Chaudhary's replaced the Bombay Leaf on Rutherglen Main Street in December 2015.
Whilst I really liked the Bombay Leaf, it was always pretty quiet and I couldn't imagine how it made any money. It was therefore no surprise to find that after a short closure, the business had been taken over by new owners.
On my first visit to the "new" place, (about a fortnight after the relaunch) I got my "usual" (I won't say what it was for fear of identifying myself too much). I was pleasantly surprised to find that the food was EXACTLY the same as the old place, but (for the meal deal), cheaper! Same curry, same pakora, same rice. I breathed a sigh of relief as this place has been my regular for a good few years now and I was rather worried that the change would be for the worse.
Unfortunately, that's where the good news ends.
A few weeks later, I returned. Being a creature of habit, I again got my "usual", looking forward to it as I always do. The first thing I noticed was that the box of pakora had changed from a rectangular box to a smaller square one. Still, there was some salad included, and as I mentioned earlier, the meal was a wee bit cheaper, so far enough. The pakora itself wasn't quite as good, not as sweet, far spicier and saltier, but not terrible by any means.
The curry itself was a different matter entirely. Gone was the vibrant orangey/red of old with lovely soft onions and peppers topped with finely sliced green finger chillies and fresh coriander. In its place was brown mush with some chunks of meat which was very spicy but completely lacking in sublety and flavour. The accompanying rice was massively overpowered with cinnamon/cassia and cloves.
The worst, however, was yet to come. I'd like to preface the next part with an admsisson: I have a "cast iron" stomach. I can (and do) eat pretty much anything, best before/use by dates don't worry me too much, and i can count the times I've been ill on my fingers and toes.
Now, it may be a coincidence, and i cannot prove anything, but after the meal described above I became rather ill. Not hospital ill, but ill enough that I couldn't leave the house for a couple of days. As I said, it could all be coincidental, but I had symptoms of food poisoning and the only "different" meal I had (and indeed the only non-homemade food I had) came from this establishment.
Chaudhary's Restaurant and Bar, then: Not the Bombay Leaf, nowhere near as good, and I will not be back. although I will be monitoring their food hygiene inspections with interest. read more
