Chapatti Basket. The Lahore Kirahi were suitably Dry. Delicious – was Mother’s Verdict. She ate every Morsel. The Lemon even ended up her Sparkling Water and was consumed thereafter. Not a Drop Wasted. Marg accepted Defeat with Three Pieces of Lamb left. Doggy Bag. No Problem.
A Plate of what appeared to be Two different Couscous with Fresh Coriander was presented. We each had a sample – Refreshing.
Our Waiter came over and asked if we would like to try a Dessert on The House. There is a New Chef. What I thought I heard as Kulafa, but research now suggests Kunafa was brought. We had asked for One Portion to share, just as well. A Middle Eastern Sweet served with Ice Cream and Cream. There were Nuts, Fruit and a something Spun on top. Very Sweet. A Portion to share was Perfect. Had I the room to eat all this, I would have ordered more Curry. Marg had The Cherry on top.
My First Mama’s Rasoi Dish was Soup, the second a much Improved Dish. Tonight it was Soup again. The Heart sank, this is exactly what I did not want. The Paratha was definitely Peely-Wally. It was so Thin, still, there could be something to Salvage.
I started to Wonder. Is it me? Are my Fellow Diners – Really Content – eating this and accepting it as – Curry? Am I out of phase with what People Want?
A Young Waitress brought the Menu, One of many I would encounter it would turn out. As it was my impression that this venue could be pricey, I decided to stick with Tap Water. The venue is licensed, most were partaking of Stronger Beverages, it is Friday. The Tap Water arrived, that was the last I saw of this particular Waitress. I had plenty of time to study the Menu which was not pretentiously long. Small print on the top right corner suggested I should try Lamb on-the-bone. A good idea. To Accompany there was the choice of Chapatti (£1.50) or Paratha (£2.50). There was no mention of Paratha Variants, I would ask.
The Lamb Desi was immediately attention grabbing. This was Dry, Bradford-Dry. The Lamb was cut Small, Bradford-Small. The 
The Paratha had sufficient Potato to satisfy the need for the Interesting Vegetable. This was one helluva’ Paratha. Excellent.
The pleasure continued. For a brief moment, the distinctive 
The Fish Starter is now the accepted part of Being Fed. Wherever this Sourced I would love to know. The Freshest of Fish covered in Spice and Baked in Foil. Two pieces presented, Alan identified one was Slightly Larger – That’s Yours! This was Alan’s First 
There is nothing which Pleases Hector’s Visual Cortex more, that’s a Star Trek NG reference, than the First Glimpse of a Kilo of 
Three Chapattis accompanied The Feast. Quite sufficient. No need to fill on Bread. In the end the Pile of Bones was a welcome sight, The Endgame. Shkoor reappeared. He saw three small pieces of something left at the Base of the Karahi. We could do no more. Marg had even Nibbled. This she enjoyed, it was within her Tolerance Range. She was full from Match Teas she admitted later. Shkoor forgave us.
The Chaps had a Quiet Evening reminiscing over Times Past, NOT!