After a month long hiatus, involving a curry 'away day' to
Reds True Bbq (which is a must for all meat lovers by the way!), the club was
back for another season with founding member Liam 'Glen' Gledhill at the helm
for the opening round - ding ding. And it was back with a vengeance, hosted on
a Saturday night thanks to busy diaries ruling out the usual Thursday's. Club
member Vinny Vine was still an absentee however, which left the door open for a
special guest appearance from Andy 'G' Graham (again I hear you cry - when is
he going to be bite the bullet and become a member!).
The 'top end' of Leeds centre was the destination for the
night, where premium ales and beers are king - ask for a Carling and you shall
be laughed away by the trendy sorts. The strong beers flowed well, along with
the laughs, and Matty certainly enjoyed the rotation system on the comfy
lounger at the back of North Bar!
With the
Froch/Groves bout in our minds we headed for our final stop for pre-curry
drinks. Establishments with a screen are rare in those parts so choice was limited
- but not so limited that we only stayed in one urine scented hole for 20
seconds. All was not lost as The Templar catered for our needs and had the bonus of
a mean Right Said Fred working behind the bar, but I wouldn’t have said that to
their faces…..Broady! One controversial decision later and it was off for our own
main event - curry time.
Akbars - Eastgate, Leeds
The Eastgate branch of Admiral Akbars was Glen's choice -
"our tongues can't repel flavours of that magnitude!" - and it was
certainly busy with diners despite our later than usual arrival, but pleasingly this
did not deter a friendly welcome by the staff. Drinks ordered, with a determined
Broady wishing to add some romance to the event via a bottle of
Shiraz, it was then time to select our food. Lamb Chops & Fish Masala
starters, Lamb Paneer & Akbar e-balti mains proved popular choices but
perhaps the best order for some time by a curry club member was Broady's
oxymoron selection of Korma with a side of chopped chillies. Disappointingly, the 'Chef's
Challenge' was left alone. The starters arrived swiftly and the full cod sized
Fish Masala was very tasty indeed. Between courses it was noted an adjacent
table had birthday celebrations which got them a free ice-cream sundae - and so
of course prompted us to celebrate my fictional birthday in hope of the same result. With
our fraudulent dessert plan underway, the mains arrived and again the food was
tasty, although the 3 gents eating the Lamb Paneer all agreed it was a tad on
the spicy side. That being said, the table was full with satisfied diners when
finished including Broady, who had somehow managed to throw his chilli-filled
korma all over his body. Curry done, Shiraz gone, beers supped, we sat back and
watched our deception come to fruition as the waiters served a large ice-cream
sundae to a chorus of happy birthday - back of the net! Or so we thought as
Glen tells me they charged him £5 for it. Still, with a bill coming to £158 for
8 diners, beers, a bottle of Shiraz and a gilded dessert - the value for money
was quite good.
All in all, a messy affair (literally in one members case) but
highly enjoyable evening and no signs or reports of
a bad 'gas factor'....but a few sore heads I imagine. Until next time…
Thanks
Danny
