Nawaab Khan, Oakwood, North East Leeds. (July 2014)

July's club instalment was the last of the current season and saw its members head to pastures new in the form of Nawaab Khan in Oakwood, North East Leeds. Due to its location, pre-curry drinks were limited to just a few establishments and so club host Vinny Vine-Ripened Tomatoes called The Roundhay as a starting point. Needless to say, this public house is nice and cosy……..if you're Hannibal Lecter. Once I'd negotiated the particularly tricky card machine, the gents sat and enjoyed a beer over discussions on the forthcoming Le Tour De France, kick-starting in our very own Yorkshire hometown. With Matty managing to bag a few tickets for the VIP Team Sky section in Harrogate, there was hope of meeting a celebrity or two from the sporting world - like Bradley Wiggins for example, not Dick and Dom - as suggested by Temple! Feeling surprisingly comfortable in our surroundings, we had another beer as the pub quiz began - and Lister unwittingly became the glamorous quiz hosts assistant, helping out with some tricky words. Finishing our drinks just before Lister signed contracts for a weekly appearance, we headed on up the road to Preston Bar. A trendy café bar serving an eclectic mix of beers meant that Scott was briefly shunned at the bar for people giving off a more 'bohemian' vibe, much to his dissatisfaction. Gledhill took it upon himself to sink Erdinger in this joint, which was clearly a mistake when later in the evening he mistook a mirror as another room. Moving on, the final 'watering hole' was the Stew & Oyster where some club members were suckered in to a pint of 'Sun beam' by its very name, suggesting it was a light summery ale - only to find it was more like 'Moon beam' or even 'thick, dark, turd beam'. Time to wash that taste out of our mouths with a curry.

Nawaab Khan, Oakwood, North East Leeds.

Blazing Squad

The Nawaab Khan had the most promising of starts when the waiter greeted the club by offering to take a photo of the group outside the restaurant - worthy of OK Magazine I'm sure you'll agree. Escorted to our seats, we were handed our menus, which thanks to their 2 inch width meant some tight 'finger blasting' was required. Wayyyyyy - cue laddish chuckling at finger blasting. Anyway, back on point. At this moment, the club noticed the staff were eager to get closed and didn’t mind making subtle (or not so) hints that this was the case, so things felt a little rushed for our liking. This was only underpinned by the shortage of poppadoms to share amongst the group, which was a shame considering the pickle trays were like cauldrons. The mixed platters arrived for starters and again the club was still left wanting, but on this occasion it was probably down to club host Vinny not ordering enough for the whole group to enjoy a good feed. Thrifty or careless? Anyway, the starters in all honesty were ok but not world beating regardless and the group awaited the mains as Scott regaled his tales from Venice including a proposal to his better half. Congratulations Scott. 

King of the King Prawn, Vinny continued to stick with his tried and tested order - this time in Bhuna form, along with the Duke of Paneer Listep, although he protested "it's got chicken in it this time". There is no judgement from the club. A clear step up from the underwhelming starters, all mains were consumed joyfully - "the chicken and cheese is lovely" hails the Duke, and another highlight being the Multani chicken, just the right balance of creamy and spicy for those who like the middle of the road. Unfortunately, as our bowls were nearing emptiness the impatient staff began hoovering and threatened closure. It is perfectly understandable wanting to close when the late hour arises, but perhaps they shouldn’t have taken a 10.45pm booking in the first instance if they could not give their diners their A game. Anyway, a more than reasonable price slightly made up for the poor service in what was otherwise a nice curry.

And the night didn’t end here for most members. The local taxi supposedly on its way, the group decided to head back to the Roundhay for a cheeky beer whilst we waited, but alas it was closed. As time ticked on, the group grew increasingly concerned by the man staring through the Roundhay's windows in classic stalker pose and so shuffled subtly further down the road away from said predator. Stranded on a lonely road where it seemed no taxis dare drive, and those that do dare not pick up people, we entertained ourselves to mask our frustrations and contemplated a night in Gipton Woods as an hour ticked on by. A few calls made to the taxi who was 'just heading up our road now' we at last managed to flag our saviour and decided against waiting any longer for the taxi that was clearly coming from Zimbabwe. Needless to say, the next day was difficult and resulted in delayed 'gas factor'. Although Vinny reported early indicators, the morning provided false hope that was soon 'pebble-dashed' by the early afternoon.

With the season over, the books are open for new blood and after brief debate the rules remain unchanged, after all the rules are the rules, just as the balls are the balls. The curry club shall reconvene after July's 'away day' meat club. Until then.

Cheers

Danny