UKC

Whilst we were in Manchester yesterday our taxi drive took us along Wilmslow Road and, pointing out all the ethnic restaurants and shops, told us about it being nick-named "Curry Mile".

Has anyone eaten in any of these establishments? How good are they?

In reply to mypyrex:

Good and bad really. Although it's really only half a mile long. Suppose it's a curry mile if you walk all the way down one side and up the other.

There is an urban myth that the whole thing is served by a vast underground industrial sized curry kitchen with conveyor belts and dumb waiters serving each of the establishments above.

In reply to mypyrex:

It's a pets nightmare too. Someone I went to uni with found a cats identity tag in his supper!

In reply to mypyrex:

If you want a curry at 0600 its a lifesaver!

In reply to mypyrex:

Trying to think of somewhere I have been where there is an Italian equivalent of this. Grenoble, under the Bastille? I ought to know, I lived there for a while, but memories fade.....

In reply to Skol:


Kitten tikka masala?

In reply to ThunderCat:

served with puppydoms?

In reply to ThunderCat:

Think it was 'Tiger prawn ' the cat bindaloo.

Hmmmm. Might try it somewhen although the Mrs didn't fancy it.

In reply to mypyrex:
Mostly shite ala Brick Lane East London. Its British Indian food. Probably much better than your local small town curry house. There is a few good Kebab (sheesh) places with Nan bread to die for.

The 'best' Indian restaurant in the U.K. is Diwala, south Indian vegetarian place near Euston. Cheaper than David Dickinsons fake tan.

D

In reply to mypyrex:

Have a google for "This n' That" in Schude Hill if you want a cheap, no frills curry.

In reply to mypyrex:
My middle daughter lived there while at Uni, but didn't like curries. Eventually she succumbed, and quite likes them now....

In reply to Skol:


http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/aug/18/bag-cat-heads-found-manchest...

Look at the date on the article. Used to love the Curry Mile. Won't be going back.

E

In reply to Dauphin:

Nah, its the shimla spice in Keighley. Just had the desi lamb multani, wow. ..

I lived in Manchester for 3 years, none of the curries came close to the shimla, or the aagrah in Shipley. Bradford and its surrounds- curry capital of the UK...

Cheers

Gregor

In reply to ThunderCat:

There is a couple of places like that in Schude Hill/Northern Quarter. Not bad. Rice N Three in Bolton is worth a mention. Essentially North Indian tandoori /Pakistani food, meat heavy, and nothing compared to the delicate, fragrant and meticulous cuisine of South Indian chefs.

D

In reply to Skol:

Whilst a student I once came accross the head and skin if a cat with all its insides removed in a back alley behind the curry mile, inevitably we joked about how it had come to be there and where the rest of it had ended up. That was over 20 years ago so it seems its still going on.

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:

I've got to disagree. Bradford curry houses are generally terrible including the much fabled Kashmir. Agraah, I've eaten in Leeds and almost walked out it was that bad.

D

In reply to Enty:

That is a pawling

In reply to pec:

That's just about the time when the cat from Coronarion Street went missing from the title scenes!

In reply to Dauphin:



the kashmir is rubbish. cheap curries on plastic plates

re the leeds aagrah, maybe it doesnt travel well...



shipley one is the original

shimla, aagrah, mumtaz, akbars all good. i'm from glasgow, and always thought glasgow curries were the best (the ashoka in particular), but have to admit bradford shades it

anyway, its not just me, its official...



http://www.currycapitalofbritain.org.uk/previous-winners/

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:

From Glasgow.
Jags fan
Like curries
Called Gregor.


Were you once a Police cadet . . . .?

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:

Hungryhouse sponsor it. Voted for by lashed up idiots at 01.30.

D

In reply to coinneach:

not me...

and those four criteria cant narrow it down *that* much...



gregor

ps poor show against the dons this aft- the 'promising' start to the season seems a long time ago already...

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:

Sorry . . .

I'm a jags fan from Glasgow who used to frequent Firhill with a guy called Gregor and then have curries after the game.


HE was also a Police cadet!

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:

Oh . . . . . And not being in relegation trouble ( yet ) IS a promising start to the season.

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:


Some of the curry houses in Great Horton used to insist that you pay before you saw the meal, let alone eat it!


Yes and a fine establishment too. My mum always wanted to know how they made the Kashmiri kebabs. The owner invited her down one Saturday and gave her an individual masterclass. All the kebabs she made, she was allowed to take home, and they were great as well.

In reply to Dauphin:

that cant be right- no one in Bradford knows how to use a computer...

In reply to sbc_10:



thats pretty special...

i used to live just up the hill from it- even now, although i'm out past keighley, i still make the trip back for the buffet, can't be beat...

cheers
gregor

In reply to coinneach:

havent been to firhill for 5 years now



absolutely *have* to get there this season, and revel in being the second side in glasgow...

here's to the hope of a third year in the top flight!

cheers
gregor

In reply to Dauphin:


Best curry I ever had was a veg curry from a Tibetan place close to Euston. Beautifully fragrant, every piece of veg seemed to be individually flavoured with different spices. Thirty years ago, wonder if it's still there?

In reply to mypyrex:

Manchester's good (well, the Withington curry area), but I'd offer Leicester as the real place to savour authentic Indian (Bangladeshi etc) cuisine).

http://www.currycapitalofbritain.org.uk/cities/leicester/


The Narborough Road takes a bit of beating when it comes to the quality of curry emporia within such a small area

In reply to aln:

Diwani is 43 years old. I'll have a gander tomorrow to see if any Tibetan place exists.

D

In reply to mypyrex:

TBH 20 years ago it was really 'The Curry mile'... more recently that has changed and there are probably as many Middle Eastern restaurants as Indian ones... still quite a few decent curry houses on the mile, though ..so give a go, M8 !

In reply to Skol:


Racist!

In reply to stroppygob:


Eh?

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:

The Wee Curry Shop in Buccleuch St, maintains our standing

In reply to aln:

I was joking with Skol, hence the winky.

In reply to mypyrex:

I spent a year living just up from there in 1998-1999. They're a mixed batch, though you can get a lot of reasonable curry for very little money there, the main business being aimed at students. Spicy Hut was always a favourite, though it's been a while since I went there.

Neil

In reply to Dauphin:

Yeah been there, it's excellent, though I'm damned if I can remember exactly where it is!

Neil

In reply to Neil Williams:

Drummond Street.

D

In reply to Enty:



Why do you highlight that?


My interpretation of the article is that the investigators believe it to be a set-up. Speculative on my part I know.

In reply to mypyrex:

The curry mile is generally shite, relying on people coming by the bus load to visit"the curry mile". You want to get down to Gurkha Grill in Withington; tis amazing.

In reply to Blue Straggler:


Because it was less than 2 weeks ago so a coincidenc that Mypyrex asked the question.


You're right, there's no way it could ever have been linked to local eating establishments so in the name of social cohesion and racial harmony I shall retract my statement. Sorry for even daring to link the two

E

In reply to Enty:


As this article suggests, extremely unlikely, for reasons of common sense rather than PC motives.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/11041594/Cat-heads-found-in-bi...

The rusholme cat thing has always had the hallmarks of an urban myth... the cat tag one doing the rounds with every influx of students. The curry houses get cheap wholesale meat through bulk buying. It makes no sense to go to the trouble of catching, killing, skinning and leaving the bodies out for someone to find.... when there's not much meat on a cat and apparently it tastes quite unique.

In reply to Dauphin:


I think the standard British-Pakistani menu is now a bit tired compared to other ethnic foods we have (inc South Indian) and the general improvement in British and European cuisine over the years.

In reply to Mike Stretford:
Last time I had curry on the curry mile was just that. The last time. If someone at some point did sneak a cat tag into a mates curry then IMHO that is incredibly witty. As for the best curry house in Britain ? You re all wrong . Mother India in Glasgow is untouchable. If we re choosing where to go and see a band Newcastle , Manchester , Glasgow are all about the same drive for us, I always choose Glasgow . We then have the same conversation just before we go where the wife has found some new place on the net , authentic Uzbek camel herder kitchen or someat, that she really wants to try. I then sulk all the way there until she gives in .

In reply to ThunderCat:

Totally agree with this.

This and That is a real authentic place but not fancy.

Curry Mile is for the tourists and drunken fck wits.

In reply to stroppygob:


Don't like ginger cats either!

In reply to mike123: Yeah I've been to Mother India Edinburgh, it's the best I've had. I live in Manc and wouldn't consider curry mile for a number of reasons, but there's loads of restaurants there so I'd assume 1 or 2 must be ok.

Mancs... is Great Khatmandu still good? Thinking of heading over now I'm tram connected.

In reply to Skol:
Other cats ok though eh? Don't like ginger humans?

In reply to Mike Stretford:

Boo! stop being sensible.

E

In reply to Greenbanks:




Can anyone recommend a curry house in Leicester please. Hoping to make a trip in a couple of weeks.

In reply to I can eat 50 eggs:



I think CAMRA recommends "this n' that" as well. Which gives it the thumbs up in my book

In reply to mypyrex:


Most of them. When a previous girlfriend was at university there we worked our way down one side of curry mile and back up the other.

Decent curries, astoundingly cheap. However not fantastic curries, for that you need to go to Bradford

In reply to Mike Stretford:




Yes, the food is still great though it has lost a lot of it's charm since more than doubling in size.

In reply to galpinos:

You Mancs are having a laugh. The best curry house is the Kismet, Burslem, Stoke on Trent

In reply to Dauphin:


Dunno about the UK, but for my money Diwala isn't even the best in London! Rasa N4, Tayyabs and Mirch Masala in Whitechapel and Jai Krishna and Jai Shri Krishna in Finsbury Park and Turnpike Lane respectively are better, and I suspect there are even better places if you started digging seriously in Stratford, Tooting, Wembley etc...

In reply to Ramblin dave:

Turnpike lane place not bad. The one on Stroud Green road despite living around the corner for years I've never been in. Whitechapel, Bangladeshi food. Not a fan of the western version. I've eaten great food there and east India, particularly fish and incredible pickles.

D

In reply to mypyrex:
IMHO the best place on the curry mile is the Punjab. South Indian food, and used to be 100% veggie. They do all the standard curry house dishes, but you need to look beyond them. They do fantastic thalis where you get lots of little dishes and the dhosas are awesome. My fave is the paneer tikka starter, big lumps of paneer done in the tandoor.

As a general rule of thumb, any place with lots of brightly coloured sweets in the window is a good bet. At least one person can cook, as can be seen from the sweets. As they serve the local asian population with authentic sweet treats, their curries and samosas are usually good as well.

Notable mentions go to Tib St curry houses, there are several in that area, This 'n' That included, but I prefer the Yadgar for rice and 3.

If you're in London, Drummond St next to Euston is great for veggie south Indian food. If you go at lunch time there are 3 places that do a good buffet for a reasonable price.

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:





We must have the same taste buds. jalfrezi from the Shimla or the buffet at the aagrah cannot be beaten IMHO.

In reply to mypyrex:

Mrs Num Num and I always say that for the authentic taste of the Punjab, you can't beat a good Vesta. We normally have it with chips and coke.

In reply to birdie num num:

I'm currently typing naked.