For the twelfth review of Thame's Best Takeaway, our foodie will be getting an Indian takeaway from The House of Spice. With Mings, Smarts, Atalay's Kebab Van and Patrons in the finals, it was time for our foodie to complete the review by picking Thame's best Indian.
The Indian takeaways being reviewed are The Star and Garter, House of Spice and Dewani Shahs.
To keep the review fair, the following dishes will be ordered:
- Chicken Korma
- Lamb Madras
- Pilau Rice
- Keema Naan
- Two poppadoms
The review will be based upon: the best quality, taste, portion size, and also what is best value for money.
So for the second part of the Indian review, here is the House of Spice.
“On to my second Indian review, and this is one of particular interest to me. For years the House of Spice was known for it's authentic curries and great service, until recent years where competition has increased and reports of the House of Spice not being what it used to. So I've been quite looking forward to testing this one.
My Saturday night wait was equal to that of The Star and Garters, twenty minutes exactly. A very reasonable length of time, especially as it seemed very busy when I arrived to pick up my order. Equally, the price difference between the two restaurants was only 5p! With the House of Spice coming in at £20.95 - but I did get a free bottle of beer! A lovely touch! These two really are price-matching!
Looks as though this one is literally down to the tasting and the quality of the meal put in front of me. My first impressions were that the colours were vibrant and the madras even smelt a bit more punchy than the one from the Star and Garter. All of the food was still piping which was great and I couldn't wait to tuck in!
Starting with the korma, I was chuffed with the vibrant yellow, thick and and creamy sauce. There was also a lot of it, but there was plenty of chicken to go with it, as the dish was literally full to the top. The flavours were lovely, and exactly what I expect from a Korma, mild, but subtle spices giving it that real authentic taste. Really good start! The rice also was an improvement on the Star and Garter, fluffy, hot, not all sticking together and moist.
Hotting things up a little now, as this madras was more like it! A decent kick, the heat really hitting my throat after each mouthful - but most importantly, not overpowering the strong and sour flavours of my madras. The only criticism, is that the lamb was a little bit tough - but I think next time I would try the chicken madras for sure, as the sauce consistency and flavours are really good.
Lastly, I mopped up my creamy korma sauce with my keema naan. Nicely cooked bread, good size, maybe could do with a little more meat inside, but again, this was a much nicer side than at the Star and Garter.
Overall, a really good takeaway and not just one of the dishes - all of them to a good standard - washed down by a free beer! Let's not forget that the Star and Garter was nice, so for this to be a lot better shows how much I appreciated the difference in quality".
Stay tuned for a final review of Thame's best Takeaway. We will also be announcing the winner and a competition!
Check out our previous reviews of Thame's Best Takeaway below:
Thame's Best Takeaway - Chinese - Round 1 - Sun, Chinese Food - www.thamehub.co.uk/thames-best-takeaway-chinese-round-1-sun-chinese-food/
Thame's Best Takeaway - Chinese - Round 2 - Famous House - www.thamehub.co.uk/thames-best-takeaway-chinese-round-2-famous-house/
Thame's Best Takeaway - Chinese - Round 3 - Harvest Moon - www.thamehub.co.uk/thames-best-takeaway-chinese-round-3-harvest-moon/
Thame's Best Takeaway - Chinese - Round 4 - Ming's Chinese Takeaway - www.thamehub.co.uk/thames-best-takeaway-chinese-round-4-mings-chinese-takeaway/
Thame's Best Takeaway - Chippy - Round 5 - Smarts Fish & Chips - www.thamehub.co.uk/thames-best-takeaway-chippy-round-5-smarts-fish-chips/
Thame's Best Takeaway - Chippy - Round 6 -The Chippy - www.thamehub.co.uk/thames-best-takeaway-chippy-round-6-chippy/
Thame's Best Takeaway - Kebab - Round 7 - Atalay's Kebab Van - www.thamehub.co.uk/thames-best-takeaway-kebab-round-7-atalays-kebab-van/
Thame's Best Takeaway - Kebab - Round 8 - Patrons Pizza - www.thamehub.co.uk/thames-best-takeaway-kebab-round-8-patrons-pizza/
Thame's Best Takeaway - Pizza delivery - Round 9 - Dominos - www.thamehub.co.uk/thames-best-takeaway-pizza-delivery-round-9-dominos/
Thame's Best Takeaway - Pizza delivery - Round 10 - Patrons Pizza - www.thamehub.co.uk/thames-best-takeaway-pizza-delivery-round-10-patrons-pizza/
Thame's Best Takeaway - Indian - Round 11 - Star and Garter - www.thamehub.co.uk/thames-best-takeaway-indian-round-11-star-garter/
