Sunday 20 January 2013

Instagram Fun

Bradford is not only THE best place in Britain for eating curry, but it's also find it very photogenic.  Search for #bradfordcurry on Instagram for photos of curry, curry houses, pubs, cobbles, mills and cityscapes.  

Wednesday 2 January 2013

The All New Prashad

Me with Special Chaat
Prashad has moved... to Drighlington.

I didn't know, and it was only during a rushed phone call from our dining partners, whilst en route to Horton, that the change of venue became apparent.  A quick reprogram of the Tom Tom soon had us on track though.

The new Prashad is in what looks like an old pub building on a junction, with associated off street parking, and is very very posh.  Also now has a bar, which is nice.

After our last visit to Prashad, when there were issues regarding paying deposits for table booking, then essentially being robbed of ~£30 over a dispute as to whether our babies where in fact babies or diners, I have been reluctant to ever EVER go back.  Prashads customer service that day seemed far removed from what we'd witnessed on Gordon Ramsay's program.   However, as an invited member to a friends party, I was willing to let bygones be bygones and go and have a another go.  Especially on discovering that it was in an all new location.

Special Chaat
Oh well, a lot of water has flowed beneath the bridge since then, but I couldn't help but think that somewhere  within the flash decor, abstract wall art and plushly upholstered chairs (which, by the way, where a nightmare to launch oneself in and out of when chasing an overactive toddler around the restaurant - but that's another story for another day), our bamboozled £30 was lurking!  Sorry to go on!

So, enough whinging, and onto the food.  By the way, there is now a new menu - no Monster Dosa I notice!  Booo!  Lynda and me shared both the "Award Winning" Pethis and Special Chaat.  Both were great.  I'm not sure when the Pethis won their award, but the tag has been attached for some time now!  They are little fried balls of potato and coconuty loveliness, with a touch of herbyness to give them a zing.  The Chaat was also lovely - one of my favorite dishes at the moment.  The flavours of sweetish yogurt and sour tamarind work great together, and mine was requested 'hot' so had a fair kick to it too.  The crushed up vege samosas and chickpeas give the required bite to this wonderful dish.

For main I ordered Pau Bhaji - a famous Indian street food dish.  The best explanation of the dish can be seen below:


Pau Bhaji
My Pau Bhaji was as it says on the tin really, i.e. a bowl of curried and mashed up vegetables.  Nothing particularly jumped out at me upon tasting the curry, the enjoyment came more from the heritage of the dish.  It was, however, quite palatable with a rich and gently spicy, but not overly vegetabley, taste, and more of a substantial texture than I was expecting.  Having soft white bread rolls with my curry was initially a little odd but I soon got over it.

Young Curry Lovers Meal



A good addition to the menu is a Young Curry Lovers Meal.  As regular readers will know, my 2yr old daughter Izzy is not a big curry fan, even though she generally gets dragged all around Bradfird, but she loved it!  The meal comprised a starter of some sort of potato fritter or something?  She didn't really go for that in all fairness, but the main of Paneer Masala, rice and chappatis was a great success.  The dishes are cooked milder for youngsters more delicate taste buds, and it worked a treat.  Hats off to Prashad.

I was very happy with my trip to Prashad.  It is a touch on the dear side I think, what at ~£4 for starters and getting on for £9 for mains, but the food and service is great, and the new venue in Drighlington is a far cry from the original, slightly small, cafe in Horton.  Prashad still stands out from the crowd.

Prashad on Urbanspoon