Tag: UK

Achari

1 Comment

I don’t think there’s anything bad I can say about this place other than it is in another country. The first time I ever ate here was about four years ago on a business trip. It was our last night in England before heading home. We asked the front desk to recommend a good Indian restaurant near our hotel. He recommended Achari and I’ve been going back since.

The last time I was at Achari was earlier this year in January. It had been on my mind and I couldn’t wait to have dinner. It was a long day in the office and by the time I drove from the office to my hotel and checked in it was late in the evening. When I got to the restaurant it was exactly as I remembered it. It was busy this evening. The service was a bit slow but it was worth the wait.

I ordered only one papadum and it was served with seven chutneys. Each one was so good I couldn’t decide which one was the best. Most Indian restaurants I’ve been to would only serve a few chutneys. Let’s just say I devoured the papadum and wanted more. I should have asked for two since they were complimentary but I was saving my stomach for the rest of my dinner.

I decided not to order my favorite curry, Chicken Vindaloo, and opted to try the Chicken Madras instead. With a long flight ahead of me I wanted to make sure my stomach was not upset because it’s very spicy. I can tolerate a lot of heat so when I say “very spicy” I mean it. I also got garlic naan and rice. I love my curry with rice, but the garlic naan is just too good to pass up. I love my carbs so I get rice and naan every time.

When I finally got my food, I dug right in. The Madras was delicious. It was spicy, but definitely not as hot as Vindaloo. The base of the curry is similar as vindaloo but the spices are different. I have found, at least in the U.S., that yogurt is added to reduce the spiciness of Madras, which is disappointing when that’s exactly what I want. Luckily, at Achari that is not the case. It was the perfect level of spiciness for me. Everything was so good that I finished most of my food and I have pictures to prove it lol.

If you are ever catching a flight from Heathrow airport and you want to try some delicious Indian food, I highly recommend this place. It isn’t far from the airport and they even deliver. However, naan doesn’t travel well and is always better at the restaurant. Now I just have to find an Indian restaurant near me that is just as good.

http://www.achari.co.uk/index.html

     

     

Lee’s Chinese Takeaway

1 Comment

I was craving Chinese takeout when I was traveling this past January for work in England. I looked up the best Chinese “takeaway” in Melksham. I read reviews for several places but settled on Lee’s Takeaway. It had great reviews and was literally a couple minutes’ drive from my hotel so I could stop on my way back after work.

I arrived to the restaurant and was a bit confused where to enter because Lee’s Fish and Chips is next door, but luckily chose the right entrance. It wasn’t busy and was seated against the back wall. I was hungry so I ordered the Salt & Chili Spare Ribs appetizer. I wasn’t expecting fried spare ribs sprinkled with chili peppers and scallions but surprisingly, they were pretty good that I ate it all.

For dinner, I decided to get the House Special Chop Shuey. It had shrimp, chicken, beef, and roasted pork with vegetables. I was really craving veggies that night so settle on this since there was more than just broccoli. It was served over noodles instead of rice. I love me some rice so I was disappointed. The sauce wasn’t as thick as I would expect for chop sheuy and was a bit oily, but I think that may have been due to the way the noodles were prepared. The sauce on the meat and vegetables was the right consistency. The dish didn’t blow me away but it did please my hunger.

I was full but decided to get dessert. I could not decide so I asked my waitress and she recommended one since it was the most popular. I don’t recall the name of the dessert but I found the dessert a bit unusual. It was beautifully plated but once I put my spoon to it the frozen layers of ice cream was hard to cut through. It was also topped with what chocolate like dip and dots. Sadly, I didn’t enjoy the dessert as much as other guests had. My experience overall was that it was a decent Chinese restaurant with ample seating and a nice décor. However, I’ll be looking for another Chinese restaurant to try when I am back in Melksham.