Indian

Little India Restaurant

/ Tiffanie W / Leave a comment

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Ever since my brother has been having take out from Liitle India when he’s staying late at work, we’ve always wanted to dine here. He always gets Lamb Vindloo and it’s VERY SPICY! We decided to play it safe as we were going to a basketball game later that night and didn’t want any upset stomach aches.

This was an appetizer that came but it wasn’t on the menu. I’m not sure what this is, but I’ve had it before at other Indian restaurants. It’s a thin salty crisp with a side of pickled carrots.

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If I’d known my brother didn’t want to share this with me, I wouldn’t have ordered this appetizer: Vegetable Parkora. It’s 90% potatoes with onions deep fried.

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The restaurant was very dark and we didn’t have any other choice but to use lights from our smartphones to get better food photos. We ordered too much food (if you haven’t already guessed!).

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Dennis ordered himself a Lamb Rogan Josh (I have no idea how this name came to be).

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I decided to go ALL OUT.. I figured that I wouldn’t be back anytime soon. I had the Meat Combo for One, which had tandoori chicken (picture 1 below), a side of green beans (very soft and well done beans) (picture 2 below), 1/4 chicken, lamb, shrimp with this sauasage like meat and onions cooked on a hot plate (picture 3 below),  rice (picture 4 below), and a serving of naan. Mine was $20, so I thought it was a good deal, considering I couldn’t finish it. I think it would be a good dinner for 2 (there’s too much food for one person).

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Click here to go to the restaurant’s website.
*FYI 1: they have two restaurants (it’s the same) right beside each other.
**FYI 2: the restaurant smells of spices when you first walk in, so beware!
*** They have a buffet at lunch, so that might be a good idea, if you’re not sure what dishes you want to try first.

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Strand– Tandori Restaurant

/ Tiffanie W / Leave a comment

Last night in London. We asked the guy at the front desk from our hotel for nearby Indian restaurants. I don’t think that he understood what we meant. We walked to Mint Leaf and it absolutely was not what we were expecting. It was more of a let’s go to a pub/ restaurant with co-workers/ friends after a long day of work kind of place. It was dark and gave a pub-ish feel. We sat down t the bar, where we waited for our table. While sitting for a few minutes, I decided that it wasn’t how I wanted to spend my last dinner in London. I knew everyone else was uncomfortable, so I suggested we leave.

Ahh. Apparently my dad and brother wanted to try Strand, but decided not to say anything because the restaurant looked sketchy. We sat down in the small restaurant and felt much more comfortable.

I don’t remember what we all ordered so here photos from our dinner.

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All I know is that the vindaloo was equally as spicy as the one I’ve had in Toronto. It was really good. Spicy and I had to order more rice.

I think I would go back, if I ever vacation in London again. Maybe I’ll order something less hot.

Cinnamon Soho

/ Tiffanie W / Leave a comment

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If I were asked to pick one thing that I like about Europe, I answer would probably be something about the small/ unnoticed side streets that Europe has to offer. Much different compared to home, these streets aren’t concrete based, brick or stone instead. And sometimes, hidden gems are found.

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We went to Cinnamon Soho for a Sunday lunch (I had done my research on Indian restaurants prior to our trip. If I remember correctly, ). If I had known, I wouldn’t have went on a Sunday. This is because they have a limited menu on Sunday and there were items on the regular menu that we wanted to try.

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I don’t know if people were out and about, but it was really quiet when we were seated for lunch. Only two other guests came in, during the time that we ate there.

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Dad and D ordered the same starters, so the restaurant put double the starters on one plate. It consisted of an arrangement of assorted kebabs (vegetable shikampur, stir fried shrimp, tandoori salmon, chicken tikka (copied this from the menu).

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Mom and I had the same appetizers; papdi chaat, seared potato cake, steamed chickpea cake and homemade chutneys (copied from the menu). Everything was new to me. There wasn’t much (as you can see from the pictures) and I haven’t heard of these foods before. They were quite delicious, to be honest, even though I had no idea what I was eating.

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Mom and dad had the same. Braised lamb (raan slow braised leg of lamb with saffron sauce; copied from the menu).

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I had a vegetable handi (mixed vegetable ‘handi’ cooked in dum; copied from the menu). It was surprisingly good and a bit spicy. It came with rice and naan.

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D had chicken curry (home-style chicken curry on the bone with ghee rice; copied from menu).

Originally the restaurant’s Sunday lunch comes with three courses. But after whispering to each other fir a while, the restaurant owner (I’m assuming) came and told us that we could either order an appetizer and main or a starter and main for £16 (three courses for £24) (click here for the Sunday menu).

My research and reviews told me that Cinnamon Soho was one of the top ten Indian restaurants to go to in London.
My verdict? It wasn’t what I expected it to be, the food was good, but something was missing. The websites to which I found Cinnamon Soho on was talking about the food like it was too good to be true.

Click here to read my post about f&c.

HAPPY READING! : )

P.S. Click here to see my recent tweets.