Hats Off To Mr Nose

Chef Beijing, 52-54 Ram Yard Town Centre, Bedford MK40 3NU
 

HELLO!

Did you miss me?

Yes, there has been a massive gap since my last entry but there is also now a massive gap between my belly and my jeans!

My weight was getting a bit beyond me, when you have satellites in orbit around your waist you kind of know that although you’re “cosmic” you’re just not “cosmic” in the right way.

 A lot has happened in the time between, Mrs Belly has dropped the sprog and so we now have a 5 week old daughter “Baby Belly” to contend with, it’s hell! A new level of hell that they never warn you about at the hospital or anti-natal classes. “Enjoy them while they’re small” they say, “you’ll miss all this when they’re older” they say. Well quite frankly as much as I love the little bundle of belly I’m really not going to miss waking up just to plunge my hands in to a shitty nappy at 3am!

Anyway, I digress.

The trouble with humans is that they tend to stay with the familiar, we all have our favourites and we tend to stick with them. Luckily we have variables in our life or “friends” as we commonly call them. Luckily for sake of variety they too also have their own favourites and from here the story goes…

A couple of weeks back we made our first trip out to a variables friend’s house with baby belly in tow. A simple night in of watching a movie and ordering some take away. As most of you should know I’ve been a pretty big fan of Lee’s Chinese take away down Castle Road but sadly they do not deliver. With that in mind another visiting friend, I shall call him “Mr Nose” suggested CHEF BEIJING. Now I’d heard of it and even seen the restaurant but I’d always been warned that it was a very expensive place to eat so have always avoided it….

Turns out it’s pretty good on price, I think they may do Thai food too which in all fairness is always a little OTT in pricing so perhaps that’s where the large price tag comment came from.

So how do we test this bad boy out? Well the answer is simple, order your favourites (see we all have them) and so I did.

Sweet & Sour Chicken Balls
Mushroom fried Rice
Pancake Roll

The delivery came in reasonable time, under 45 minutes and you can get delivery for orders over £12. I think my meal came to just over a tenner, in some places it can be as much as £14 so better than most IMO.

But how was the food?

In a word… AWESOME!

Really, really good food. The batter on the sweet & sour chicken balls was crispy, the chicken had no pink it (something I find with a lot of Chinese places). There wasn’t too much oil retained in the batter either so my mouth wasn’t greased up like George Michael coming out of a public convenience. You also got quite a few and they weren’t dinky either, I’ve seen that a lot of places have been reducing the size of their (forgive me) balls recently but these guys have (forgive me) massive balls for you to stuff in your mouth (yeah, I went there .

The rice was fluffy and really packed with flavour, something else I’ve noticed is that a lot of places seemed to add the mushrooms in after so the only mushroomy taste is in the mushroom itself and not in eth rice, well here they’re cooked right in there.

The pancakes rolls were huge too! And there were two of them, really packed in and again the wrapping didn’t lose any of its crispness.

All in all I think I have found my new favourite Chinese take away, obviously like all places you need to give it a few goes just to make sure but I can honestly say that I haven’t enjoyed a Chinese meal like that in a long time. Perhaps it’s because I’ve been “out of the game” so to speak but just writing this up is making me eager for more.

“Mr Nose”, thank you for this truly wonderful gift you have bestowed upon me and Chef Beijing…

I’ll be seeing you at the weekend you cheeky little so & so!

 

*Since this review there has been a major shakeup at Chef Beijing, mainly due to being caught using illegal workers. I'm not sure if there has been a change in management but my last couple of orders from here has been less than satisfactory which is a shame as you can see in my review I really did enjoy my initial meal.

Pack Your Trunk And Say Goodbye To The Circus

The Elephant, 118-120 Bedford Road. Kempston. Bedfordshire. MK42 8BG

Since the days of its conception and then through the days of its initial opening and on-going presence I’d always wondered what The Elephant was actually like. I remember that when it first opened it was impossible to get a booking at all, every time I passed by the place was heaving, that was a couple of years ago now and thankfully The Elephant is still around and even better we’d managed to get a bloody booking HAZZARRR!

The building is quite a nice sight in itself, what used to be a grotty hole is now an awesome looking place with a cool elephant drawn on to the side the building (thank god they didn’t call it “The Cock” and some nice wooden flowerbeds surrounding a small outside seating area.

Another bonus about this place is that it seems to have destroyed the Chinese take-away that was a few doors down, I can’t recall its name but I only went there the once and it was proper shitty! Mrs Belly had Chow Mein and there were burnt, manky bits of old egg in there as if they never cleaned the wok, sweet N’ sour chicken balls were pretty much frozen chicken nuggets. Dirty, dirty place!

The Elephant is a far cry from “the shit hole down the road” and rightly so, when you walk in you’re greeted to low lighting and a nice red interior. Lights that emulate candles are balanced on small shelves on the wall giving off a very pleasant atmosphere.

Mrs Belly and I were running late so we met all of our friends there, we sat down at our table (a rather large round table with a lazy Susan *or “bitch” as I call it*) and perused the menu. There’s quite a bit to choose from both Chinese and Thai food too (which neither of us were expecting).

I’d heard that the place was ok but a bit pricey, well to be fair some of the prices were on the high side and I did end up going for the cheapest dishes on the menu but that was because I had no idea of quality or portion size so didn’t want to go mental splashing eth cash when I may end up with a big bag of bollocks (not literally btw).

I ended up ordering the crispy duck pancake rolls to start and the stir fried mussels for mains with a portion of Jasmine rice as a side. The duck rolls came to the table, three rolls cut in half and placed on the plate like towers of deliciousness, enticing, inviting… If you can’t quite tell where I’m going with this I suggest you take some sort of IQ test as you’re obviously a bit of a jelly brain! The duck rolls were fantastic, I’ve had crispy duck at various places in the past but nothing as good as this.

The pancake roll was perfectly crispy while the duck was tender & juicy, I drizzled the hoi sin sauce over the rolls and they come alive even more.

A couple of JD & cokes to “cleanse” the pallet (ok, to help me get pissed) later and the main course came. The rice was enough for two and I did end up sharing it with Mrs Belly, the mussels were pretty damn good too. They came covered in a green pepper & black bean sauce and in fear of sounding like the long faced woman form that Sex/City thing “they were to die for” (I hate that phrase so please forgive me, I’ll smack myself now and bow my head in shame). If you’re not a fishy person then STAY AWAY FROM SEAFOOD! If, like me you’re quite partial to the salty shellfish then you really can’t go wrong with this order.

Just so I mention the rice… it was nice. One more time “the rice was nice”.

I think between myself and Mrs Belly our bill came to about £40 - £45 including the drinks.

Luckily I got to try some of my chums’ dishes too. Just so we’re all on the same page I did not (DID NOT) steal food from their plate, it was kindly donated freely by their own hand.

Mr B handed me some of his soft shell crab – excellent

MR & Mrs A passed over their Thai King Prawns with Mixed Vegetables + a Thai fish cake – also excellent

I cannot fault the food, it is in fact one of the best Chinese meals I’ve had in a long time, yes some of the prices are a little high but you’re paying for quality food and the service was also brilliant. The waiting staff were very friendly, helpful and chatty too, they made you feel comfortable and welcome (not something to often get these days).

If you fancy treating yourself and your pals then seriously get your ass to The Elephant, and if you can’t get in then Blue Ginger is right next door so you’ve always got a backup plan my friend!

BaJa-mbug (Not really)

Baja’s, Castle Quarter, Castle Lane, Bedford, MK40 3NT

It was the weekend of the Jubilee and what a hectic weekend it turned out to be! Mrs Belly and I had to drive up North on the Friday night to attend a friend’s wedding on the Saturday then rush back down again on Sunday for another friends birthday dinner then Monday was a gathering around Ma & Pa Belly’s with Tuesday being a day to actually ...relax!

This is obviously a review of the Sunday but let me just say a few words about the rest of the weekend first.

The wedding we attended was to be fair pretty damn awesome, ok it was all churchy & Godly (I’m an adult and don’t believe that an invisible man in the sky with an invisible beard created & controls everything, if he did then we should be cursing him rather than praising him because he really does quite frankly cause quite a shit!) but was a nice service all in all.

The reception was held on a farm in a barn that had been deckled out to look like a ball room (stunning!). As we arrived we were given drinks (that seemed to get topped up after you’d taken a mouthful) and staff were buzzing about with trays of tartlets, chicken & sausages on sticks. I did keep shouting over to the girl with the sausages “Oi sausage girl, come back!”… And she did and I ate all the sausage, Yum!

Dinner consisted of Parma Ham & Mozzarella to start, a roast beef dinner for the main course & Crème Brule for desert.

 The wine kept flowing because… IT WAS A FREE BAR! I’ve never been to a wedding with a free bar before, it was awesome. There was a local beer on tap at the bar which was very VERY good.
To top off the evening there was a live band and in place of the buffet a frickin’ Fish N’ Chip van rocks up with free Fish N’ Chips for all… Hoorah! What got me though is that the food from the van was better than most chippies’!

Anyway, back in rainy Bedford on Sunday we headed out for a friend’s birthday to Baja’s which is a Mexican restaurant on the new Castle Quarter in between Spaghetti John’s & The Riverside Grill.

The first time I heard about this place is when the boyfriend of the birthday girl told me we were going to eat at a place called “Badgers”, now this seemed like a rather odd name to me the only reference I could think of was the line “Badges? We don’t need no stinkin’ badges” (said in a thick Mexican accent in which case “Badges” can sound a bit like “Badgers”) from the book & film “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre”.
Obviously a bit of a stretch so I asked how it was spelt. B-A-J-A.
Ah! Ok, I got it you’re pronouncing the “J” as a “J” and not as an “H” as it is in Spanish. So remember kids it is pronounce BaHa’s the same a Jalapeno is pronounced halepeno.

Now I only knew roughly where this place was an Mrs Belly and I walked around the main building twice without noticing it, I called a friend on the phone just to make sure I was where I was supposed to be (I was indeed). So why couldn’t I see the place? Well, turns out the sign is about the size of a postage stamp! Honestly it is so small, I was expecting something more in keeping with a sign above a shop, big, noticeable, inviting… nope. The reason we walked around the block twice is because, unless you know it’s there the windows are kind of dark and make it look like an empty building.

It’s actually at the back of The Lanes bar, there’s even an entrance to the restaraunt through the bar itself.
Wanting to make a good impression, being a little bit wet form eth rain and a bit irate that the sign was so pathetically small I burst through the door and instantly shouted at the manager “YOU NEED A BIGGER SIGN! HOW THE HELL IS ANYONE SUPPOSED TO SEE THAT BLOODY THING?”, this was met with a part frightened, part bemused smile and then a question “Er… have you got a reservation?”
 


Thankfully we did otherwise I have a feeling they may not have let me stay…

After everyone else arrived we were seated and had a scan through the menu. There’s some really good stuff on there and it’s already better than the Mexican that used to be on Tavistock Street where they didn’t sell Fajita’s or Burrito’s but did sell Enchilada’s (odd).

I opted for the cream cheese stuffed & breaded Jalapeno’s & Mushrooms for starters and then the beef Chimichanga (A deep fried Burrito) for mains.
When you order your main course you get a choice of filling, chicken, beef or the quite oddly and very un-Mexican lamb.
Mrs Belly and I also ordered a side of fries… (We did come to regret this!).

My mate and I were running low on beer so we ordered more with waitress who just went off to get a couple of pints, she then returned and my other mate ordered a beer for himself and she wandered off an brought back one more beer. Obviously the entire table was wanting drinks so someone else asked for a drink, the waitress went to turn again but someone piped up and said “Do you want to get everyone else’s drink orders too, might save yourself another 5 trips?”

The starters came and it was a positive reaction all round, the Jalapeno’s & mushrooms were excellent. Really crispy breadcrumbs but everything was moist inside, the jalapenos were not too hot either. I’m a big fan of spice but I know others aren’t so if you’re not then don’t be afraid to order these as they will not do you harm and are really tasty so you shouldn’t miss out!

It’s always a bit worrying when you’re in a new place as you don’t ever know what the portion sizes are like, have you ordered too little or have you gone overboard? Well in this case we had gone a little overboard. The main courses came and although it didn’t look like a lot boy oh boy can looks be deceiving!

That bad boy was packed to the brim with rice, beef strips, guacamole and vegetables and man was it filling! Mrs Belly and I had ordered a size of fries between us and we struggled with those and even offered them out to everyone else (which I never normally have to do).

The Chimichanga was excellent though, the beef was tender, the rice was perfectly cooked and although I’m not a big fan of guacamole even that tasted good. It was quite frankly perfect.
The actual restaurant was a little dead when we first arrived (most likley due to the fact that no one can find the bastard place!) but soon started to fill out, it’s clean, comfortable and not to expensive either.

My only issues I had were the sign problem (seriously guys you’ve got to get a bigger one) and the issue with the waitress getting drinks one at a time. These are a couple of minor niggles that can be easily fixed though.

All in all it’s nice to have somewhere new to go that isn’t an Indian, Chinese or Italian. We need more world food places in the town and this is a good start, hopefully they’ll do well and be around for years to come because there’s a great deal of food on the menu that I wish to try and it’s a place I definitely want to go back to in the future!

Bedford Belly: Pissed!

AL-Badar, 66 Midland Road, Town Centre, Bedford MK40 1QB



 It had been a glorious weekend, the sun had been shining, the birds had been singing and I had been drinking!

Trying not to give too much of my identity away (yes there are those who follow this that do know who I am) I was in Luton doing musical things and since it was a 6pm kick out time on Sunday we decided to... make the most of the weather and head to a couple of beer gardens, we had been drinking cans most of the afternoon anyway so why not just carry on?

We hit the first pub and within the hour had already consumed 3 pints… not the best idea we’ve ever had but it didn’t hinder us too much. We moved on to a pub further within Luton town centre and found ourselves a place. Looking round I suddenly felt a bit old, we were all at least 16years older than everyone else in the garden (where has the bloody time gone?). It was a bit pricey here so we made a united decision ”let’s not waste the money we have left on pub pints, let’s be wise with the cash and spend it on more cans. We can head back to yours…” (Fingers point towards the friend who still lives in the town) “… and put on some tunes”.

And that’s exactly what we did, for the next 3-4 hours we ploughed through the beer, listened to some sweet tunes (When I say tunes I mean real music, you know the kind with instruments and verses etc. not THUD THUD THUD BLEEP WOBBLE BLEEP WOBBLE *a sample of a woman shrieking some inane nonsense* THUMP THUMP THUMP).

Time rolled on and there were only two trains left so myself and another mate (Who was to stay at my gaff) headed off zigzagging our way down streets and alleyways until we were greeted by the rather good looking outer shell of Luton station (the inside is still a frickin’ dump but the outside is all Total Recall/Logan’s Run futuristic).

A quick train jaunt later and we were back in Bedford…. Now, the alcohol had really taken control and it was screaming, screaming oh so loudly “GET A KEBAB I’M HUNGRY!”. Well, who am I to ignore such pleas?

So after passing many an unsavoury character we found ourselves in Al-Badar on Midland road, in all honesty it’s a bit of a dive but it was that or Fried Chicken. Normally Alcohol has a dominating effect on the body and just tends to crave Kebabs. Perhaps it’s some kind of Grecian witchcraft but it’s true, you’ll never fully satisfy a drunken hunger until you have presented it with an offering of minced lamb in a bready envelope.

I went for the mixed doner with salad and chilli sauce. Now what I got was a mixed doner with salad & chilli sauce but it came in Naan bread. It’s not the first time I’ve had this and it in no way offends my drunken palate but I was initially a tad disappointed (perhaps this is the reason I’ve been craving pitta bread this week?) but it served its purpose well, tasted good and allowed me to roll it over the rest of the filling as we chowed down on our fodder during the additional walk back to my house, then we had to return to the kebab shop as the friend I was with had left his bag there, the bag he said he didn’t want to lose and then actually asked “Did I bring a bag?” when I told him he’d left it behind (thankfully it was still there).

The kebab meat was a mixed affair to be fair, it wasn’t caked in as much fat as you’d normally expect and some bits were really juicy but then you’d come across a handful of really dry bits which are edible enough (and they did get eaten) but you can’t help feel that there’s a good chance they’ve been kicking round the kitchen for a couple of days.

In complete contrast the chicken was actually excellent It was very VERY juicy and had been spiced perfectly, it wasn’t too hot but there was enough of a kick in it and it worked really well with the cooling salad. The chill sauce was pretty standard to be frank, there was nothing amazing about it, and it did the job but could have been better.

Funnily enough, earlier in the day as we had been walking in to Luton town we were discussing chilli sauce (yeah, we have some very deep and philosophical conversations sometimes) and as we did we walked past “Dial-A-Kebab” who I had to point out made the best chilli sauce in Luton (IMHO). It was pointed out that they had been on Panorama at some point as they were apparently a front for an Al-Qaeda cell! So there you go, the secret to their chilli sauce was obviously anthrax.... YUM

By the time we’d got back to mine all evidence had been consumed and no one was any the wiser…

In conclusion Al-Bader (although a bit grotty inside) isn’t the worst kebab house but it’s not the best either. It was the only kebab house open on a Sunday night down Midland road and if you have to head home that way then it’s fine but if you do want a Kebab and can be bothered then I’d just head up to Andrea’s in Tavistock Street since they do the best Kebab’s in the town, ok everything else Andrea’s sell is crap but you cannot in any way knock their mad kebab skills!

Talking Italian

Santaniello 9-11 Newnham Street, Bedford MK40 3JR

Ah the weekend, those 2 days at the end of each week (the name gives it away!) that we all look forward to. A couple of days where we can forget the stresses of work, relax, go on trips or just concentrate on the stresses of home life instead!

Yes, Saturday was here and I was up early(ish) as I had a job to do, a job I had been putting off for some time as I’d never done it before and wasn’t looking forward to doing it either… WALLPAPERING!

As it turns out, apart from the nightmare of trimming the bastard stuff once it’s on the wall the actual job itself was quite frankly a piece of piss! Sadly this now means that Mrs Belly knows I can wallpaper and therefore (I’m sure) will be already planning my next wallpapering project as I type.

Anyway, wallpapering out of the way and a lack of desire to cook anything I thought “Let’s get a pizza”. As you know by now the whole reason I started this thing was to name and shame those shitty Pizza joints that do the bog standard skanky pizza’s that have sadly become the norm in this country. Places such as Bella Italia in Kempston, Andrea’s in Bedford Town Centre etc.

Santaniello is a classic Italian Pizzeria run by an Italian family making classic Italian Pizza’s, this is how Pizza should be! There are only a handful of Places in Beds that serve proper Pizza and it’s such a nice change from the usual muck!

Proper Italian base, proper tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese, none of your dirty cheddar mix here!

I had myself a salami & chilli Calzone while Mrs Belly had herself an onion & mushroom pizza and we also ordered a mixed salad between us. Both Pizza & Calzone were a good size (there’s just one size here approx. 12”), cooked perfectly and also fast. I placed the order on the phone and they asked how long I would be, I asked how long they would like me to be and they told me 5 minutes.

We were just round the corner and got there pretty much 5 minutes later; they were literally just taking our order out of the oven!

Both of them were delicious and the drive home didn’t affect the food in any way, the dough was crisp, the cheese was stringy and the food was still hot! The salad came in an Italian dressing which was pretty damn good too.

In all honesty there’s not a whole load to say when food is good, if it’s bad then there’s plenty to say but when food is good all that really comes to mind are three things:

1) Yum
2) Mmmm nyom nyom
3) We are definitely going back there!

The menu is nice and simple; you won’t find chicken or pineapple on the Pizza’s here because they’re not things real Italians put on pizzas. Salami, Ham, Mushrooms, Onions, Olives, Peppers, Chilli’s, Artichokes, Anchovies, these are the kind of toppings you’ll find. Simple, flavoursome ingredients; that’s how Italian is and to be honest it’s all the better for it!

The only downside is that they don’t deliver but the only time that’s really an issue is if either:

A) Everyone’s drunk and you live out of Bedford Town Centre

You live outside of Bedford Town Centre but don’t own a car

If you want to taste a real Italian pizza then I suggest you stop calling up all the fakers, get off your ass and head to Santaniello. Find out what real pizza tastes like then give your skanky 10 a penny take away all kinds of shit until we’ve forced them all to start selling quality pizzas the way they are meant to be!

A Lib-Dem Dinner: Neither good or bad but somewhere inbetween

Beijing Chinese, 88 Ampthill Road, Bedford, MK42 9JA

It’s been a weekend filled with travelling so after a long drive back from Yorkshire I really couldn’t be arsed to cook a thing, I wasn’t that hungry to begin with but then I started hankering for some sweet & sour chicken balls (please don’t think I make it a habit to hanker after balls but if you’re silly enough to deep fry them in batter and... I’m around there is a good chance they’ll be nothing left of them by the time I've left).

I’d not tried the Beijing Chinese before so I thought I’d give it a whirl.

To be honest when you walk in you’re greeted with a rather tatty little room, paint cracked & peeling a bit, those stupid wallpaper mid boarders peeling too and big Chinese fan on one wall and a few wooden chair set up against the window.

I hit the counter & peruse the menu, since I’ve never been here before I just opt for my usual. Sweet & Sour chicken balls – check, Pancake roll – check, Mushroom fried rice…. Erm, I can’t see it on the menu… erm… then the kid behind the counter looks a bit confused and he too checks down the menu.
Kid – “Erm... nope, we erm… don’t do mushroom rice”
Me – “You do Mushrooms though right?”
Kid – “Yeah.”
Me – “And plain rice?”
Kid – “Yeah.”
Me – “You can see where I’m going with this?”
Kid – *blank gaze*
Me – “Can you just do normal rice and put some mushrooms in it?”
Kid – *Looks at menu again* “We don’t do mushroom rice.”
Me –“O…K… I’ll just miss the rice then.”

So I sit and wait alone in tatty room, after 10 minutes of silence the kid tries to start a conversation.
Kid – “So… you watch football?”
Me – “No, sorry mate.”
Kid – “Any sport?”
Me - *Patting my plentiful belly* “Sorry mate, I’m not really the sporting type... more of a gamer.”
Kid – “Ah, yeah... you look like a gamer.”

So kids, watch out if you play video games, you’ll end up fat and hairy just like your Uncle Belly here!

 One rather awkward conversation about video games later I was relieved to have my food thrust upon me so that I could get the hell out of there!

I get home and dish up the grub; first thing I notice is just how greasy the batter is on the chicken balls, apart from that though everything else seems fine. The pancake roll is a MONSTER! The sweet & sour sauce is thick and tasty (but that’s what you get from something so packed with MSG that if you took it on holiday there would be no room in the case for anything else, it’s also a little too red for my likening but now I’m just being bloody picky).

The chicken is cooked pretty well and retains an element of juiciness & although the batter is greasy it still tastes good and doesn’t leave too much of a grease film in my mouth, the pancake roll is also very nice but I would have liked more shrimps in it and a little less pork (but to each their own).

OK, so I only tried two minor dishes but to be fair they were pretty good, not the best I’ve ever had but by no means the worst (that award goes to a skanky little place in Kempston next door to Blue Ginger… blurggghhh).

Mrs Belly and another friend made a comment about Chinese food the other day which now that I think about it is pretty spot on. Both have said that while they don’t dislike Chinese food it’s not something they would be fussed about eating as “You never finish a Chinese meal and think ‘WOW! That was amazing!”

They’re right though, Chinese food is good but unlike Indian or Italian food it‘s never fantastic it’s always just nice. In the case of the Being Chinese this is just below nice in the “Yeah, it wasn’t too bad” category.

In my opinion for the price you’d be better off going to one of the “All you can eat” Chinese buffets, the quality is about the same but at least at the buffet you get more variety for the price.

The Bedford Belly On Tour: Abduls

Abduls, Southgate, Pontefract, WF8 1LN

 Ah, the weekend. Those glorious days where you can use alcohol to forget about the week you’ve left behind and start worrying about the week yet to come!

At the weekend Mrs Belly and myself headed up North to her hometown to visit the in laws. While we were there we spent an evening with some good friends and as usual the alcohol flowed, obviously the pregnant (and my personal designated driver) Mrs Belly had to settle for Shhlurr (I don’t know how you spell it) and soft drinks.

We stuck in a movie (the painfully funny “Bruno”) and then set about ordering some munch. The friends we visited keep a folder full of take away menus (very handy), we plough through the folder but always know that despite going through the motions of the ritual rummage we’re going to order from Abduls.

This time I thought I’d forgo my usual Lamb Rogan and try the Lamb jalfrezi instead (I proper dig Lamb!); I stuck to my Onion Bhaji, Keema Naan & Mushroom rice though.

Every dish I’ve ever had from here has been really tasty. The rice is always good, the Naan could be better but naan’s always lose their heat pretty quick and tend to get soggified by the steam when encased in their little foil baggies. The onion bhaji’s are what you’d expect form a good onion Bhaji and the mint yogurt dip you get with them is phenomenal!

One thing I do like here is the wee slice of orange you get on the side salad, I don’t know what it is about fruit in salad but I really dig it!

The jalfrezi was really nicely spiced, I’ve been to quite a few Indians and sometimes the jalfrezi can be a bit over powering. Now I’m not a softie in anyway when it comes to spicy food, in my heyday I’d enjoy a nice Phaal and recently I’ve found the sweaty eye browed joys of Ghost Chilli sauces (in fact I’ve just ordered myself some ghost chilli extract weighing in at 6.4 million on the Scoville scale) but I do like to get the full taste of the spices in Indian food rather than just meat texture and BURN! This jalfrezi found a good balance of both and was also really rich and creamy, anyway there’s always the bullet chilli to wallop down once the main dish is done with.

The place is price like most other Indians, approx £5 - £6 for a main dish and everything else is priced as you would normally expect. The down side is that as far as I am aware they don’t deliver (so always take a non-drinker with you to go pick it up…. *cough*pregnant Mrs Belly *cough*

The only other complaint I would have is the printed menu, looking through it I couldn’t see Keema Naan on there at all but ask them on the phone if they do it and you get a kind of “Of course we do” answer… well, if you do it… PUT IT ON THE MENU FOR GODS SAKE!

You can’t just assume you sell stuff because it’s not on the menu, in which case I’ll have a Panda Rogan Josh please… what do you mean you don’t sell Panda curries? It’s not on the menu so surely by the logic you’ve defined you MUST sell Panda curry… I DEMAND PANDA CURRY!

Panda curry aside if you’re in the area and have a hankering for some good Indian food then you really can’t go wrong with Abdul’s in my opinion.

Tray-tor To The Cause

Bella Italia 28-30 High Street, Kempston, Bedford, MK42 7AR

Last Saturday the usual gang got together round a friend’s house for a few drinks and a catch up, since we all had a Christening to go to the next day it wasn’t what you’d call a heavy night at all.

As the night went on mouths started patting and stomachs started growling, the ballot was open, the votes were counted and the general consensus was “Tray Pizza’s from Bella Italia”. We’ve had these many times before and they’re normally great (they were better before the place got taken over a couple of years ago), a massive pizza approx. 48”L x 24”W. A good way to feed a lot of people cheaply.

We ordered two of the beasts and it cost us about £5.50 each (there were seven of us in total), not a bad price all things considered:

1 x Pepperoni, salami & Jalapeno peppers

1 x Chicken, Sweet corn & garlic

Phone order – done they 40mins later there’s the knock on the door… pizza is snatched, money is thrown at the delivery lad, pizza is hurried in to the kitchen and within seconds we’re piling in! Slices fly this way, plates fly that way, salt, pepper, chomp chomp chomp… ewww…

It’s shite!

Greasy crisp layer on the base of the dough, the rest of the dough is a spongy mess, thick tomato, piss all cheese, barely any pepperoni and the “Jalapenos” were the shitty pickled ones you normally get with a kebab. It tasted a bit like a mega budget pizza you’d pick up from Iceland (yeah, that place where apparently all mum’s go and then come back with “lips & aresholes” (or chicken nuggets & economy burgers to you and I).

After a couple of slices one friend went off to throw up, myself and another friend ploughed through a few slices (salt may be bad for the heart but when it’s helping to hide the taste of a shitty meal then all I can say is BRING ON THE CARDIAC ARREST!).

I have no idea what has happened here, perhaps there’s a shite chef in tonight or perhaps the mighty truly have fallen, I don’t know. They used to do proper, glorious, tasty Italian tray pizzas but now… not so much. You might as well have just brought in a small crying child and served his tears in a box it was that sad.

Bella Italia… SHAME ON YOU!!!

It’s the old problem again, what used to be solely an Italian food joint changed, now it’s a chippy, kebab house, chicken shack and pizzeria. This is where it all goes wrong, just concentrate on one area and then do it well. The people will thank you for it, if the belly’s happy then the face is happy and if they’re both happy then wallets and purses across the town will be more than happy to open up for you.

The Bedford Belly On Tour: Garufa's

Garufa’s, 104 Highbury Park, London N5 2XE

Last Friday I was down in Highbury, part of my job involves onsite customer visits and I was working a lovely couple in their home, this job took most of the day but since my train ticket was off peak only I had some time to kill after the job had been completed so decided I’d go get a bite to eat and have a couple of beers bef...ore making my way back to sunny Bedford.

I asked the couple if there was anywhere they could recommend and they pointed me in the way of Garufa’s which was literally round the corner from their home.

Garufa’s is an Argentinian restraint and is very tastefully decorated, bare brick walls, classic black & white pictures of old Argentina, nice cosy lighting and (at the time) a very pleasant & peaceful atmosphere (although that may have been more to do with the fact that I was the only one in there at the time).

I’m looking at their menu online right now to see what I’d ordered but sadly the starter must have been new to the menu as it has yet to reach the online menu, anyway...

Starter:
Sweet Breads
I ordered this without knowing what it actually was and I have been told that it was testicles (it wasn’t but even if it had been I really wouldn’t have cared), it was in fact the thymus form the throat of a pig. Man! It was AMAZING!!! I cannot stress how frickin’ good it was, I’ve never tasted anything like it in my life.

The sweetbreads were cooked with lemongrass, garlic and olive oil. The taste is very hard to describe, there was the taste of pork but then there was a sweetness (I guess that’s how it gets its name, mind you “sweetbread” is more appealing than “Bits of pig throat”) to it but not a sickly sweetness. As I said hard to describe but if you ever see it on a menu I would just go for it (I’m actually drooling a little just thinking about them).

Main:

The reason I had come here was that my customer had said the steak was out of this world so the obvious choice for mains was steak. A really plump, juicy rib-eye cooked medium, it came with a side salad and I also ordered the “Papas fritas a la provenzal” (Chips with parsley & garlic to you and I chum!).

The steak was indeed “out of this world”, I have never had a steak as good as this before and I have eaten my fair share of cow over the years so I know where I’m coming from here.
Cooked to perfection, juicy but not greasy and so full of flavour, I also ordered a red pepper sauce to go with the steak which I thought was pretty damn good too!

The side salad was small but again, packed with flavour and came with a garlic oil dressing on the side.

Now on to the “Papas fritas a la provenzal”, these were chips but not like you’ve ever had before. Each “chip” was about the size and thickness of a fish finger, you got a good bowlful (just the right amount). They were incredible, really REALLY crispy on the outside and the fluffiest potato I have ever had in my life on the inside. They came drizzled in a parsley & garlic olive oil that also gave off the faintest hint of lemon. Simply wonderful indeed.

 The service staff were excellent and friendly and I was obviously spoilt since I was the only person in there. Please though, do not take my solitude as any kind of indication that this place is at all failing in the quality department (I was in there between 5:45pm – 6:45pm). In fact most tables around me had reserved signs on and about 10 minutes before I was due to leave the place started to fill up.

All in all this was the start of a pretty perfect evening, belly full (and slightly tipsy) I waddled down to the tube station and got myself a ticket to St Pancras, the tube was waiting as I reached the platform (bonus!). One stop later and I was at St Pancras, I wondered on down to the next platform and within seconds of reaching the edge the train rolled up, got on board and it was virtually empty, plenty of nice plush seats with tables.

I grabbed myself a chair and settled in for my journey back to Bedford… I’d only got on the bloody SUPER FAST TRAIN (WOOOO HOOOOO). So, I rocketed back to Bedford, taxied back to Belly Manor, greeted Mrs Belly with a kiss and a cuddle then kicked back on the sofa and flicked on the tube…

Friday night at its best!

Less Speed More Haste

The Flying Horse, The Green Clophill, Bedford MK45 4AD

It’s been a while since I’ve been out to eat but a friend’s birthday popped up and so we decided to make a night of it down at the Flying Horse in Clophill.

It used to be a Beefeater long ago (mmmm Beefeater…) but is now privately run. It’s a very nice place, when you walk in to your right is a cosy bar and drinking area and to the right is... a huge dining area which was bloody packed! Seriously, I’ve been to the pub part of this place a couple of times now and each time the restraint has been ram jammed thank you mam EVERYTIME. So bearing that in mind I was looking forward to what this place had to offer, it must be good… it’s ram jammed.

My friends and I were seated right away (we had booked in advance) and menus were handed out. A couple of mates were looking forward to things they had seen on the menu before but this time those options were sadly absent. Although there is not masses to choose from (to be fair it’s normally better when you’re slightly limited for choice, I always find the food is normally better) what is on the menu all looks good. I can’t remember what everyone had but Mrs Belly (Now with Baby Belly inside her belly) was also with us so I’ll just tell our story.

Both Mrs Belly and I ordered the Lamb Kofta's to start, when they came we cut them open to find the mince was not exactly cooked through, obviously raw meat and pregnant woman = BAD IDEA so I got the waitresses attention and explained the problem, I also explained that my wife was pregnant and that obviously any meat she eats needs to be thoroughly cooked. The waitress seemed to think that lamb kofta’s were supposed to be a little pink but not that pink (what, you mean they weren’t supposed to be served uncooked? Well how frickin’ knowledgeable of you!) so (and in hindsight I should have told her not to bother) she took our starters away and said they would do us some more.

15 minutes later they brought out some more kofta’s (obviously the rest of the table had finished their starters and were eagerly awaiting the main course that was now being held up by our 2nd attempt at starters. Not wanting a repeat both Mrs Belly and I cut in to our Kofta's to check everything was hunky dory, mine were fine but Mrs Belly’s were still a little pink in the middle so we just swapped plates and chomped away.

As I was about to take the final bite of my delayed starter I felt a presence behind me… it was the waitress with our main courses. Mrs Belly and I hurriedly finished out kofta’s so that there was room on the table for our main course!

Mrs Belly had the hamburger and I had the Rib-Eye steak. The steak was really good and the chips that came with it were excellent too, Mrs Belly cut in to her burger (just to be safe) and all seemed well. It wasn’t until Mrs Belly got ¾ in to the burger that she again (even though the staff had been told of her pregnancy and that meat needs to be cooked through etc.) pink meat. Mrs Belly just left the remaining burger and finished off her chips.

During the meal we had ordered some drinks and after about 20minutes or so they had still not carrived so we ordered them again with another waitress. As soon as the 2nd waitress had left to get our drink then the 1st waitress turned up with our original drinks order. We had to inform her of our 2nd order so that we didn’t get double and …. F’CHRIST SAKE!!!! Does anyone bloody listen to what we’re telling them??!”?!?!?!?! GRRRRRR

Dessert

YES! We had a dessert… nothing could go wrong with that could it? Well, I would like the cookies & ice cream:

“We don’t have any cookies”

 “Seriously?”

 “No, but I can do you a brownie.”

 “Ok, I’ll have brownie and ice cream”

Yes, there was in fact Brownie and Ice Cream on the menu in fact two others at the table ordered Brownie & Ice Cream, so when they come you would expect 3 identical plates of Brownie & Ice Cream… wouldn’t you? No? Well… ok, perhaps I’m just being picky. My friends Brownie & Ice Cream has a chocolate sauce, powdered sugar and is cut in to triangles, Mrs Belly’s Brownie & Ice Cream has a chocolate sauce, powdered sugar and is also cut in to triangles. My Chocolate brownie comes and has no chocolate sauce, nor powdered sugar and is cut in to squares… Ah, it must be that they just replaced the cookie with the Brownie and since it’s 50p cheaper I don’t get the sauce & sugar, either that or it’s so they can tell which one they’ve spat on to serve me. I think it must have been that latter since they charged me the exact same as the other two! The brownie was very nice though, warm and soft and the ice cream was also very nice, had the rest of it not pissed me off so much then I would just say how good it tasted.

All in all I think the place was a little pricey (£17.95 for Rib-Eye steak & chips is a lot when you know you can get the steak platter at Beefeater for £19.99 which includes 3 more steaks of varying cuts) and although there were some screw ups no one else on the table seemed to have much issue with their food but we all experienced the drink fiasco.

The waitresses were very young and rushed off their feet and although I didn’t have the best experience that evening I think I would like to go back to give them another shot as the friends we were dining with have been numerous times before and said that this was the first time they had ever had a problem.

Hopefully when I return it won’t be as busy or at the very least there will be more serving staff at hand… and the chef cooks the meat all the way through!

Bless You My Son

The Tasty Tuck, Tavistock Street, Bedford, MK40 2RX

Another week, another take-away try out! Both Mrs Belly and I had just reached the end of a pretty busy weekend and I really didn’t fancy cooking so we pondered what cheeky delight we should settle on. I had Chinese on the brain but Mrs Belly had a real hankering for Fish N’ Chips and since I’m not adverse to the fried spud & battery goodness I ...was pretty much down with this decision, the real issue was “Is there anywhere open?”. As Sundays go it’s normally pretty hard to find a chippy open but find one we did and it just happened to be another childhood haunt.

The Tasty Tuck is situated in the bright lights of Tavistock Street and was the chippy of choice after a good swimming session at Robinson Pool, it wasn’t the closest but it was the chippy with the funniest nickname. We never referred to it as the Tasty Tuck, it was always (and still is) known to us as “The Fisty ****” (I think you can guess the rest).

What I do remember about the place was in all fairness, it wasn’t all that great. It always seemed a bit dingy and the chips were always floppy & greasy, I’m happy to say though that all of that has changed.

Gone is the dirty insides and gone if the floppy grease sticks they used to call chips… hello crispy on the outside/fluffy on the inside chips and HELLO crispy olde style batter covering a very moist piece of fish.

I’ve raved in the past about Andy’s Chippy but to be honest I think they have a decent bit of competition for the crown!

Again, this chippy is situated on the other side of town form where I live but both the Batter & Chips managed to make it through the journey without going all soggy (quiet an achievement in my book). The staff where friendly too and we didn’t at all feel rushed like we have done in some other places.

I hate it when you’re in the door for less than 30 seconds and someone’s pouncing on you to order:

“What can I get you then?”

“Erm… I’m not sure yet. You see, I’ve quite literally walked through the door and you seem to have quite a lot of stuff on that big menu up there… You see the one behind you which is listing out the choices I have to make. Yes, that’s it, the big board with all the words on it that although I am a fast reader I’m still not frickin’ Superman so if you’ll just let me have a couple of minutes to allow my glasses to unsteam and my eyes to scan over those selections then when I have mulled it over and decided what I plan to spend MY money on I’ll let you know and you can get right to it and do your thing!”

I’ve come to the understanding recently that not every visit to these places is as good or as bad as the last so let it be known that this was a Sunday and if those same people who served on a Sunday are there the rest of the week then I can’t see their being too much of a deviation in the quality of the food.

Anyway, check them out if you’re swinging by that way and have a guttural growl coming from below. The noise will soon receded in gratification.

The Picture Never Lies (Almost)

Apparently this is what you should expect from Andreas in Bedford. I'm calling bullshit on this one as I have never had as good a looking as this from them, it's normally 2 inches thicker and the cheese is never that stringy!

Ram It Down

Boccelli's, 2 Ram Yard, Town Centre, Bedford, MK40 1AL 

Last night as the snow began to fall once more myself, Mrs Belly, Mama Belly & Papa Belly all headed out in the cold and landed here.

After Papa Belly stopped arguing with the taxi driver over ripping him off (this certain alphabetical firm seems to have a fluctuating “Via” charge, sometimes it’s £1 sometimes it’s £2, when you question them ...on this they “phone” the depot and confirm the charge, however what they didn’t expect was that Papa Belly also phoned the depot after the cab had left to complain only to find out that the driver had not called in at all and had phoned someone else to “confirm” the price… so, be warned!) We made our way inside the restaurant and were instantly greeted & shown to our table.

The waiting staff were extremely friendly and eager to please but you didn’t get that sense of fakery that you get in some places, it’s seemed as if they genuinely wanted to please you.

Boccelli’s is a very small place but really does have a lot of atmosphere, it’s dimly lit, quiet enough to talk but not quiet enough where your conversation will be overheard. The food is reasonably priced and the service was really excellent.


 For starters:

Mrs Belly & Mama Belly shared a pizza base with fresh tomatoes and pesto topping (obviously I had to steal a slice or two!)

Papa Belly had the garlic mushrooms and I had the garlic chili prawns.

The Pesto pizza was pretty sweet! The base was authentic Italian while the tomatoes were very rich in flavour working really well with the pesto (I’m not a bit fan of pesto but I did find this to be mucho tasty).

The garlic chili prawns were nice and plum, very meaty and perfectly cook. The chili sauce had a small kick to it but nothing to be frightened of; it’s definitely a chili sauce that can be enjoyed by the more wary food goer.

I’d tell you what the mushrooms tasted like had Papa Belly not wolfed the lot down (obviously they were very good).

 Mains:

Mrs Belly – Chicken Risotto, I’ll just give you her 3 word review “That was awesome!”

Mama Belly - Fish (I’ve forgotten what she had now but again it was deemed wonderful none the less).

Me: Calzone with salami, ricotta, Parmesan cheese, onions & mushrooms. The dough was cooked perfectly as were the ingredients inside, I know on occasion that the dough can be very touch sometimes but not here! It really was a good tasting calzone but I would have preferred a lot more salami and a little less ricotta.

The thing I really liked about the portion sizes is that while they by no means small they were not overly large either and actually left room for dessert (something that doesn’t happen often these days. We often have the Starter or Dessert argument when we go out to eat; I prefer a starter while Mr’s belly always prefers the sweet desserts).

Papa Belly: Sorry, I really can't remember. (Perhaps I should start writing this shit down at the time of eating...)

Dessert:

Mrs Belly & Mama Belly: Lemon tarts (that’s what they ordered and not an attack on their characters by the way!)


 Myself & Papa Belly: Profiterole Ice Cream

I didn’t get to taste the lemon tarts but was told in no uncertain terms that it was "bloody lovely” and although it was cheesecake like it was served warm to the surprise but ultimately joy of the ladies.

 The real genius of the evening though was the profiterole ice cream; it was exactly as it sounds. Profiteroles encased in vanilla ice cream and my god it was so bloody good! I can’t really describe how good it was, it’s one of those things where I just say “you got to go try it yourself”.

The worst thing was the house white wine, fine it’s alcohol but god damn it was sharp! I’d suggest getting a different wine if you do head down there.

I would also recommend getting a nice Irish Coffee after your meal too, it was delicious and the whip cream could have covered my face had I have dived face first in to the cup!

I really was impressed by Bocelli’s and think If you’re looking for good Italian food with a nice atmosphere then in all honesty you can’t go wrong if you head there.

Bedford Belly on tour: Angus Steak House, Leicester Square, London A Man Of Few Words

Bedford Belly on tour: Angus Steak House, Leicester Square, London

2nd February 2012

Today I am a man of few words, Angus Steak House is pricey but frickin' awesome!

'Nuff said.






Additional: It has now been over a week since my visit and I am still craving the taste of the steak I ate, I just can’t get it out of my head.

What A Gem

The Ruby Murray, 17 High Street, Bedford, MK40 1RN

 

You know that promise I made to myself… the one we all made just after Christmas, you know the one. Well… I broke it again.

It was a cold Saturday evening, I’d been painting all day and was looking forward to heading in to town for a few pints then the phone rang and it was my friend asking if I’d want to eat while we were in town “sure I said I...’m not fussy about where we go”. So it was decided that we’d go and check out The Riverside Grill and we did just that with one small change, we went to the Ruby Murray instead.

I’ve been a couple of times before and each time it’s been packed but not tonight, tonight there were ten people sitting on one table and that was it… no one else.

As we were seated there was a whirlwind of action as we were surrounded by staff pulling out our chairs, whipping the napkins off of the tables and placing them on our laps as we sat (except for me, as soon as I noticed what was going on I grabbed my own napkin off of the table… I’m in a restraint to eat not to have my groin brushed by the hands of those that serve, cheeky beggars).

 Even though the restaurant was empty there was still a nice atmosphere about the place, it’s a very modern looking place and never seems uncomfortable, there’s plenty of space between tables so even when it is full you don’t feel like you’re sitting with people you don’t know.

As soon as we were seated our drinks order was taken and we were passed our menus. There’s a lot to choose form on eth menu but not too much and there as some dishes you wouldn’t expect to find in an Indian such as monkfish and some very unique starters.

I was going to try something different but you know what it’s like, you get talking and don’t really look too hard at the menu and then someone comes to take your order and you end up just falling back on the norm, I think the only thing I had that was different form the usual was the starter:

Chilli Prawn

 A mysore delicacy, lightly butter fried prawn pieces tossed with green chillies, curry
leaves and yoghurt. Served in a papadum shell.

Seriously flavoursome, the chilli is in no way overpowering and isn’t hot as you would expect it to be, the portions as pretty generous too but not too much.

 Lamb Rogan, Mushroom Rice (I love Mushrooms!) and Keema Naan.

The Lamb was cooked really well, a little bit pink inside but still melted in your mouth and the flavour of the meat really cut through, the sauce was thick and tasty with all of the spices really shining through

The rice was perfectly cooked and the Keema Naan had a generous helping of meat within its crispy bread shell.

After I finished I was pretty full but not over stuffed like I was with last week’s Indian. I’m not a small man by any means in length or width so perhaps I can ingest more than the average person, the rice in all fairness was enough to share between two as was the Naan.

 I think the prices are pretty reasonable and the staff are really helpful and friendly and if they don’t know something they will find out and return with an answer.

 As the night went on the place did fill up a bit more and the atmosphere became livelier.

If you want a good place in the town centre to go out to eat then I highly recommend the Ruby Murray, this is the fourth time I’ve been and I have never had a bad meal so set your taste buds to “BRING IT ON” and get yourself in there quick sharp!

January Blues

Blue Ginger, 116 Bedford Road, Bedford, MK42 8BG

 

So here we are, full of Christmas food guilt as we've all stuffed ourselves silly along with the poor Turkey (insert nut loaf for you crazy veggie types or "fake turkey" that tastes nothing like Turkey and besides if you wanted something that really tasted like turkey then why not just eat the damn turkey? It's dead already, you not eating it isn't ...going to bring it back, in fact you not eating it just means more will go to waste and have to be thrown away, didn't your mother ever tell you it's wrong to waste food?) the gallons of alcohol that have passed our lips, the cakes, sweets and sausage rolls we've ravaged over the last few weeks are gone and we sit, top trouser button undone, gazing woefully at the TV with nothing but fond memories fading gradually, slowly turning in to regret and although we promised ourselves “no more takeaways for at least two months” some of us *ahem* may have already fallen off of that rocky food train and maybe some of us found ourselves round a friend’s house to watch a movie (Apollo 18, thought it was gonna be good but turned out to be a bit shit *sigh*) only to have that dirty grub gremlin ordering, nay! forcing them to partake in a tasty Indian take-away from Blue Ginger… YES, YES for a million time YES, I'm talking about ME! 

 The shame I carry as I write this is infinite... almost infinite at least. OK, there is a small part of me that is happy... well, a larger part but that's my belly and it's kind of shaped that way so I'm not sure if that happiness counts... does it count? Who knows, all I know is that I’ll try to lock the gremlin up later and get back on the health kick but on that occasion I decided to let him have this one (trouble is I'll have to fight off the cake monkey next)!

It’s been a while since I’ve had a Blue Ginger meal so it’s a welcome treat when it finally arrives at the door. Myself, Mrs Belly and a couple of chums are watery mouthed as we dish out round one of the feast before us.

 
For Starter I shared a Chef’s Platter with my buddy, it comes with an Onion Pakora (posh way of saying Bhaji), a little chicken nugget (no idea what it’s actually called), samosa and a roll of sweet sweet chicken moo moo (seriously sweet but it’s a great tasting dish, never heard of it before and only tried it when I got sent one by mistake with my order a couple of years ago). We also had a couple of orders of Onion Pakora to share round (which we really shouldn’t have ordered but we’ll come to that later).

I’m not sure what everybody had for mains but I had a Lamb Rogan with Mushroom Rice and a Chili Keema Naan (which I shared with Mrs Belly). I’m not sure if they have a new chef or not but the Lamb Rogan was AWESOME! Really flavoursome, you could taste the tomatoes and spices in the dish, the lamb was really tender and not at all fatty and the vegetables in the sauce were not overcooked & mushy. The rice was as you’d expect it to be, light, fluffy and tasty! 


 The chili naan was not too hot (in my opinion, Mrs Belly will most likely tell you differently since a piece of chili did hit the back of her throat resulting in a coughing and splutter show for the next 5 minutes after which we all gave her a round of applause) but again was full of flavour, it was however a bit "damp" but that's to be expected really considering the journey it's had in it's foil pouch.

I did ask what everyone else had but as I said I can’t recall it now, what I can tell you is that everyone really enjoyed their meal however everyone was proper stuffed afterwards since we’d ordered way too many Bhaji’s. It felt like we’d never be empty again!

Everything was pretty damn good and considering the drive everything that should have been crispy was pretty much still crispy (excluding the Naan) despite sweating in its own steam for the duration of the journey.

The only issue I have with Indian food is that it can be a bit pricey, I’m not saying Blue Ginger is overpriced but it’s high enough to ensure it’s not something you’re going to be getting once a week or even fortnight.

I must point out that whether on the phone or in the restaurant the staff are always friendly and helpful. I haven’t had a bad experience yet with Blue Ginger and highly recommend grabbing yourself a munch from those Raja’s of the Indian Restaurant