Karahi King, North Wembley: Best curry in London so far...

Last night involved a 2 part mission:
1. To entice The Peanut Gallery beyond Zone 2 of the London Tube map.
2. To find a curry worth writing home about.

Today, I'm one happy camper.

Some time ago, over a glass or two of wine with the fabulous Food for Think, I lamented my complete inability to find a delicious curry truly worthy of London's repute for such fare. Ms Food for Think promptly issued, and I eagerly accepted, an invitation for TPG and I to join her and boyfriend Mr J at Karahi King in North Wembley.

North Wembley is in Zone 4. No, I am not joking. Somehow, possibly due to the guarantee of good company, the promise of plentiful food and my inadvertent omission to mention zoning, I managed to lure TPG there anyway with barely a whimper. He did pack 2 magazines for the journey.

Karahi King is plastic plate, paper napkin, no frills dining in an almost canteen/cafe style setting. Naturally, this is the perfect backdrop for wonderful, pleasure filled plates of joy to be scooped, shared and chatted over in glorious Friday night abandon.

There's an open kitchen with karahi pans ready and raring to mix you up an exotic storm of spicy North Indian goodness. Mr J, who has travelled around India and seems to know his stuff, took care of the ordering. I recommend you take him with you if you visit - he's right on target every time. Our starters were scrumptious - juicy Seekh Kebabs (lamb mince) were perfectly grilled with a hit of aromatic spice, while the gorgeous Paneer Tikka (cubes of cottage cheese), grilled with onion, tomatoes and capsicum, went some way to revealing the mystery of what might get a vegetarian out of bed in the morning. Each dish was broken up over beer bottles and wine glasses, and scooped into some fine naan to aid delivery.

(Saag paneer)

Our curries followed. Each had its own distinct flavour and texture, and was in a whole other league from the "pieces of meat floating in non-descript sauce" variety that I have come to presume. (Although we recently had some decent ones with friends at Gaylords, Fitzrovia. Oh, please - so immature). We feasted on the Karahi Chicken (tender chicken breast cooked in tomato, onion and coriander, with a hint of ginger), Keema Karahi (minced lamb and potatoes in a spicy mix of tomato, chilli, garlic and coriander leaves), a smoky Saag Paneer (spinach and cheese), and soupy looking dahl with temperate spices. We soaked them up with rice and large garlic naans.

(Top: Karahi Chicken; Below: Dahl; 

Top of page: Keema Karahi)

TPG and Ms Food For Think lingered over some creamy, pyramid shaped mango kulfi (ice cream to you and me).

(Most indecipherable total in the world - 

until you see it's written on the back)

There's a huge array of both meaty and vegetarian dishes. It's delicious, cheap (around  £15 per head if you're really feasting - including beers and service) and it's even BYO (extra tick). And despite my carryings on with the bit about Zone 4, it's actually an easy shoot straight up the Bakerloo line. Oh, and you must stop by at the formerly Irish, now of mystery variety, pub across the road on your way home. Ah, the thrill of new discoveries. I'm back on the curry wagon.

Karahi King, 213 East Lane, North Wembley, London, HA0 3NG (Tel: 020 8904 2760)

Lahore Kebab House: Whitechapel, London

In the hotly debated world of food lovers, there's one thing most Londoners hold as gospel - if you want some good lamb chops, go to Whitechapel.

Whitechapel boasts some of the oldest and most revered Pakistani restaurants in London. Many would cite Tayyabs as a favourite. These kinds of places are to the feasting Brit what good Thai and Vietnamese restaurants are to the gluttonous Aussie. And, although the Thai and Vietnamese flavours are still preferable to my Australian palate, I'm not one to knock back a good plate of lamb chops. Here, in London, go to the right places and they do them so well.

Last week, we took on a feast at Lahore Kebab House.

The first thing you notice is that it's massive and it's packed to the rafters. The whole upstairs floor was crowded with groups welcoming in the weekend with Cobra beers, spicy curries, grilled chops, and tandoori chicken to their hearts' content. At least one thing this place has over Tayyabs is that there's so much seating, you won't have to spend half your night in a queue.

We started with poppadoms, minted yoghurt and mango chutney (all fairly standard) and, the main draw card for me, platefuls of expertly grilled, marinated lamb chops (£7.50). The spicy marinade is intense, but delicious, and our first serve was moist, tender and juicy - perfect. Subsequent platefuls were, unfortunately, quite chewy.

There's a full range of curries (£5.50 each for vegie, £7.50 each for meaty) varied from mild to spicy - we sampled most of them. While nothing screamed out at me as being earth shattering, they were a cut above the curries I've sampled closer to home in the West End. Serving sizes are decent.

The huge stacks of plain naan we ordered to slurp them up were excellent.

And (halleluyah!) it's BYO, so take your booze (there's an off-licence next door) and for 15 quid per head you can feast til you burst. Just don't expect any frills - champagne glasses were provided for the red wine drinkers.

Service is brusque and not particularly personable, but when you're getting such good food at low prices, and given the number of covers, you can't expect too many pleasantries. The only hitch occurred when our waiter spilled red wine all over the shirt of one of the ladies at our table - however, they did deduct her share from the bill.

Perhaps not a location for a romantic special occassion (do NOT get any ideas TPG), but just brilliant for a big, noisy night out with a gang of like minded gluttons.

Lahore Kebab House, 2-10 Umberston Street, Whitechapel, London E1 1PY

Mooli's: Soho, London

I have made my thoughts on the burrito clear. Bah, humbug. I have, despondently, hung up my sombrero. But the time has come to cast my greedy eye over the latest London street food craze - the "mooli" of Mooli's.

A mooli was a giant Japanese radish. Now, on the streets of Soho at least, it is an Indian roti wrap housing a range of meats or vegetables with Indian spices, salad and chutneys. Mooli's sells 6 different types of moolis (the wrap type, not the radish type) - chicken, asparagus, paneer, beef, pork and now goat. I slowly but surely got myself on the case.

I was the first in the door one mid week lunchtime (lunch before 12pm, anyone?), and was greeted by the genuine happy and helpful friendliness for which Mooli's is already developing quite the reputation. The man, who I later found out to be Sam, guided me through a few moments of scatty indecision (beef or pork, beef or pork?) by suggesting I kick off my Mooli experience with the beef variety. Done.

While the beef mooli is normally £3.95, I upsized to the mooli madness meal (my term, in case of doubt) for £5 - mooli, lassi and a bag of roasted poppadoms with a tub of spicy tomato sauce.

The roti is doughey and warm, while the Keralan beef is braised with a subtle hit of southern Indian (Malabar) spices and coconut, and topped with green salad and a cucumber raita (seasoned yoghurt sauce). The beef is lovely - tasty and tender. Although the spices are demure and some might prefer them spiced up somewhat, they add a definite flavour. The meat is, however, a tad scanty and I almost had to go back for a second.

The Goan pork mooli is, apparently, a spicier option and I certainly enjoyed my beef mooli enough to be looking forward to a return visit to try this one out.

The roasted poppadoms were fine - neither here nor there for me - but the lassi was excellent - big on mango fruitiness, tangy, thick and creamy, just as a lassi should be.

I returned again this week to take away a goat mooli, which I ate sitting in the Springtime sunshine at Soho Square, dodging randomly falling bird poo and stray drug addicts in the process. The goat mooli was much bigger and meatier than its little beef brother. At £5, it costs a bit more, but dealt a swift knock out blow to any hunger pangs.

Big chunks of tender goat meat (again, braised over several hours) were at times overflowing among the mix of roast vegetables and tasty spices. There may have been one too many chunks of potato and bits of chopped red onion, but all in all the goat mooli is a fine addition to your eating-on-the-hoof options in Soho. It's a full Indian meal, cooked nicely, wrapped up in a warm roti blanket. I like it.

The Mooli's fit out is bright and basic - it's more a fast food joint than anything else, but food is made fresh and, it seems, with pride. If it comes down to a burrito or a mooli, make mine a mooli. Over and out.

Mooli's, 50 Frith Street, Soho, London, W1D 4