Food: Masala Zone
When it comes to travel, India has always been pretty high up on my wish-list. After a wonderful trip to nearby Sri Lanka many years ago, I decided if I was able to go backpacking, I would love to spend a couple of months making my way from the North to the South, witnessing the changes in scenery, culture….and food.
I am a HUGE fan of Indian food. I adore the flavour combinations, the huge punch of some spices and the subtlety of others. The tenderness of the lamb, the sweetness of those huge prawns….Mmmm. Mouth is watering.
What I don’t like so much though, is the type of Indian food you find in most high street takeaways, which is so far away from the traditional cooking it may as well be beans on toast. I’m not that interested in a chicken tikka masala that tastes of nothing and has a whole load of red food colouring tipped in to make it look more appetising. Nope. Give me the real deal any day.
So…as you can imagine I was interested to find out more when I was invited to the new Masala Zone in Bayswater to try out the latest venue in the group. I was looking forward to trying dishes from their authentic menu, which claims to be a selection of dishes from street food favourites, tandoori grills and curries from many regions of India.
My decision to not take The Boy with me has absolutely no reflection on our relationship. We’re great. Its more to do with the fact he is a creature of habit, has only ever ordered butter chicken from any Indian we have ever visited and has a slight fear of spices. I thought instead that a worthy companion for this taste fest would be my good buddy Giles – who has not only visited India a couple of times, but currently lives on Brick Lane. Brilliant.
First impressions were good. Masala Zone’s decor was, as expected for a new restaurant, spotless. We visited on a Tuesday night and whilst there were a few free tables, it was nicely busy throughout the evening with a nice vibe.
Now, I couldn’t say whether it was because they were aware we were coming or if the staff are as nice to everyone on their first visit, but we were greeted warmly and with a pleasant but not over-bearing friendliness. The Manager took the time to ask us how much we knew about Masala Zone, then talk us through the menu, explaining the different types of food, the way it is eaten in India, and the methods of preparation and the fact that each restaurant has an experienced head chef on each site who makes changes to the menu every day – changing the vegetables, raita, rice and lentils depending on whats available and best on the day.
Everything looked delicious. Both Giles and I are fairly big eaters – so we decided to go with whatever the Manager recommended. He suggested a mixed starter, followed by a combination thali – although he did explain this would be a huge amount of food, but great for tasting different dishes and flavours. He wasn’t joking!
Just a fraction of our feast!
The starter – which was a combination of three street food dishes, including dahi puri; puffed hollow biscuits filled with mashed chickpeas, yoghurt and chutney – was seriously one of the nicest things I have ever put in my mouth! The flavours were entirely unexpected – sweet, warm, and delicate all at the same time. Every bite was slightly different, each equally good (and equally messy!)
Starters were swiftly followed by our combination thali’s. We had gone for Prawn Malai and Dhaaba Rogan Josh which were both nice – although the texture of the lamb was slightly strange – possibly a touch mushy, rather than meltingly soft. Everything else though was scrumptious, particularly the aubergine curry and lentil dishes. Mouth-wateringly moreish. (Thali dishes change on a daily basis though so you never know what you’re going to get!) My onion bhaji was also delicious – Giles’ was unfortunately overcooked but was immediately replaced when we mentioned it.
It has to be said, the thali dishes were MASSIVE, and whilst we probably could have handled them without question if there hadn’t been a starter involved, we struggled with the volume of food. This possibly wasn’t helped by the fact we also ordered a chicken tikka side dish – which we both agreed is a good way to test the quality of food at an Indian restaurant. And thank god we did. It was AMAZING! Tender, juicy, generous chunks of chicken were flavoured perfectly, and were fantastic to eat on their own or dipped in the delicious yoghurt, coriander, chili and mint dressing that accompanied the dish. As much as I enjoyed the rest of the food in front of me – I honestly think I would have been happy with a plate piled high with that chicken tikka!
I’m not easy to please when it comes to Indian restaurants. I think most are average at best, and am usually left disappointed by the quality of food offered.
I’m happy to say Masala Zone was different. I can’t comment on the other branches but the Bayswater venue is definitely getting it right – the service, venue and food were all tip top and it was a really pleasurable evening. If I was being ultra picky, the only thing I could fault was the rapidly replaced burnt bhaji, but that would be ridiculous of me…
Masala Zone may be a chain but as part of the Masala World Group (which also includes the likes of Chutney Mary, Veeraswamy and Amaya) it would seem they really do care about the quality of ingredients, authenticity of the food and customer service.
Would I recommend it? Definitely. It’s not a cheap curry house to visit after a heavy night at the pub…but if you’re looking for a quality Indian meal, I think it’s well worth the money.
I have one regret.
I didn’t ask for a doggy bag!
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