I celebrated four years of glorious togetherness with Him this week. For roughly three years and fifty weeks of this time he has been banging on about ‘the best curry’ he has ever had, and how we will go there one night. I have to confess I’ve never been that keen on taking Him up on the offer as he is massive fan of either mouth cripplingly hot dishes or coconut heavy, sweet sauces from hell. Both of which you can keep, thank you very much.
Finally the time came to relent. It was Sunday, it was special offer night, we had missed the Sainsburys shut down and knew we were going home to a fridge containing two courgettes, half a jar of Dijon mustard and some congealed salad dressing. Fine. We’ll go for a curry.
You will find Curry nights in the same place it has been for the last 15 years, tucked away towards the Prom end of Maldon High St. The first points they get are awarded for having perfect internal Curry House Decor. High backed chairs, immaculate white table linen, chrome and neon and that back lit bubble screen behind the bar. Brilliant. The old greats are old and great for a reason. Staff are friendly and attentive, wheeling your dishes to the table with some ceremony on a large, old-school service trolley which becomes reasonably theatrical if you opt for the flambe house special Chicken Agnee Korai. On an average night the soft sounds of 80s covers albums may aid your digestion but keep an eye on their website/facebook for regular Elvis nights. I’ve never been to a live Elvis dinner you know. I still can’t decide if that will change.
And on to the food. If you go on a Sunday or Thursday you will get a whopping amount of grub for not much money- who can resist a starter, main, rice, naan and side at less than a tenner per head? Not this girl for sure. So it’s mega value, but does it taste any good?
Well. He said it was the best curry he had ever had. I have had some pretty alright curries in my time, and some cruddy horrible watery burny ones too. I think there is a 99% liklihood that the next curry I go out for will be from Curry Nights. It was brilliant, and not just because I’m cheap. The house special curries are hard to pick between but offer a good range of sweet-safe options up to mega hots. Then there is lots in the middle for those of you, like me, who seek some heat and spice without first degree burns to the roof of your mouth. Naans and rice as you would expect from such an establishment and the usual sides, well executed. Take advice on the sides from their waiting staff for the best compliments to your overall meal and expect more paneer than sag in your sag paneer, which could split the opinion on your table. Sweet and smooth fans should abandon the korma and check out the Chicken Mango Delight, or if you like a bit more kick in your dinner I vouch for the Monochori- a rich, hefty sauce with lots of coriander and a great, sharp contrast provided from the odd surprise lump of pickle. The prawn puree starter was exceptional.
I’d tell you about dessert, but if you can manage that after all your meat and rice and naans and fizzy lager pop then you are a bigger man than anyone in our party managed to be that evening. The menu suggests the expected pre-fab ice cream and pistachio based treats common in this kind of establishment.
So that was Curry Nights, and this is me telling you to check it out if you have a chance. Click on them here and bookfacelike them here and tell them I sent you 🙂
Food. Boom. 