Following a few keen recommendations, solicited and otherwise, and also since we once intended to go here before but got side tracked by MIAH’s, fate finally brought us to the front door of the Kathmandu Kitchen – and this time we went in. First impressions were, I have to say, slightly tepid with the Snakey brew standing lonely on top of the bar informing us that, in all likelihood, it would be Cobra on draft. I think the interior could be best described as ‘traditional’ with a retro ambiance.
A fairly empty Thursday night, but the ‘KK’ is certainly on the side of high capacity but with a spacious feel.

Our waiter for the first part of the evening arrived swiftly and with Nepalese politeness and smiles delivered ‘wipe clean’ menu’s and a beer/wine list. A good selection of beers beyond just the draft Cobra so a bottle of the excellent Ghurkha beer was duly ordered – which of course they didn’t have and were ‘waiting for delivery’, personally I reckon ‘Godot ‘ will be getting there first. Bottled cobra though is still an adequate contender and gladly taken given the potential alternative of the Birdy-brew…

Anyway, fairly minimal menu which hopefully suggested quality over quantity in the feast to come. Nothing wrong with the popadums and dips so on to the starter. A slight own-goal then when my tikka portion (served with trad lettuce and tomato salad) was disappointing small even by novelle cuisine standards (which this wasn’t either) but at least it was well cooked which is more than can be said for the onion bhaji’s which were greasy and soggy in the middle. Not a great success.
Still, undeterred the mains arrived at a good pace. A fairly tasty chicken biriani with a good vegetable curry as a side. Next a new one, lamb rogan jalfreezi-max, least that’s what it tasted like and not what was ordered. The sweat spices and robust tomato were completely destroyed by a killer hot chilli flavour. Really not good and mostly left uneaten. Breads were ok, if a little dry in the case of the roti.

By this time Bret had had enough and Randdy definitely hadn’t. A quick check over the desert menu for quality assurance purposes (yes there was Kulfi and the ubiquitous penguin thing) and trip to the lavy-loo (which failed the QA test on account of the seat being displaced from the bowl by a goodly distance) was all that was required for making a fair assessment of our curried fare. It was quite cheap which is possibly why we by-passed it before in our search for excellence in spice.
The KK wasn’t really bad, it just wasn’t very good and ultimately preferable to a night out with the KKK (not that I would advocate that as any sort of bench-mark). Perhaps we were unlucky and another day might be different but I don’t think we will be rushing back in a hurry to find out.

RD

Randdy Dogoe, after some consideration, gave this establishment 50 marks
Bret Myri, with due care and attention to detail, voted a full 52 points for this restaurant

As a keen golfer the term hidden gem means one of two things. Either the golf course is in a field in the middle of nowhere and it’s really, really good or its clearly signposted very poor quality and you wished you had never found it. The Sultan Balti Palace is most certainly a hidden gem, but which type????
First clue to the outcome of this ramble is that the bhuna review team stumbled across this curry purveyor quite by chance. Having decided that Wokingham needed another review we parked at one end of town and strolled around to see what we fancied. Several reasonable looking places some with many patrons and others holding auditions for the next Marie Celeste movie. Only the solitary sad looking lookout with his face pressed against the window. Not that the Marie Celeste had any windows in its crows nest, but then again i dont expect any of the crew where from Chittagong so wouldn’t have needed any double glazing to keep warm.Then as if by magic the clearly signed “S ltan B ti P l c ” came into view. The missing letters in the signage only adding to its ability to hide itself, right in the middle of Wokinghams market square. Rich instantly started looking up the restaurants stock price on the FTSE, until we pointed out that it wasn’t a public limited company but just missing its aae.Anyway onwards and upwards, the plc is situated in and above a pub, usually a good sign for thirsty travellers but with no one drinking or eating downstairs we were worried disaster may be a foot.

Climbing the stairs on the way in we failed to spot the devilish grin of an ex prime minister shaking hands with a cheerful restaurateur, it may have been enough to turn anyone away but we are hardy souls and we pushed on. Greeted warmly at the top of the stairs we expected to be seated at one of the many ominously empty tables in the well arranged restaurant, however “follow me sir” and off we went through a previously unseen door at the back.Were we that dubious looking to think that we had to be seated at the place furthest from the door, did they think Rich could really run away with his stout frame just to get out of paying. No!!! It was obviously “spirit of the blitz” night at the balti palace. 20 diners all crammed into a 10ft square area, with candles on the table. A couple were gracious enough to stand so we could move our table out to sit down and we shuffled our chairs under so that we only just banged elbows with everyone else in the room.Looking around large portions of very nice smelling food were appearing at other diners tables and confidence started to rise that something special might be coming.

Popadoms and Beers followed swiftly along with our choice of mixed starters, which all were very tasty. Small portions of onion bahjiiii, chicken tikka and the obligatory lump of lamb product.Main courses, the traditional CTM and chicken bhuna were both fantastic, Ranndddyy went slightly off piste with a house special lamb dish, it was really well cooked but he was disappointed as if he had stayed with his usual it probably would have been nicer.Choices of half an orange or a punky penguin for dessert and mints with Balti Palace written on them tipped off a really great feed.

Overall opinion on the food is order anything because it will be good. Huge Naan breads and good service, the only negative being crammed in at the back of an otherwise empty restaurant.Then it gets better!!!!!!!!!!!!!15% off the bill midweek, around £40 for 3 people 3 courses and copious amounts of larger……….you just cant go wrong.
Todays top tip……………if your hungry and you can find it ………go to the SultanBaltiPalace.
Rich Rebrys (Guest Reviewer) rated this restaurant 80
Bret Myri scored this establishment 75
Randdy Dogoe gave this restaurant 70
BM

What could be better than a traditional Sunday lunch ??  Being invited to Sunday lunch by DJ Surge – eon and his Ciphr posse.  Having survived most Friday nights in down town Sutton the Daruchini buffet seemed like child’s play to the Ciphr crew and they descended en masse to downtown Binfield for a monster feed.

Bret Myri was delighted to tag along and participate in this splendid occasion but as a seasoned veteran of such occasions was slightly wary of what was in store. Most people know the first rule of “Fight Club”. However everyone should be taught at birth the first rule of Indian dining NEVER EAT THE BUFFET.

As soon as the local men women and children were escorted to a safe distance away, DJ surge – eon held court in the illustrious darunchini of Binfield town. Some were heard to remark how close the décor was to the playboy club but we all know the faux wood panelling and red window blinds were just the cheap way to cover up 50 years of pub toilet in the corner where we sat.

Poppadum’s and the never fail Bangla soon arrived and the bon viveur continued. After perusing the menu for approx. 10 seconds we all decided that the “special” buffet was in order as Alzheimer’s had clearly set in all round, forgetting the first rule.

Starters were actually a treat and the highlight of this dining occasion. Chicken tikka, onion bhajis, samosas and madras sauce brightened the mood even more and a selection of each was eased down by all. More Bangla and it was back up for main course. The sensible diner would have chosen the exit door at this stage and maybe gone for a KFC on the drive home, but one by one we all broke the golden rule and forced our stomachs to digest Lamb madras and chicken naga. It has to be said this will be the only time in many people lives that Chicken Naga can be consumed with no fear of reprisal the next day. Bland curry gravy would be the best description and I pity the young child who spends their formative years eating this dish.  As soon as they venture out at 17 with their mates giving it the large one about “Chicken Naga eat it all the time, bring it on” they are going to get such a rude awakening, sweats and probably a visit to A and E.

Fortunately for us, the Ciphr posse were living it large and the disappointment of breaking the golden rule being just desserts in reality.  Going home having learnt the two golden rules of Sutton made up for the food let down and everyone eagerly awaits the next adventure.

BM

Bret Myri scores this establishment – NIL POINT IT’S A BUFFET YOU IDIOT!!!!!!

What could be more exciting than the annual bhunareview xmas party??? The induction of new regular reviewer A.K.A Gourmet Ghandi or more likely perhaps a trip to Spicy World??

Unsure if you want a chinese or indian meal, even Bret and Randy sometimes consider eating out a good looking Chinese but go to Spicy world and it’s the best or worst of both worlds. Upon entering you think you have done a Mr Benn and walked through the wrong door and come out somewhere unexpected, however you have entered Spicy World an interior decorators fusion of Chinese and Indian restaurant. After a small amount of research we discover that Spicy World used to be Dim T and even the mighty google still thinks it is, pleasant waiting staff escorted us to our table and tempted us with a huge menu promising among other things the sacred Bangla beer.

Yet again appearances can be deceptive and they were in this case, no Bangla available so we had to settle for the trusty Cobra. The menu has to be worth a second mention as it offered a comprehensive selection of Indian and Nepalese cuisine, would also advise you to not drop it on your foot as it is a weighty tome. A fine selection of Indian food from all regions was an unexpected surprise and we quickly selected some Southern Indian delicacies to follow on from a standard selection of traditional starters.

This is where Spicy world really comes into its own……..it’s SPICY. Very well cooked larger than standard portions were enjoyed by all, the choice of medium rather than hot has to be emphasised as what little hair Gourmet Ghandi has left was swiftly burnt away by the potency of his Lamb Madras. Madras is considered on the medium scale by all our trusty reviewers but this and the coconutty Chicken Ceylon were both on the highly spiced side of potent. Need to clear the fresh snow from the front of the restaurant maybe??, then just a few drops of either dish on the pavement and no snow will be left, possibly no pavement. It has to be said they were nice but Spicy World by name Spicy World by nature.

Randy chuckled his way through his new standard dish of Chicken Biryiani as his two fellow diners sweated a few pounds.  That is just about where the humour ended though as main course finished a nice cold dessert was in order to polish us off. NONE, NONE, NONE not even a sniff, Bret’s subtle hint of “how about some ice cream” was easily rebuffed by the waiter and the spicy bill followed swiftly. Yet again appearances were deceptive, as the price also turned out to be heavily on the spicy side.

All in all Spicy World just wasn’t what it seemed, the only thing guaranteed is SPICE

BM

Randdy Dogoe gave this restaurant 47

Bret Myri scored this establishment 43

A.K.A Gourmet Ghandi rated this eatery 51

After several months of “shall we shan’t we” Bret and Randdy decided they had to revisit the curry house unaffectionately known as “The SUB”. If you haven’t worked out why it was called “The SUB” then you really should get out more.

The standard has spruced up its website, with pictures of its mobile charcoal tandoori oven which is always a winner at any family gathering. Once inside an expansive, easy wipe clean menu is placed before you and on first inspection the 10 different beers on offer all seem very tempting. The bad news for our thirsty reviewers was that 8 of these were out of stock, and if the birdy brew on draught was all they had to offer we would have been making a swift exit. The good news was large bottles of cobra were quick to arrrive with slightly stale popadoms and a selection of dips.

The menu really did provide a great deal of different options and a standard special and Chicken Bhuna were ordered to follow our bahji’s and Lamb Choila. I never knew Koala’s were made of lamb but very tasty indeed, bhajis were also of a good quality and our apprehensiveness of our night out was starting to wane.

The Standard uses its own blend of spices to create a slightly different taste to the normal curry experience and they have to be applauded for differing from the norm to provide a slightly different experience.

Top quality main courses and more cobra slid down and the only real downside was a slight lack of quality service. Rather than being on hand for all your dining needs they kept their distance and only approached when summoned, not really a downside but could be viewed as a plus point if you wanted to hold an important business meeting at 8pm on a Tuesday night. More wipe clean desert menus followed and the obligatory ice cream for Bret and liquer coffee for Randdy topped of a very good meal all round.

No towels but delicious mints and a low bill really made this VFM.

In short the “SUB” may even be renamed the “Slightly Above”??????

BM

Randdy Dogoe gave this restaurant 66

Bret Myri scored this establishment 72

The elegantly fronted Thali Thali beckons in the curry hungry punter like a topless Siren singing some top bhangra tunes. First impressions are good…however, first impressions don’t last long. Walking into Thali Thali is a bit like finding yourself in the galley of a roll-on roll-off ferry. The narrow seating arrangement is however made to feel ostensibly spacious by deployment of a massive mirror all along one side of the wall. So impressive and out of place was this mirror that I expected the waiters to start on an aerobics routine at any moment. Fortunately they didn’t. Unfortunately at this point we also noticed the bar and a lonely Kingfisher phallus pump which was the sign of the feared ‘birdy brew’ on draught. A quick peer behind the bar however revealed copious bottles of cobra and this was where we made our second mistake (the first being to go in) which was to not see the Bangla hidden behind…

Anyway, what you don’t realise until half way through the meal (when you see someone else has a Bangla and you don’t) can’t really hurt. Beers and popadums arrived swiftly along with a curious pickle selection. Mango chutney (check), minty yoghurt (check), chopped onion selection (check), Old Elpasso Tex-Mex sauce (hang on!). For some reason the traditional completely undippable lime pickle had been substituted for some bizarre brown goo which would go better with barbequed spare-ribs. Contemporary cuisine? Fusion food? Or put them both together and get Confusion cuisine.

Starters turned up just about as the last popadum was cleared. A rather disappointing lamb kebab with ‘spice’ but not flavour. However, the chicken tandoori was all the more interesting for not being fully cooked. Through the art of ventriloquism and mime the chef explained (via the waiter) that it was cooked, only the red bits were sinew (tasty delicacy I was previously unaware of) so not technically meat and very unlikely to give you a dose of the screaming abdabs/a normal bowel movement depending on the proximity of your bench mark to the southern continent. The salad in both cases was reassuringly ‘traditional’ and we left them for the next lucky punters to cast their admiring eyes-over too.

Mains were sadly not tending towards excellent either. A lack of  roti on the menu meant for the selection of a slightly greasy parantha. The Gosht Rogan Josh was rather disappointing – nice quality lamb but a dreadful gravy of a sauce and not a tomato in sight. The Murg Jhalfreji (menu spelling) was admittedly hot but tasted of raw chilli and had no real depth of flavour.

Desert was done and bore the semi-frozen sugary kite mark of approval. Sadly though no towels and just a small chocy to send us on our way. Not even the offer of a cheeky night cap and judging by the sizeable bill it would’ve been more than covered – each… a few times over.

Thali Thali, presumably the owners thought it so good they named it twice (or it’s twice as expensive as it would be if they just called it Thali). However, on this showing it wouldn’t matter if they called it Thali Thali Thali or indeed Tora Tora Tora as we don’t have the kamikaze mentality and you wouldn’t get these reviewers coming back in a hurry.

Randdy Doggoe grudgingly gave this establishment 55 points

Bret Myri adopted a pragmatic approach and awarded 56 points