Sher Akbar

Manchester Road, Chorlton

Mixed Starter for Two, Bhajees in the background

Mixed Grill Starter

Dhansak top left, Punjabi Karahi bottom centre

July 2012

Lunchtime Special 12-3

I was really impressed with this though the poster outside is misleading. The reality of the deal is any curry on the menu, barring those containing the legendary takeaway gold dust: king prawns + rice, mini naan and a little pot of salad for £4.95.  I think that's really decent value.

March 2012
First visit to Chorlton's latest and probably grandest Curryhouse. This is the only establishment of its type open at noon, though judging by other places I can't see it lasting, the trade will not be sufficient for a place of this size - if it isn't in Manchester Centre or Rusholme then it isn't in Chorlton. We'll see.
Sher Akbar seems to be sister to a place of the same name in Northenden and their menus don't differ much. Inside it's clean adn bright - glass walls yadda yadda - the staff were really nice and attentive though we were pretty much the only folk in there at 2PM on a Saturday afternoon. Early days yet of course.
So - to the food. Unfortunately Sher Akbar seems to have fallen into the trap of so  many grand places - (too) extensive menus and not enough 'from scratch cooking'. - The grills are a safe bet as are most starters, popppadoms and the other faff that people like. But when it came to the curries they were only OK. With the exception of the dhansak which was a creamy disaster (pictured top left with pineapple ring).  When I asked for the most traditional sounding dish 'Punjabi Karahi' I hoped I was on to a winner but when the guy came back to ask me 'chicken or lamb?', I realised it was the same as ever. Big pot of sauce to smother whatever ingredients the customer wants in it, change the trimmings a bit and before you know it you've got a 200 item menu. Shame.
Some people like these flashy 'you know what you're getting' type places, just not me really. It's fine, clean, edible and tasty - but why not have some slow cooked lamb on the bone or something with a bit more depth behind it. Ah well - no biggie. An enjoyable occasion and to an extent recommended - but only of it's type: big, flashy, fluffy naan, crispy pakora, sizzling platters, inoffensive curries, After Eights and Bailey's for the ladies type affair. You know what I mean.

Paan House

Ayres Road, M16

 Starters

Roti, Rice, Karahi Dall Tarka, Karahi Fish, Lamb Tikka Masala

September 2011
A hell of a mixed grill, featuring lamb, chicken and fish tikka, chops, seekhs and chicken wings. It's about £10 but well worth it and plenty to share.

August 2011 - very similar order, very similar result - an absolute feast for a modest outlay and something really authentic about it - just not the usual bland takeaway rubbish - with some of the best prices around. Just Eat.co.uk helps with the ordering too. Much less ambiguity and no language barrier.


About a week later....
Unfortuantely not as good this time. It took over an hour - it seems they were closing up and just banged some OK grub out of the door, it was fine but clearly rushed and a bit lacking in the finishing touches.  Probably stick to prime time ordering in future.

June 2011
If you check the net you'll find some pretty favourable reviews for Paan House - using terms like 'authentic' and 'traditional'. They're adjectives we're in favour of at Flavours of Manchester, it's also reasonably priced - another key feature from our point of view. Price is certainly no guarantee of quality when it comes to authentic curry dishes. However, one area where it seems to matter is starters. Low cost places often do batches of starters early in the day and them microwave them up - more expensive places can't get away with this as a soggy bhaji is notceable to all customers even if bland, generic curries may not be. That certainly appeared to be the case with our tandoori chicken wings and chappli kebab - microwaved and a pretty tough, though mitigated by price and size. The chops were fresh and tasty, but cut very thin. The veg samosas were also small - but at £1 for 2 who can argue? So far so so - the starters were fine, nothing special but pretty cheap, so no complaints given the price. Moving on to the curries everything went up a notch or three - karahi Dall Tarka, Fish Karahi and Lamb Tikka Masala. All distinct and interesting. The 'Tikka Masala' was an aromatic and rich lamb dish, heavy on the garam masala type spices but without the sugar and cream - nor was it lamb tikka. Oddly named but a great dish. In contrast the fish was fresh with coriander and more subtle spicing. The dall was excellent, not over cooked, retaining some bite and earthy with cumin - a main course at £3.50 is great value. The Roti were some of the best I've had in a while and at 4 for £1 another bargain. We got a feast for £20, but that was being greedy - there are many main courses under £5 and starters from £1 to £3.

Paan House isn't faultless - which is probably for the best. It doesn't look like the sort of place that'll will get too big for its boots. It has lots of interesting dishes on the menu - if only we could figure out what they all were - Nahari, Paya (trotters) and Gurda Kalegi (kidneys and liver) are on there but some of the dishes I've never seen before and are seemingly un-goggle-able due to variations in spelling (notice dall instead of more usual daal, Kalegi instead of more usual Kaleji etc). Any ideas on Kaphoore or Batere?

We like it here and will be ordering again - though, as ever, it's all about what you order.

Ashiana

Upper Chorlton Rd.

March 2011
'The works' please. This involved a mixed grill, chicken karahi, bhajis, prawn korma, chana and spinach, rice, naan & chapatti. Think that was it.  The grills we were already convinced about from the previous visit, the main purpose today was to taste the curries. They did not disappoint. The chicken karahi was the star of the show - tasting of both chicken and karahi. OK, stupid joke but it did have a subtle and decidedly savoury flavour that doesn't just come from banging out dish after dish. Care had been taken. Same went for the chickpea and spinach dish. A bit of a treat. Prawn Korma is not a choice we'd ever personally make on 'Flavours' - firstly because it's normally always creamy, sweet and ridiculous and secondly because we eat so much curry that eating unhealthy ones regularly will definitely kill us. However it was nice to try for a change. As usual very low prawn count, but the sauce was very tasty, not too sweet or rich, seemingly flavoured with almonds and not too much cream. Very Enjoyable to have a dip into occasionally to freshen the palate and before digging back into the more intense stuff.  A good call and a feast for about £26.

Jan 2011
Ashiana has been around for ages - since 1984 in fact. it's a bit of a Whalley Range/Chorlton institution - for various reasons. Not least because they do Asian Meals on Wheels and give tips to charity. All good stuff.  The fella in charge was very helpful and interesting - keen to talk about varieties of food and his personal preferences.  He said a lot of his business was dedicated to making individual dishes to customers' specifications - but preferred himself the meals on wheels food as it's more 'get what you're given' authentic Asian - that's what we like too! Shame we can't get it!
The curry menu is extensive and interesting (ever heard of Shearty or Ziaka?) -  this isn't always a good thing, but that will have to wait. Today was a kebab day - a fine selection of meat was under the cool counter -it's rare and encouraging to see raw chicken on the bone ready to go in the tandoor. A selection of chicken and lamb tikka and a large seekh kebab were ordered with one naan and one chapatti - basically to try as much as possible.  The meat was all well cooked, the tandoor is slightly diferent to the grill - the meat comes out a bit less charred and a bit more fragrant. The bread was pretty good but there's just not that much to say about it - they weren't of the 2 feet long Persian variety, but nor were they bad - just good Pakistani/Indian type. Salad and sauces were fresh and there were a few additional homemade accompaniments which showed that this place takes a bit more care.
It was a good experience and I'll return. My last curry here was a few years ago and in all honesty pretty generic - perhaps its time to give it another go, although with the benefit of a convesation rather than phoning up for a Madras.  They're definitely trying to please the customers at Ashiana - unfortuantely sometimes that means making assumptions we want bland or anglicised food. This was probably more appropriate in 1984 when they opened, but we've moved on a bit - trust us! Also - those eligible for Meals on Wheels - what are you waiting for???

Zam Zam Tandoori

Pakistani/North Indian style - Wilbraham Road, Chorlton

 

 £4 Special curry + rice or naan

Chicken on chapatti

May 2012
Returned for the special. £4 for curry: lamb, chicken, chicken kofta or veg + rice or naan (pictured). In the past this has been a bit weak compared with the 'proper' dishes - a bit bland and gloupy. But the guy serving offered it 'spicy' and did a decent job pepping up the sauce into something tasty and the lamb was a decent cut and tasted of sheep rather than miscellaneous red meat. The rice was delicious - having that whiff of pilau (cloves, cinnamon etc -) without being over powering. It's a great deal at £4 for the meal

April 2012
Truly great Nihari. On the bone which was unusual. Seems if Taz is around this place runs like clockwork. Nihari, naan, daal marsh side dish was £8.50, but the business. as good as anywhere. I just wish there was a bit more consistencey.


December 2011
Popped in for the chicken kofte and naan for £4. Can't argue with this 'special'.


August 2011
Ventured in for a chicken kebab - pictured. Everything was nicely cooked but the flavour on the meat wasn't great. It tasted like a whole packet of tandoori powder had been sprinkled all over it and that was about it - making it rather too strong and claggy. I didn't recognise any staff - perhaps the usual guys are on holiday. It didn't ruin the kebab which at £3, all cooked in a tandoor, is great value - it's just so easy to fix the details why not? - Salad is still not great here, it's all about the meat.


May 2011
Went in for a bit of a feed today (pictured) and left a bit disappointed unfortunately. The chops were very small and thinly cut – making a main portion of 5 not nearly enough, plus they were covered in too much, marinade which made them a bit pasty. The chicken kofta was drenched in thick tomato based sauce which wasn’t great either – the stuff of really generic takeaways. The chana daal had been given an almost identical treatment . The fresh naan were excellent as always. For £15 it just wasn't quite there.  I think we’re going to have to revert to the grills and ‘special’ curries only police – karahi gosht, nihari etc.  It’s a pretty good policy anywhere really. We still like it here – just not quite up to the usual standards – and as seems to often be the case, this happens when the main guy, Taz isn’t around.


April-May 2011
We use this place quite a lot for takeaways but rarely write them up. Often as they're end of the night drunken ones, so its hardly fair. The food's always tasty, but not short on oil - which may put a few people off, though not us. The chops, daal and karahi are probably the stand out dishes.  Decent Nehari too. It's usually good and sometimes fantastic. The bread is always fresh from the tandoor and excellent.

Jan 2010
I think there's a bit of a pattern with Zam Zam - the grills are good. The curries are tasty but a bit oily. - So evidenced by my table top every time I have a takeaway. Whether you're into this style or not is very much up to you. If you're feeling the January over indulgence perhaps stick to the chicken tikka - if you don't give a monkeys about leaving a pool of orange oil on your plate knock yourself out - it's good stuff and the traditional dishes, such as Nihari and Karahi, are well up there with the best.


August '10 Good & Bad
Bad
Awful chicken shawarma/doner. The dry, tiny crumbs of chicken had been in the warmer too long and were almost entirely covered in spice powder, which added to the dry sensation on the palate. Why we didn't get fresh slices from the meat that was actaully cooking I've no idea - which also begs the question when was this meat first cooked? Presumably yesterday - as the 'current' chicken shawarma was untouched. Not good at all. Worst kebab since Monsoons stopped churning this sort of rubbish out - which was also mitigated by being drunk and grateful. - Tandoor chapatti is always good, I won't pretend otherwise.

Good
£4 Zam Zam special - curry and 'carb of your choice' (not their words). Two of us went for lamb curry, chicken kofta curry and a couple of chapattis (rice or naan also available - all done in the clay oven, OK not the rice). The curries were slightly generic but definitely on the good side of generic - this is a bit of a bargain, particularly since the standard menu curries are now over £6 without accompaniment. The chicken kofta was meaty, plentiful, hot and tasty - the lamb possibly lacking a little in meat content but that's often the case. It's as near to a curry cafe experience as there is in the Chorlton-ish area. I suppose the ultimate compliment is that if Zam Zam were in town we'd still come.


July '10
Good chicken kebab, though somewhat marred by too much sauce turning the chapatti into a bit of a sloppy mess. It happens sometimes. 

April '10
Zam Zam Special - £4 for lamb curry, chicken curry, veg curry or chicken kofta curry with a rice or naan. This is about as near to a Curry Cafe experience you can get on this side of town. It's a good deal, the chicken kofta was probably the pick of the bunch. Future visits have found the chicken and lamb curries to be pretty much generic 'takeaway' type stuff and not all that inspiring.

Only open a month at the time of our first visit Zam Zam found its feet pretty quickly, producing some of the best Pakistani kebabs (and curries) around these parts. Tadoori Naan, freshly and well grilled meat, good salad and sauces and pleasant service make this place hard to beat. There are a number of freshly cooked curry dishes and starters availble - which are excellent also - nihari, karahi gosht (on the bone) and the tarka daal stand out. Zam Zam is a welcome addition to centre of Chorlton. However, numerous visits since our first haven't completely settled our minds, when it's great it's great - when it's not great it's only alright. This usually depends on whether the main man, Taz, is at the tandoor or not - which makes scoring quite difficult, however we'll go with our initial good impressions.

Scores out of 10
Meat 9.0
Bread 9.5
Salad/Sauces 8.0
Service/Setting 8.0
Average 8.6