When it’s December, there’s last minute shopping hurdle.
Sometimes I wonder is it the season for shopping of spending time it family. I wouldn't let my time pass by shopping, let
alone miss family time. I would grab every opportunity to spend some time with
friends and family when it’s December. Be it indoor or outdoor.
Day before Christmas eve it’s the usual carol singing and
packing gifts to your loved ones. Well this year it was different. A bunch of
calls and half the family were meeting at our local Indian restaurant. We
wanted to do a little different said Uncle Willy. My mother’s cousin twice
removed. He wanted all our nineteen family member to have a time, as it turns
out my great aunt Beatty was turning 89 this year.
Well I just jumped off my couch, taking no concern on the
lights. It was already 4 o’clock and I was supposed to be in Stoneleigh at 5.
Taking the car would be like fighting the traffic. With a few phone calls I got
to know it would be better for me to take the subway. Reaching Stoneleigh it
was me and my younger brother who had the job to take aunt Beatty to the
restaurant.
The traffic was quiet low on a Christmas Eve. It was windy
and my brother Matthew had to keep the headlights on, though the fog had quiet
the surprising effect. Aunt Beatty was half deaf and it took us over twenty
mins to explain to her that we all were meeting at an Indian place. It was
quiet funny when she finally understood that we were taking her outside.
Arriving five minutes past six everyone thought if we lost
our way. It was a relief to get into the warm after the heater broke in my
brother’s car. My aunt was sleeping once we put her inside the restaurant.
Whereas my dad thought if she had any trouble or not. I was half way explaining
when aunt Beatty said out loud in her cherry voice “is the curry ready?” We all
went laughing saying “we just arrived”.
It was a surprise when I realised we
weren’t the only family there in the restaurant. There were four more
gatherings quiet similar to our group. I was half way to ask my cousin, how she
pulled off this busy venue. She explained to me that she sorted it out weeks
ago when uncle Willy talked her into it. I remember this Indian restaurant in Epsom opened few years back and it was
always packed. Still nothing has changed. Except the lights and the bar had few
more whiskey bottles.
This local Indian restaurant as I must say is not the usual
sort of restaurant that you’d expect to find in London or anywhere else. I
still remember my first time when it opened. They have this policy to make sure
you get fed till you say, I’m OK. This is exactly why the place keeps getting
people almost every day. I still remember they had this dish called tikka
korai, it had the most succulent lamb I have tasted so far.
So back to the feast. My uncle Willy was all about spicy
dishes, whereas my cousin was picky and didn’t want her kids to feel bad. I on
the other hand was ranting about my time in London when I noticed my dad order
two dozen dish including the tikka korai. The day couldn’t go wrong I thought
to myself. While the starters arrived I noticed a new item on the table. Last
time when I was here there was no mussels. As far as I can tell, very few
Indian places serves mussels. For a group like us, we had to order three whole
plates. Seeing my second cousin Jen gulping four at once, I kind of asked her
if she was mad or something.
When she retorted my snicker, she said “try it before you
say sorry I din’t get one”. Well she was right. The mussels were braised in
wine and had a hint of garlic. The peppers used were perfect. With the mussels
fight going I did have time to taste the onion bhaji and the paneer tikka. They
had subtle taste and were almost over when I for my second helping.
The main course arrived when we were on our second beers.
The main course was a bit lengthy so I’ll get on with the ones I took. Peshwari
chicken with a side of aloo gobi, a piece of sweet chili chicken and a whole
garlic naan. I was not into the rice section as I was keeping my fibre diet
quiet low. But did have two spoons of chicken tikka biryani. The chicken tikka
had a rough coat on the outside so I was almost going to call an attendee when
the manager came around and said “we’re sorry for the plate, we’ll change it
straight away”. Was a bit dazzled to see that they had taken their service
level to a standard that I didn’t expect from here. Really impressed.
From service to dish, we were all fed to level that we were
having second thoughts about Christmas morning. The feast on that day had
turned our mood cherry for the season. We all were courted and had a small
complimentary Indian sweet. As it turns out a gulab jamun for that day only. I
gulped three down at once.
If you ever visit Epsom and in the mood for a small meal
before you hit the road, try this place. They won’t disappoint you. From food
to service everything here has a panache. If you want your dish to be sweet,
try they murgh madhuri and ask to make it sweet. You will love it.
