Back in the UK - My Trip

Respect to you Bruce, and many like you, flying the nest, coming back then, flying again.

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There I was about to agree with the idea of getting a great curry when in the UK. Its what I do because there is a real lack of Indian or any Asian restaurants in SW France. Then I thought I’d check what Australia has to offer in this cuisine. Answer - lots and lots. Still, always nice to get a curry.

Does Australia have a traditional British curry or Balti house? I thought a lot of the dishes we call Indian were tweaked and refined in Britain and bear little resemblance to the original recipe

Indian restaurants are much rarer in Australia but they are there, we do have a lot of Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese.

An Indian restaurant opened near the end of my street last year it seems to be doing OK.

Every licenced club has a bistro and/or restaurant where you can get good cheap food. I think I mentioned eating out in Australia is cheaper than here even though UK supermarkets sell food much cheaper.

does your indian restaurant do chicken Tikka massala?

No idea, I usually order a Madras or Vindaloo

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I fly out today, so my adventure is virtually over and I arrive back in Australia early Friday morning AEST.

Yesterday I did a bit of a trial pack 'of my bag etc.

We set up my brothers tent so he could practice for his camping trip on Friday.

Getting it up is easy though it doesn’t have the instant spring of my old Malamoo because there are clips holding the packed shape together (probably an advantage). We had to watch a YouTube video of packing it away to get it exactly right, the final fold is not obvious despite the instructions.

Just about to have a shower and pack computer away - no more missives from me until Friday.

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“bon voyage”

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It’s always worth a practice run with a new tent Bruce, I speak from experience!
Have a safe journey home fella!!! :airplane:

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Yep, I have always done it, it is particularly important with my brother as he is getting dementia - no short term memory at all.

When my kids were young we practised, with the bigger tents, so that everybody knew their jobs because they all wanted to help.

Have spend many happy times in caravan parks watching people erect tents or even awnings where they have obviously never done it before.

I had a wonderful time in the UK, the month has flown past, the weather has been absolutely perfect the whole trip, I doubt I will be back again so I hope my nieces/nephews and my kids keep in touch. (however never say never)

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I’ve been a few times to Australia but never eaten in an Indian restaurant there. My post about there being quite a few Indian restaurants was simply from a quick Google. I have eaten in an Indian restaurant in Beijing and recognised every dish from menus in the UK. So my suspicion would be that Australian Indian food is also similar to what we get in the UK. Which is of course adapted from Bangladeshi and Bengali dishes. Also, whilst working in Stockholm I went to a couple of local Indian restaurants - pretty much the same dishes but less spicy.
Here’s two asides about Indian food in the UK. There is a distinct difference in some dishes between English and Scottish curry houses - things like the sizes of naan bread (huge in Scotland) and a preference for pakoras rather than onion bhajis. Also there is an increasing number of South Indian restaurants which serve very different dishes. I do not know if these are also anglicised.

Like a curry but, the preparation (even within the same restaurant) is not consistent enough. You can have say a lovely Bhuna from one outlet one week, then, you have the same next week and its bland. We have a restaurant locally that prides itself on being “exclusive”, stopped going there for a long while because, on getting the takeaway home, the main dish was 20% water, like what happens when you freeze a curry then, defrost it.
There are no such deliberations at the Toby Carvery.

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Safe trip home Bruce, enjoyed very much reading about your exploits in Blighty, you’re a natural travel correspondent, lots of things that I didn’t know being from ‘up north’ and although I don’t think I will make it as far as Australia these days, I might have a tootle down south to Kent and the south coast one day.

Hi Bruce the traveller ! Seems that you enjoyed visit to the old country. Go again ??

Hi

Indian Restaurant in the UK is often a misnomer , many are actually Pakistani or Bangladeshi rather than Indian.

That is why so many are Halal as they are Muslim Restaurants, the curries can taste very different to Indian Curries.

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We have an excellent Punjabi restaurant just over the road, I mean really good! :drooling_face: It’s certainly an Indian establishment. I assume the proprietor is from East Punjab.

I think it depends on the local population. In London most in the past were Indian, now the population is changing and many Bangladeshi/Pakistani curry places have opened. There are also various Sri Lankan Vegetarian curry cuisine outlets. Ealing used to have some of the best authentic Indian cuisine. I can see the excellent Laguna restaurant is still up and running. Probably at one point the poshest Indian Restaurant in that area.

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Yes, If I remember correctly there were quite a few Bangladeshi restaurants in Brick Lane East London during the mid to late 70s. I went to school in Stepney so it’s something that has stuck in my mind, all a long time ago of course!

Very true but when you’ve had to last many months with only home cooked curries then you are happy with the compromise. And with a decent curry.

Probably this is my last visit, 24 hours flying is not fun. I think my travelling will be mostly by car inside Australia in future (assuming fuel prices regain sanity). As I said, never say never.

I do recall this was very true when I spent over 6 months in India in the early 70s, most Indians seemed to live off rice and dahl (sp?) and they were largely vegetarians, it was only when I was near the Bangladesh border did I come across food I recognised from UK Indian restaurants.

The Bangla restaurants in Malaysia serve very different food to that in UK Indian restaurants.

Nepalese food was pretty good though I enjoyed many a meal of beef (water buffalo and goat), though it was somewhat disturbing to walk into an eating place with a goat tethered outside, have a lovely meal then leave to find the carcass of the goat hanging outside with a limb missing.

Anyway I am back in OZ, perhaps time to revive the Good Morning thread?

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