Address: 48 Floral Street
Website: www.masalazone.com
Type of Meal: Dinner
Having heard
that Britain is one of the best places to experience Indian food outside of
India, I couldn’t leave without eating some. Originally, my husband and I were
planning on visiting Dishroom, based on a suggestion from a friend. But, upon arriving we were advised it’d be
over an hour wait, so we walked a block to Masala Zone instead. Being a chain
restaurant, we went to the Covenant Garden location on a Thursday and also
found a line (albeit much shorter and inside the restaurant). It moved fairly quickly and the plethora of
dolls and trinkets decorating the restaurant provided entertainment; we were
seated within 15 minutes.
Marsala Zone
is known for their thali, a platter of little dishes that makes up an entire
meal (minus dessert). The combination of items provides a variety of tastes and
textures and is supposed to encompass all the food groups to provide a healthy
balanced meal. We decided to get a chicken mangalore grand thali (£12.30), a
single order of chilli paneer (£8.10) and some garlic naan (£2.65) to share.
The grand thali is made up of:
· A canapé – I think we received an onion bhajee that
night. Essentially, it’s an onion and
lentil fritter with various spices in it (cumin and coriander). It was good enough, although could have been
better if they were quickly refried and served hot & crispy.
· Choice of curry off their menu - The chicken mangalore was tender being
made from thigh meat. The sauce was pleasant and rich, with strong fragrant
spices and hint of coconut without being overly creamy.
· Two vegetables (one green and one root) –
Surprisingly, I thoroughly enjoyed the cubes of curried potatoes and peas. It’s so simple but went well with everything
when I could take a piece of chicken, potato and wrap. I don’t recall the other vegetable but have a
recollection it was slightly pickled and not something I enjoyed.
· Dal – The lentil stew was great! I’ve only ever had it in the drier form in
West Indian cooking when it’s added to a roti.
This creamier thick saucy version is so much better and could easily be
eaten on its own with rice.
· Raita – watery cucumber yoghurt that helped calm the
spices from our two chili dishes.
· Indian salad – I honestly can’t remember what made it
Indian, perhaps the dressing. But, it
was like any other garden salad with slivers of carrots.
· Papadum and chutney – My first experience having a
papadum, these are amazing! In Toronto, we don’t normally get these with our
meals so I will be on the lookout for them. It’s thin, crispy (without being
fried) and made from some sort of flavoured flour so that there’s some savouriness
to it. I didn’t really care for the chutney so ended eating it topped with
rice, dal and curry instead.
· A whole wheat chapatti – thin Indian bread that
reminded me of flour tortillas but had more of an elastic chewiness to it.
· Rice – really wasn’t the best quality but just fine
when smothered with sauce.
Normally, my
husband and I always order a spinach paneer; Marsala Zone didn’t have this so
we opted for the chilli rendition instead. There were generous chunks of paneer
in it, texture much like the versions I normally have and akin to a firm tofu.
The sauce definitely had heat to it and reached my upper limit – I had to rely
on water and raita to calm my tongue. Interestingly, it was topped with crispy
onion slivers, which didn’t really add much to the dish but was good on its
own.
Sadly, the
garlic naan was the least impressive item for the meal. I generally love naan but found Marsala
Zone’s too oily, not hot enough and too dense. Perhaps it’s a matter of taste,
but I enjoy mine left in the tandoori oven longer so that there are slightly
charred bits on the edges and large bubbles throughout.
Although I
can’t comment on whether Marsala Zone was as good as Dishroom, I have to admit
that it was one of the best tasting Indian meals I’ve had. I love the idea of
the grand thali; it’s a great option for those who want to try a lot of things
at once and is great value for only £12.
Overall mark - 8 out of 10
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Gastro World's Grading System
- Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
- 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
- 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
- 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
- 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
- 10 - absolute perfection!
