Select price vs saver

[Scratchrat]

1 minute ago, wowzz said:

Without being too argumentative,  the vast majority of curry houses in the UK are Bangladeshi,  and supermarket ready meals tend to mimic the meals served in these restaurants. The curries that the British are accustomed to, are big and brash, but are not representative of the flavours that you will find if you actually est on the sub-continent. 

I would suggest that Sindhu meals are far more authentic in flavour (if not presentation) than the "Indian" meal we eat in the UK. 

If you ever did eat in the mess, you might be sorely disappointed, as it is more than likely that the curry served there would be less fiery, but more tasty, than the one served to the passengers.

 

There is a lot to be said about some curries and some foods in general using spice to replace flavour. Sometimes a curry can be fragrant, with tender meat and a lovely flavour and that's way more important to spice.

[wowzz]

3 minutes ago, Scratchrat said:

 

There is a lot to be said about some curries and some foods in general using spice to replace flavour. Sometimes a curry can be fragrant, with tender meat and a lovely flavour and that's way more important to spice.

Agreed - flavour is more important than "heat". After all, Vindaloo was originally a Portuguese dish that was exported to India.  There cinnamon and cardammon gradually became part of the recipe.  It was only when the dish was re-exported to the UK that chillis were added, that basically destroyed all the delicate flavours of the original dish.

[Bertie Doe]

Thanks for the input all, it sounds more like "tuned to British taste with a light Indian twist" but it may work with me. This is a typical Sunday. About noon I set the main oven temp at 100C. In goes the iron pot with 0.5 litres of Quixo chicken stock, together with 200gr of hard beans, which have been soaking overnight. I then add a spmkt pack of French beans and mixed cauliflower and broccoli etc. Topped with one large onion sliced into rings and the seeds of 2 dried chilli.

Over the top, I pour a 500gr jar of Morrisons Jalfrezi or Madras curry sauce. I pop this into the oven for 90 minutes. Just before the 90 mins are up, I fire up the Actifry and add 400 gr of mushrooms chopped, plus some Gordon Ramsey ingrediants (soy, balsamic, garlic etc). Remove iron pot from oven, add the cooked mushrooms, keep warm by covering with towels.

Increase oven to 190C, add whole chicken. Cover with foil set alarm for 60 mins. After 60 mins, remove foil, add 4 chicken wings for my wife (she won't eat chicken legs or breast). Re-set alarm for a further 30 mins, put about 250gr of potatoes cut into chips/wedges into Actifrier. After 30 mins, coat chicken with a mix of honey and mustard. Should only take 5 mins, to turn everything golden brown.

Sounds a lot of hassle but this will give me 3 more meals, so no more cooking till Thursday (we have a spare elderly fridge in the shed). So what would you call this meal? A sort of cross between casserole and curry? maybe Sidhu might work for us.

 

[Selbourne]

11 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Without being too argumentative,  the vast majority of curry houses in the UK are Bangladeshi,  and supermarket ready meals tend to mimic the meals served in these restaurants. The curries that the British are accustomed to, are big and brash, but are not representative of the flavours that you will find if you actually est on the sub-continent. 

I would suggest that Sindhu meals are far more authentic in flavour (if not presentation) than the "Indian" meal we eat in the UK. 

If you ever did eat in the mess, you might be sorely disappointed, as it is more than likely that the curry served there would be less fiery, but more tasty, than the one served to the passengers.

I’m sure that you are right. I have heard much the same said before. I guess what I am saying is that I much prefer the type of food served in what we term an Indian restaurant in the U.K. than that served in Sindhu. As it happens, I don’t like ‘blow your socks off’ curries, just tasty ones!

[Son of Anarchy]

5 minutes ago, wowzz said:

If you ever did eat in the mess, you might be sorely disappointed, as it is more than likely that the curry served there would be less fiery, but more tasty, than the one served to the passengers.

Had my fair share of fiery curries, and must admit that I prefer taste/fragrance to sheer fire.

 

Have only done the tiffin box lunch thing at Sindhu, really enjoyed the having a selection of items.  I know that a lot of people swear by the Indian evening buffet.  At the risk of sounding like a bof, I don't find it as good as when we first started cruising with PandO.  Much prefer a local place that does a stuff yourself as much you can Sunday buffet for a tenner. Cobra is only about £4 a pint as well.  Unfortunately I think the days of restaurant buffets are going to be some way away 😪

[wowzz]

10 minutes ago, Bertie Doe said:

Thanks for the input all, it sounds more like "tuned to British taste with a light Indian twist" but it may work with me. This is a typical Sunday. About noon I set the main oven temp at 100C. In goes the iron pot with 0.5 litres of Quixo chicken stock, together with 200gr of hard beans, which have been soaking overnight. I then add a spmkt pack of French beans and mixed cauliflower and broccoli etc. Topped with one large onion sliced into rings and the seeds of 2 dried chilli.

Over the top, I pour a 500gr jar of Morrisons Jalfrezi or Madras curry sauce. I pop this into the oven for 90 minutes. Just before the 90 mins are up, I fire up the Actifry and add 400 gr of mushrooms chopped, plus some Gordon Ramsey ingrediants (soy, balsamic, garlic etc). Remove iron pot from oven, add the cooked mushrooms, keep warm by covering with towels.

Increase oven to 190C, add whole chicken. Cover with foil set alarm for 60 mins. After 60 mins, remove foil, add 4 chicken wings for my wife (she won't eat chicken legs or breast). Re-set alarm for a further 30 mins, put about 250gr of potatoes cut into chips/wedges into Actifrier. After 30 mins, coat chicken with a mix of honey and mustard. Should only take 5 mins, to turn everything golden brown.

Sounds a lot of hassle but this will give me 3 more meals, so no more cooking till Thursday (we have a spare elderly fridge in the shed). So what would you call this meal? A sort of cross between casserole and curry? maybe Sidhu might work for us.

 

Sounds lovely,  apart from the Morrison's sauces.

[Josy1953]

We have Indian friends and it is a real treat to eat with them.  The curries that they cook bear no resemblance to the stuff served in curry houses, they are made with fresh ingredients, their breads are totally different from the supermarket naans.  I bought an Indian cook book because I wanted to replicate my friend's food and while mine is not as good it is much better than when I take the short cut and use a curry mix. When I do take the short cut I have found that the Spice Taylor curry mixes are far better than the jars.

Edited June 12, 2020 by Josy1953

[Vampiress88]

1 hour ago, Selbourne said:

Butter Chicken is as bland as bland gets and isn’t really a curry, so that’s why you will find Sindhu quite adventurous! 

I ate a crab whole. That’s about as adventurous as I can get. 
 

I like sindhu. My tastes in food being 32 are far different from what p&o deem a good meal. I’ve always said I think the food in the mdr is old fashioned so I tend to enjoy sindhu far more as it’s something I like. 
 

I can’t want for some of the menus to catch up but that will probably be when I am older and the cruises need to aimed at my age. 
 

it’s funny cos looking at menus I wouldn’t pay to eat at the Epicurean. 
 

 

[Selbourne]

10 minutes ago, Vampiress88 said:

I ate a crab whole. That’s about as adventurous as I can get. 
 

I like sindhu. My tastes in food being 32 are far different from what p&o deem a good meal. I’ve always said I think the food in the mdr is old fashioned so I tend to enjoy sindhu far more as it’s something I like. 
 

I can’t want for some of the menus to catch up but that will probably be when I am older and the cruises need to aimed at my age. 
 

it’s funny cos looking at menus I wouldn’t pay to eat at the Epicurean. 
 

 

And I take my hat off to you, as a whole crab would be too much for me but my wife, who loves seafood, enjoyed it! Epicurean on Britannia is our favourite restaurant at sea, by a mile. Better than quite a few Michelin star restaurants that I’ve eaten in. That being said, it isn’t for everyone. Our daughters have very different views of it. Our youngest loves it and did so even as a teenager, but she’s quite a foodie. Our older daughter (20’s) finds it too formal and feels a bit uneasy in there, so I can quite understand that you feel that way. I would give everything a go at least once though, as I find that some things that don’t appeal on paper can be great and vice-versa!

[Scratchrat]

5 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

And I take my hat off to you, as a whole crab would be too much for me but my wife, who loves seafood, enjoyed it! Epicurean on Britannia is our favourite restaurant at sea, by a mile. Better than quite a few Michelin star restaurants that I’ve eaten in. That being said, it isn’t for everyone. Our daughters have very different views of it. Our youngest loves it and did so even as a teenager, but she’s quite a foodie. Our older daughter (20’s) finds it too formal and feels a bit uneasy in there, so I can quite understand that you feel that way. I would give everything a go at least once though, as I find that some things that don’t appeal on paper can be great and vice-versa!

 

I don't eat seafood except sushi oddly.

[ToxM]

it would be really nice if they used the now probably redundant buffet space to make an upmarket food court with different offerings that was waiter serviced. You could even have an express food counter akin to grab and go. 

 

They need to start approaching Great British Menu chefs to get new and interesting offerings. MPW is now very much old school. 

 

They really also need to reflect ports of call in their meal offerings as well and that could be easily achieved in a food court setting. 

[terrierjohn]

12 hours ago, wowzz said:

John, I was trying to make the same point, but you made it more succinctly! 

No I thought yours definitely sounded more tasteful!

[Son of Anarchy]

17 minutes ago, ToxM said:

They need to start approaching Great British Menu chefs to get new and interesting offerings. MPW is now very much old school. 

 

I certainly think that the breakfast "specials" could do with a shake up.  I mean, Wetherspoons used to do a muffin with smashed avocado, pico de gallo and smoked salmon!  And it was really nice.

[ToxM]

2 minutes ago, Son of Anarchy said:

 

I certainly think that the breakfast "specials" could do with a shake up.  I mean, Wetherspoons used to do a muffin with smashed avocado, pico de gallo and smoked salmon!  And it was really nice.

Pop a poached egg on there and you got a great dish, and dead easy to do!

 

I never understood why Eggs Benedict was even considered something that should be a special dish in the last 10 years... 

 

It should be a staple imo. 

[wowzz]

And talking  of Indian food, as we were a little while ago, what about Kedgeree on the breakfast menu ?

[majortom10]

We have always enjoyed our experiences in Sindhu on different ships and think that many book Sindhu thinking it is going to be a typical high street Indian restaurant which it is clearly not and not trying to be. One thing I must admit is that I think the quality of the meals deteriorated after Atul Kochhar was no longer involved.

[ToxM]

16 minutes ago, wowzz said:

And talking  of Indian food, as we were a little while ago, what about Kedgeree on the breakfast menu ?

 

I thought that was a specials item? 

 

I thought Oceania did Kedgeree, but they dont but for comparison... 

 

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/Documents/Menus/81604382387/Grand-Dining-Breakfast-Menu.pdf

Edited June 12, 2020 by ToxM

[brian1]

Chicken Madras last Saturday,all homemade except for the Pataks paste,lol.

[wowzz]

9 minutes ago, ToxM said:

 

I thought that was a specials item? 

 

I thought Oceania did Kedgeree, but they dont but for comparison... 

 

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/Documents/Menus/81604382387/Grand-Dining-Breakfast-Menu.pdf

At Oceania prices I'd want caviar for breakfast!

[wowzz]

1 minute ago, brian1 said:

Chicken Madras last Saturday,all homemade except for the Pataks paste,lol.

Makes my mouth water. Hope you were able to track down a Cobra beer or two to go with it.

[ToxM]

1 minute ago, wowzz said:

At Oceania prices I'd want caviar for breakfast!

 

It is well worth it though. Am a big fan. 

 

I just wanted to show that it is easy to have staples that are modern ... PO shouldn’t make people wait til a certain day of the week for Eggs Benedict!

[brian1]

8 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Makes my mouth water. Hope you were able to track down a Cobra beer or two to go with it.

Just bought a case of Peroni 50 cents a bottle.Getting hotter ,it's beer season now,lol.

[Son of Anarchy]

35 minutes ago, wowzz said:

And talking  of Indian food, as we were a little while ago, what about Kedgeree on the breakfast menu ?

 

Although I like Indian food, I'm not fond of kedgeree.  Would much prefer my Wetherspoons avocado & salmon muffin.

[AndyMichelle]

1 minute ago, brian1 said:

Just bought a case of Peroni 50 cents a bottle.Getting hotter ,it's beer season now,lol.

Now you're talking Brian... 

Andy 

[brian1]

1 minute ago, AndyMichelle said:

Now you're talking Brian... 

Andy