Masala vs. Bombay Pantry?

BailMeOut

Any Bombay Pantry regulars who have tried Masala? How does it compare? Cannot find many reviews for Masala online (just two trip advisor reviews) and about make a large order from Bombay for this evening? Is it better?

Thanks!

spurious

Bombay Pantry always seems like taken out of the freezer and heated up to me.
Perhaps it's not, but the fact that they sell a range of ready to cook frozen versions of their meals worries me.

If you're northside, Namaste or Vagya do fantastic takeaway/delivery food.
**edit Sorry, just saw this is not in the main Dublin City forum.

strandroad

I tried Masala, but I actually don't like either of them - they both have nice branding and packaging, but BP adds too much ground cumin/coriander to the point of curry being bitter over spicy (admittedly we only tried them twice), and Masala tastes like the sauce is from a jar. Nothing special about either of them...

Gareth Keenan

Bombay Pantry are really getting away with it. 7 small pieces of lamb swimming in a curry gravy. Very bland too. I haven't tried Masala yet but do intend to.

My current go-to curry place in the area is Spice Cottage in Sallynoggin. I've just done two orders with them, but both have been excellent. Lamb rogan josh and South Indian Garlic Chilli chicken have been the pick of the bunch. Their €25 meal deal is excellent value too.

strandroad

Spice Cottage is good, their menu might not be the biggest but they have good full flavours in their food.
Curry Garden in DL is like Masala, looks nice but is very meh.
Daata Tandoori in Bray is excellent, but they might not deliver to where you are.

ted1

I like masala , BP are far to slow , spice cottage is my favourite

BailMeOut

thanks everyone. Got vetoed so we ended up with BP which was mediocre as always. Very bland, not enough meat and lacking in seasoning.

Going to go to Spice Cottage next time.

Interesting that there are no online reviews for Masala (other than just 2 trip advisors).

coylemj

Must try Spice Cottage soon, link below. Their web design is a bit peculiar, most headers (like 'New Menu') appear to be clickable (the mouse pointer changes from an arrow to a pointing finger when you hover over them) but they're not ....

http://www.spicecottage.ie/

Duvetdays

I don't regularly get Indian take away but when I do it's always spice cottage. The food there is really good and I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds Bombay pantry bland with small portions. The only other Indian who beats spice cottage is mt Everest of Kathmandu restaurant in Bray. That's by far the nicest.

ted1

Duvetdays wrote: »

I don't regularly get Indian take away but when I do it's always spice cottage. The food there is really good and I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds Bombay pantry bland with small portions. The only other Indian who beats spice cottage is mt Everest of Kathmandu restaurant in Bray. That's by far the nicest.

I'm going out on a limb and going to say that's a Nepalese as oppose to Indian

dudara

Where is Masala located?

My personal favourite is Rasoi in Ranelagh. It's delicious.

BailMeOut

dudara wrote: »

Where is Masala located?

Killiney Shopping Centre - next to the Graduate pub.

Gareth Keenan

Duvetdays wrote: »

I don't regularly get Indian take away but when I do it's always spice cottage. The food there is really good and I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds Bombay pantry bland with small portions. The only other Indian who beats spice cottage is mt Everest of Kathmandu restaurant in Bray. That's by far the nicest.

Kathmandu in Dalkey is excellent as well. Nepalese as SOMEONE will point out but do a lot of the usual Indian dishes too.

Looking back in my twitter history I complained to BP in Sept 2011 about blandness and small portions. Their replies to me seem to have been deleted now though. they fought their corner well I recall.

Duvetdays

ted1 wrote: »

I'm going out on a limb and going to say that's a Nepalese as oppose to Indian

There's a lot of Indian dishes on it which I would always go for!

Duvetdays

Gareth Keenan wrote: »

Kathmandu in Dalkey is excellent as well. Nepalese as SOMEONE will point out but do a lot of the usual Indian dishes too.

Looking back in my twitter history I complained to BP in Sept 2011 about blandness and small portions. Their replies to me seem to have been deleted now though. they fought their corner well I recall.

I keep meaning to try Kathmandu in Dalkey. BP used to be nice many many years ago. I haven't had it in at least 2years but the take away tastes like the microwave dishes they sell in the supermarkets.

What I like about the look of masala in killiney is the open kitchens, I always think it helps cleanliness.

Gareth Keenan

a friend of mine got a takeaway from Masala last night - his opinion was that it was just alright, although he said he picked "the wrong thing" (chicken methi I think). He did comment on how nice and clean the premises were, and the staff were very friendly.

My top 3 at the moment are

Spice Cottage
Jewel in the Crown, Dun Laoghaire
Kathmandu, Dalkey

If you triangulated the 3 I'd guess you wouldn't find my house too far from the meeting point.

Further data point, my wife, having more expensive tastes than I, favours Rasam takeaway. I find most of their output slightly sweet.

Fratton Fred

Bombay Pantry, like all those mentioned, has good dishes and not so good in my opinion.

None of them are what I would consider excellent in the grand scheme of things, but perfectly acceptable.

I haven't tried Masala yet though.

coylemj

I used to regularly buy a lamb starter in BP which came with a gorgeous dip in a little container, it had a beautiful aftertaste. I was completely stunned when they suddenly dropped the dip in favour of giving you the meat pieces floating on a wet bed of chopped cucumber and tomato. The saving of a few pennies cost them my business, I've only been back once in the last 10 years.

RosieJoe

Chinasea post this here, it's another option:

New Indian Restaurant just opened on Cumberland Street Dun Laoghaire.

Looking very good. Prices extremely reasonable. Have not tried as yet, but colleagues from work said it was excellent.

More information on Facebook: Delhi Rasoi
7 Cumberland Street, Dun Laoghaire Tel: 01 908 1531/1532

i.e.:
Starters
Onion Bhaji (5 pieces!) €3.50
Tandooori Sheekh Kebab (4 pieces) €5.00


Mains:
Lamb Rogan Josh €8.50
Chicken Jalfrezi €8.00
Channa Saag €6.00

Pilau Rice: €1.75
Naan : €1.75



Wishing them the very best of luck.

coylemj

I'm guessing that new Indian place (previous post) has taken over the premises vacated by the Gourmet Food Parlour when they moved down to the seafront near Milanos. It's a couple of doors from the Golden Elephant Chinese take-away. Will try them for sure.

strandroad

Tried Delhi Rasoi today - we really enjoyed it, nice balance of spices and flavours that felt quite comforting. Spice Cottage level for me (but I only eat veggie, so can't comment on meat dishes), much better than either BP or Masala. Oh and cheaper.
Best of luck to them!

Awaaf

mhge wrote: »

Tried Delhi Rasoi today - we really enjoyed it, nice balance of spices and flavours that felt quite comforting. Spice Cottage level for me (but I only eat veggie, so can't comment on meat dishes), much better than either BP or Masala. Oh and cheaper.
Best of luck to them!

Tried it also and must say thought it was very good. I never feel Bombay Pantry and Spice Cottage are much more than OK so pleased to have an alternative. I also liked the one that was down the side of Pennies in the old chipper but that only lasted about a year. Concerned that the amount of people sharing my tastebuds in Dl may not be enough for Delhi Rasoi.

RoryMurphyJnr

Wouldn't bother with BP in bray any more, got the butter chicken masala recently.
Very little chicken and the rice, well the microwaveable uncle bens stuff is just as good.

mt Everest of Kathmandu bray however is great, nepalese and indian food.
Had a madras there today, fantastic

fussyonion

I don't know which branches of Bombay Pantry you guys are going to but the one in Rathfarnham is excellent.
I always get the Chicken Karahi and there's loads of chunks of chicken breast, peppers and onions in a thick sauce.
I've never been given a watery liquid or mean portions of chicken.

Synode

fussyonion wrote: »

I don't know which branches of Bombay Pantry you guys are going to but the one in Rathfarnham is excellent.
I always get the Chicken Karahi and there's loads of chunks of chicken breast, peppers and onions in a thick sauce.
I've never been given a watery liquid or mean portions of chicken.

I got a water chicken curry in BP Rathfarnham a few weeks ago. Was awful. Will never be eating from there again

patrickbrophy18

Masala has become my new favourite Indian takeout joint and now far surpasses the Bombay Pantry in terms of flavour and quality. It's such a pity as Bombay Pantry started out with excellent meals. However, in the past year and a half to two years, the quality has taken a massive nose dive. For example, the Butter Chicken Masala from Bombay Pantry was once rich in flavour, much creamier and the chicken itself was nice and moist. These days, it's often very runny, the chicken is tough and there is either too much spice or not enough of it. So, I'm now ordering from either Masala or Kathmandu in Dalkey. For anyone who has a palate for spicy food, I would highly recommend the Lamb Rogan Josh or the Chicken Tikka Masala, Pulao Rice and a Garlic & Coriander Naan. Best washed down with a super chilled craft beer!

Awaaf

Awaaf wrote: »

Tried it also and must say thought it was very good. I never feel Bombay Pantry and Spice Cottage are much more than OK so pleased to have an alternative. I also liked the one that was down the side of Pennies in the old chipper but that only lasted about a year. Concerned that the amount of people sharing my tastebuds in Dl may not be enough for Delhi Rasoi.

Tried it again tonight. Have to say I am liking it a lot! Doesn't seem that busy though so maybe the bland options will continue to prevail in DL.

coylemj

Awaaf wrote: »

Tried it again tonight. Have to say I am liking it a lot! Doesn't seem that busy though so maybe the bland options will continue to prevail in DL.

Some of those places wait a month or so before dropping their menus through local letterboxes. I got a delicious Lamb Biriyani takeaway in Delhi Rasoi a few nights ago, didn't realise it's a sit down restaurant as well. When I got home I discovered they threw in two pappadoms and a mint dip for free, nice touch.

Gareth Keenan

Awaaf wrote: »

Tried it again tonight. Have to say I am liking it a lot! Doesn't seem that busy though so maybe the bland options will continue to prevail in DL.

just ordered from there now, first time, looking forward to it :cool:

Vincent Vega

Whats the deal with the majority of Indian delivery restaurants in the Dun Laoghaire area only offering only mild to medium dishes?

Nearly everything I've tried labelled as 'hot' is an embarrassment to the word.
So far I've had Spice Cottage, Shanai, Bombay Pantry, Shakira, Jewel in the Crown and The Curry Garden.

Out of them, I'd say only Shakira and Jewel in the Crown's 'hot' food have been worthy of the label, with the latter's vindaloo being the most impressive.

Also they throw in some mint raita/pickled onion with a reasonably small order, which is great seeing as indian is often the most expensive of the takeaways.

Any recommendations?

Shint0

Rasam in Glasthule is excellent. Unfortunately, Ananda and the rest of the Jaipur chain don't do takeaways. If they did I would definitely recommend them first.

Fratton Fred

Shint0 wrote: »

Rasam in Glasthule is excellent. Unfortunately, Ananda and the rest of the Jaipur chain don't do takeaways. If they did I would definitely recommend them first.

They do takeaways, they just don't deliver. I think Deliveroo collect from them though.

Gareth Keenan

Gareth Keenan wrote: »

just ordered from there now, first time, looking forward to it :cool:

Slightly disappointed with this given the build up it had on this thread Good but I still think I'll return to Spice Cottage though, if only as it's a bit nearer. Chicken dish was a bit of a puzzle. Lamb and veggie were both very good.

Vincent Vega wrote: »

Whats the deal with the majority of Indian delivery restaurants in the Dun Laoghaire area only offering only mild to medium dishes?

Nearly everything I've tried labelled as 'hot' is an embarrassment to the word.
So far I've had Spice Cottage, Shanai, Bombay Pantry, Shakira, Jewel in the Crown and The Curry Garden.

Out of them, I'd say only Shakira and Jewel in the Crown's 'hot' food have been worthy of the label, with the latter's vindaloo being the most impressive.

Also they throw in some mint raita/pickled onion with a reasonably small order, which is great seeing as indian is often the most expensive of the takeaways.

Any recommendations?

They'll all use the same base gravy and finish each dish to order. I usually ask for some frsh chiilis to be added to the spice mix, or to th eonion mix if things re cooked from scratch. jewel In the Crown do seem to have the hottest base sauce alright.

Fratton Fred wrote: »

They do takeaways, they just don't deliver. I think Deliveroo collect from them though.

That's good to know (Deliveroo).

Shint0

If you want hot and spicy in an indian restaurant then you have to ask for it not just go by what it says on the menu. Most indian restaurants are happy to make it as hot as you like but they generally play it safe for what they see as the conservative Irish palate. You just need to ask that's all.

rubadub

Shint0 wrote: »

Most indian restaurants are happy to make it as hot as you like but they generally play it safe for what they see as the conservative Irish palate.

You could put on an Indian accent when phoning

Awaaf

Had the sit down at Delhi Rasoi over weekend. Still think its very good. It seems to be 2 chefs (50+) who run the show - has to be a good sign. One seems to be a small older guy. Was talking to the other one. He was telling me he likes to make the pastry for samosas himself and to cut the lamb from a leg of lamb rather than buy in cubed lamb. Have to say the starters and the lamb dishes are really good. Lamb is tender and with very little fat.

Duvetdays

Had a takeaway in Delhi Rasoi last Saturday massively unimpressed. My onion bhaji was lovely and the husband loved his chicken pakora but everything else was bland. Chicken tikka masala and garlic naan both lacked any real taste and naan was very doughy.

Then went to Kathmandu in Dalkey last night as a last minute decision for a sit down meal and so glad I did food was amazing. Butterfly prawns and onion bhaji as starters where gorgeous so was chicken tikka masala, naan and rice couldn't fault any of it. I will go there in future for takeaways.

Chinasea

I hope you gave your feedback directly to source. I feel it is very harsh to openly criticize a new business like this without saying it directly to them, at least giving them a chance to rectify and address your complaint. I would imagine they would only be too pleased to do so for you.

I am all for constructive feedback but appropriated in a fair and even manner.

We want to welcome new businesses to Dun-Laoghaire (imo). There are peoples and their families livelihoods at stake. I would encourage as opposed to knocking unless of course they murdered, poisoned or robbed me.

Duvetdays

Why would I complain to them? There was nothing wrong with the food as in not cooked fully or gone off but I really didn't like it. By me complaining the tikka masala was bland I very much doubt they'll change their recipe. Peoples taste differ many people here are saying it's nice so obviously they're doing something right I just personally didn't enjoy it at all and wouldn't go back.

Chinasea

Duvetdays wrote: »

Why would I complain to them? There was nothing wrong with the food as in not cooked fully or gone off but I really didn't like it. By me complaining the tikka masala was bland I very much doubt they'll change their recipe. Peoples taste differ many people here are saying it's nice so obviously they're doing something right I just personally didn't enjoy it at all and wouldn't go back.

Maybe you are not in agreement with my point.

What I am saying is that in this case, this is a new business trying to get up and running off its feet. Somebody has invested their money and livelihood and has provided gainful employment to others. Reporting that you would never go back, imo is not helpful.

They are also renting and contributing rates etc., in one of Dun-Laoghaire's umpteen empty premises (which incidentally would simply be left to rot and fester like the hundreds of other depressing empty buildings).

At least let the poor proprietors know what you didn't like or what could be improved as opposed to simply posting on an open forum.

There is a thread on Dublin City's forum with interesting points of views echoing similar thoughts.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057600839&page=3

Duvetdays

Are you affiliated to them in any way?

This is a thread on local Indians, good and bad views are being aired on several. BP is being massively slated on this thread and Masala is also a new business which also had poor reviews on here one even liking them to sauce from a jar and I don't see you jumping to their defence?

I've aired my opinion on the take away that it wasn't for me that happens with eateries you can't please everybody's taste. I didn't come on here accusing them of undercooked chicken, poor quality meat or of finding a hair in my food. The food itself was cooked fine just bland for my tastes.

You'll also find that I had nothing but praise about Kathmandu in Dalkey so much so I had take away from there the other night and that will be new Indian from now on.

ArielAtom

I'm personally a fan of Delhi Lounge in Rathfarnham Village, and if you fancy a trip to the dark side Mango Tree is a superb Thai.

Chinasea

Duvetdays wrote: »

Are you affiliated to them in any way?
.

Perhaps you don't get what I mean. I understand what you are saying though and will leave it at that.

I have no personal agenda whatsoever, and it is a shame that this goes over your head that an independent could voice a commercial concern...champion of the underdog sorta. In simple terms I cringe when I read slating reports (not that yours was). If you want to, have a look at the link I attached in previous post where it seems there are others that would seem to feel the same as I do about negative postings. That's all I am saying.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057600839&page=3

post number #43

ted1

Chinasea wrote: »

Perhaps you don't get what I mean. I understand what you are saying though and will leave it at that.

I have no personal agenda whatsoever, and it is a shame that this goes over your head that an independent could voice a commercial concern...champion of the underdog sorta. In simple terms I cringe when I read slating reports (not that yours was). If you want to, have a look at the link I attached in previous post where it seems there are others that would seem to feel the same as I do about negative postings. That's all I am saying.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057600839&page=3

post number #43

I know what your saying.
If they are a new place , give them a chance . The chef could be used to cooking for other nationalities. Give them a bit of feedback and they can adopt their cooking style to the local palate

strandroad

I believe in fair critique, but in terms of levels of spicy all Indian places are bound to get it wrong for someone, people's tastes are so different. Best to ask for the level you want. Poor naans are a legitimate complaint!

snor

ArielAtom wrote: »

I'm personally a fan of Delhi Lounge in Rathfarnham Village, and if you fancy a trip to the dark side Mango Tree is a superb Thai.

My two regular haunts. Agree - both are fabulous. We are spoilt!

Shint0

Chinasea wrote: »

I hope you gave your feedback directly to source. I feel it is very harsh to openly criticize a new business like this without saying it directly to them, at least giving them a chance to rectify and address your complaint. I would imagine they would only be too pleased to do so for you.

I am all for constructive feedback but appropriated in a fair and even manner.

While I agree with you to a certain extent it can also depend very much on the level of skill and experience of a chef and more so how much the owners are willing or unwilling to pay for a properly trained experienced chef which can be a particularly significant issue in Indo/Pakistani/Bengali restaurants. Offering constructive criticism in these type of scenarios can sometimes have no relevance.

Awaaf

Shint0 wrote: »

While I agree with you to a certain extent it can also depend very much on the level of skill and experience of a chef and more so how much the owners are willing or unwilling to pay for a properly trained experienced chef which can be a particularly significant issue in Indo/Pakistani/Bengali restaurants. Offering constructive criticism in these type of scenarios can sometimes have no relevance.

The chefs seem to be running Delhi Rasoi. The one I spoke to is very pleasant and I would say it is well worth discussing requirements/feedback directly with him.

schemingbohemia

Is Curry Kitchen in DL new? Hadn't been down there in a while and saw it, looked good with the open kitchen. Anyone able to compare with Kathmandu or Spice Cottage?

Shint0

Awaaf wrote: »

The chefs seem to be running Delhi Rasoi. The one I spoke to is very pleasant and I would say it is well worth discussing requirements/feedback directly with him.

I don't actually know that particular restaurant as it seems new. I had a quick look at their TripAdvisor and Facebook. From the photos the food doesn't actually look bad colourwise and they seem to have made their own chutneys aswell which is good sign and not the usual bog standard ones. Might be worth a try.

Mick Murdock

Guys, does anybody have any recommendations for some Nepalese dishes from Kathmandu? Anything from mild to hot will do.