Shaffi's Indian Restaurant

Shop 7, 14 Fau Tsoi St, Yuen Long
Visited 16th April 2008

Originally a chef in the British army, Shaffi use to spend his time dishing up vindaloos and chips to her majesty's finest. When they packed up and left, Shaffi packed up and headed to the culinary hotspot of Yuen Long to open his own restaurant. Situated on a busy little corner of Fau Tsoi St, Shaffi's is skinny restaurant, with basic decor and noisy vibe; the Wednesday night we went it was packed to bursting. For those who unfortunately live far from the fine dinning of Yuen Long, there's also a Wan Chai branch.

There was a big group and we ordered an assortment of dishes: chicken pakora and vegetarian samosas to start, chicken tikka, sag paneer, chicken do-pyaza, mutton jhalfrezi and chicken korma accompanied by garlic naan and saffron rice. All up it was a pretty good feed. The pakora we had for an entree were superb; the tender chicken was fresh and crisp (they were almost good enough to rival the delights of the Pakora Bar, Woodlands Rd, Glasgow). Our assorted mains were all flavoursome, though a couple were a little too oily for my taste, especially the sag paneer that was topped with a thick oil slick. The accompanying garlicky naan was tasty and enjoyably chewy. To drink we drained the fridge of Chang beers and then moved onto Heinekens and a bottle of Chilean Sauvignon Blanc. Naomi sensibly went for a non alcoholic option and highly rated her mango lassi.

Shaffi's was a fun night out and the busy atmosphere was perfect for our big group. The service was fine and Shaffi, the man, is a friendly and personable bloke. The bill worked out at $160 a head which is a bargain when you consider we couldn't get through all the food and had mountains of beer - $12 a bottle makes life so much more affordable in the New Territories. The food was decent and reminded my English mate of how authentic Indian tastes back home in Portsmouth. Locals say there are two types of people in Yuen Long; Shaffi's people and Shangri-La people and while I enjoyed my night out at Shaffi's I'm still a Shangri-La man through and through.