REVIEW: Wake Up And Smell The Cafe
Café Serena, Maxwell Road
Still, a fine turnout for the first official Curry Club outing since both The Tramp and Rogan Josh Homme got hitched, with 10 regulars in attendance, plus a very special guest: TATTGOC’s own Uncle Travelling Matt, the weatherbeaten and wise Foreign Curryspondent Tikka MaBaws (also proprietor of the excellent blog I Done A Holiday). For the past two years, Tikka MaBaws had been filing far-flung dispatches of spicy reportage, from destinations like Dubai, Sri Lanka, Bolivia and more. In all that time, there had never been an opportunity for him to attend a proper TATTGOC meet-up, so this was to be a truly historic occasion. Even then, the Tramps put their diligent curryspondent to work, tasking Tikka MaBaws with documenting the outing with his expensive-looking camera. One less thing to worry about ...
The Tramps
had vowed to try and shake things up a bit, so attempted something a little
different when it came to ordering starters for the group. As well as the usual
brace of mixed pakora (and an additional veg pakora for TATTGOC’s resident
grumblebox vegetarian Onion Bha-G), they asked for a couple of portions of
chicken tikka and also a couple of Dahi Bade, lentil balls chopped up and
served in a raita-esque sauce. When this fleet of starters arrived, it made for
one of the more yoghurty starter sessions in TATTGOC history, with the surfeit
of lassi and raita. In retrospect, the Tramps should perhaps have leaned more
toward the tikka than lentil balls but as the dishes were passed up and down
the table and eagerly devoured, it all seemed to go down well.
The
Time: August 25,
8.30pm
Booking
Name: None required
...
The
Place Aforehand:
The Tramp’s hoose.
In
Attendance: Trampy,
The Tramp, The Gheezer, Ravi Peshwari, Onion Bha-G, Rumpole Of The Balti,
Chasni Hawkes, Sir Spicy Lover, Rogan Josh Homme, Rabbie Shankar and our roving
Foreign Curryspondent and guest photographer for this report: Tikka MaBaws!
Decor: With its spiffy modern signage
suitable for an F1 racing team, Café Serena hardly harks back to the
curryhouses of old. But inside, there’s a surprisingly spacious sit-in area and
it’s clean, clean, clean as a whistle.
Expectations:
The Tramp had
already been pounding Café Serena for tandoori takeaways since moving to the
Southside, while Trampy and Rogan Josh Homme had once ordered a ridiculous
amount of food from the same establishment. Hopes were therefore high for the
sit-in experience.
The
Experience:
Poor Mumbai
Me A Pony! Did she realise that when she married The Tramp, by extension she
was also marrying the massed ranks of the Curry Club? These thoughts must have
passed through her mind as she watched 11 sturdy men swigging beer in her
living room, gabbing and cavorting like recently released primates blessed with
a sudden surge of unnatural intelligence: Rise Of The Planet Of The Japes. But,
typically, Mumbai Me A Pony took it all in her stride, like a true
saffrongette. And it would only be for half an hour or so. Before long, this
manly Hurricane Wire-In would surely spin off down the road in pursuit of
curry?
Still, a fine turnout for the first official Curry Club outing since both The Tramp and Rogan Josh Homme got hitched, with 10 regulars in attendance, plus a very special guest: TATTGOC’s own Uncle Travelling Matt, the weatherbeaten and wise Foreign Curryspondent Tikka MaBaws (also proprietor of the excellent blog I Done A Holiday). For the past two years, Tikka MaBaws had been filing far-flung dispatches of spicy reportage, from destinations like Dubai, Sri Lanka, Bolivia and more. In all that time, there had never been an opportunity for him to attend a proper TATTGOC meet-up, so this was to be a truly historic occasion. Even then, the Tramps put their diligent curryspondent to work, tasking Tikka MaBaws with documenting the outing with his expensive-looking camera. One less thing to worry about ...
The Tramp’s
house had, of course, been chosen as TATTGOC’s launchpad since there aren’t
that many pubs near target curryhouse Café Serena (the nearest, as the crow
flies, is the legendary Star Bar, home of probably the least-expensive, quality
three-course lunch in the world). Having recently moved to the area, The Tramp
had begun a spicy reconnaissance of nearby curryhouses, but Café Serena came
with an extra-special recommendation from Lime Pickle’s bidie-in, who knows her
curry. It has even previously featured on the blog, providing the food when the
Tramps sampled Waitrose’s hot and fiery salad. The sit-in area is compact but with the
usual TATTGOC turnout of eight or so, it looked like it would be fine. Of
course, the group had subsequently swelled to 11, so would the Café be able to
cope? There was only way to find out, so the assembled crew set off in search
of their tea, spinning their used bottle caps into The Tramp’s ice bucket as
they trooped out the door like a curry-obsessed conga line.
Rocking up
at Café Serena to a warm welcome, it immediately became clear that there wasn’t
a table big enough for the entire Curry Club. After an initial experiment of
sitting two groups at two different tables, the manager Ali proposed a minor
furniture reshuffle, creating one long table in the style of a medieval
banquet. With the minimum of fuss, all 11 currynauts were cosily seated and
scanning the menu. The drinks order was easy: with no booze on offer, The Tramp
signaled for three jugs of creamy lassi. The days of TATTGOC foolishly
overindulging on the creamy ambrosia, filling themselves up before the main
courses, were long ago: the team supped carefully.
The Tramps
had vowed to try and shake things up a bit, so attempted something a little
different when it came to ordering starters for the group. As well as the usual
brace of mixed pakora (and an additional veg pakora for TATTGOC’s resident
grumblebox vegetarian Onion Bha-G), they asked for a couple of portions of
chicken tikka and also a couple of Dahi Bade, lentil balls chopped up and
served in a raita-esque sauce. When this fleet of starters arrived, it made for
one of the more yoghurty starter sessions in TATTGOC history, with the surfeit
of lassi and raita. In retrospect, the Tramps should perhaps have leaned more
toward the tikka than lentil balls but as the dishes were passed up and down
the table and eagerly devoured, it all seemed to go down well.
As for the
mains, there were multiple orders of chicken on the bone karahi and lamb on the
bone karahi, a brace of chicken tikka nantaris, a chicken chilli tikka masala,
an aloo dish for Onion Bha-G, a chicken tikka supreme for Sir Spicy Lover and,
for Trampy, a goan curry with chicken and prawns, something definitely outside
his usual curry zone. Having not stretched their rice/naan equations for a
while, the Tramps initially went for “four and four”. For a change, they went
for two plain naans, a peshwari naan and, for the first time ever, a mince
naan. Trampy spent much of the evening trying to convince vegetarian Onion
Bha-G that the mince naan was actually a “quince naan” and therefore suitable
for consumption but he was too canny for that.
 |
| Foreign Curryspondent Tikka MaBaws |
While
waiting for the mains to arrive, the Tramps switched up to water jugs to reduce
the potentiality of lassi bloating, and the convivial, collegiate chat veered
from recent weddings, future weddings, T in the Park, world travel and, for one
strangely extended sequence, a comparing of hairlines at the far end of the
table. This TATTGOC outing took place during Ramadan and, as the sun set, a
steady stream of customers poured into Café Serena to pick up their dinner.
With 11 dishes to cook from scratch, there was a reasonable wait for the feast
to arrive but soon the karahi bowls were descending, accompanied by significant
bowls of rice (a fifth had been added just in case) and pillowy naans. Ravi
Peshwari’s dish had cooled slightly as the food was served but the manager was
happy to heat it up again. Conversation was suspended as the team tucked in,
the spicy spell only occasionally broken by a murmur of approval.
Though he
had taken it easy on the lassi, Trampy still struggled to finish his goan curry
which had a pleasant spicy kick, and while he might not rush out to order a
chicken and prawn curry again, he was glad of the experience. Those Clubbers
who had ordered their curries on the bone were particularly full of praise,
with Rabbie Shankar – another Southsider living within Café Serena’s catchment
area – declaring that his chicken karahi was the best curry he’d ever had on a
TATTGOC outing. Looks like Café Serena will have another regular customer.
As the
Tramps settled the very reasonable bill, Tikka MaBaws assembled the squad
outside for the necessary group shot. Usually, either Trampy or The Tramp is
the shutterman for this particular pic, which means that often one of them is
missing from the portrait. A well-seasoned world traveler, Tikka MaBaws set up
his expensive-looking camera on his manbag so he too could be in the picture –
and so, for the first time in three years, the group shot features every single
TATTGOCer in attendance: another historic first in an evening stuffed with ’em.
As the
group prepared to disperse, the manager – a Mr Ali – popped out to say cheerio.
There followed a highly entertaining and enlightening discussion about the
night's meal, the history of the restaurant, Ramadan and the curry trade in general. Mr
Ali was happy to answer any questions about his business, and wished that those
who had experienced Café Serena for the first time would return for future
visits. “All new faces, except him,” he exclaimed, pointing at The
Tramp. “He I have seen many times before!”
Range Of
Drinks: Softs on
the menu, but lassis were the order of the day.
Highlights: Fantastic curries, friendly
service, competitively priced.
Lowlights: It took a wee while for all the
dishes to arrive but with all 11 made from scratch that’s to be expected.
The
Verdict: A serene
experience!
The
Damage: £144.50
(tip: £15.50)
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