Eating Out
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Mahil’s, Durham Way, Peterlee
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| OFF THE BEATEN TRACK: Mahil's restaurant relies on its reputation to draw in customers and is well worth a visit |
FOR even the most accomplished
cook, turning your hand to dishes
from the sub-continent is testing
to say the least.
No matter how carefully you follow
the recipe, it's never quite as
good as the fare presented in Indian
restaurants.
Even the pre-packed dishes lining
the shelves of every supermarket
in the land never quite come
up to scratch.
Now as familiar as any British
grub, there is nothing to match
the waft of restaurant-made Indian
dishes to set the culinary juices
flowing.
That said, however, there are
very obviously good and bad Indian
restaurants - from the exquisite
Vujon on Newcastle's
Quayside and the International
Tandoori in Ocean Road, South
Shields, to the humblest back
street takeaway, there is a myriad
of excellent to barely acceptable
in between.
The tendency for all of us is to
stick with the ones we know and
only rarely try somewhere different
- a failing which I am as guilty
of as the next. Therefore, when
presented with a list of eateries to
try and test, I decided to go for a
Durham-based Italian restaurant
last Sunday night.
When I found it was closed on a
Sunday, I had to change course
and plumped for an Indian
restaurant about a mile from
where I live.
Off the beaten track in the heart
of the upmarket Oakerside Park
residential estate on the edge of
Peterlee, Mahil's Indian Restaurant,
I willingly admit, was not my
first choice.
But it was just around the corner
and I had heard some good reports
about it, so Trevor and I set
off to give it a go.
Not its busiest night, the restaurant
was almost empty when we
arrived, but we were greeted
warmly and shown to a table in
the pleasant dining room where
the sunlight was still streaming
through the window.
We first ordered a bottle of red
wine which was not available and
selected an Australian Pilandra -
slightly edgy, but palatable,
nonetheless. It was interesting to
see the wine list included the delicious
and classic white Sancerre.
The menu was pretty standard,
and it is a pity I hadn't known beforehand
that Mahil's specialises
in Nepalese dishes.
Creature of habit that I am, I selected
a prawn puri, which at
£3.60 was fresh and flavoursome.
Trevor went for chicken tikka at
£2.80, which was plentiful and, as
he described, tasty and good
value.
On to the main course and I
chose chicken tikka (£6.50) with a
tarka dall (£3.50), and Trevor
chose a chicken tikka jalfrezi
(£5.95), with a mixed vegetable
curry side dish (£3.50). I had a
peshwari nan and Trevor selected
a plain nan at £2.20 and £1.90.
My dish came sizzling to the
table with more chicken than I
could begin to eat, but it was very
good.
The dall was excellent - just the
right texture and full of flavour.
My peshwari nan was delicious
and just the thing to dip into the
dall.
Trevor was pleased with his
dishes, particularly the vegetable
curry, which he declared to be
light and aromatic.
One small flaw emerged at this
point, however, when I asked the
waiter, a very helpful young man
named Shaun, for a glass of tap
water - "we don't do tap water,'' he
said, disappointing for a restaurant
which advertises its use of
"cholesterol-free oil'' in its long list
of dishes.
At a time of a growing need to
look after our planet, may I suggest
that all restaurants should "do
tap water".
That aside and a little too much
coriander on all the dishes, the
food was fresh, tasty and nicely
presented and, though the restaurant
was quiet, there was a constant
stream of people popping in
to pick up takeaway meals.
Because of its location, Mahil's
relies very much on its reputation.
Opened six years ago by the
Mahil family, it has, I have now
learned, continued to flourish.
The food was good, proving the
point that you should always try
somewhere new. I would certainly
recommend it and will add it to
my list of worthwhile-visiting Indian
restaurants.
11:27am Friday 23rd May 2008
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