Sunday, September 28, 2008
Bring on the food.
Traditionally we always go out with friends before we go away on holiday for a last meal together. This starts off our holiday without the women needing to cook. Last night we went to one of our favourites, the Eurasian Tandoori 66 Cowbridge Road East, Canton, Cardiff. We have had many an excellent meal there in the past. Service last night was slow, very slow indeed. We had to wait over 60 minutes for our meals, we had a table for six people. After 10 minutes a waiter came to our table but he would only accept orders for drinks. Okay we ordered some drinks and waited for the food waiter to come to our table. Another 10 minutes passed and then we gave our food order to another waiter. I choose a lovely dish that I have had before. Murgh Annanas a mildly delicacy from the Valley of Baronti. Cooked in a rich, slightly creamy sauce, with a blend of fruit and spices.
Time ticked on and we got restless. We overhead other guests complaining that they also had been waiting far too long for their food. Nick and I were guessing just how long we would have to wait for our food and we thought that the golden hour of waiting would come to pass. Suddenly Deborah got off her fat arse and marched to the bar demanding to know what was going on in the kitchen. Embarrassed waiters rushed past and went into the kitchen. Then the head waiter apologized and said the food would come in another 10 minutes.
Sure enough most of the food did come 50 minutes after we had given our food order. My Peshwari Naan came and all the food for everyone else but my Murgh Annanas with Pilau rice was missing. We asked and were told it was coming. 10 minutes later my Murgh Annanas with Pilau rice came. By this time I had eaten my Peshwari Naan pretty much as a starter. The Murgh Annanas was as gorgeous as ever, a dish I really, really enjoy. It is Chicken done in a wonderful mix of fruit and spices that is very difficult to describe. It is not a traditional curry, more a Middle Eastern dish that is so full of flavour. It is not hot or mild, just so refreshingly different.
We were not the only guests who had been waiting a long time for their meals. Looking around and catching conversations all the other tables were suffering long delays. The kitchen staff were clearly having problems meeting demand. We had no better or worse service than any of the other tables.
And then we came to the bill. Oh dear, there was a listing for some drinks at £5.60 that our table had not drank. We challenged this item and the staff said sorry, our mistake. However, we are all well aware that some restaurants add another round of drinks to a bill when there is a group of people, hoping that nobody notices. It may have been a genuine mistake but I have my doubts because this is a well known scam. Cheat the public just a little bit, say £1 a person and you should get away with it! Still, the food when it did come was the usual high standard that we expect when dining at the Eurasian Tandoori.
This now brings me to the title of this blog post: Bring on the food. Tomorrow we start our all-inclusive holiday with it's self service buffet style restaurants. Lovely, no waiting - just help yourself to as little or as much of the food in front of you that is sitting there ready to eat! I love this style of dining, it is all there in front of you, grab just what you want there and then. No menu's to read and puzzle over, just grab the food and dig in!
Bring it on, Pedro!
Traditionally we always go out with friends before we go away on holiday for a last meal together. This starts off our holiday without the women needing to cook. Last night we went to one of our favourites, the Eurasian Tandoori 66 Cowbridge Road East, Canton, Cardiff. We have had many an excellent meal there in the past. Service last night was slow, very slow indeed. We had to wait over 60 minutes for our meals, we had a table for six people. After 10 minutes a waiter came to our table but he would only accept orders for drinks. Okay we ordered some drinks and waited for the food waiter to come to our table. Another 10 minutes passed and then we gave our food order to another waiter. I choose a lovely dish that I have had before. Murgh Annanas a mildly delicacy from the Valley of Baronti. Cooked in a rich, slightly creamy sauce, with a blend of fruit and spices.
Time ticked on and we got restless. We overhead other guests complaining that they also had been waiting far too long for their food. Nick and I were guessing just how long we would have to wait for our food and we thought that the golden hour of waiting would come to pass. Suddenly Deborah got off her fat arse and marched to the bar demanding to know what was going on in the kitchen. Embarrassed waiters rushed past and went into the kitchen. Then the head waiter apologized and said the food would come in another 10 minutes.
Sure enough most of the food did come 50 minutes after we had given our food order. My Peshwari Naan came and all the food for everyone else but my Murgh Annanas with Pilau rice was missing. We asked and were told it was coming. 10 minutes later my Murgh Annanas with Pilau rice came. By this time I had eaten my Peshwari Naan pretty much as a starter. The Murgh Annanas was as gorgeous as ever, a dish I really, really enjoy. It is Chicken done in a wonderful mix of fruit and spices that is very difficult to describe. It is not a traditional curry, more a Middle Eastern dish that is so full of flavour. It is not hot or mild, just so refreshingly different.
We were not the only guests who had been waiting a long time for their meals. Looking around and catching conversations all the other tables were suffering long delays. The kitchen staff were clearly having problems meeting demand. We had no better or worse service than any of the other tables.
And then we came to the bill. Oh dear, there was a listing for some drinks at £5.60 that our table had not drank. We challenged this item and the staff said sorry, our mistake. However, we are all well aware that some restaurants add another round of drinks to a bill when there is a group of people, hoping that nobody notices. It may have been a genuine mistake but I have my doubts because this is a well known scam. Cheat the public just a little bit, say £1 a person and you should get away with it! Still, the food when it did come was the usual high standard that we expect when dining at the Eurasian Tandoori.
This now brings me to the title of this blog post: Bring on the food. Tomorrow we start our all-inclusive holiday with it's self service buffet style restaurants. Lovely, no waiting - just help yourself to as little or as much of the food in front of you that is sitting there ready to eat! I love this style of dining, it is all there in front of you, grab just what you want there and then. No menu's to read and puzzle over, just grab the food and dig in!
Bring it on, Pedro!
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