London: The East End Regenerates - Eat at Est.India London

Home is where your heart is and although I wasn't born in London my heart really beats here.  There is something happening to areas in London in the form of a regeneration and the area around Borough Market (nearest Underground station is London Bridge) is really alive, vibrant and full of energy.

As my friend Nayna who writes at Simply Sensational Food and I searched for the restaurant Est.India London we were going to review we discovered a part of East London neither of us had known before. Flat Iron Square and Union Street have some great looking buildings, a case of  'New London' which is really 'Old London'.

And on a small triangle opposite the entrance to Flat Iron Square we found Est.India London the restaurant we were looking for -

From the outside it was busy with people sitting at tables enjoying the warm, sultry summer evening, trains passing overhead and the noise of revelers drinking and eating at the establishments in Flat Iron Square. If you want a relaxed atmosphere and a lovely meal you should pop in!

We were warmly welcomed. Poppadoms were delivered to the table.

For our starters I chose the Stuffed Paneer, beautifully presented however I felt it was a bit dry.

Nayna picked the Vegetable Samosa.

We liked our starters but were not bowled over.  Then the main courses arrived and the real fun began!  I often order Chicken Tikka Masala but really this can be hit or miss in my local Indian restaurants.  This however was superb.  The chicken was tender and moist and the masala sauce really tasty, buttery and creamy. I also had a pilau rice and a side order of raitha, the yogurt and cucumber sauce so essential to any good Indian meal.

When the owner came over for a chat I mentioned that the paneer I had for a starter was a bit dry.  He asked us to try the Kedai Paneer - wow it was amazing; the paneer was served in a tasty sauce with big chunks of green pepper. It was a bit spicy but not too much for my little taste buds. Full of flavour and really moist.  He explained that the paneer was made on site.

Nayna who is a vegetarian ordered the Sag Aloo - spinach and potato dish along with pilau rice and raitha. The Sag Aloo was served so beautifully in a bowl that complemented the colours really well (you don't expect a spinach dish to look so lovely)!

Lately when I eat out I am too full for a pudding or dessert. After this meal I was full but really fancied something refreshing so I ordered the Mango Sorbet.  Three large scoops of refreshing and home made mango sorbet.  The flavour was so natural and creamy and very, very refreshing.  (Nayna ordered the Pistaccio Kulfi Stick.)

The management were really friendly and went out of their way to make sure we had a really lovely meal.

I would certainly come back here for a meal and would really like Mr R to experience this fantastic food as well.  I want to discover more of the new East End of London!

I was a guest of Est.IndiaLondon.  I was not required to write a positive review.  As usual all opinions and photographs are my own.  None of my photos may be reproduced in any form without my written permission.

Read Nayna's review click here!

London: Mango Indian Restaurant - A Review

London is such a fantastic place for food and Mango Indian Restaurant which is just a 5 minute walk from London Bridge Station on the Jubilee Line was a wonderful restaurant to review on one of the hottest evenings of the year. I was invited to review Mango and my friend and fellow blogger Nayna from Simply Sensational Food accompanied me.

I was lovely to arrive when it was still light outside and we were seated at a window seat which meant great light for taking photos - a blogger's dream!

We had poppadoms with the usual accompaniment like the very thinly sliced onion, mango pickle and raita - yoghurt and mint sauce. Nayna was really taken by the red sauce which was too hot for me however she asked the waiter for the recipe!

For some reason I thought I didn't like paneer - an Indian cheese however I have been trying it when an opportunity arises and I find I really do like it.  I even chose it for my starter - Aachari Paneer (V) slices of paneer marinated with pickling spices and slow cooked in the tandoor oven.

Nayna had the Aloo Tikki (V) - typical Mumbai street food - potatoes and chick peas spiced with fresh coriander and cumin seeds served with a coriander & mint chutney.  We swapped a bit of each so I do know how tasty this one was too.

I often order a biryani in Indian restaurants but have never had it served the traditional way with a dough cover.  The cover creates a steaming environment which not only cooks the chicken but keeps it moist and tasty.

You don't eat the dough cover but once you pull it back you smell the lovely aroma and digging into the bowl you find huge chunks of lovely tender chicken. A biryani includes the rice therefore only a bowl of raita is needed as an accompaniment.

Nayna is a vegetarian so she ordered the pilau rice and three vegetable dishes.

The dishes selected were (from the front) Dall Makhni - black lentils in a creamy sauce, Sag Aloo - Baby potatoes and spinach lightly spiced with garlic and cumin seeds and Dhai Baingon - Baby aubergine cooked with yoghurt, lightly spiced with turmeric and fresh coriander.

The bread basket was a mixture of naan breads all freshly cooked and very delicious.

We were unable to eat all of the food as the portions were really generous so ended up with takeaway boxes as we made our way home.  Since we were full we didn't try the puddings however they offer traditional desserts like Matka Kulfi and Gulab Jamon and lighter things like sorbets and gelato.

We dined there on a Tueaday evening not expecting it to be heaving but almost every table was full and there was a great atmosphere. I would certainly dine there again if I was in the Borough Market area!

If you want to read Nayna's account of the meal click here for her review.

I was an invited guest at Mango Indian Restaurant.  I was not expected to write a positive review.  As usual all opinions and photography are my own and no photographs may be reproduced in any form without my written permission.