Ruby Murry Recommendations!.........

[DirkGently]

I was recently back home in the UK and discovered just how much I miss a good Indian Ruby Murry on a weekend.

I have tried 3 or 4 in bangkok and found nothing worth eating. The best of the bad bunch was Mrs Bilbars.

So if any Brits can reccomend a curry house, I'll let you crack your finger through the middle of the popadoms.

[tw25rw]

I was recently back home in the UK and discovered just how much I miss a good Indian Ruby Murry on a weekend.

I have tried 3 or 4 in bangkok and found nothing worth eating. The best of the bad bunch was Mrs Bilbars.

So if any Brits can reccomend a curry house, I'll let you crack your finger through the middle of the popadoms.

Have found only authentic rather than UK style.. The one I knew has closed though..

[BigJerry]

I was recently back home in the UK and discovered just how much I miss a good Indian Ruby Murry on a weekend.

I have tried 3 or 4 in bangkok and found nothing worth eating. The best of the bad bunch was Mrs Bilbars.

So if any Brits can reccomend a curry house, I'll let you crack your finger through the middle of the popadoms.

Have found only authentic rather than UK style.. The one I knew has closed though..

I gotta say that the food I had at The Rang Mahal recently was absolutely superb, not cheap but great. I believe that they do a very good value lunch buffet on a sunday.

[DirkGently]

Where is that?

[ashacat]

This topic has been done many times recently (one of the food threads).

Anyway, I recommend the Indus restaurant on Sukhumvit soi 26. Absolutely delicious and a great atmosphere, they also do lunchtime deals.

[MSingh]

The closest to a " British " Curry that you will find is Bollywood on Soi 4, it is fantastic & the milder dishes such as Korma's & Tikka Masala's are much closer to " British " Curry's that you will find..

& trust me, i'm an expert..

[duncaw]

Rang Mahal is on the top floor of the Rembrant Hotel - Sukhumvit Soi 18. As Big Jerry says it isn't cheap but is very good.

Would also recommend Bollywood - never actually been there but have had their food delivered a number of times.

[DirkGently]

This thread may have been done, but with any food outlet the staff can change and the place can go downhill very quickly. That's why I did a new one. Plus, I am seeking reviews from Brits as they will know what a curry in the UK is like.

I'll give Bollywood a go as the Rang mahal may be a tad expensive.

Thanks chaps

[PattayaParent]

Go to India and eat a real curry then you'll never want to even hear about a "UK Curry"

[Prakanong]

Go to India and eat a real curry then you'll never want to even hear about a "UK Curry"

That reminds me of someone who said his pal could not stand the food in India and could not wait to get back to Glasgow for a "Real" curry

I loved the food in India when was there - except their version of hot and sour soup was a bit strange in the Asian fusion restaurant in Le Meridien in Bangalore - it threw my Thai colleague even more.

My Indian pal, myself and his GF ate at the food centre on the 5th floor of MBK and he enjoye the Indian food there (He is very anglophile though and has had full English and roast beef dinners with me)

Singapore colleagues have been known to take an extra bag full of noodles etc on longer trips to India but they are like that.

I will be in Birmingham later this month for just over a week - I have never sampled curry there so am looking forward to it.

[MSingh]

Go to India and eat a real curry then you'll never want to even hear about a "UK Curry"

I can only assume you have never actually done it otherwise i doubt you would have posted that ???

[Spiny]

Go to India and eat a real curry then you'll never want to even hear about a "UK Curry"

I can only assume you have never actually done it otherwise i doubt you would have posted that ???

Agree with MSingh, the best place for a curry is probably Uk, not India or anywhere else on the Sub-continent. Although Singapore has some good places. I speak from experience of having worked in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka on many occasions in the last 30 or so years.

In Bangkok the best "Uk style" curries I have found are at Pasand Sukh. Soi 12. Rang Mahal too expensive and pretentious

[palm]

I was recently back home in the UK and discovered just how much I miss a good Indian Ruby Murry on a weekend.

I have tried 3 or 4 in bangkok and found nothing worth eating. The best of the bad bunch was Mrs Bilbars.

So if any Brits can reccomend a curry house, I'll let you crack your finger through the middle of the popadoms.

Try The Face on Soi 38. The quality of their Indian food there is superb recently, as is the house it sits in.

Bawarchi (sp?) in Suk. soi 11 is also quite good. They are next to Villa Market.

[Prakanong]

Go to India and eat a real curry then you'll never want to even hear about a "UK Curry"

I can only assume you have never actually done it otherwise i doubt you would have posted that ???

Agree with MSingh, the best place for a curry is probably Uk, not India or anywhere else on the Sub-continent. Although Singapore has some good places. I speak from experience of having worked in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka on many occasions in the last 30 or so years.

In Bangkok the best "Uk style" curries I have found are at Pasand Sukh. Soi 12. Rang Mahal too expensive and pretentious

I eat a lot of Indian food here in Singapore 3+ times a week.

I find its closer to what I had in India than anything "British". I go to places in Suntec where a lot of the Indians working in IT and finance go, to a place in upper Bukit Timah Road as well as Little India on occasion.

I am not too keen on the Prata and curry or murtabak though but will eat it occasionally.

[Captain Chaos]

Go to India and eat a real curry then you'll never want to even hear about a "UK Curry"

I can only assume you have never actually done it otherwise i doubt you would have posted that ???

Nonsense - if you want a non-veg, Bengali/Bangladeshi style curry then the UK's your place, and ...

Singapore certainly has a fine collection of Indian food - from restaurants to your local hawker centre vendor - but again, it is quite often described as "North Indian Muslim food" and therefore again tends to be non-veg ... Mrs CC invariably wants a mutton muttabak from our local place , but ...

The majority of Indians are Hindu and most of them are vegetarian, so most "Indian food" will be quite different to what's available in the UK or Singapore. I worked in Mumbai for a while with a strict Jain family (ie. they were "pure veg"), and I became very partial to the veggie curries - especially black and yellow lentil ones (dhal), and some of the fried veggies (okra etc) - preferably served with bread (I liked wafer thin "romala roti") and those baked papads rather than rice for me Papads came with a plate of green chillies and some red onion on the side - perfect for Thailand veterans...

So the answer is - it depends on what you want (as usual)

Prak: I'm a Brummie although it's been several years since I've been there - you want a BALTI you do - authentically Indian? No, the dish was invented in Brum - tasty? hel_l yes, and the cheaper the restaurant usually the better - best places are in the southern suburbs of the city, say Sparkhill / Sparkbrook and are often unlicensed so "take your own" bottle - but best to go with a local to those kinds of areas if you don't know them well. Have fun...

CC

Edited March 5, 2008 by Captain Chaos

[MSingh]

Go to India and eat a real curry then you'll never want to even hear about a "UK Curry"

I can only assume you have never actually done it otherwise i doubt you would have posted that ???

Nonsense - if you want a non-veg, Bengali/Bangladeshi style curry then the UK's your place, and ...

What's nonsense about my post ?? Me assuming that the Guy hadn't been to India to try the Curry before he posted what he did ?? I think you read & took my post out of context Chaos. I am actually a bigger Fan of " UK Curry's " than i am of Curry from my Homeland if i am honest about it.

[Captain Chaos]

Go to India and eat a real curry then you'll never want to even hear about a "UK Curry"

I can only assume you have never actually done it otherwise i doubt you would have posted that ???

Nonsense - if you want a non-veg, Bengali/Bangladeshi style curry then the UK's your place, and ...

What's nonsense about my post ?? Me assuming that the Guy hadn't been to India to try the Curry before he posted what he did ?? I think you read & took my post out of context Chaos. I am actually a bigger Fan of " UK Curry's " than i am of Curry from my Homeland if i am honest about it.

I think (hope) I understood your context but frankly it does seem like nonsense to me to make that assumption - I have no idea whether PP has been to India or not but if they haven't, why would they make that post?

Being a Brit who lived & worked in Mumbai for an extended period, funnily enough I now prefer the veg curries I got there to the Anglicized versions I greatly enjoyed in the UK before ... no problem, to each his own...

Edit: spelling

Edited March 5, 2008 by Captain Chaos

[Prakanong]

CC

I will be in the university area as I am there for a course for 7 days - I do not know if I will be with locals except for the lecturer?

This will be the first time in Brum for me except for

A) Watchig Villa rip Sunderland apart 4-0 in 1980 with Peter Withe leading the charge - I once told him in the Bulls Head 33/1 about him spoiling our day out

On the way to Cardiff to watch Sunderland we got off the train at Brum and were going to spend the Friday night there but had a walk around and then got back on and stayed in Cheltenham (For some daft reason I related this obscure tale to Stevermangino's GF the other week)

PS: See how I related that to Thailand ;-))

Edited March 5, 2008 by Prakanong

[Captain Chaos]

CC

I will be in the university area as I am there for a course for 7 days - I do not know if I will be with locals except for the lecturer?

This will be the first time in Brum for me except for

A) Watchig Villa rip Sunderland apart 4-0 in 1980 with Peter Withe leading the charge - I once told him in the Bulls Head 33/1 about him spoiling our day out

On the way to Cardiff to watch Sunderland we got off the train at Brum and were going to spend the Friday night there but had a walk around and then got back on and stayed in Cheltenham (For some daft reason I related this obscure tale to Stevermangino's GF the other week)

PS: See how I related that to Thailand ;-))

Uni facilities are around Edgbaston & Selly Oak, which are close to the city centre and very well set for access to curries , other eateries, and lots of other things to do - no doubt you'll be able to get lots more up to date suggestions when you're there than I could give you now. Enjoy!

And a big gold star for your clever work in making it all Thailand-related!!!

Edit: but a big wet raspberry for mentioning the Villans in a positive fashion, as a confirmed Bluenose (City supporter) I have to tell you that they should be subjected to boos and hisses at all times

Edited March 5, 2008 by Captain Chaos

[gennisis]

I was recently back home in the UK and discovered just how much I miss a good Indian Ruby Murry on a weekend.

I have tried 3 or 4 in bangkok and found nothing worth eating. The best of the bad bunch was Mrs Bilbars.

So if any Brits can reccomend a curry house, I'll let you crack your finger through the middle of the popadoms.

For the information of all Thai Visa readers who do not hail from the UK and wonder what a 'Ruby Murray' is, may I explain that Ruby Murray was a young female Irish 'pop' singer in the 1950's who had many hit records,her first record being 'Softly Softly' and made the No 1 spot.Indeed at one time she had 7 records(they were'nt 'discs in those days} in the top 10...only to be equaled I believe by some wench named Madonna' in later years

I hope you can now see the connection between her and Birmingham eating places

[PattayaParent]

Go to India and eat a real curry then you'll never want to even hear about a "UK Curry"

I can only assume you have never actually done it otherwise i doubt you would have posted that ???

Spent 4 months in India and now I wouldn't touch a "UK curry" It's not what Indians eat at all.

[BigJerry]

Go to India and eat a real curry then you'll never want to even hear about a "UK Curry"

I can only assume you have never actually done it otherwise i doubt you would have posted that ???

Spent 4 months in India and now I wouldn't touch a "UK curry" It's not what Indians eat at all.

You raise an interesting point to us ruby enthusiasts, Indian food varies wildly in type and style throughout the country, I like it all,as I do Sri lankan food also . British curry house food can be excellent too.. just different to what you may eat in India. In conclusion if it's good it's good, what's not to like?

[MSingh]

Go to India and eat a real curry then you'll never want to even hear about a "UK Curry"

I can only assume you have never actually done it otherwise i doubt you would have posted that ???

Spent 4 months in India and now I wouldn't touch a "UK curry" It's not what Indians eat at all.

Quite a generalisation there Pattaya considering the population of India is over a Billion people & who knows how many are spread around the World, me included, especially when, as i said, i do sometimes prefer a " British Curry " than some i eat in India !!

[ashacat]

Spent 4 months in India and now I wouldn't touch a "UK curry" It's not what Indians eat at all.

Good for you for stayin there for 4 months, did you get a chance to see the Taj Mahal?

You probably know that most curry houses in the UK actually serve Bangldeshi cuisine.

Anyway, having sampled (what I have been told is) "authentic" Indian food from the Indian disctricts of places such as Dubai, KL, Penang and Singapore, I still have to say that I prefer the British style Indian.

I have the same opinion of authentic Chinese food vs Anglicised Chinese food BTW......

Edited March 6, 2008 by ashacat

[totlanh]

I gotta say that the food I had at The Rang Mahal recently was absolutely superb,

totally agree with the above statement.ate there again on sAT and its hard to find better Indian food anywhere never ming bkk.With regards to Pasands utter crap an insult to authentic indian food

[PattayaParent]

Isn't it true that the term 'curry' was invented by the British Raj? They had to alter ther taste of the Indian food to suit their western pallete (much like Thai restaurants in UK where the food tastes nothing like the same food over here).

I travelled to many different states and tasted many different types of Indian food, none were a bit like a "curry", and all were much much better.

[Prakanong]

I just went to one of the three Indian places I frequent in Suntec for lunch and am pleasanly satisfied with my meal for 6.50 Sing or about 2 pounds 50 pence

Pulao rice

Naan Bread

Yellow Daal

Cauliflower and potato curry

5 pieces of Chicken Tikka

Salad

Mint Sauce

Plain Yoghurt

Do not know if it was authentic but there were plenty of Indians eating it as usualy

[MSingh]

Isn't it true that the term 'curry' was invented by the British Raj? They had to alter ther taste of the Indian food to suit their western pallete (much like Thai restaurants in UK where the food tastes nothing like the same food over here).

I travelled to many different states and tasted many different types of Indian food, none were a bit like a "curry", and all were much much better.

I'm only playing Pattaya, at the end of the day, everyone's Food preferences differ & beleieve it or not, i prefer the less spicy Curry's hence my like for British ones & i was brought up in London too & even though Mum used to add her own spices, they were sometimes too much for me.

Curry (from Tamil: கறி) is the English description of any of a general variety of spicy dishes, best-known in Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Nepali, Indonesian, Malaysian, Thai, Chinese and other South Asian and Southeast Asian cuisines, though curry has been adopted into all of the mainstream cuisines of the Asia-Pacific region. Along with tea, curry is one of the few dishes or drinks that is truly "Pan-Asian", but specifically, its roots come from India. The concept of curry was later brought to the West by British colonialists in India from the 18th century. Dishes that are often classified as curries in Europe and America are rarely considered curries in their native countries.

The British Curry HouseCurry is eaten in almost all part of the Indian Sub-Continent and outside, namely India Bangladesh and Pakistan, it has its varying degrees of style, taste and aroma, depending on local ingredients used. Bengalis of Sylheti origin makeup only 10% of all South Asians in Britain however around 90% of all Indian restaurants in the UK and Northern Ireland are Sylheti/ Bengali owned^{[citation needed} displaying the preference British and western customers have for food of that region.^{[citation needed]}

Bengalis in the UK settled in big cities with industrial employment. In London Bengali's settled in the East End. For centuries the East End has been the first port of call for many immigrants working in the docks and shipping from east Bengal. Their regular stopover paved the way for food/curry outlets to be opened up catering for an all male workforce as family migration and settlement took place some decades later. Humble beginnings such as this gave birth to the famous curry capital of the UK^{[citation needed]}, Brick Lane

Many British people regard "going for a curry" as a satisfying outing. Restaurants that are regarded as curry houses are open to the same standards requirements as all restaurants and can be vetted by and reported to the local Health and safety department of an area. There are now many up-market "Indian Restaurants", which, while they still tend to eschew the more authentic cuisines, nonetheless apply the same high standards of food preparation.

This cuisine is characterized by the use of a common base for all the sauces to which spices are added when individual dishes are prepared. The standard "feedstock" is usually a sautéed mixture of onion, tomato, garlic and fresh ginger, to which various spices are added, depending on the recipe, but which may include: cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, chillies, peppercorns, cumin and mustard seeds^{[citation needed]}. Ground coriander seed is widely used as a thickening agent, and turmeric is added for colour and its digestive qualities.

Better-quality restaurants will normally make up new sauces on a daily basis, using fresh ingredients wherever possible and grinding their own spices. More modest establishments are more likely to resort to frozen or dried ingredients and pre-packaged spice mixtures.

Although the names may be similar to traditional dishes, the recipes generally are not.

• Korma/Kurma - mild, yellow in colour, with almond and coconut powder
  
• Curry - medium, brown, gravy-like sauce
  
• Dupiaza/Dopiaza - medium curry the word means "double onion" referring to the boiled and fried onions used as its primary ingredient.
  
• Pasand - a mild curry sauce made with cream, coconut milk, and almonds.
  
• Roghan Josh (from "Roghan" (fat) and "Josh" (energy/heat - which as in English may refer to either 'spiciness' or temperature)) - medium, with tomatoes
  
• Bhuna - medium, thick sauce, some vegetables
  
• Dhansak - medium/hot, sweet and sour sauce with lentils (originally a Parsi dish). This dish often also contains pineapple.
  
• Madras - fairly hot curry, red in colour and with heavy use of chili powder
  
• Pathia - generally similar to a Madras with lemon juice and tomato purée
  
• Jalfrezi - onion, green chili and a thick sauce
  
• Vindaloo - this is generally regarded as the classic "hot" restaurant curry, although a true Vindaloo does not specify any particular level of spiciness. The name has European origins, derived from the Portuguese "vinho" (wine) and "alho" (garlic)
  
• Phaal - extremely hot.
  
• Tindaloo - Extremely hot in a similar vein to Phaal. Generally only found around Bradford and the north in general.
  
• Afghan - with chickpeas.
  

The tandoor was introduced into Britain in the 1960s and tandoori and tikka chicken became popular dishes; Chicken Tikka Masala was said to have been invented in Glasgow by a bengali chef, when a customer demanded a sauce with a 'too dry' tikka (legend has it that the cook then heated up a tin of Campbell's condensed tomato soup and added some spices)

Other dishes may be featured with varying strengths, with those of north Indian origin, such as Butter Chicken, tending to be mild, and recipes from the south of India tending to be hotter.

Edited March 6, 2008 by MSingh

[Spiny]

I gotta say that the food I had at The Rang Mahal recently was absolutely superb,

totally agree with the above statement.ate there again on sAT and its hard to find better Indian food anywhere never ming bkk.With regards to Pasands utter crap an insult to authentic indian food

My recommendation for Pasands was based on it being close to a Uk-style curry, (chicken tikka masala for example, excellent vegetarian selections) and not because its authentic Indian food.

I particularly avoid Rang Mahal as apart from the expensive so-so food, and pretentious atmosphere, I don't like waiters hovering around and trying to serve me.

[Wolfie]

Have to admit, i loved the UK Style curries until i worked with an Indian guy for 4 years. His wife made food that was simply 'to die for' - it was as authentic as she could make it in Thailand, she has all the spices sent over from India (or brought over herself on one of her frequent visits to India) so i guess it was fairly close to what her mum would have made

Loved it all, it was totally veggie except for one chicken dish the hubby made - he was only allowed to eat meat when they were entertaining dinner guests