Friday night was always Balti Cuisine night. It wasn't the
most upmarket place - just a regular balti house. But it had the advantage
of being just 20 minutes walk from home, you could take your own drinks,
was run by Ali (who knew how to look after us) and served great big portions
of truly delicious curry at decent prices. The menu was full of dishes
you would never find anywhere else - Pepes, Chom Chom, Khas, Shimm etc.
They all were served full of chicken tikka pieces and all had their own,
unique flavours. The Balti Cuisine is one of the reasons that I am
now Fat Mark! A Balti Cuisine curry washed down with 4-5 pints of
Strongbow on a Friday night set me up for the weekend.
Then it was gone... Just before Christmas 2000 an advert in the
local paper caused me great concern. "Spice Valley Balti - Under
New Management", it said. And the address was that of the Balti Cuisine!
It's too early to say if The Spice Valley will find a place in my heart.
It's gone upmarket, doesn't give you free popadums and, most of all, doesn't
cook all those familiar dishes I'd come to love. God, I don't even
care if I miss my Friday Night Curry! Ali, if you're out there reading
this - PLEASE COME BACK!
