Nice Spice: Blue Moon2

By Justin

I am a bit of a grammar fascist, so Blue Moon2 got instant marks off for having their "2" in superscript. I didn't notice any additional dimensions when I ate there, although someone did say that they have an upstairs dining room. Maybe it is a clever post-modern reference to the additional floor not found in the original Blue Moon?

Grammatical pedantry is about the only way I can criticise the Blue Moon2 though. This was an excellent meal, straight out of the top drawer, which confirms the Blue Moon at the top end of Indian food in Aberdeen.

Blue Moon2 is the brother of the better-known Blue Moon on Holburn Street, and is nearby in a back lane behind the College Bar. I've eaten in the original Blue Moon a number of times, but never here. The food at the Blue Moon has always been excellent, and there was no difference in the extension of the brand.

I wasn't starving, so I only had one course. The frolleagues that I was with (you're right Nev, that is highly annoying) all had starters that looked delicious, including some filled pancakes (puri) that were outstanding. My main course was burnt green curry with prawns. This was a nicely hot (probably medium) dish with burnt (on purpose) spinach, as well as spices and prawns. In contrast to the dish that I recently had at Nazma, this had both lovely flavour and the right level of heat. As usual, I had chappati instead of rice, and these were particularly fine examples that seemed to be homemade. Garlic naan was also real good. The dishes of my frolleagues friends all looked good, with lots of appreciative noises. There was a nice range on the menu (exactly the same as the main Blue Moon), including some unusual dishes such as halibut, red snapper, and liver.

Service was excellent: sharp, friendly, and with a smile. The room was packed, and they put up with a loud table of 14 (us) with aplomb. Things didn't take too long to arrive, the food was great, and the atmosphere relaxed. Recommended.

As an aside, on the way home we stopped at the pub and I tried a new beer: Guinness Red. Word of advice: don't bother. It seems to be their attempt at a classic "bitter" or "70/-" type beer, but they have failed spectacularly. It is tasteless (apart from a slight metallic kick) red water with a Guinness-style creamy head on top. Didn't do it for me.

Blue Moon2
1 Alford Lane
01224 593000

Thai, Indian and Pub

By Nev

Hello.

My name is Nev, and while I have exhaustive experience of eating, I am cursed with a lack of finesse in my appreciation. I blame this on my mother, who, wonderful as she is, infused boiled carrots with every meal as I grew up (except for a legendary fish pie I'd rather not go into). Thus it is a great irony that my hard-working colleagues, The Swish Fish and Kitchen Mark, with their marvellous culinary talents, spend much of their time cooking creations at home, while I - absent of any ability in the kitchen - seem to eat out rather a lot. Hence, while I'm in Aberdeen, I visit quite a lot of eating venues, and sample quite a lot of different food; alas, I have no idea whatsoever if it's any good or not.

Perhaps that's harsh. As Green/The Fish has remarked in the past, I can differentiate sweet and sour, and perhaps even hot or cold, and so it is with this delicate arsenal of taste that I attack head-on the many restuarants of Aberdeen and give them my judgement. Bonus points for pies.

1. Bhan Thai, Rose Street, 5th February

A lunch-time took me here, recommended by my dining colleague with a special insider knowledge into the cleanliness of Aberdonian restaurants, being as she is a Health and Safety official. Therefore, I can vouch strongly for the safety of all food within. I can vouch also for the tastiness of my meal, the name of which, regrettably, escapes me. You know, these foreign foods all have names I just can't remember. It had the name "Singapore" in it, and was kind of noodly, with beef and prawns, and was light and delicious. It was from the lunchtime menu, and was perfectly judged so, being enough to satisfy but not bloat.

The venue itself is first floor, and seemed pleasant, but as my seat was facing towards Rose Street I saw more of the Ladbrokes opposite than the actual restaurant. However, I appreciated the golden knife and fork, and my dining colleague paid! So all in all, an Egert and Roger (or whatever they are) thumbs up.

2. Kama, Bridge Street, 5th February

A few days earlier, I had eaten in the Nas (Naz?), as reviewed earlier by my two compatriots. It was very fine, and definitely high quality, despite the gigantic mound of plastic in Kitchen Mark's salad, and the heavy advertisement of celebrity guests. Kama, another Indian resturant just a few doors up, was more low-key on the guests - a photo of Penelope Keith adorned the lucky diner at only two tables of about twelve. Low-key was the theme of the evening, as though Kama is decorated pleasantly, it is far from hi-gloss or silver service. Which is where lies the charm. Straightforward, unpretentious, Kama was relaxed and friendly. Maybe not good enough for an S Club Junior, but good enough for me.

The food was excellent. I think. In fairness, my starter and main were nice, but didn't shine, but that was mostly because I was picking at random, and stupidly asked for the meal mild. What possessed me to ask this I don't know, but it meant that all the kick of my curry was removed. Still, it was very tasty, the potato-ish naan we had was lovely, and the single serving of pilau rice was extremely generous. And of note was my dining colleague's - my old schoolfriend Joe, who had chosen the place - starter, some kind of chilli liver. Improbable as this may sound, this chilli liver was sensationally delicious. I looked at Joe and envied him, then tried to distract him as I stole some more. There is no doubt that next time I go to Kama that I will be ordering this. Maybe twice.

And certainly, I will be returning. The no-frills, low-key vibe, together with the no-nonsense good Indian-style food appealed greatly.

3. The Globe, near Golden Square, 6th February

Well, I had a chilli con carne here. Chilli con carne used to be notable as the only meal I could make, but as I haven't made it since 2003, the note is historical only. Under Kitchen Mark's (via phone) supervision, I made a fried squid and some kind of sauce last year, which was surprisingly lovely, but that was almost 12 months ago and was the last of my kitchen flair, save a few baked potatoes.

Anyway, the chilli was nice. Just standard, but not shaming the world of con carne. My dining colleague opted for a half chicken, and what a mighty chicken it must have once been. I've seen smaller babies! Needless to say my dining colleague, who is fairly petite, was stuffed and ballooned by the end of the epic £6.95 feast.

Bhan Thai
21 Rose Street
01224 639155

Gourmet Kama
20 Bridge Street
01224 575754

The Globe
13-15 North Silver St
01224 624258

Plastic, fantastic: Nazma Tandoori

By Justin

My good friend Mark's excellent review of the Nazma Tandoori below was somewhat tainted by his strange views on celebrity. Doesn't he know that famous people are more important than us "normals", and that by including their praise on the menu (click on the picture to read just some of them) the Nazma lets us bask in their reflected glory? I, for one, enjoy my curry a lot more when I know that the S Club (Juniors) have eaten there.

This blog is, ultimately, about food though. Although the actual cuisine is irrelevant in a celebrity hangout such as this, the Nazma is double-blessed in that it also serves some excellent food. The room has, since my last visit, been "classed up": gone are the cheesy colour-changing lights, and in are modern tables and chairs that make the room a lot more stylish than your average tandoori. Most significantly, the terrible muzak hits of the Beatles and other popular artists were gone, replaced with barely-audible jazz featuring (as we were assured by Claire) a muted trumpeter swan. The meal followed the standard tandoori flow: poppadoms, starters, mains with rice and naan, Cobra beer, and a snubbing of the straight-from-the-freezer dessert menu.

My starter was really nice: a breast portion of tandoori-roast chicken. The marinade gave an excellent flavour (I could live without the red dye, though), and the hot oven had charred the outside to give a lovely barbecue edge. Mark suffered, however, from a bland dish with an unusual garnish of a blue plastic shaving. My meal stayed entirely plastic-free (as far as I am aware...), which was no bad thing.

Mains were a hit all-round. I had eaten the Redfort prawn here a couple of times before, and returned to the old friend again this time. It's a mild dish, with juicy prawns and a really flavoursome sauce given a sweet edge by ground and whole almonds. I did wish, though, for a bit of heat to round the flavour off: the lovely initial taste kind of died away into nothing without it. A sample of Niall's and Mark's dishes showed that Mark had made the best choice with his nicely flavoured and spicy herbed chicken.

Service was fairly attentive: the tabletop food-hoovers deployed wherever possible; Niall's fork, when dropped, appeared to disappear before it even hit the floor and was swiftly replaced, and the prices were good. Mark's plastic "treat" was the only real downside, and I'm not sure that it was dealt with fully. In a star-studded place such as this, I will leave the final words to Cheryl Baker, of Bucks Fizz (and TV) fame: "Many thanks to the Nazma for a fantastic meal with superb service!"

Nazma Tandoori
62 Bridge Street
01224 211296

Nazma Tandoori

By Mark

What have Art Malik, Steve Davis, Aberdeens favourite son Calvin Goldspink (of S club juniors fame.....but you didn't need me to tell you that, did you?) and Mullet Hunter Simon Varwell got in common?

Not much actually, apart from the fact that they've all had a good curry at the Nazma Tandoori. How do I know this? Well, apart from Varwell, they're names and photos are rather prominently displayed all over the place. I don't really have a problem with this (although the list of the semi famous and local heroes on the front of the menus is a little excessive) but, the fact that Willie Miller likes a place doesn't necessarily make it any good. I suppose what I'm trying to say is that a restaurant should be confident about its product and service and therefore wouldn't feel the need to remind us that other people, superior to ourselves, have enjoyed food there in the past.

And Nazma Tandoori really ought to have that confidence. Gone is the tacky 'top of the pops' lighting, and in its place is a pleasant, sophisticated dining room which looks a lot more elegant than your average curry house. The service was generally good, with one or two minor hiccups, (more on that in a mo), and with poppadoms, starters and mains coming in at roughly £25 per head I felt it was pretty good value.

So, what about the food then. To be honest, I was a little let down by my starter, a minced lamb kebab which was a little bland, but everyone else seemed to enjoy theres an awful lot, so I'll put it down to a bad choice. The main course though, was spectacularly good. I had a green herb chicken curry, which was like a spiced up, jazzed up bhuna and washed it down with equally good garlic and keema naans and some rice, which was, well, ricey. Not only was mine delicious, but everyone else's choices were real winners too, so on the whole, it really was a great meal.

My only grumble of the evening was when I found a small piece of plastic in one of the minced lamb kebabs. Nothing dangerous or sharp, but a piece of plastic, all the same. I'd be pretty seriously embarrassed if someone made that complaint to me in a restaurant. The waiter I mentioned it to seemed both embarrassed and concerned, but didn't really know what to do, so went to speak to his supervisor. Fair enough. The supervisor rather brashly swept the whole thing under the carpet and suggested I need not worry, as the plastic was probably from the salad!

So, to sum up.....Nazma Tandoori...a thoroughly enjoyable curry, but I'd give the salad a wide berth if I were you!

Nazma Tandoori
62 Bridge Street
01224 211296