VANCHA GHAR...

Vietnamese restaurant Vancha Ghar offers its visitors an open air setting bathed in candlelight, ambient music and a menu packed with various dishes and tasty treats.

The menu is filled with Nepalese dishes that use similar spices to Indian cuisine. All are individually prepared and slowly cooked to retain its flavour. Wines are carefully chosen to complement each dish.

Owner Ramnath Maharjan, said: “We strive to keep our guests happy which is one of the most important things in Nepalese culture. If everything is up to standard, then they will keep returning to enjoy the Nepalese experience.”

For the starter, I sampled the momo (dumplings). The little parcels of parcels of pastry are filled with marinated lamb or spicy vegetables for vegetarian diners.

Other highlights are chuela (delicious roasted lamb pieces marinated with garlic, spices, mustard oil and methi seed).

Another delectable starter is Dhuwadar salmon (marinated with yoghurt, dill, mustard and green chilli and served with a mixed leaf salad).

Famed Nepalese dish Sherpa lamb is available as a main. The dish is marinated and slow cooked on the bone with onion, tomato and rounded off with timoor- a mysterious pepper-like spice.

Another popular choice is Tawa Jhinge, a spicy king prawn curry with tomato peppers and mustard seeds.

Prices are reasonable with starters ranging from £3.95 with the average price of a main being £7.95.

The restaurant is open seven days a week between 5.30 pm to 11pm.

Opening times for lunch are 12 noon and 2.30pm.

Home delivery is free for orders over £10.

Vancha Ghar
41 The Broadway
Tolworth
Surrey
KT6 7DJ
Tel/Fax: 020 839 9 3122

HOUNSLOW BRASSERIE REVIEW...

Hounslow brasserie is only a stones throw from the town centre and promises to offer a combination of dishes to suit the most discerning lover of Indian cuisine.

The restaurant in Spring Grove Road specialises in Kerala cuisine from the south western tip of Indian. The menu offers a line up of dishes which are enriched with exotic fruits, vegetables, seafood which are garnished with distinctive aroma and spices.

Owner and chef known as Ram said that South Indian curries contain small amounts on sunflower oil, without artificial colouring and additives. Frozen meat is banned as fresh vegetables are used and each dish individually prepared for each customer.

For the starter, I chose Masala Dosa. The popular pancake delicacy is filled is potato masala was served with sambar and chutneys. The sambar is a mild curry with lentils and keralin vegetables which is cooked with taramind juice. It was a delicious dish which was free from grease or oil.

I decided to play it safe for the main course and selected chicken karumba, otherwise known as chicken korma. The mild creamy sauce was filled with chunky chicken cubes and oozed with flavour. The basmati rice was subtle as it was not overloaded with cocunut. Also in the mix was green curry leaves which are said to aid digestion.

As well the karumba, I picked the kerala paratha (naan bread) and I was pleasantly surprised by the buttery taste.

To round off my meal, I choose the Fiorentina ice cream. The tasty treat is vanilla ice cream, mixed with chocolate sauce and topped with a couple of ameretto biscuits. Avial is a highly recommended dish cooked with assorted Keralian vegetables, coconut spices and yoghurt. Biryanies is a Malabar legacy which is basmati rice mixed with a special selection of masala, served with vegetables.

Another mouth watering dish comes in the form of Grassey which is yellow pumpkin, cooked with black eyed beans and garnished with fried onions.

Traditional Southern Indian deserts on the menu include banana fritters (fried plantain in a sweet batter served with ice cream) and Gulab Jaman (made with milk powder, semolina before being doused in sugar syrup).

Starters are priced from £1.95 with main dishes ranging from £6.95 to £9.95.

The opening hours are between 12 noon and 3pm, then from 6pm and 11pm Sunday to Thursday. On Friday and Saturdays, the opening hours are the same but the closing time is 12 midnight. On Friday and Saturday evenings, the 54 tabled restaurant is very busy and pre-booking is advisable to avoid disappointment.

A lunch pack is available between 11am and 3pm with the earliest bookings taken at 10.45am and 2.30pm at the very latest. Each pack, which is priced at £4.99, contains 1 vegetable dish, a bread portion and curry.

A fish or lamb dish is the alternative within the non vegetarian pack.

Home deliveries are available and orders must be £10 or above.

If you are after an Indian restaurant that offers a cuisine with a difference and friendly staff, then head down to Hounslow Brasserie for that special meal or lunch while on the run.

Hounslow Brasserie

47-49 Spring Grove Rd

Hounslow

TW3 4BD

Tel: 020 8570 5585/020 5870 5093

Email: Cochistourism@yahoo.co.uk (For suggestions, comments and to make reservations).