I organized a going away lunch for two people who worked on my project team.  It’s sad to see people leave but at the same time you know that projects being what they are, people don’t get to work permanently together for very long.

Since there were quite a bit of people going, I thought that we should try some Asian style lunch where we order dishes to share.  For these types of meals, the more people you have the more you could varieties you could order.

So we went to the Green Lettuce which is basically sort of a Chinese-Indian fusion restaurant … although I think the word "fusion" is not exactly what it really describes.  It more of a Chinese restaurant with East Indian cooking and ingredients.  It’s like 2/3 Chinese and 1/3 Indian.  Be prepared … this restaurant specializes in spicy food.

I did not even make a reservation even though we have 17 people in all.  I was pretty confident that if we were there early (11:45AM), they can accommodate us.  We were lucky actually because there was another big party who booked for lunch that day.  Close call!  They managed to accommodate us by seating us together since we were earlier than the other group who had their group scattered across several tables.

We left the ordering to the other side of the long table and so I had no idea what or how much were being ordered.  So, I am pretty much making guess work on what it is we had.  Well, the ones below is wonton soup.  It was really good ones … big and meaty.  The broth was great too.

There is also the sour and spicy soup.  I noticed that the Caucasians stayed away from this but simply love wontons.  The Asians like this.

Some noodles dishes.  Since we had so many people, we had the chance to order two of each … one spicy and the other non-spicy.

So, how do we know which version is spicy?  Well, they have a chili sticking out from the middle.  I find that kind of unique and creative of the restaurant.

I have no idea what this is but as you can see the sauce is simple great with rice.

Another dish, I had no idea what it is.  I don’t even care to ask what it is … everything looked so good.

Looking the the pictures now, it appears that everything looked almost the same … dark brown sauce on some meat with peppers.

Yummy …

This is my favourite … prawns and really spicy too.  It’s a bit moist which is great when you smear it on rice.

Everyone enjoyed the meal.  A true testament of a truly enjoyable meal is when people are sweating profusely from all the spicy food!  It was so good, I heard that some of the guys actually went back to this same place for lunch despite it being a 10 minute drive from the office.  I guess it is that good … you should go.

Just one last word … for Moe and Chix.  It’s been great working with you both and everyone is truly impressed with your work.  Well, you know you’ve done well when you see some of the panics people had when they hear of you both moving on.  I know you’ll do well wherever you go to next.  Like I always said … "As long as you have a good head on your shoulders and a good heart, you’ll be successful in wherever you end up".  It’s a small world … who knows there’s another project we would be working together again.

And for those of you who wants to known the direction to this place, their website is here.  They are on the intersection of Victoria and Kingsway in Vancouver … see Google Map below:

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We found this little gem of a place quite by accident a couple of months ago.   It had been sometime since we had East Indian food.  We initially wanted to go and try the Himalayan Restaurant at the intersection of Cambie and the No 5 Road.  Instead we were drawn to the Tandoori Kona restaurant by the Lunch Special sign that had put out.

There were no one in the restaurant when we visited.  Being such a minor strip mall in Richmond, we had not expected this.  While it was no lavish in decor but it was quite impressive.

Again, in such an unassuming place from the outside, the place is very clean.

The Lunch Special meal combo came with freshly baked and warm naan.  It was some of the best naan we had.

The lunch special was really cheap for what you get.  For $7.75, we get a platter that consists of very creamy butter chicken with rice pilaf.  For sides, there was also the chickpeas cutty and salad.  You just have to try this.

We also ordered the Goat Bryani.  This one costs $9.95 but the serving was not really big.  Most of the bryani we had in other places have bigger servings.  Not a big deal really.  However, the rice is slightly on the wet side.  It would have been better if it is a bit drier.

Our favourite by far was their Fish Curry Meal Combo which costs $12.95.  The combo meal came with naan, rice pilaf and papadam.  The fish which was cooked in house curry, have a choice of mild, medium and hot.  We chosed the hot version.  Whoa … it was very, very spicy.  It was so spicy that we can feel a burning sensation on the tongue … and the stomach!!  If you love real burning, spicy food, Kona sure knows how to make it.

The rice pilaf was fluffy and goes so well with the curry.

Their Papadam was rather unique.  We normally have them in a flat piece but theirs came rolled up.  It was very crispy.  The tangy and spicy sauce is great for dipping the papadam.

The total bill $36 including tax and tips.  I would rate Kona as perhaps the top 3 east indian curry places in the Lower Mainland.  The prices were very reasonable and the service was prompt.  Well, maybe the reason the service was so good was because there were no one there then.  I am kind of surprised why they are not busier.  I will come back again.

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I was so intrigued. When I first heard that the national food of England is Chicken Tikka Masala, I thought that someone was pulling my legs. In a few days I was in London, some people (mainly Indian taxi drivers) told me the same thing too. Here is what I learned the past few days — let me know if I get this correct.

Masala is an Indian term that refers to a mixture of many ground spices. What does the word Masala mean? Spices? And Chicken Tikka Masala is really invented in Great Britain. So, I figure since I am in London I must simply try the national dish. :-)

I had blogged on the Sipson Tandoori the last time I was in London here. I vivid remembered making an unkind remark about the “pretty dumb” paper bags the delivery came with. I had the tendency sometimes to be brash, I admit. He he he … the paper bags I guess will always be there but at least this time, the curry did not leak all over the place.

Got a question for you, Rukya. How many pieces does people normally order the papadam? When I ordered ONE piece, the person who took my order sounded so surprised. I mean, the papadam is such a large piece that one is more than enough for me. Guess what, when they delivered to me, they game me four pieces. Hey, I have no complain. I must say that Sipson’s papadam is simply one of the best I had tried … they are so crispy and flavourful … and they tastes just as good the next morning. 50p per piece but they charge me only for 1 piece — nice!

You know, most curries looked and tastes the same to me. So I really can’t figure out what Chicken Tikka Masala is. It looked and tastes like Butter Chicken but am sure it is not. Rukya, can you tell us about Chicken Tikka Masala?

The curry gravy was awesome — very rich and if I recall correctly, it was not spicy hot. I enjoyed this a lot. This one costs about 8 GBP.

I also ordered the Bhindi Bhajee … fresh okra (a.k.a. ladies fingers). I like ladies fingers and there are lots of this here. One thing about okras … the seeds do not breakdown in your body right? :-) 3 GBP.

I can’t remember what this is … but if I make a guess, I think this is the Lemon Rice which is described as “Basmati rice cooked in ghee flavoured with fresh lemon“. 3 GBP.

I enjoyed this meal in the hotel room. There were lots of food. I do come away having the impression that London has some of the best Indian cuisine restaurants in the world.

I think Rukya must be waiting for this blog entry. :-)

In a previous trip to London, I had an Indian dinner delivered from Sipson Tandoori. Rukya. whose late father founded the Sipson restaurant, found my posting on the internet. We got in touch and exchanged a few emails and she invited me to try the other restaurant also started by her father, the Grapes Tandoori. I did go to the Grapes Tandoori on the first night I was in London.

Getting from my hotel to the Grapes Tadoori, although not really far, still requires a a taxi ride. I really hate taking taxis in London. They have this minicab services which does not use meters and charges arbitrary. Well, for the short taxi ride of 5km, it costs me 14 Pounds. Sigh … the disadvantage for being a visible foreigner …

Locating Grapes Tandoori was easy. It was right on the rather busy Uxbridge Rd. The taxi driver did bring me to the wrong Grapes, the Grapes Pub which obviously did not resemble anything like an Indian restaurant.

I got in early and there were only one other customer. Man, I must say that the service was attentive to say the least. I have never seen so many waiters in a restaurant, very unlike in Canada where a restaurant of this size would perhaps have 3-4 people max. Kind of unnerving, if you ask me. Because there were just two customers, the waiters were milling around my table and I do feel so … watched.

Started with a drink. Wanted a cocktail but I guess either it’s not big in England or they don’t have it in Indian restaurants. Anyone can tell me why?

Ordered the Sherry and Port which costs 2.50 GBP. I don’t really know what it is and when I asked the waiter about it, he told me he does not know either because he had never tried it before. I asked for recommendation but he could not either. Oh well, I just went ahead and ordered it.

The waiters came by with a platter of condiments. I was really curious what it was but I guess I ran into some communication problem. :-) So, what I found out was that they were not spicy and one of them is onions. They do tastes good though.

I also ordered a piece of Papadam. This is the best Papadam I had ever tasted. It is a big piece, thin and salty and crunchy. I had this dipped in the sauces they provided. A really nice starter. Costs 50p for this piece.

For the main meal, I ordered the item that was asterixed and highlighted on the menu. Must be their special of special. It’s called the Murgh Massala which I pronounced it as mur-guh massala, is that right? Nice name. I get a choice of chicken or minced lamb. I chose the chicken version.

What impressed me was that it came served on top of a really hot metal plate. A good way to keep the dish constantly warm. Never seen food served this way before — I like it. Well, I had itchy hands and wanted to see how hot is hot … trust me, don’t touch it … it is really HOT!

The Murgh Massala consists of chicken breast and some hard boiled eggs served in dry curry. The gravy was simply great, not spicy hot and wish it were but still, it was great. The serving too was large. Just by the looks of it, I know already that this is awesome with either rice or naan. This one costs 9 GBP I think.

So, should I take it with Naan or with Rice? I ordered both. Heck, since I come all the way here already, I might as well order everything even though it was too much food for me. Oh … the garlic naan … it was fabulous and simply looked good. Why can’t I find Naan like these in Vancouver? It came warm, soft and fluffy. I had to quickly eat this before it got cold. This is so good that I could just eat this alone without anything else.

Pilau Rice. It was nicely done and very flavourful. A bit of fried onions served on top. I like these kind of rice where the grains were separated and not clumpy like the way chinese normally do it. Perfect with the Murgh Massala.

I couldn’t do desserts after all these although I wish I could. To close off, they served me hot towels — whew! very HOT towels.

Total bill … 17.05 GBP and they threw in a free Grapes Tandoori chocolate! I left a tip of 2 GBP. BTW, do people normally leave tips in London Restaurants?

By the time I left, the restaurant was packed. Gosh, I have never seen so many whites in one place enjoying Indian dinners. Many people told me that the national dish of Great Britain is … Chicken Tikka Massala. I know what they mean now. :-) I noticed almost all my neighboring tables ordered Chicken Tikka Massala. Had Britain turned into a nation of curry eaters?

Rukya, I want you to know that it was an awesome meal. I will definitely come again to try your other dishes the next time I am in London.

You know what my big problem was … the transport back to the hotel. The waiters could not help me call for a taxi which I find it kind of weird. They told me that if they call it will take 45 minutes, minimum to get one and that it was a busy night. So, I took a 5 minutes walk to the taxi call centre and got one in 3 minutes. Sigh … this time the taxi charged me 10 GBP back to the hotel and and an extra 2 GBP if he drops me in front of the hotel. So, 24 GBP for taxi, 17 GBP for the dinner and 2 GBP for tips.

There was a four-page spread on the newspaper the other day on lunch for under $10. We love these type of articles. It’s because we always try to find new places to eat out every week. Sometimes, we just plain run out of ideas.

Since it was a long weekend last week, we decided to travel a bit further for food. We ended up in Surrey’s Tasty Sweets and Restaurant, located on 12047, 80th Avenue. It’s one of those Indian restaurants that has a side counter where they sell all kinds of traditional Indian sweets.

We went for the Buffet Lunch which costs $8.99 per person. The spread was not a lot but it most certainly made up for the lack of quantity with quality. The main items on the buffet are:

• Butter Chicken
• Chicken Tandoori
• Chilli Paneer
• Palak Paneer
• Channa Masala
• Goat Masala

Not a lot right? But the quality certainly did not disappoint us at all. They use the best of spices and meat.

The naan were served hot off the clay oven. It was still hot when they come by every now and then asking if we needed more. They were one of the best naan we have ever tried — and it goes very well with the butter chicken and chilli paneer gravy. The naan were soft and fluffy.

For dessert, they had Gulab Jaman which is dried milk cream, deep fried and served warm with sugar syrup. This was really sweet.

We had a good meal although as always we ended stuffing ourselves so much we simply had to skip dinner again. If you happen to be in the neighbourhood, I highly recommend this place.

Zee treated me to lunch yesterday to celebrate my belated birthday. She has been an awfully sweet and generous person. I am so glad to have a neighbor like Zee — she treats me like her own sister and I feel so honoured! Zee likes to take a walk at the South Arm Park and has often invited me along. People like Zee are a rarity these days. So, Zee, this entry is dedicated to you.

Zee bought me lunch at the Quilon Restaurant. Quilon has repeatedly been voted as the No 1 Indian Cuisine restaurant in Richmond. It is located on No 3 Rd and Westminster Highway.

Quilon is the old name for Kollam, a city in the Kerala state in south India.

We had the buffet which costs $8.95 each. Oh dear, another buffet again! I mean, I like food but ends up regretting stuffing myself too full. I know it but yet I do that again and again!

Well, the buffet spread wasn’t big but made up by the quality. I love the crispy Papadums (lentil crackers) as an appetizer. This one is good because it’s not oily like the ones that I used to eat in Malaysia.

The main selection of the buffet is the ever popular Butter Chicken and Tandoori Chicken. They were awesome. The butter chicken is made in tomato and cream sauce — rich and creamy. The tandoori is chicken marinated in yogurt and spices for 24 hours before they are baked in a traditional clay oven. Zee swears that Quilon has the bestest Tandoori chicken in Vancouver.

The bowl with the white stuff below are the rice pudding — a dessert. The green stuff is made of green pepper and parsley. It’s is deceptively mild because red means hot to me and green means cold. But it was hyper spicy HOT! I only took a tiny weenie bit to try. Too hot for me!

The red bowl, I don’t what it’s called. It’s slightly sweets and is meant for the chicken.

Some greens and salad. See that lump at the bottom? That is the mango chutney. It was very very salty — too salty for me. However, Zee loves this and took a lot of this. I guess it’s an acquire taste.

Zee told me that she used to make mango chutney at home. She marinates the young mango in coarse salt for several days and then cook them in spices.

The Naan Bread below was not part of the buffet. We ordered them as extras for $1.50 each. It was perfect — all fluffy and soft, served warm. Heavenly.

For dessert, we had TWO rounds of the rice pudding. They were sweet and had a hint of spice. I can’t recall the name of the spice but Zee told me that the spice used were very expensive — it’s even more expensive than saffron.

Thanks again, Zee. I enjoyed myself a lot yesterday and do appreciate so much for this treat.