Spice and Ice, Greater London (Surrey) 7/10

http://spicenice.co.uk/
South Park Hotel
Croydon, Surrey

Nice restaurant, and have heard most of the food is pretty good Indo Chinese.

Chilli chicken - 7/10, though my bad in ordering. Was looking for the classic Indo Chinese "dry" chilli chicken (with green chillis and soy sauced chicken nuggets), but forgot to tell the chef to make it dry. The default was wet... which completely spoiled the experience. But in all fairness, my local friend who frequents this place said that the dry one is as close as it comes to the Indo Chinese one. (which I havent found anywhere else outside India, yet). The best one so far has been at the Golden Dragon in Rangila Park, Surat, India

Roomali roti - 6/10. Could have been thinner.

Tai Pai Chicken and Tai Pai Paneer - 7/10. Dry style, with Sichuan flavors. Well made.

Madras Grill, Chelmsford MA

Madras Grill. Good food & decor, to sum it up.  New Indian restaurant in Chelmsford, MA.

Update Feb 2012:

Karaikudi Chicken - 9/10.
Ask the chef to make it semi-dry (and spicy if desired). Very flavorful gravy, soft juicy chicken.
Description: A delicacy from the southern region called chettinadu, bone in chicken cooked with some distinct ingredients such as poppy seeds, fennel seeds, coriander seeds that give a very special aroma to the curry.

Mirapakaya Kodi Kura Chicken - 9/10.
Cooked similar to the Karaikudi Chicken above, but different flavor (Andhra style). Having it semi-dry doesnt dilute the tasty gravy.
Description: A spicy andhra bone in chicken dish cooked with green chillis and home ground south indian spicy masala.


From the buffet:

Chilli chicken - 8/10. Not too spicy, dry (good), not messed up with bell peppers or gravy (good).

Chicken tikka masala - 8/10. Very soft and juicy chicken, almost the 'melt in your mouth' kinds.

Chicken tandoori - 7/10. Better than the usual, well marinated, but by the time you get half way through the meat, the marination wears off... and you are back to 'white meat'.

Chicken with black pepper and hint of coconut (I forget the name) - 7/10. Tasty. Nice gravy.

Naan - nice thin fresh ones.

Filter coffee - decent. The real deal (not machine made). Could be a bit stronger.

Carrot halwa & sooji halwa - nice.

The veggie food was generally good too. The (moong-daal?) dosa with potato stuffing, that comes with the buffet, was ok, and so was the zucchini mixed vegetable.

Recommended overall.

Lunch buffet on all days, $9.95 M-F, $12.95 S-S. Menu looks interesting too, but a bit pricey.

7 Summer Street
Chelmsford, MA - 01824
Phone : (978) 330-5133

Email : info@themadrasgrill.com

Pongal, Billerica MA

Pongal, 786 Boston Rd Billerica, MA 01821
(978) 667-3443

Update 4/25/10

By far the best Indian restaurant this side of town! It also has a good selection of Indo-Chinese food.

Chilli paneer dry - 8/10. Very good, well made, comes very close to the Indian Chinese style, probably without much MSG

Chilli chicken dry - 8/10. ditto. The real deal, not adulterated by green peppers and such, although it has onions (the Indian one is just green chillies and chicken)

Chicken chettinad - 8/10. Very tasty and flavorful. It didn't feel like chicken thrown in some standard gravy, as we also ordered veggie chettinad. The chicken was juicy and prepared well.

Vegetable chettinad - 7/10. Good stuff.

Lamb seekh kabab - 7/10. This one was a bit disappointing, given the other good food and expectations, but not bad nonetheless. Could have been a bit more moist and flavorful.

Overall, this is the place to goto if you are in the Northwest area.

Update 1/1/10

The weekend buffet is good, 7/10 on average.

They have a good mix of veg and non veg. Their tandoori chicken is much better than the average fare elsewhere. Its well marinated.

Goat curry - 7/10

Lamb biryani - 7/10

Naan - 7/10

Chicken tikka - 7/10

One of the best in the area.

This restaurant replaced Masala. The decor is better, but the food is average.
Update 4/9/09Heard from many foodies that the buffet is much better on weekends.

Buffet included:
Tandoori chicken - 5/10
Chicken tikka masala - 5/10 - the chicken pieces were dry and the gravy as usual
Lamb meat balls - 6/10 - nice flavor, but the gravy could have been better - the ingridients and spices werent well mixed in, which left the gravy chunky (much like an amateur cook - how most bachelors cook at home :)
Ginger chicken - 5/10
Bhindi (okra) entree - undercooked okra
Garlic naan - 6/10 (was fresh and served as part of the buffet)
Service was slow.

Golden Dragon, Surat, Gujarat, India
15/16/17 Rangila Park Ghod Dod Rd Surat-395007, Gujarat, India

+91 0261 2669517

Chicken chilli - 9/10. The real thing. Dry (thats how its supposed to be). Lots of green chillies. Indian Chinese. Doesnt get much better than this. There are not green bell peppers (capsicum) in this like so many US restaurants.

Paneer chilli - 9/10. The other real thing. True Indian Chinese. Dry.

I think this is one of the best Indian-Chinese restaurants in Surat.

Ming, Iselin, NJ
1655 Oak Tree Rd # 185, Edison, NJ (732) 549-5051

Supposed to be the best Indian Chinese in the Oak Tree area (by the locals). It was above average, but not impressed.
Chilli paneer (wet) - 6/10
Chicken chilli (wet) - 6/10

Why cant anyone make these the way they are made in India?? (minus the MSG)