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Balti

Bengal Fusion Restaurant and Take Away

2007.09.09
174 High Street ,Lye, DY9 8LN Tel: 01384 89 11 11
174 High Street ,Lye, DY9 8LN

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In the old days a Balti house used to be like a transport cafe. Glass topped tables, the menu underneath, rubbish wooden chairs and always cheap and cheerful.

These days, when there is so much choice, especially in the Balti capital of the Black Country – Lye – you need something little more to stand out from the old style of restaurant.

Enter ‘Bengal Fusion’.

Not a glass topped table in site, it has posh wooden floors and TV monitors on the wall showing modern ‘Bollywood’ style movies.

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This restaurant was recommended to me and we all paid a visit on a busy Saturday night. Unfortunately we changed our booking at the last minute to accomodate a late arrival and the restaurant didn’t change the booking, however they did not give our seats away and with a minimum of fuss we were well looked after.

The food we received at this establishment was simply superb. One of our party had Lamb Chops as a starter. They were huge and looked fantastic. The picture here does not do them justice.

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My Chicken Tikka Tawa was something else. Delivered on a flat metal ‘Tawa’ plate, it looked absolutely brilliant and tasted fantastic.

Naan breads and side dishes were also very well prepared with a great deal of effort to make everything look and taste ‘special’.

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Pricewise it is competitive without being overly expensive at all.

I cannot recommend this restaurant highly enough. It is one of a new breed of restaurant to hit Lye and the ‘old guard’ would be best advised to have a re-think, as the bar has been raised significantly by Bengal Fusion!

Website

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Unlicensed

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Sheesh Mahal Restaurant

2007.09.03

346-348, Kirkstall Rd, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS4 2DS

346-348, Kirkstall Rd, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS4 2DS

Tel: 0113 230 4161

Reviewed by ‘Curry King’

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Whatever the choice from the menu this place is an absolute joy to visit.

How many restaurants do you see almost full early on a week day night. The choice of cuisine is both traditional and inventive paying close attention to detail and presentation. The staff and manager are also helpful and friendly.

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Ghandi Tandoori Restaurant

2007.09.03

68-70, High St, West Malling, Kent ME19 6LU

68-70, High St, West Malling, Kent ME19 6LU

 

Tel: 01732 840209

 

Reviewed by ‘Curry King’

Meal consisted if Chicken Jalfrezi. This arrived fifteen minutes after ordering – even in an almost empty restaurant this is somewhat quick. The meal probably consisted of a base sauce with add ons to create the dish. The meal itself was neither good or bad , just what can be expected in fifteen minutes.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Alishan Restaurant

2007.09.03

149, High St, Tonbridge, Kent  Tel: 01732 770616

149, High St, Tonbridge, Kent TN9 1DH


Review by ‘Curry King’

This restaurant is a modern take on the cuisine of the sub continent. Do not expect to hear traditional music or see the Taj Mahal on the wall.

The menu is split into two, half what you would expect to see and the other called evolved, which offers things like red snapper and sea bass.

On the first visit I went traditional with southern Indian garlic chilli chicken, this was excellently presented and nicely spiced without the sea of gee I so detest.

On the second occasion I selected sea bass with roasted spices and a dip of mango, this was not particularly spicy and more westernised than I expected but still an interesting alternative to the normal fare.

Food is reasonably priced but drinks are a tad on the expensive side.

Rating: ★★★½☆

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Shimla Indian Cuisine

2007.04.04

122, High St, Kinver, Stourbridge, West Midlands DY7 6HL Tel: 01384 877744

122, High St, Kinver, Stourbridge, West Midlands DY7 6HL

EDIT: 31st July 2011:

This restaurant is still exceptional, as a visit last night confirmed. Perfect food and friendly staff, superb stuff. Curry and mint Raita a little on the sweet side for most peoples tastes maybe, but not mine….still a strong:

Rating: ★★★★☆

Reviewed by: Andy (April 2007)

On a sunny early spring evening I got the taste for something spicy. Yes. A Curry.

So, with a burning need to add a new review to Yellowfingers my wife and I headed off to neighbouring Kinver of all places. A long way from the Brummy “Balti Belt”.

We’ve been in ‘Sizzler Spice’ before (review coming soon) but I had heard one good report of Shimla, and decided to give it a go……

Is it any good Thats what you want to know right Yes its good. Monday to Thursday you get the following for currently 7.50 a head: A starter of your choice (not King Prawn or Lobster), a main course, a Naan bread of any type….plus rice…….plus a side dish……still with me ……..plus coffee. For 7.50. There is no such thing as “too much” ;-)

Quality Very good. Well cooked, tasty, and up there with the best. My Chicken Sashlick Bhuna was just fine.

The Menu Extensive. The service Excellent, polite, and we did not have to wait long for our food to arrive.

However…..there is a ‘but’ coming….

I can understand people needing to smoke. Its an addiction. But (there you go) there are times and places. I thought this was banned in restaurants now If not, it should be. If you need a fag, go outside.

Oh, and the decor is currently being changed so, for the time being don’t expect any wallpaper to look at, but don’t let it put you off going either.

Licensed

Take Away Menu

Rating: ★★★★☆

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Tandoori Restaurant

2007.03.09

Camel Dive Club, Sharm El Sheikh,South Sinai, Egypt Tel: +20-69-3600700

Reviewed by Curry King

Three meals in seven days.

Chicken Tikka Masala. Chicken Jalfrezi. Chicken madras.

All were excellently spiced ( heat with taste), the chicken tikka masala was an interesting take on this high street standard, beautifully balanced, the sauce was thick and tasty without a hint of gee.

The Jalfrezi again was excellently presented and spiced, just the right balance between heat and taste, both red and green chillies were part of the dish but without overkill.

The madras was more of the same, all came with great nan breads and rice.

To summarise a great restaurant in great surroundings.

Licensed

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Rating: ★★★★½

Cellars Indian Cuisine

2007.03.09

166/167, Lower High St, Stourbridge, West Midlands DY8 1TT Tel: 01384

Reviewed by Andy

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My wife and I visited the restaurant on Christmas Eve, and were looking forward to the food here,as on previous visits have had excellent meals in Cellars

The menu is quite exiting as it has dishes like Southern Indian Chili Chicken, and Abafado DeCamarao – Barbequed King Prawns cooked in a Goan style, typically hot curry with green chilies, palm vinegar, herbs and spices, ‘A tongue tingling experience’.

Unfortunately , though, my main course on this visit was quite peppery, and this seemed to swamp the taste of the capsicum and mushrooms in the dish, and my Onion Bahjee starter tasted like it had been bought from Asda, rather than prepared on the premises.

My Wife Angie says ‘I enjoyed mine ‘,though.

I would still recommend it , however, as visits in the past have shown this restaurant to be a cut above the rest, and I think I may have just visited on an ‘off’ day, or I just chose the wrong things to try from the menu.

Licensed

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Tropical Spice

2007.03.09

132, High St, Stourbridge, West Midlands DY8 1DT Tel: 01384 372076

32, High St, Stourbridge, West Midlands DY8 1DT Tel: 01384 372076

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Reviewed by Andy
Wednesday 16th February 2006 and we are the first customers of the evening in this popular high street restaurant.

It has been recently refurbished to give a modern feel, with wood flooring, square wall lighting and white linen and pink tablecloths.

The waiters were friendly, and we had there undivided attention being all alone.

Popadums were crisp and fresh, and the Starters were excellent. I had the superb Nargis Kebab while my wife had Mixed Pakoras.

I followed this with a tasty Balti Mixed Tikka and a Keema Naan, while my wife had a Lamb Passanda Badami.

Criticisms Well, the curries were very ‘saucy’, i.e. lots of liquid, however at least they weren’t tomato puree based.

On the whole, pretty good.

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Licensed

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Chinnar Balti Tandoori Restaurant

2007.03.08

88, Windmill Hill, Halesowen, West Midlands B63 2BY Tel: 01384 413380

88, Windmill Hill, Halesowen, West Midlands B63 2BY Tel: 01384 413380

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We arrived for the popular Monday evening buffet, although my wife chose a dish from the main menu as there was no milder dish offered by the buffet.

The restarant was absolutely rammed by 7pm which is always a good sign.

The buffet starters were Vegetable Pakora which were good and crunchy, and Chicken Puree,with fluffy ‘puree’ bread, and spicy yet sweet chicken filling.

This was so good I had two,and I was on my Christmas diet so I felt mega guilty afterwards.

The Buffet main course was Balti Tropical and/or Chicken Jalfezi, and both of these were delicious.

My wife had the Chicken Pakora starter, and a Balti Chicken Tikka Malaya, which was mild enough for her tastes and included various tropical fruits.

It had been a long long time since my last visit to Chinnar, but I will definitely be returning again soon.

Recommended.

Unlicensed

Rating: ★★★½☆

Balti Bazaar

2007.03.08

1a, Pedmore Rd, Lye, Stourbridge, West Midlands DY9 8DJ Tel: 01384 353800

1a, Pedmore Rd, Lye, Stourbridge, West Midlands DY9 8DJ


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Excellent Balti House which has been redecorated recently. The menu is expansive and well catered for my wifes liking for Duck.

Light and crispy poppadoms, and delicious starters, I chose the Nargis kebab (natch!) why my wifes Mushroom Pakoras looked lovely.

My main course, the Chicken Tikka Nirmola was nice an spicy, not too hot,but with more kick than a standard balti.

Recommended

Take Away Menu

Rating: ★★★½☆

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