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| Every so often a girl just has to get
together with her best mates and set the world to rights, and this was
one such night. A serious catch-up should never be undertaken without plentiful
supplies of food and drink, so we decided to stage our first “Summit” of
2003 at Royal Spice. The latest Indian restaurant to make its mark in the
city. |
| We booked for 8pm even though we were
early we were shown directly and courteously to our table, which was beautifully
laid out with gleaming silver ware and fresh freesias. |
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| Opened last year, Royal Spice occupies
the site previously home to Planet Pappadam. The location is all it shares
with its predecessor. Royal Spice is a very modern restaurant, with the
accent heavily on the contemporary staples of steel, glass and sleek wooden
flooring, with subdued lighting and music more reminiscent of The English
Patient than any Bollywood classis. And not a flocked wall in sight. |
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We were equally enamoured
by our first courses of Chicken Tikka, King Prawn Puree and Onion Bhaji.
Generous portions meant we could all dive into each other’s dishes
and pronounce the chicken succulent, the bhaji wonderfully moist and the
puree nice and spicy. The Chicken Tikka was served at the table off sizzling
griddle plate and was impressive enough to interrupt Summit 2003 and raise
admiring looks from fellow dinners.
The service was discreet throughout and we noticed how quickly tables are
re-laid as diners departed, keeping the restaurant clean and welcoming
for new patrons. |
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| Our main courses arrived
at just the right interval after our first courses had been removed.The
chicken Pasanda was deliciously sweet and creamy, although not overbearing
and – no mean feat here – is now my preference over a korma.The
Chicken Rogan was juicy, with plenty of tomatoes and spices to complement
the meat, while the Chicken Tikka Biriani with a side dish of Korma sauce
was pronounced by Amber to be the best she had ever eaten. Accompaniments
of Sag Aloo, garli Nan and a Paratha didn’t let the side down either – the
Nan was light and fluffy and the Sag Aloo laden with spinach. The Paratha,
a vegetable stuffed bread, was a new dish to me and not to my plate but
there still wasn’t much left at the end of the night! We simply had
no room for deserts, where the accent was firmly on fruit, with palate-quenching
mango Delight and Melon Sunrise just two of the offerings. Instead we settled
for Caribbean coffees, with just enough alcohol in them to sir us from
our full – stomached lethargy. Our meal was at an end but the night
was young as far as the city was concerned. |
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| And the outcome of our ‘summit’? Royal
Spice had ensured our tastebuds were kept as lively as our conversation,
so when we left the restaurant some four hours later it was with a firm
resolution – to return. |
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