Showing posts with label restaurant - Indian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label restaurant - Indian. Show all posts

Friday, 5 December 2008

The Delhi Club

Block C, 3/F, Chunk King Mansions, 40 Nathan Rd TST
Visited 4th December 2008
Wading through the TST end of Nathan Road is often an exercise is saying a polite but firm "no". Pushing between the blokes selling "copy watches" and "need a tailor" are hoards of menu wielding touts proclaiming the virtues of the numerous restaurants hidden within the depths of Chunking Mansions; a landmark that probably takes the crown as the most multicultural place in Hong Kong. The Delhi Club is one of the 'hidden gems' secreted away this crazy warren (a hint to finding it is that you need to take the last lift on the left - the lift for Block C). This popular restaurant is pretty basic in appearances with a couple of large crowded rooms and normally a large crowded foyer packed with punters waiting for tables.

I was with an English mate who almost loves curry as much as he loves beer and we ordered up a storm. He ordered up a storm that included crisp poppadums to start followed by chicken tikka, chana masala, mutton jalfrezi, Kashmiri naan, garlic naan and rice. The hearty serves were all fresh and tasty. I really enjoyed the succulent chicken tikka, fragrant chickpea curry and deliciously chewy breads. To drink we accompanied this massive pile of food with way too many bottles of Kingfisher beer.

Sure a visit to Chunking Mansions is partly about the experience of Chungking mansions, but The Delhi Club delivers. The food is excellent with plenty of tasty curries. The bill for me and my mate was $336, which may not seem that great value, but if you take out the mountains of beer we drunk the food was a steal at under $100 each (and as a bonus the beer's not expensive). The service was spot one; the waiters were friendly, helpful and bursting with personality. To put it simply, I like The Delhi Club.

Thursday, 22 May 2008

Sun-Shangri-La Restaurant

35 Tai Cheung St, Yuen Long
Visited 21st May 2008


Yuen Long and nearby Kam Tin have a large Nepalese population and as a result we get treated to some pretty fine food. Sun-Shangri-La is the new kid on the block and has only recently having started dishing up curries to the masses. For a restaurant it's in a relatively isolated spot; tucked away at the top of Tai Chung St, just around the corner from On Lok Rd. It's a small place with basic decor and only eight or ten tables; the four of us seemed to half fill it.

As custom requires we started with vegetarian samosas; these tasty little parcels were crisp, a touch spicy and came with a decent mint chutney. The menu's stacked with Indian favourites and we went for murg mutter, channa masalat, jeera aloo, a prawn biryani and a couple of serves of nan. I was impressed with the tender, spiced jeera aloo potatoes, while the rich sauces smothering the chickpeas and chicken were fantastic. The prawn biryani was a delicious combination of spiced rice, prawns and fresh salad and the huge slabs of chewy nan bread were certainly up to scratch. To drink I got stuck into a couple of bottles of Chang beer, which at two for $20 was a steal. Perhaps it's just the wishes Carlsberg Inc but I was intrigued by the cans of 'Special Brew' piled in the fridge.

I really liked Sun-Shangri-La. The food was top notch, authentic and full of flavour. Though shy, the lady serving was polite, attentive and informative. Our bill came to just over $55 each, an absolute bargain especially considering how full we all were. Sun-Shangri-La has joined the ranks of Shaffi's and Shangri-La and entered the Yuen Long curry race. I wish them all the best; they've got the potential to do good things.

Thursday, 17 April 2008

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.

Thursday, 28 June 2007

Shangri-La Curry House

144 On Ning Rd, Yuen Long, NT
Visited 28th June


I can't believe I've been writing about restaurants in Yuen Long for a few months now and haven't done a review of the Shangri-La Curry House. The Yuen Long area has a large Nepalese population and as a result we are lucky enough to have this fantastic little family run restaurant. The location on On Ning Rd, though kind of hidden, isn't too far from the Long Ping KCR station and is just behind Yuen Long Plaza.


A meal at the Shangri-La Curry House always starts with a couple of complementary serves of poppadums, one lot topped with cucumber, chilli and tomato, the other served with mint dip and pickled shallots. We then moved onto vegetarian samosas and a couple of cold Tsing Taos while we ordered up a feast - prawn curry, grilled chicken tikka, lamb korma, chickpeas, chicken jhalfrezi, minced eggplant, chicken makhni, garlic naan and rice - really quite a lot of food! I particularly enjoyed the Chicken tikka that was served on a sizzling hot plate and was tender and flavoursome. The Baingan Bharta or eggplant curry was also fantastic; this mildly spiced, tender, minced eggplant was delicious and went extremely well with the generous serves of warm, chewy garlic naan. There are a few wines on offer at the Shangri-La Curry House, but I'm usually more than happy to stick to reasonably priced beers or if I'm desperate bring my own for $50 corkage. Our bill for the evening come to about $120 a head, which included quite a few beers and a mountain more food then we could eat.

A visit to the Shangri-La Curry House is not just about munching on good food it's also about the ambience; "the serenity". While the mural depicting the mountains of Nepal helps to set the scene, the peace-of-mind one enters is mainly due to the Yuen Long's calmest waitress; ordering a beer or curry is way more relaxing than a three hour massage is Shenzhen. Excellent food at good prices, superb service and a comfortable atmosphere definitely makes the Shangri-La Curry House worth a visit; "how's the serenity?".