Wedding : The Garden Suburb (Berlin)

Posted on August 8, 2010 by Hector

Sitting at Eschenbrau, Hector decided to do a local search on the BlackBerry to see if there were any places for a Curry-Heute that had not shown by previous searches.
Ah, the jokes that life can play. Six doors along from our accommodation on Tegelerstrasse was the Naveena Path, a Tamilische (Sri Lankan) Curry Haus with a full menu and not just the usual Sri Lankan coconut dishes.

Sadly, given the pattern of the days, this could not be visited. They were close on Saturday night when we returned to Wedding, and a Curry for Sunday brunch was defeated by the excellent buffet on display at Schade next door.

Now it would be ironic if the best Curry in Berlin was served around the corner from the best Bier!

The worst Curry Haus in Berlin?
Meanwhile reports have reached Hector that five of our party who missed out on the Weizen Bock on Saturday night went to the Amrit (Oranienstraße 202). Now Hector had seen this place mentioned in other dispatches. Comments should be added below by those who claim to have tasted “The hottest curry in Germany”.

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Namaskar, is the best Berlin has to offer?

Posted on August 7, 2010 by Hector

What is Methi?

Berlin‘s Namaskar Restaurant (Parisier Str 57, near Hohenzollern Platz) is reported on other sources as the city’s finest Indian Restaurant.
This was Hector’s first Berlin Curry-Heute, and so a good place to start.
A noon rendezvous was usurped by Steve announcing he was there. This proved it was open. The scaffolding outside would have made the heart skip a beat otherwise.

Methi Mansha nearly won as the meal choice (Cubes of Lamb with: Onions, Ginger, Tomato and Fenugreek).

Oolarithayathu was similarly based as the Methi Mansha but without (Methi) Fenugreek, instead with Cardamom, Cinnamon and Cloves. Could I get this with Methi?

What is Methi? – the waiter asked.

It came, a sauce lacking onion. No yogurt ingredient was mentioned on the menu description but was evidently used.

A tray with extra sauces was included, one hot…very hot. Indeed, it turned a bland Curry into a do it yourself assault on the senses.

Now we have a Curry-Heute.

Robin’s Chicken Tandoori was good…but mild…but that is what he asked for.
Hövels Bier (Dortmund Hausbräuerei) vom Faß was advertised…but we were advised that there were cellar problems.

Jonathan arrived late, not like him at all, but in time to take a photo of the three of us in front of the scaffolding.

“Once upon a time, Curry in Germany was a joke.”
Well so states the banner at the top of this Blog. If this is the finest Curry Haus in Berlin, then they will have to do much better. Anyone can make a sauce that looks like a Curry: where were the tastes of the ingredients listed on their own menu?

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Nürnberg on Trial

Posted on August 6, 2010 by Hector

Craig wiped Yvonne’s dish: ‘The day I ate a Vindaloo.’

Finding a Curry-Heute should not be difficult, in Nürnberg this apparently not so. The chaps walked in the pouring rain to the much hyped Indian Corner to find it closed…for six weeks.
We reassembled at Andechs and Hector proved he was not to be beaten. Mr Google gave the telephone number for the Ghandi, at least they answered. Craig was in the floor as I tackled the mission in a mixture of Deutsch and English: ‘You are closed for two months…Also..’

The Tadsch Mahal. (Johannis Str 10) may well have been the source of Google’s previous phantom pursuit. They are open! This is Nürnberg’s oldest Curry House. The layout is superb with tables on their individual dais. Craig, Yvonne, Robin and Hector were ushered up a spiral stair to the mezzanine.

Lamb Michiwali, or Vindaloo was the choice for Hector and Yvonne. I assured her that no German Vindaloo would ever be too hot.

The Goan Fish, a Tandoori dish, tempted Robin. He described it as excellent but mild.

To overcome his fear of Spice, Craig had the Chicken Tandoori. This was despatched and Craig was then mopping up Yvonne’s sauce.

“I’m more of a Vindaloo man myself”, declared Craig.

As Glasgow is the given place of origin of the Chicken Tikka Masala, it is strange to see both of the Tandoori dishes served without sauce.

And so to the main event.

Yvonne declared the ‘Vindaloo’ to be ‘Madras’ hot: there was a kick.
Hector reports the sauce to be genuine, the Lamb variable, from tough to excellent; however, the portion was decidedly small. I was happy to help Yvonne finish hers. The heat was from the added Chillies rather than the Masala itself.
There was a lot of rice.

The meal was good, but the long wait could have been broken with some Poppadoms etc. These were not even in the menu to order. Yvonne was not impressed. The Tadsch Mahal is a popular place, but where is the competition?

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A day trip to München (Munich) : Indian Mango

Posted on August 4, 2010 by Hector

No Stone Left Unturned

Neil and Marg fly home today … so Jonathan and I came down to see them off…..em…have a Mango Curry-Heute…maybe visit the Augustiner Tap? Text Howard from Andechser am Dom? St Jacobus is out of the question. For a nice day out in München!
In the end, Jonathan had to return towards Hilpoltstein to rescue a 30l Faß of Pyraser Landbier, any excuse. So no Curry-Heute for him, only Bier today.

The luggage was checked, Hector, Marg and Neil took the S-Bahn to Isartor…and minutes later were at Indian Mango (Zweibruckenstraße 15).
Mein Host, Herr Jolly Kunjappu, was there to greet and advise.
There was no – Spezial – board … just ask was the remedy. The Fish Chettinad -My Mother’s Recipe – was the objective of the day. Marg, her ever ecumenical self, ordered the Lamb variant. They come with Reis, a Nan was suggested: there was compliance.
This is just what the Curry-Heute Hector in the sky ordered: no sauce to speak of, crunchy – minuscule chopped onion and tomato added just before serving, curry leaves, maybe finely chopped Coriander stalks…, the Fish served in flakes: well this was how Neil and I recomposed the meal on the walk back to the Viktualienmarkt.
Marg’s Lamb Chettinad was similar, of course the Lamb came from The Pot and had a bit more Masala.

A Raita appeared magically, just in case Marg was finding the Curry-Heute to be  – hot.
Including one Mango Lassi and two waters…
€15 each. This was probably the best service ever had in a restaurant! Of course Hector had his photo taken with Jolly.

Neil and Marg were waved off and boarded the easyJet flight to Edinburgh only one hour late. Well, our previous two bookings on this route were cancelled, one volcano, one flurry of snow.

*

Not many people know this, but Jolly is a Percussionist

In 1974 he played with the Rolling Stones.
In 1976, Neil did not go to Hampden Park to see FC Bayern v St Étienne in the European Cup Final, he went to Glasgow’s Green’s Playhouse to see The Rolling Stones. Neil will bring corroboration to all this soonest.

This is the BBC
Now for some messages to our friends:
Der Hahnschen ist Tot…Wir sint and der Zone..
The Fish Chettinad is eaten. We are in the zone…
Chicken 1 is just leaving Ingolstadt – not in the zone yet! Where do we meet?
The Hen has left The City, The Cock shall approach a new Zone.
The Ducks have resurfaced all is Spezial.
Susy retires, the quest slows to be reawakened.
The men from Delmonte will come…

And so to Andechser am Dom, the Hofbräuhaus, and of course: the Augustiner Tap.

Food for the train
A quick visit to Indien Express (Schiller Str) proved to be disappointing – closed. A Ruhetag hopefully.
There were three Hauptbahnhof served Asian Imbiss meals consumed on the 2108 Zug nach Nürnburg. Well he told me he was not hungry.

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Nürnberg – Sangam – The First Happenstance Curry

Posted on August 3, 2010 by Hector

Sangam (Königstraße 87, 90402 Nürnberg) was the first Curry House discovered Heute in Nürnberg. One could hardly miss it, it is on the way to The Andechs House.
After a day out in the city, Hector knew that the first opportunity for a Curry had to taken.
Hector and Marg who had already eaten, left the group and headed first for another phantom Google Map location near our Hotel (Astoria). And so Sangam it was.
Bhunna Gosht with Reis for €10 is good value.
Pork and Duck were also available
The Curry was red and the sauce quite creamy. For a Bhuna far too much sauce. The Lamb was on the tough side, a reasonable taste but not outstanding. There were the occasional blasts of Coriander, and a hint of Coconut. There was a level of satisfaction, but not sufficient to add this to the Recommendation List.

Marg had peely wally tea..it was meant to be a Special Earl Grey.

Hector is in Bayern, he knows: wo es gibt ein zehr schön Curry-Haus…

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Tandoori – Memmingen ist geschlossen!

Posted on July 30, 2010 by Hector

We arrived, courtesy of Mr O’Leary, early enough for at least a Carry Out Curry-Heute from Tandoori before the first of five trains to Hilpoltstein.

Sadly, this excellent restaurant is no more.

Stadtinformation Memmingen [info@memmingen.de]

sorry it took a while to find out what happened with the Tandoori Restaurant. I made some phone calls and got the information that it closed. I’m very sorry but we cannot offer you other restaurants with Indian cookery. Hope you will have a great time in Memmingen, although.

Update 2021:

Memmingen again has an Indian Restaurant!

Royal India (Kalchstrasse 6, 8700 Memmingen)

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Garden Party held today: Chicken Patia

Posted on July 28, 2010 by Hector

There was the bacon roll (of the singular variety : then there was the Curry-Heute!

Chicken Patia is often described in restaurant menus as – sweet and sour.

It is some time since Hector cooked this dish. Perhaps once it is discovered there is the temptation to repeat the pleasure – too often.

Craig admits to not liking his Curry to be hot and so in today’s version the 4 green chillies were omitted.

*

The audience were appreciative : the food was eaten : the recipe is – here.

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If it’s Tuesday…

Posted on July 26, 2010 by Hector

A solo visit to The Village (129 Nelson St, Glasgow)

Hector looked at The Board: Aloo Gosht, that had to be the dish for today.

This was truly one of the most sublime Curries Hector has ever eaten. Sheer perfection!

The Lamb on the bone was in the exact quantity to complement the sauce, not too much bone either. The sauce was rich, full of flavour and not too oily. Every mouthful was a moment of absolute pleasure. The accompanying Vegetable Rice was straight from the kitchen: steaming hot.

This is what The Village is all about.

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To absent friends, and Hector

Posted on July 24, 2010 by Hector

In Hector’s absence up north, 7 of us gathered at The Village for a Saturday afternoon curry.

 Although one of the best places for a curry, I have to admit that The Village is not exactly a byword for fast and efficient service – as Craig and Yvonne will confirm, having waited for an hour to be served their meals!

The delay was not the worst of it, however.

Five Desi Kormas were ordered – regular readers will know that this dish can vary substantially – unfortunately, the variation on this occasion was to forget it was meant to be “Desi”… 5 very ordinary Kormas were delivered, much to the disgust of most of us (Howard seemed happy with his…)

 A sign of a good restaurant is how it deals with complaints. The offending dishes were removed, and fairly quickly replaced with something closer to the usual. The accompanying rice dishes were also replaced, and a fresh naan bread was provided (a bonus, as the original was being shared between Howard and Tracey).

At the end of the meal, we were offered complimentary desserts by a somewhat embarrassed waiter. When these were declined, we were presented with the bill, which had been substantially discounted. All in all, in my opinion,   The Village redeemed itself well!

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The Nazma at last!

Posted on July 23, 2010 by Hector

What goes around…

The Nazma Tandoori (62 Bridge St, Aberdeen, AB11 2 JN, across from the station) is where Hector had his first Aberdeen Curry. OK, The Jewel In The Crown did take me away for the last few years, but this has become the focus of Hector’s ambition when taking summer or winter residence in Aberdeen. Needless to say the Curry I had here last December was truly outstanding. So, nothing to live up to then…
Sister Cath took us the Sushi House, other sister, Marion normally takes us somewhere quite ‘safe’; it was a great surprise when Marion decided that she and Graeme would ‘permit’ Hector and Marg to visit this renowned establishment.
Marion eating Curry-Heute? It is a pity that the two of them are out of focus and on the dark side. We shall rectify this in October in York. Good Curry Houses in York, anyone?

There were some new creations in the Starters: Aloo Dom was irresistible: potato in cumin seeds with coriander and fried in batter. This was to share. It was a bit of a mish-mash (sorry), a more crispy outer casing and warmer potato on the inside and this could have been perfect.
Graeme had the Fish Tikka starter and described it as ‘refreshing’. Hector realises he has not had a Fish Curry for some time now, this must be rectified soon.
And so to the main courses.

The Green Herb Lamb had to Hector’s dish, the menu described it a Bhuna variant but slightly hotter and covered in fresh coriander: sounds perfect! When the waiter brought it he muttered ‘Chicken Vindaloo’ I suspect just as his little joke…
Hector was not amused.
There was far too much sauce, the ‘covered in fresh coriander’ turned out to be a small blob of green stuff spooned on top of the dish at the time of serving. The taste was nothing like as impressive as the December version. Were they too busy, a different chef?
Marg had the Lamb Rogan Josh: she described it as ‘safe’ but did think the taste was rich. Or was it Marg’s choice that was ‘safe’?
Graeme had the Lamb Dansak and getting into the spirit of everything is recorded stated that there was definitely a kick and the quality of the Lamb was impressive.
Marion chose the North Bengal Fruity Chicken, described as mild on the menu. It certainly was. Marion loved it. Perhaps this was the first time Marion had ever found something to her taste in a Curry House? This was seriously sweet! May I draw one’s attention to the ever so modest recipe for this dish on the accompanying pages. Hector had offered to order her meal at the start…
Marg ordered a coffee whilst others consumed the demon drink. What a nifty serving system this is.



The bill came to £106, Hector thinks that a significant percentage of this was not food related. The management offered us more AND free drinks on the way out (nice gesture given the profit they had made) but this was declined.
Hector wanted a real Bier today.

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