Pride of Asia, 207 Mile End Road, London, E1 4AA

I have reviewed the Pride of Asia twice in the past.  First I reviewed it when it was a decent quality Indian restaurant and I reviewed it again when it turned into a rather expensive chicken shop.

 

Last year the grill was taken out altogether and the Pride of Asia turned into a buffet restaurant and take away.  For £7.99 a head you can eat all the curry you want.

 

The quality of food is certainly better than any other outlet selling curry in Stepney with the possible exception of the hayfield masala when a decent chef is working there.  In the pride of Asia, the food is consistently good.  There are usually 2 starters, a veggie and a meat starter, with 3 lamb curries, 3 chicken curries, a chickpea dish, a mixed vegetable curry, spicy potatoes and often a fish curry.

 

Yesterday for example the starters were spicy chicken pieces and vegetarian samosas.  On other days there are sheek kebabs vegetarian spring rolls or Alu Tikka.

The mains were jalfrezi, korma and Bhuna available in both chicken and lamb.

 

The curries are generally well flavoured with plenty of meat.  While I do think ground spices are used rather than fresh spices on some occasions, the curries do have a home   taste about them.  These curries are more like standard Asian curries rather than some of the rich creamy curries that restaurants like some of those on brick lane serve.  Some are a little greasy but nowhere near as greasy as some of the other curry shops in the area.

 

If you are still feeling that you have room after your starter and your main, a pudding is included in the price.  Generally it is Indian semolina  which comes in small rectangular bricks with jelly and fruit cocktail.  Expect to pay about £1.50 for a diet coke which is a little expensive, though many buffet places make money on drinks.

 

Staff are generally helpful.  I can visit this restaurant on my own knowing that staff will help me by reading what is available   and serving the food up from the buffet for me.  I have visited this shop with a guide dog owning friend and there weren’t any “no dogs” problems.

 

Over all I give this new pride of Asia 7 out of 10 and would recommend it if you are in the area.

Porters English Restaurant, 17 Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, London WC2E 8QH

I visited this restaurant last Thursday with 6 other people.  all of us were blind or we had so little sight that we couldn't read the menu but never mind, this is an English restaurant!!

 

Well when we got there things didn't look that hopeful.  the staff guiding us in were not English and we were all given menus even though it was quite clear that many of us could not see.  thankfully however things went rapidly uphill from there!

 

The manageress ended up serving us and sadly I did not get her name though she was helpful and patient.

 

It's worth commenting on the ambiance at this point.  there was taped music with pop tracks from the 1960s to the 1990s.  I don't mind a bit of background music in a restaurant but for me this was slightly loud meaning that you could hear the person next to you and opposite   you comfortably enough but a bigger group conversation was out of the question.  Personally I like conversation when eating but this does not mean the music is really that loud, it's just a preference of mine to have quiet music or even no music at all while eating in a restaurant.

 

Back to the food anyway. the manageress was excellent and she kept us to order so we all heard and she read through the whole menu answering any questions as she went.  what I liked here was that she gave us an idea of the headings such as pies, fish dishes etc.

 

I opted for the London Particular as a starter.  this is a thick pea and bacon soup.  it had a slightly smoky taste and the name apparently refers to the thick fogs that used to happen in London when more manufacturing went on in the city and more coal was used.  the soup was only spoiled marginally by the lack of appropriate bread.  a basket of bread was given to us but the pieces of bread were made of French stick of rather thin diameter.  guys, this is an English restaurant!!!  give us slices of chunky bread that you can dip in your soup.  Yes I know some people argue this is bad manners  but it's fair to say this is a debateable point unlike, say, talking with your mouthful which most people would agree looks disgusting and is not on in most cultures.  The bread was fresh enough but not really the right thing for soup.

 

for main I had a game keepers pie.  this was a good meaty pie in a full short crust case rather than the pastry lids many put on top of a stew then call it a pie.

 

as  there was a full pastry case,  there was no need to serve the pie in a bowl as well as on a plate.  the manageress did offer to tip the pie out of the bowl which was a nice touch.

 

the pie itself was full of meat and port and red currant sauce.  It was served with a jug of gravy.  the pastry was not too thick and the pie had a rich pleasant gamy taste.  Very enjoyable.

 

I was a bit disappointed with the accompaniments.  The pies, along with other dishes, came with one side dish free.  this meant you could have potatoes or vegetables but not both unless you paid extra.  Hello!  where I come from at least, a pie would always be served potatoes and at least one vegetable.  I have no problem with offering a choice but offering one side when they know well you will need to buy another one is a bit deceitful.  the side I did choose was Covent garden vegetables  and the portion of these was quite large.  it could have been made smaller and a few new potatoes could have been included as well.  the vegetables consisted of carrots, peas, green beans and mange tout.  One English tradition which happily has fallen by the wayside is overcooking vegetables.  these vegetables were nice and crunchy, probably steamed.

 

For pudding I chose  Iced Berries served with  hot white chocolate sauce.  the manageress poured this all out onto a plate and I would have rather she left it as it was.  the key here is to give people a choice.  I'm not complaining here so much as making what I consider to be constructive comment.

 

I am pleased to say there was English beer on offer.  Draft Tetley’s and fullers London pride were available.  not that keen on these particular beers but still so many restaurants avoid English beers altogether and in an English restaurant this would be inexcusable.

 

Generally then the food was very good.  I felt that the portions were quite adequate and with a couple of side dishes included in the price the portions would have been decent and generally well worth the money. as it was, with side dishes  not even priced on the menu, I would imagine you would pay about £2.50 or so for them.  pie with potatoes and veg for £15 is a bit steep.

 

While the manageress was extremely helpful, I don't think the squad of staff had that much in strength and depth.  Some of the waiters possessed  little in the way of English which is a shame.  more side dishes and English bread would have been appropriate to.

 

2 of us had guide dogs and this caused no problem at all.  The manageress brought them some water in fact.   so chalk this up as a guide dog friendly venue.

 

 

Despite a few little negative comments, this was still an enjoyable experience however and I give the restaurant 7 out of 10 and would say it is well worth a visit.

 

For more info including menus visit

http://www.porters.uk.com