Tandoori a star turn
Published:
I WAS not sure what to expect as we descended below street level into the newly-opened Bollywood Tandoori. I did not realise I was about to be centre-stage.
Many Asian restaurants have great names, such as the Taj Mahal or Khyber Pass, but they don’t generally create a replica of this magnificent temple or the sweeping mountain range inside.
Bollywood, though, did have a digital screen just inside the entrance which was showing a non-stop Bollywood film extravaganza. A good start, we thought, as we scampered down the stairs.
Bollywood dancing girls and all that razzmatazz in the dining-room would have been great, but this new restaurant turned out to be rather more low key than that – maybe it’s early days. Elegantly decorated, with soft-lit spotlights inset in the ceilings, the dining-room opened out into a large, comfortable area. At one end, there was another screen showing the Bollywood film, perched above what looked like a dance or performing area.
That was really where the Bollywood theme ended, but my train of thought was interrupted as I found my self centre-stage. Owner Minar Ali was by my side greeting me enthusiastically like an old friend and, slightly unnervingly, he knew my name. I was not sure if my cover as an anonymous restaurant reviewer had been blown or, even worse, perhaps I owed him money.
So, in panic, I just did what I always do in these situations and denied who I was, which sounds a bit daft – especially as he obviously knew who I was. So I came clean without actually revealing I was there for a review. He put me out of my agony by explaining that he remembered me from a few years back when he ran takeaway restaurants in Aberdeen. It just shows you how many carry-outs I had been devouring at the time if he could remember me that vividly.
I wondered whether or not Mr Ali should be doing a turn as “the magnificent memory man” in the performing area of the dining-room. Anyway, with my real mission still a secret, my wife and I sat down and began studying the menu.
Although we were alone to start with on this early Saturday evening, it soon began filling up. A large birthday group of women and children, about 20 strong, took over a table in the centre of the room. A table for eight was soon taken nearby and a steady stream of diners in twos and threes came in at regular intervals.
It was obviously a popular venue with all ages, and it was easy to see why with the attractive surroundings and quick, friendly service from the staff.
A lot of attention had been paid to the menu with speciality curry dishes from many regions and cooking styles thrown into the melting pot. For starters, we chose tender chicken tikka pieces and lamb samosas, which proved to be a delicious opening to our night.
For mains, my wife chose an old favourite – tandoori mixed grill. This is always a spectacular dish with its combination of sheesh kebab, chicken tikka, lamb tikka, tandoori king prawn and a generous piece of tandoori chicken, accompanied by pilau rice and vegetable curry. I looked around for something a bit different and went for akbori mix – a mixture of lamb, chicken and king prawns with a choice of five different sauces to pick from. I chose a kharai sauce, which I was advised was medium-hot. A delicious, sweet Peshwari nan bread completed our order.
The tandoori mixed grill was a treat and, if anything, was more succulent and delicious than others my wife has tried. My akbori was fine, but the sauce was a bit on the hot side for me.
The phrase, medium-hot, is illogical really as it is either hot or not. I should have asked for mild. We rounded off with some stylish Italian-style ice-cream desserts which cooled our palates nicely. With a couple of beers and house wine, the bill came to £56.
As we left, I remembered the Big Brother furore involving Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty. And there she was at the top of the stairs. Not in person, but a signed letter from her praising the food. We exited stage-left thinking Bollywood was quite a hard act to follow.
Bollywood Tandoori, 367 Union Street, Aberdeen. Phone 01224 587700/ 586121.
