Kirthon, The Pantiles, Tunbridge Wells

Anyone that has read any of our previous posts may remember that Phil lived over in this part of the world for a while and, with a delivery to Rotherfield on the cards, tonight's destination was a certainty from the moment it was confirmed.

The Kirthon is on the upper walk of the Pantiles in the historic part of Tunbridge Wells.  Phil knew it from the early 80's as "The Anglo Indian Tandoori" when he lived further along the Pantiles in a flat above the Bank and it was one of his favourite haunts.

For the visitor, there is plenty of street parking in that part of town and, although the entrance is on the ground level, the restaurant is on the upper floors up an ornate, winding staircase.

The restaurant has a strange feel to it.  The lighting and tables were not a sympathetic addition to the low ceilings and beams form the fabric of the building.  The LCD TV on the wall; the use of iPads to take orders; the busy rush of waiters with a cheery indifference were all at odds with the location.

The Papadums were reasonably fresh but not warm.  The pickles were nicely varied and Bob particularly liked the mango chutney which had an interesting lime tang within it.  The (bottled) beers were nicely cold but served in pub pint glasses rather than the more sophisticated branded glasses that is the norm.

The curries duly arrived with the vegetables but without the rice which turned up a couple of minutes later.  That having been said the dishes were still piping hot.  Phil's Dhansak was a nice combination of sweet and hot but Bob's Korma was rather bland.  In both cases, however, the feeling was one of being short changed as the portions were largely sauce with little meat.

The vegetables, sadly, were bland to the point of being virtually tasteless.

For a Wednesday evening the restaurant was surprisingly busy and there were plenty of waiters but the service felt impersonal and disjointed.  Our table wasn't made up when we were shown to it and tablecloths were conspicuous by their absence.  Even the tables themselves were plastic and are nothing like the pictures on their website!

Area	Phil	Bob
Beer	8	8
Papadum	6	6
Curry	7	4
Rice & Vegetables	5	4
Service & Ambiance	4	4

In total a very disappointing 56.

What Phil fondly remembered as an elegant restaurant (and one that helped shape his love of curry some 30 years ago) has become something that looks to cater for the tourist that visits Tunbridge Wells.  It certainly falls far short of its aim "to create the ultimate dining experience".

Gurkha Palace - Sangate, Folkestone

After an unfortunate break, courtesy of Phil falling and rupturing his quadricep tendon and therefore being immobilised for the best part of 4 months the evening deliveries have restarted and, with that, the curry adventure continues.

This evening a trip to Folkestone was called for and, delivery completed, we were given directions by a (hopefully very happy) customer to The Gurkha Palace in Sangate which was highly recommended to us.

The Gurkha Palace is in, perhaps, an unusual location, being situated in a small shopping area in the middle of a large housing estate.  The shopping area forms two sides of a square and the middle of the square is a reasonably sized car park so parking was very easy.  Folkestone has a large Nepalese community as a result of being home to one of the Gurhka regiments and the Gurkha Palace specialises in a blend of Indian and Nepalese cuisine.

The Papadums were fresh and warm and served pre-cut into quarters.  An unusual presentation and quite a technical challenge!  The pickles were a troika of Mango Chutney, Mint Raita and a savoury, almost bovril like, dip.  Phil was a little disappointed with the lack of Onions.  The (bottled) beers were nicely cold.

The curries were excellent.  Phil found that the Dhansak had a fantastic blend of heat and sweetness with lots of little surprise notes of flavour (he has obviously been watching too much Masterchef during his incapacity).  Bob's Korma again had an excellent depth and balance of flavour.

The Vegetables were slightly more of a mixed bag.  Phil thought that they contrasted nicely with his Dhansak but Bob found the Kerau Paneer a bit too similar to his Korma.

We were well looked after by our host and Phil was pleased to note hot towels at the end of the meal.

Area	Phil	Bob
Beer	8	8
Papadum	7	7
Curry	9	9
Rice & Vegetables	8	7
Service & Ambiance	8	7

A happy total score of 78.

We noticed a comment from another customer that they happily travel an 80 mile round trip to eat at the Gurka Palace.  We can understand why!!