Moghul, Horsforth (December 2014)

Jingle bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg etc etc. Yes, the festive edition of curry club arrived with a trip to Horsforth for the final club of 2014. Pre-curry drinks kicked off in the Town Street Tavern, unsurprisingly located on Town Street. A superb little 'boozer' specialising in ales, the drink of choice (except for Matty who would drink Guinness stood admiring the great Pyramids of Egypt) was the 2014 Champion Beer Of Britain - Timothy Taylor's Boltmaker. And a fine drop it was too. Breaking the trend and looking to demolish himself, Broad was on the big guns, sinking pints of Erdinger as the vice banter flowed like a river -  a nod to Scatman John must be had (RIP). With the night concluding at Moghul restaurant, the group began to remember our last venture there and the age old debate of which curry was hotter - the Handi or the Jaflong. Both camps remained divided but with the dishes in question just around the corner, a conclusion was on the horizon. Moving on, we hit the new 80's bar up the street, called….err, 80's bar?! Anyway, Matty was feeling the effects of the cheeky few consumed in the afternoon as he exclaimed his displeasure with the lack of people in the bar to its staff. And with a new bar came new beers, however a swift taste of the gash 'Yardbird' led to a swapsy to the tastier Noble. Even with an empty bar, the fine 80's music still managed to get one or two up to dance like nobody was watching. Moving on, we headed over the road to the trendy Sandbar - sporting some unique Gargoyle urinals. Over the final beers, TTT pretended to be a GP with his medical advice found on the back of a beermat, and we reminisced of Gledhill's after shower dressing habits - socks on first and parade around for a bit. Needing to eliminate that vision from our minds, it was time to head to the curry house.

Moghul, Horsforth.

After finding the correct entrance (it's not confusing at all, the beers had kicked in), we were welcomed with open arms into the small, but quaint restaurant that is Moghul. As it doesn’t hold a license to serve alcohol, some fine pre-club preparation was undertaken by club host Scott in bringing along a crate of Cobra to keep the masses happy. Something which eluded TTT as later in the evening he asked the waiter for another Cobra, much to his confusion. So it was straight into the menu, which presented some great options to choose from, and the poppadoms arrived swiftly  - accompanied by an unusual pickle tray, containing 'break from the norm' sauces, like lime pickle. The order was taken by pleasant staff, with the sundries again ordered using the patented TTT 'hand towel or bath towel' methodology. And with various versions of the infamous Handi and Jaflong ordered by most members, we'd discover which would take the 'curry heat' crown for sure. Other dishes included a Chicken Tikka balti and lamb and mushroom mixed curry. Waiting for our starters, it was clear another debate was to be had - who was the most whammed between Broady and Matty. With Matty slumped in his chair, slurring and needless volume with his words, to Broady's ridiculous presidential-esque speech requesting we take pictures of our poo for the blog gas factor (something which won't be happening dear readers!), it was declared both were worthy winners.

 

Ding Ding!

The starters arrived of three mixed platters absolutely stacked with food (more than enough for 9 diners) - including battered prawns, battered chicken and burger shaped sheesh kebabs. And tasty enough it was too, although somewhat let down by the fact the prawns still had the shells on - something which was cunningly disguised by the batter. It was then on to the title bout as the mains arrived - in the red corner was the Handi, and the blue corner - the Jaflong. As the immortal Apollo Creed once said - "Ding ding". And what a contest it was, with both dishes proving to be packing some serious spice - the Handi even raising a 'this Handi is hot as sh*t!' from TTT.

What was clear though, is that although both dishes were hot, they were very tasty indeed. The heat was probably more of a theme for the restaurant as a whole, as the Chicken Balti also had a kick to it - as did pretty much everyone else's, resulting in some Raita yoghurt sauce being ordered to cool things down a bit and Broady drinking water direct from the jug. For the first time in a while there was some mumblings of 'bagging up' (no diggity, no doubt), most likely due to the volume of starters, but this was soon squashed as dishes were fully consumed and enjoyed by all.

Coming in at a more than reasonable £153, it seemed like good value - although with one man down due to illness, and no alcohol charges, it was probably on par with the rest upon reflection. So if you like a reasonable priced, spicy but tasty curry then Moghul is your place.

The journey home is worthy of note, with a joint rendition of The Carpenters classic 'We've Only Just Begun' ensuring a jovial finish to the year. Although some questions were raised and remain unanswered - firstly, why does Magic 828, with today's technology, still sound like you're listening through a glass pressed against a wall? And secondly, I've no idea how this question came about, but is legendary TV presenter and all round tanned entertainer Des O'Connor dead or alive? Quite frankly, I'm happy this one was left unanswered as its comforting to know that he could well be both over or under ground - a quandary similar to Schrödinger's cat.

A tip of the cap to our southern colleague Wheeler on the safe arrival of his daughter, and I'll sign off by wishing all a very, very…..very merry Christmas.

Cheers

Danny