Having met at the church carpark, it was a short walk down to the High Street to the new Bangla Cafe. This visit was partly at the request of the management of the Eastern Spice as they are owned by the same people! The boys at Eastern Spice wanted to see if this establishment could match their great score last month ... read on to find out!
Pastor Ian, Tony, Simon, Peter, Alan B, Bill, Colin S, Alan P, Brian S and Ian R met Keith, Mark and Jim K in the restaurant. Once seated it wasn't long before Keith whipped out his latest electronic gadet, an iPaq organiser with Sat Nav. Conversation broke out and we mused about the boy racers with their Sat Nav's that no doubt assist them to get around Rushden town centre in their cars with baked bean cans on the end of their exhaust pipes.
Our drinks order was quickly taken and we settled down to read the menu. With a good choice of starters and main courses, some struggled to pick. With the deed finally done conversation began. Early discussion was about crows that sit in the road (actually, I don't think I've seen a bird sit) and wait until a car comes and at the last minute cross the white line. This was followed by the merits of wood pigeons.
Colin was in fine form telling everyone of how he missed the collectors fair in Miton Keynes at the weekend. Colin only needs pointy ears to be a real character from Star Trek! He particularly wasn't happy with Bill who knowlingly never told him it was on. Meanwhile Peter was recounting his recent clock referbishment. He also gave us a rendition of the sounds it makes every fifthteen minutes.
The starters arrived and we were soon tucking in. Peter asked Bill if he would give the lemon squeezer to his daughter and pass it off as a hair clip. No one believed she would fall for it. Then someone mentioned heros and we began thinking about chocolate, but in fact the discussion was about a TV programme.
The main course soon arrived with side orders plus rice and Naan bread. A very good all inclusive deal. No one complained about their food and we commented on the full portion sizes. With such a big order including sides it's easy to get it wrong, but no, everything came with nothing missing. So it was time to start scoring, price had to be a 5/5, quality and quantity were both give very good 4's. The staff were excellent and given a 5, which includes speed of service. Finally ambience was given a 4 - a difficult category as everyone has diferent tastes! Total score 22/25! Equaling the last establishment. Of course the views here are personal and only represent our visit.
We paid the bill, which was close to being right. Of course our treasurer is always right. The management then offered us a complementary drink, anything we wanted! I heard calls of brandy, wine, Balleys, diet coke and even coffee. As we continued to drink, a serious conversation broke out. It started with a long standing debate between Pastor Ian and Tony about the best James Bond car. Anyone reading this will of course agree that it is the Aston Martin Vanquish and not some Americanised Aston muscle car. Conversation went on to great cars in general, it was then that the debate got more heated as Simon (A new recruit to the Curry Club) insisted that a Dodge Viper is the best car. Of course Pastor Ian was having none of it and so a long informed debate took place. Meanwhile, on the back row, Peter and Alan P were debating best car made around 1914 or something. Actually, it was the merits of the Bentley in one of the Bond movies. Peter even added that they came with free leather hat and goggles.
It wasn't long before a scuffle broke out, funny though it wasn't anyone in the car debate. Bill and Ian R were getting friendly over something. No one really knows what it was all about, but it was time to call it a night and brave the walk through Rushden town centre back home. We all agreed that it was a great night and good curry eating.
Until next time ....