Dagenham, 28th January 2014

Venue - The Kalijeera, 32 Corbets Tey Rd, Upminster, Essex RM14 2AD
Attendees - Me, Mike, Bill, Liz, Dave, Harry, Peter, Kit, JB and Roland

Ok, ok. I know that Upminster isn't in Dagenham (for those not 100% familiar with the Geography it's about 6 miles and 20 minutes drive) but it's close enough... especially as we had decided to meet in The Crumpled Horn pub, the venue for the pre-Wembley visit when Southend United got to the final of the JPT last April. The Kalijeera was about 100 yards away on the opposite side of the road and had come well recommended; Bill, showing impressive organisational skills, had pre-arranged the whole thing and we had selected our meals in advance. The game kicked off at 7:45 and we had to allow a good 45 minutes to get from Upminster to Dagenham, park (no mean feat in Dagenham on a Tuesday evening for what is a local derby), buy the tickets and take our seats. This meant leaving the restaurant at 7:00 latest, which in turn meant a 5:30 - 5:45 arrival for the food. Allowing for a drink or two in the pub first, we therefore set off at 3:30 from Leigh for the short trip up the A13 - the shortest away trip this season by some distance - to see if we could continue our good run of form and our push towards promotion and League One by grabbing three points off of Dagenham.

Stage one went to plan, despite getting caught in the school traffic en route and taking nearly an hour for what is usually a 35 minute journey. By 4:30 we were in the pub, allowing a good hour for a couple of bevvies and saunter along to the restaurant (which, incidentally, we had arranged to be opened early to accommodate us).

The waiter was standing at the door as we arrived and happily took the picture shown above (which we had about 6 attempts at)... such was our sense of humour we then thanked him very much and started to walk off up the road. Oh how we laughed!

We then went back to the restaurant and entered, apologising for our wind-up, and said we'd take our seats and await the previously arranged order. The waiter, presumably to get us back a bit looked at us in a dead pan style and said, "What order?"

Ha ha, we were still laughing as the pints of Cobra arrived, followed by the poppodums and pickles and then the main courses. We had a good time although I seem to recall the food being good but unspectacular. There was some confusion over the bill and the fact that a deposit had been paid, but we got there in the end. In an attempt to hurry matters along, Dave had squared up on his credit card and we all settled with him afterwards. I think it worked out at about £15 per head.

Marks - 

Exterior - 7
Surroundings - 7.5
Interior - 7
Toilets - 7
Service - 8
Quality - 6.5
Value - 8

Overall - 7.29

The football

This had made us a bit late in leaving and so we made haste to Dagenham and eventually managed to park in a cul-de-sac. We just about made kick off and have to congratulate the ground staff who got the pitch looking really good considering the monsoon-like weather we had in the lead up to the game. The first half was non descript really and it then started raining. It didn't seem too bad but it got worse and worse as the match went on. We took the lead just after half-time but Dagenham equalised with a deflected shot and after that it was anyone's game. A point will have to do. Walking back to the car we discovered just how bad the rain had been as we were walking through puddles several inches deep across the car park and on the way back to the car. I don't think I could have been wetter if I had jumped into a swimming pool fully clothed.

Portsmouth 26 November 2013

Portsmouth v Southend, 26/11/13.

Venue - Gandhi, 39-41 Kingston Rd, Portsmouth

Attendees - Me, Malcolm, Harry.

It's been 7 months since the last Curry Blog, mainly because of our inability to make the play-offs and having to remain in this God forsaken division populated mainly by teams hundreds of miles away.  Portsmouth, believe it or not, is one of our most local trips which presumably played some part in the wisdom of the Football League deciding to schedule this game for a Tuesday evening.

We had managed to set off at about 3:15 and had been pretty much the last vehicle through the A3 tunnel before it's closure caused havoc on the roads, a delayed kick off and an even longer journey on the way back.  Luckily we did get through as otherwise we wouldn't have been able to make the curry at the Gandhi restaurant on Kingston Rd, approximately 2 miles from Fratton Park.

The Sat Nav decided to thread us through a council estate to get there mind, which looked as though it could have been interesting if the car had broken down!  We were lucky to be able to park almost outside and made our way in at about 6:20, giving the restaurant about 40 minutes to serve us before we had to leave for the game.

The staff were incredibly accommodating; complimentary poppadoms and pickles beautifully presented, all home made (the mango chutney was fantastic, possibly the best I've tasted) and drinks on the table within 3 minutes of entering.

We had opted for simple dishes as we were in a rush, so there was a chicken tikka masala, chicken tikka madras and chicken jalfrezi as the main dishes, 2 pilau and one mushroom rice together with 2 onion bhajis (one portion).

Again, it was all home made and different from the usual indian restaurant fare, far less oily and full of flavour. If there was any negative comment then the madras and jalfrezi had no heat and were just above a korma in strength, certainly not what I would call hot.

We had a diet coke and 2 pints of cobra, which made the bill £51 including tip maybe fractionally high bearing in mind we only had one drink.

Marks -

Exterior - 8
Surroundings - 6
Interior - 8
Toilets - 8
Service - 9
Quality - 9
Value - 5

Overall - 7.57

The football

And so onto the game.  We drove down to Fratton Park and managed to find some parking within a mile of the stadium but unfortunately on the wrong side for the away fans, so we had to walk all around the ground. On arrival we were informed that the kick off had been delayed by 15 mins due to an accident on the motorway (was this the reason for the tunnel closure maybe?). But what a brilliant old fashioned "proper" football ground Portsmouth have.  The away end, aside from the seats, was almost unchanged from what the original terraces would have been with the concrete urinal walls in the toilets, fences and barbed wire everywhere and the whole place steeped in history, tradition and passion.

We met up with Dave and JB who had come down by train and were well oiled, so to speak.  They had missed out on the curry but sated their appetite with a Pukka Pie from the stadium kiosk. None of us (except Harry) were overly optimistic as Pompey had just sacked their manager after 4 straight defeats and Southend had never won at Portsmouth in their history so the initial omens did not look good.

It looked even worse after 90 seconds when Portsmouth scored with a stinging shot from the edge of the box and despite plenty of possession, chances for Southend were at a premium.  Manager Phil Brown made a substitution on the hour mark to try and change shape but that backfired within 5 minutes as the sub got sent off for elbowing an opponent so not only were we losing, we were down to 10 men.

The Southend fans however have recently found their voice and a tremendous visiting turnout of 773 for a Tuesday night were singing and chanting all game.  It was relentless and the Portsmouth fans were quiet as incredibly the 10 men began to take a grip on the game.  First came an equaliser and then a winner to send the visiting fans into raptures! The chorus of boos at the end spoke volumes.

We decided to avoid the tunnel on the way home and our journey was punctuated by a stop at a Harvester for a quickie before a drive along the coast towards Brighton and then up the A23/M23 before getting home just past 2 AM.  Tough on a school night but made well worth it by the result and atmosphere.  Oh, not forgetting the curry too!

Aldershot 16th April 2013

Aldershot v Southend., 16th April 2013

Venue - The Bengal Lancer, High Street, Aldershot

Attendees - Me, Malcolm, Rick

I've only been to Aldershot once before; last February, when Southend put in one of the worst away performances I've had the misfortune to witness in a 2-0 defeat where we failed to register a shot at goal.  We ate at the Bengal Lancer in the High Street, about 10 mins walk from the ground.  I seem to remember it was ok, so we thought we'd revisit this year, especially as Aldershot were bottom of the football league and  looking very likely to drop out (especially if SOuthend won) so we may not be back for a while.

With the season petering out, there were only 3 of us on the trip, about 50% down from what we would normally expect to take.  I drove down with Malc and Rick was meeting us there having arrived on the train.

We arrived just before 6pm and were the only ones in the stereotypical Indian restaurant; clean but dated with an interesting colour scheme of blue and cream walls with a green carpet.

The toilets were old but spotless and they served both Cobra and Kingfisher on draft, much to Malcolms delight.  As the driver, it made no real difference to me as Coke tastes pretty much the same out of a can, bottle or pump.

We ordered puppodums and pickles while we waited for Rick and these were of the standard commercial type, average and unspectacular.

When it came to order the meal, Rick went for Vegetable Biryani, Malcolm had his usual meat Madras and I went for a Chicken Kochi, three completely different dishes. It was therefore a surprise to see that all three looked virtually identical in their serving dishes and we had to be actually told which was which.  The keema rice and mushroom pilau were also virtually indistinguishable by sight. Notwithstanding that, it tasted pretty good... it's hard to do anything spectacular with a Biryani, my Kochi was delicious if a little too mild and Malcolm's Madras was one of the better ones he has had.

Onion bhajis and peshwari naan completed the feast.  The bill arrived and for the meal including 2 rounds of drinks each it was a very reasonable £20 per head including tip.  Not too shabby.

Marks - 

Exterior - 6
Surroundings - 6
Interior - 6
Toilets - 6
Service - 7
Quality - 7
Value - 8

Overall - 6.57 - Ok, would probably try somewhere different next time if we ever go to Aldershot again as they look like they will be relegated out of the league.

The football -

A comfortable 2-0 win against a side huffing and puffing with as much penetration as an impotent eunuch. The play offs are still on but only just about and in our dreams.

Southend - home game v Plymouth, 19th March 2013

Home v Plymouth - March 2013

Date - 19/3/13

Venue - The Mamataz Mahal, London Rd, Westcliff

Attendees - Me, JB, Bill, Liz, Dave G, Mike, Malc.

As Southend prepared for their 3rd home game in a week, we thought we'd sample a pre-game curry in our home town, so we picked probably the closest one to Roots Hall -The Mamataz Mahal near the Palace Theatre, Westcliff.

On arrival, the restaurant was empty except for someone waiting to collect a takeaway and who offered to take a picture, so at last I'm in one as opposed to behind the camera!

We ordered drinks, poppodums and pickles plus main courses and rice.  There was a sweet chilli pickle/dip that was absolutely delicious and homemade and which I'd never come across in an Indian (more of a Thai influence I think) and I went for a Chicken Jalfrezi as a main.  Other dishes included a Meat Madras, 2 Baltis and a Lamb Rogan Josh.

The toilets weren't up to the standard of the rest of the place, which let it down a bit as it seemed fairly newly refurbished.  Perhaps they hadn't got to the loos yet.

Service was spot on (hardly surprising as there was no-one else there!) but the food was absolutely top notch.  It was probably the best Jalfrezi I'd ever had.  A couple of the others also said that the food they had was right up there with the best "Ruby's" they had ever had as well.  One of the nicest touches was the offer of a drink "On the house" after the meal, which was very welcome, even if it made us tight for time.

Southend and district is awash with restaurants and a lot of them are Indian, so competition is fierce.  That means anything that isn't on the button doesn't last long, but this one certainly was superb.

Price wise it was decent as well at £20 per head including drinks and tip.

Marks -

Exterior - 7
Surroundings - 6
Interior - 7
Toilets - 5
Service - 9
Food Quality - 9
Value - 8

Overall - 7.29 - worth bearing in mind for a local meal or take-away


The football -

This ended up being the last game of Paul Sturrocks reign, against one of his former clubs.  We were woeful for the third time in a week and lost 2-0 which practically ended our promotion hopes.  Thoroughly depressing.

Barnet - 26 Feb 2013

Barnet - Feb 2013

Date - 26/2/13

Venue - The Shapla, Barnet High Street

Attendees - Me, Malc, Harry, JB, Rick and Roland

Underhill has been a recent happy hunting ground for Southend United and it had been some time since we last suffered a defeat there. Barnet are perennial strugglers in League 2 and this was their last season at this old ground with a slope that almost qualifies as a blue ski run in the Alps. Therefore the opportunity to venture to one of the curry houses in Barnet High Street could not be missed. Last year we had a cracking one at The Shapla (the Chicken Jalfrezi literally had me panting and sweating) and so we thought we'd revisit, this time to get an entry into the blog for posterity.

The usual fairly easy journey was hampered by severe traffic caused by a combination of roadworks and an accident, but we still arrived in good time. Some of our number were already in The Red Lion (one of two sharing that name in the High Street, which can get confusing) and we had to wait for everyone to arrive. We had aimed for a 6:30 meet up at the pub, then a quickie and a short walk of no more than 50 yards or so to the restaurant, but because of the delays (and the fact that the game was an 8:00 kick off) we were lulled into a slightly false sense of security time wise and it was in fact gone 7:00 before we left the pub, leaving us probably only 30-40 minutes to get ordered and fed. Ok, not in the same league as the initial Cheltenham curry (see "The Curry Tasters" narrative) but still a bit of a rush to be comfortable.

Once inside, the waiter didn't really seem to grab our sense of urgency and it took some time and 3 attempts to summon him before we could order. Malc and JB were busy trying to organise the Wembley tickets for Southends upcoming JPT final against Crewe as the drinks and poppadums arrived and then we ordered our main courses. I went for the Jalfrezi again and there was the usual selection of dishes; Baltis, a Madras, a Biryani, some Pilau rice, Onion Bhajis and Naan Breads, vegetable sides, etc., all I have to say served at reasonable speed... eventually!  It all looked and smelt good.

The pickles with the poppodums weren't the greatest to be honest and of the commercial variety but the rest of the food was pretty good.  My Jalfrezi certainly wasn't as hot as last time but still had a kick and there were no complaints from anyone else either.There were meant to be two Peshwari Naan breads but there was so little flavour they may as well have been plain ones.I have to say it probably wasn't the most relaxed atmosphere to enjoy the meal but we managed and even got in two rounds of drinks. 

The big bonus here however was the price; it all came in at £18 per head including tip and that's great value.  The Meat Madras was just £3.95 and other dishes were quite a bit lower than we had been used to.   

Marks

Exterior - 7

Surroundings - 6

Interior - 7

Toilets - 7

Service - 6

Food Quality - 7

Value - 9

Overall - 7.  Definitely worth a return visit with perhaps a little more time. 

The match

Our last visit to Underhill was not a happy one.  Southend were beaten 2-0 and everyone, the team, the management and the crowd, looked tired.  Hardly the springboard for a promotion push!

Brentford - Feb 2013

Date - Tuesday, 15th February 2013 - The Guru Tandoori at Watermans

Attendees - Me, Malc, Mike, Pete, Roland, Alex, Dave (Rolands mate) and Dean (Mike's mate)

This was a trip that nearly never was; had Gavin Tomlin put away a golden chance late on in the original FA Cup 3rd Round match at Roots Hall then we would now be waiting to play Chelsea in Round 4.  Sadly, their keeper made a tremendous save and set up a Griffin Park replay.

There was a big group of us travelling up for this match and several of the usual curry tasters 'A' team opted to forego the Indian in favour of a few beers at Waterloo and then a "Brentford Burger" (which, I'm reliably informed, are supplied by Tesco and are guaranteed to firstly make you hoarse and then give you the gallops. What a load of pony that is.  Ok ok, enough now).

This meant that we had to field a few ringers, namely Dave, a mate of Roland and Dean, a work colleague of Mike and we hope they both enjoyed the company and the experience.  Come along whenever you can again chaps!

As for the restaurant, Malc, Keith and I sampled this a few years back and initially couldn't believe it was a restaurant.  The only clue to it's existence is an 'A' frame outside on the road as it is housed in the basement of the Watermans Art Centre which also is home to a cinema, theatre and bar.  Externally, it is not the most visually appealing of buildings although it is right on the riverside and according to the website photos, the back is much nicer than the front. Strangely, the website has absolutely no mention of the restaurant at all, which is actually an extension to the bar itself.

On our previous visit, we had wandered down into an area that was very poorly signed and which had the appearance of a nightclub; a bar one end, the restaurant at the other and what looked like a barren dance floor in the middle with scaffolding poles lashed together to form some sort of partition (well, it is an art centre!).  This time around, the layout was the same but the central area now had tables, chairs and sofas in it, plus a selection of golden curtains and drapes which made it look not quite so stark.  Still, last time we were very pleasantly surprised by the fare on offer and so we decided to return.  The added bonus was that there was a free car park that we could use for the whole evening.  Woo Hoo!

We arrived in plenty of time and had a drink before the restaurant opened.  There was a large table already laid out (we hadn't booked) and so we occupied that one and placed our orders.  The toilets were some distance away and served not only the restaurant but also the bar and other parts of the centre, which made it surprising that they weren't bigger.  Like most places, they weren't perhaps the cleanest or up to date part of the building.

Food wise however, we weren't to be disappointed.  I opted for the Chicken Jalfrezi, which was just the right heat and the accompanying keema rice was delicious. The Onion Bhajis were of the flat rather than round variety but the flavours were spot on and the Peshwari Naan was not the usual pre-purchased commercial variety... I would guess they made their own here.  Delicious.  I certainly heard no complaints at all from the other diners and the fact that by 6:30 on a Tuesday the restaurant was practically full says it all really.

The only problem was the service.  The drinks were slow to come over and the food didn't all arrive at the same time.  Alex was left waiting for his dish for ages and if we had adopted the usual manners of not starting before everyone's meal had been served then it would have all been stone cold.  When it did eventually arrive - as the rest of us were practically finishing - it wasn't the correct dish. However, his hunger and the time didn't allow a replacement to be ordered and so he just accepted what was on offer.

Price wise, it worked out at around £22 per head, so a touch on the pricey side, but it is West London.

Marks (out of ten)

Exterior - 5

Surroundings - 7

Interior - 7

Toilets - 6

Service - 5

Food Quality - 9

Value - 6

Overall - 6.43 - Let down by the appearance and service, but food is excellent.

The match

Brentford were a whole division above us and it showed.  Our keeper played out of his skin and stopped 17 of their 19 attempts on target.  We were basically thrashed 2-1.

AFC Wimbledon Nov 2012

Date - Tuesday, 20th November 2012, Daal Handi restaurant

Attendees - Me, Malcolm, Peter, Dave T., Harry, Bill, Rick, JB, Kit, Gary, Julian, Roland and Alex

This trip to AFC Wimbledon enabled another ground to be ticked off the list for me. I saw the old Wimbledon at Plough Lane back in the late 1970's, but had not visited Kingsmeadow, the home of the new AFC Wimbledon that they shared with Kingstonian.  My cousin Julian, who I only normally see at family weddings, funerals and anniversary dinners, lived not far away and so he became an honorary Shrimper for the evening.  Another of our troop, JB, brought a work colleague Gary who lived just down the road as well and this swelled our travelling group to 13, although only 12 of us made the curry.

Those coming by train to Norbiton station had it far easier than the intrepid travellers from Essex who had to endure apocalyptic weather on the M25 southern section, fighting through some horrendous driving conditions.  I took Malcolm in my car with his brother Peter and another newbie, Roland (one of his sons is the boyfriend of one of Malcolm's daughters) and we managed to park practically outside the ground, about 200 yards from the Prince of Wales pub, where we were meeting up with the others, and in the other direction a literal stones throw from the restaurant.

We aimed to get to the curry house at about 6 and I met Julian outside. Some of our number were already inside, as well as about 10 others, so for 6 o'clock on a Tuesday they were quite full.  The restaurant clearly weren't expecting this as there was just one waitress on duty, no waiters and probably only one chef in the kitchen.

It took at least 5 minutes for anyone to even acknowledge our presence, and whilst the early arrivers had arranged a table for 10, there were in fact 12 so we had to fend for ourselves by arranging the additional 2 places and snaffling chairs and cutlery from neighbouring tables.  The very friendly waitress eventually took our drinks order and offered us either the a la carte menu or a buffet, but the experience so far had left us with serious concerns as to whether we would get served before kick off so we opted for the buffet, which was ready and waiting now.

20 poppadoms were also ordered.

The first trip to the buffet was initially uninspiring. There were only six options; quarters of plain Naan bread, plain Pilau rice, Tarka Dall (was it a little 'otter?  Don't worry, I'm here all week...), Bombay Aloo, Chicken Madras or Chicken Korma.  Sadly, all that was available was the Naan, rice and Bombay Aloo with the other tureens containing sauce only.  Freshly cooked dishes of the same variety were being brought out all the time but only in quantities that would serve about 6 people... consequently the dinner was eaten in instalments. The toilet was clean enough although it had run out of toilet roll completely, which wasn't a problem for me personally but it's never a good idea in a curry house to allow the toilets to run out of paper, is it?

Some of us had been up for seconds by the time the drinks arrived and we did feel for the poor waitress who was trying to keep everyone happy. Our order of 10 pints of Kingfisher and 2 cokes took an age but the beers eventually arrived; however, the cokes had been forgotten and a gentle reminder was needed.

The poppadoms turned up on the bar when most had already been up two or three times and there were no pickles, which was disappointing.  After they'd sat there for a few minutes, Malcolm called across to Dave's son Harry to bring them over.  Seeing him deliver the poppadoms, new customers arrived and promptly asked Harry for a table for 2, mistaking him for a waiter.  He'd come straight from sixth form so was in a white shirt and black trousers (having left his blazer and tie back in the car) so I guess it was an easy mistake to make.  Hurrah, the cokes finally arrive but despite 5 or 6 visits to the buffet I never managed to get the chicken korma, which had always run out, despite being replenished on several occasions.  We did manage a second round of drinks as well, which was a lot quicker.

This sounds as though it was a bit of a disaster, but it really wasn't.  OK, the service was not great but they were doing their best considering they clearly weren't expecting so many people to turn up at once.  I could have done them a favour and booked in advance, so I felt a little responsible.  They were also extremely pleasant and friendly, but the biggest plus was that the food was absolutely gorgeous.  The Madras certainly had some heat, the Korma sauce was creamy and aromatic, the rice was cooked to perfection and the two vegetarian dishes were to the total satisfaction of Rick, who is a vegetarian.  How on earth they would have managed had we ordered a la carte is anyone's guess. We'd probably still be there!

Price wise the buffet was £6.99 but with the drinks and service (?), it came to £18 per head, which made the drinks a touch expensive.

Marks (out of ten)

Exterior - 8
Surroundings - 6
Interior - 8
Toilets - 7
Service - 5
Food Quality - 9
Value - 6

Overall rating - 7 - Would certainly consider going back, but would probably book.



The match

AFC Wimbledon 0, Southend 4.

We maintained our 100% win ratio against the Wombles with a clinical and professional performance in atrocious conditions where we elected to stand in the open corner for the second half to get a better view and got completely soaked in the process.  But who cares...we won, got 3 points, looked quite good and moved up the table to just outside the playoffs.