Manchester - A Taste of India

The Shahenshah Restaurant is halfway into the "curry mile" and I can honestly say I don’t know why I decided to eat here. I broke all my normal rules as this large 150-plus eatery was almost empty and there was a multitude of waiters hovering in the centre. I’d stopped to check out the menu and similar to other places on the road a "member of the front of house team" had materialised out of the ether. He explained that the meal would be "very tasty" and I could choose to have a complimentary whiskey coffee at the end of the meal. I’d heard similar before and I guess I was beginning to get peckish and as I couldn’t see any major differences between the restaurants I took the "bull by the horns" and opted for the Shahenshah.

Although I was "shown to a table" the waiter was quite happy for me to guide him to my preferred dining spot and there were plenty to choose from! At the point I was sitting down the only other diners in the restaurant were a table of four and we were "seriously out-numbered" by the front of house staff (7 in total plus a guy behind the bar).

I’d only been seated for seconds when a couple of popodoms were brought to my table together with a selection of "dips". In fact I’d hardly had time to settle before I was being asked what I wanted to drink. It wasn’t a hard choice because they had draught Kingfisher "on the pumps" and this is a light Indian beer that I quite like. Speedily that order was brought to the table and I was then left to my own company to study the menu. Whilst nibbling on the popodoms I noticed that the dips were chargeable items. They were only 30 pence each but it’s worth knowing that they aren’t complimentary. Indeed I do resent chargeable food being placed in front of me without a proper explanation and when the waiter returned to check on how I was doing with selecting a meal I did check that the popodoms were complimentary He confirmed that they were but as I already started my second one it was perhaps a little irrelevant!

After a time I decided I was going to try a dish from northern India. The Nawabi (a dish I’d never heard of before) sounded real tasty with onion, whole sweet chilli peppers, tomatoes and strips of capsicum and as it was described as hot and spicy I decided to try it with lamb. The menu recommended that it be served with Naan Bread and as I just love the sweet contrast of a Peshwari Naan I added that, alongside some Pilau Rice, to my order.

There was quite a delay in my order arriving at the table (presumably a good sign for a fresh preparation) and there was a huge serving of rice, a magnificently glazed Naan Bread and what looked like a small portion of Nawabi. I certainly proved wrong with that appraisal as the whole meal was real substantial. Admittedly they’d served me with a Chicken Nawabi, but I couldn’t be bothered complaining and as the whole dish was real flavoursome I had no real regrets. I did struggle a bit to finish off my meal but as usual I manage to eat the majority only leaving a small portion of the Pilau Rice.

At the end of the meal an apology for an Irish Coffee was served. It only had a hint of whiskey and was also a bit light on the coffee – still I couldn’t complain it was after all complimentary.

I think that a meal at the Shahenshah could be a wee bit intimidating as the waiters tended to over behind you – ready to pounce! However, the food was good and the portions deceptively large. I’d be happy to eat here again, but as there are so many places around I’ll doubtless try somewhere new on my next Mancurian visit.

Alongside the busy Portland road is this first floor Indian Restaurant. A work colleague had been told about a Mexican Restaurant on this road and we’d both worked up an appetite for a spicy evening meal. However, when we finally found the building it was in total darkness and we rather suspected it had finished doing business. Just a few doors up is The Ashoka.

I like Indian food, it ticked the box for being spicy so we decided to give it a whirl. Although I described it was first floor it’s more like a mezzanine as there are only 10 or so steps off the Portland Road up to the restaurant’s entrance.

We were beamingly welcomed by a young waiter who took us to a comfortable table for two and we settled down in leatherette chairs to ponder the menu. To help the choice I ordered a pint of kingfisher, a very light Indian beer that I’d enjoyed several times when on holiday in India. This was on draught so I liked forward to reminding my taste buds of the Kerala experience.

The menu was huge and in all honesty there was far too much to consider. I kept changing my mind with alarming frequency and got to the stage that I was almost unable to choose. That really is the problem with massive menu choices. In the end I opted for a starter of Chicken Tikka followed by a Chicken Jalfreizi and sharing a Chicken Biryani with my colleague. We’d nibbled on a couple of complimentary poppadoms with some great accompaniments before the starter arrived (watch out for the ultra hot dips – I didn’t and needed to down a good quantity of beer to remove the "burning sensation"!).

The starter looked exceptional with nicely cooked pieces of Chicken and a delightfully crisp and fresh looking salad. My eyes hadn’t deceived me as the taste lived up to those initial expectations. We didn’t rush, nor were we rushed and I was ready for another pint of Kingfisher by the time I got round to finishing my starter.

The main courses and the Biryani were almost ceremoniously placed in front of us and the waiter stepped back admiringly and then invited us to start our meal, with an ultra polite hand gesture, a broad smile and those immortal words "please, enjoy your meal."

The quantity was immense and it wasn’t too long before we were questioning the sense of ordering the starter and the Biryani. However, it was delicious and I for the first time sampled the Karahi (my colleague had a chicken one as a main course and was struggling to finish it). He rated this as possibly the best Karahi that he’d ever tasted – it was certainly very flavoursome.

The Ashoka is conveniently sited close to the centre of town and I’ll certainly eat here again. We’d received a friendly greeting and real decent food at a fair price.

I had no intention to eat at an Indian Restaurant but as I was strolling through the streets I spotted the impressive frontage of Karims. It looked well up-market and I suspected that it would have been out of my budget for a mid week meal, but as I approached an impressively dressed concierge smiled and offered me a flyer relating to the restaurant. Indeed it was offering me 20% discount on my evening meal and as there was a good choice of Chinese, Indian or Asian Fusion dishes I decided to give it a go.

As I was guided into to the restaurant I couldn’t help but be struck by the vast space occupied by the restaurant. Two giant domes look down into the body of the restaurant and dressy chandeliers and period wall lights provide a good source of light into the restaurant. There are marble pillars supporting the tall ceilings and as a sheer contrast the modern drinks bar sits brightly in the corner near to the kitchen entrance. For the duration of my visit a chef was busy preparing bread dough and I’m sure that he was involved in the making of the delicious fruity Peshwari Naan that I had to accompany by meal.

After a careful perusal of the extensive menu I’d opted for a Lamb Karahi, tempted by the description of a "rich curry" traditionally cooked with "green chillies, fresh ginger and coriander" and an order of egg fried rice. Settling back to enjoy my surroundings I supped on an iced coke (this is an alcohol free restaurant although they do serve 0% beer and wine) and as I was re-reading the menu (what else can a lone diner do?) I noticed that the Karahi was served with plain boiled rice.

I managed to attract the waiter’s attention and was in the process of explaining my mistake when he called over the manager. There was nothing sinister in this, but I reckon many of the waiter’s are a little restricted with their English, and he promptly advised the kitchen to cancel the rice. Shortly after my meal arrived, and everything was piping hot and self served out of separate covered bowls. The rice was white and fluffy and the lamb Karahi was beautifully spiced, full of flavour and nicely complimented by the naan bread. In a separate bowl was a small mixed salad of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber and onions – not particularly attractively served but obviously fresh.

I thoroughly enjoyed the meal and my only criticism was that perhaps the meat serving was a little on the small size – indeed when asked by the manager what I thought of the meal I did mention that the portion could have been a little larger. He took it well and I genuinely think he might take the criticism on board.

Despite my dietary pledge I ordered a pudding - well I couldn’t resist chocolate fudge cake with ice-cream.

A good meal – I will return.

Another Monday night in Manchester and this lone consultant once again decided to take a stroll from St Peter’s Square to the curry mile. It had been a strange time recently with some real mild weather late last week (I’d actually wandered around Nottingham in shirt sleeves and lightweight trousers) to the icy winds and near blizzards that had hit the UK over the weekend. It was still bitterly cold (I can’t remember it being this cold in April since 1975) but wrapped up in my jacket and sporting a hat "inherited" from my son I started on my 20-minute walk to find an Indian restaurant to entice me. I was clutching a money-off voucher for the Tabak Restaurant, which offered an evening buffet for around £8, but was sufficiently flexible about my final destination.

On route I couldn’t resist a short detour through Whitworth Park on the Oxford Road. The park was funded by a bequest from the estate of Sir Joseph Whitworth a local inventor and industrialist, laid out by the Whitworth Institute and opened to the public in 1890. It was signed over to Manchester City Council in 1904 before being passed to its current caretakers, the University of Manchester. Its not the most stunning of parks but in April, despite the harsh wintery winds it was awash with the crisp yellows of the Spring Daffodil with the odd splash of red from early flowering tulips. There were some fascinatingly shaped trees, devoid of leaves, and I’m looking forward to see the transformation of the park when summer arrives.

Having completed my detour I was curiously drawn to the bright lights of the Sangam Restaurant, which was just inside the Curry Mile. Or was it that I felt I walked far enough in the wind for one evening?

The Sangam is a large Indian Restaurant which seemed to be extremely popular. Indeed I overheard a woman saying to her friends, as they entered the place, how much she enjoyed a previous visit the the Sangam. That sounded like a recommendation to me so I happily followed them into the restaurant. I was given a choice of tables and the head waiter acknowledged that, as a single diner, I might feel "more comfortable in the second option. It’s the first time that my status as a single diner has been acknowledged and it was handled in an extremely sensitive way by the waiter.

As I’d entered the restaurant I noticed that they sold Kingfisher beer on draught so I was more than happy to order a pint of this fine Indian beer without checking out the alternatives. A couple of papadoms with four different chutneys were brought to the table and whilst I checked out the menu I "grazed" on these. You would presume that they were complimentary as they’d arrived without prompting but there was a charge. However at 60p for two papadoms and loads of chutney there was no way that you could complain. I find them almost addictive and munched away happily before ordering Vegetable Samosa for my starter and at £1.90 for two large ones and a healthy potion of a side salad they proved to be substantial and extremely tasty.

I’d struggled to decide what main course to select from this huge menu and finally opted for a dish that I’ve never tried before. The Vegetable Chashni (I could have had chicken or lamb) sounded very tasty being described as having a tomato and mango base cooked with herbs and coriander giving it an almost "sweet and sour flavour". The waiter suggested that it would be best with a chapatti and felt that I would not need any rice. I was unsure but wisely went with his recommendation. After all waiters normally tend to encourage you to order more rather than less! The portion proved to be extremely filling – there was plenty of it and they sauce was incredibly rich - and I was relieved that I hadn’t ordered the rice. This was not a meal to rush and indeed there was no attempt to "move diners on". I ate and then rested a while before returning to my meal, but despite this strategy I was unable to eat it all. Most unusual for me!

The Sangam is a very popular Indian restaurant (and rightly so) and the waiters are extremely attentive without seeming to be too "predatory". They were quick to respond but didn’t hover above you,

I enjoyed my meal, alongside a couple of pints of Kingfisher beer, and actually ate far too much. Indeed on leaving the restaurant decided to hop on a bus. The number 143 took me to St Peter’s Square and at just over a pound I reckon this was good value to get me out of the wind and safely returned to my hotel.

I’d been threatening to visit Manchester’s curry mile ever since I started my work in the City, but somehow I’d never made it. This time I was determined and so I asked for directions from work colleagues and asked my hotel for a map of the area. The receptionist, as helpful as ever, gave me a map and some very clear directions to Rusholme.

There were regular buses running the length of Oxford Road to Wilmslow Road, but I decided to walk from St Peter’s Square. I’d been assured that it was only a twenty-minute walk along a well-lit flat road and I easily did it in that time frame. It’s actually one long road and when the Oxford Road changes to Wilmslow Road that’s where the Curry Mile starts. There’s a sign in the middle of the road welcoming visitors to this acclaimed district of Manchester that got its name as it has the largest concentration of Asian restaurants in the UK serving over 65,000 diners each week. There are a range of Asian restaurants offering Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi cuisine. Some of them apparently are highly acclaimed award-winning restaurants.

It’s a good and interesting walk through the City’s University quarter and on my first visit to Rusholme it was St Patrick’s Night. The revellers were out in strength sporting their green clothes and weird headgear and were clearly ready to take full advantage of some of the offers on alcohol that were displayed outside most of the pubs on route. Those that sold Guinness reinforced their affinity to island and there were endless signs with frolicking leprechorns. Unfortunately, when I was strolling back to the hotel later in the evening, it was evident that many partygoers had over-indulged. I’ve never seen as much "diced carrot" on the pavements before!!

The route is lined with an array of superb architecture including the Place Theatre; The Grosvenor Picture Palace (now a pub / restaurant) which I’ll have to try out one night; magnificent churches; fine residences; and of course the old and modern structures of the University. At present these modern additions seem disjointed and out of place but I think the City’s vision is to have them flowing and blending into the thoroughfare. I suspect that they will achieve this vision.

I could see the bright lights of Rusholme well before I got there and I remembered the hotel receptionist’s comment that it was "like you’re some where other than Manchester." Although I sort of understood what she meant the curry mile was somehow not quite as exciting as I built it up to be. I guess I was anticipating more of a buzz about the streets with a real cultural change, whereas in reality it was a fairly ordinary collection of restaurants on one of the main road out of the City centre.

Interspersed with the restaurants were a couple of sari shops and a few Asian jewellers, but the best indications of the indigenous Asian population were the two green grocer shops. These had vegetables on open display on pavement stalls and they were selling some of the more exotic Asian fruits and vegetables. This open outside display does seem to be increasingly unusual in the U.K. and it was certainly reminiscent of our recent travels to Asia. Perhaps that’s what the receptionist meant when she referred to being "somewhere other than Manchester."

As the night wore on the neon lights on the shop fronts seemed to shine ever brighter and the claim that there were over 70 restaurants on this short strip of road seemed to be confirmed. There are loads to pick from and although I will return a few more times whilst I’m in Manchester I don’t reckon that I stand a chance in visiting them all and I’m fairly sure that the quality will vary immensely.