I've spent a considerable amount of time thinking up the excuses for my laziness. I tried blaming the gin, the change of job and the moving of house - that's right Cambridge Foodie is more of a Winchester Foodie these days, but in the end it turns out that yes, I am as lazy as I you all suspect.
The end of a long Saturday dealing with idiot customers (I could blog for days about working in customer service but I won't, just let me remind you all that if you sign a contract for a period of time, say two years, you are expected to uphold your part of the agreement i.e. paying your bills. You can't turn around and cancel just because you don't want to pay it any more).
Leaving the rage aside I shall discuss the brilliance of Mumbai Spice, a place we have been avoiding since falling in here rather drunk after a few too many martinis (I told you the gin was to blame), we decided it was time to swallow the shame and see if the food was as good as our gin-addled brains remembered. It was. Hiding rather inconspicuously in a rather 70s looking building it takes time to convince yourself that they did intend the carpet to look that bad (rather than a tragic accident with a lot of brown) but that aside the booths are rather comfortable.
Having got over the embarrassment of the owner recognising us we settled down to a perusal of the menu. Tip: Don't bother reading the menu, just have a wild stab in the dark at what kind of curry you might like and let the manager tear apart your menu choice and recommend something else. Despite trying to order a Pathia I got a curry called 'fish and aubergine', you'll be glad to know the curry was more imaginative that the name suggested - succulent white fish fillets with tasty pieces of aubergine in a fairly spicy sauce. TH attempted to order a vindaloo only to be thwarted at the last moment and instead offered a Lamb Korai - just as spicy, with a fantastic depth of flavour and a slow building heat guaranteed to surprise. I hasten to add that we were not bullied into taking these dishes, more that the manager is confident of the abilities of the kitchen staff to produce tasty food.
We were trying to fault the food but it was tricky. The prawn puri was delicious and light, the garlic rice is an excellent idea if you're not a vampire (the chunks of garlic were epic).
In short, for a non-pretentious curry at a reasonable price this is the place to go in Winchester.
