Jacob’s Curry & Cakes (Indian) – West Ealing, London

THIS RESTAURANT HAS SINCE CLOSED DOWN!

If an oxymoronic name like Curry & Cakes (Jacob’s to be more precise) doesn’t arouse some type of interest and intrigue, what will? After all, how many Indian eateries do you know of that combine two seemingly unrelated food terms in such a way?

And the day you decide to pass by a tagline promising “Authentic Dum Biryani”, is the day you question how many food joints you really know of that offer dum biryanis, let alone authentic ones.

The interior too couldn’t be more aptly arranged, with a curry counter on one side and a display unit showcasing an assortment of egg and eggless cakes and pastries on the other.

Their menu is quite an extensive one too, with dishes like dosas and fish curries, alongside some other questionable ones that include burgers and wraps.

Sweet mango lassi £2.50

A very good lassi that was thick and luscious, and even had a touch of the caradmom to it. There was, however, one obvious shortcoming with this: it turned out to be perhaps half the size it should have been given its price.

Chicken Masala Dosa £5.00

You couldn’t ask for more from a masala dosa than this, to be honest.

When the chicken mixture is as full of flavour, moist, and well cooked, and the golden-brown dosa pancake lightly crispy and beautifully textured, you know you’re there or thereabouts.

The thali also came with some runny yoghurt, a very mildly-spiced orange chilli sauce, and some curry gravy.

Had altogether, this made for a delicious meal; and just the right lunch option too given the quantity.

Chicken ‘Dum’ Biryani £3.50

That’s right; dum biryanis, or at least that’s what the menu declares: “A combination of spices, chice of protein/ vegetables with Basmati rice in a traditional dum cooking method”.

And what a revelation it was too. This would put to shame most of the biryanis we’ve encountered in and around London and the UK. Having very recently increased its price from £3.00 to £3.50, believe it or not, this generous portion had plentiful pieces of succulent chicken, with a solid blend of spices throughout, and rice cooked so precisely that each individual grain stood distinct and separate from its neighbour.

£3.50 for such a portion, along with raita yoghurt to boot?! You’d be a fool not to go try this, especially when bearing in mind that its lamb counterpart costs almost double!

Boneless Lamb Curry £6.00

Another generous portion of lamb curry whose chef knows how to pack some spicy flavour.

This is good enough to compete with most places. And again, coupled with expertly cooked rice.

King Fish Curry £6.00

And how glad we were in accepting the recommendation made by the affable woman behind the counter.

This was a wonderfully executed fish dish, with the curry sauce, while having a relatively watery consistency, being superbly judged in terms of its spices, so as to allow for the soft-fleshed fish to be thoroughly enjoyed.

Vegetable Spring Roll £1.20

As big as these jumbo-sized spring roles were, they were extremely poor, with a near tasteless veggie interior, and a rather thick pastry exterior. Avoid!

Tandoori Chicken with Salad £4.00

Although this was a full-impact tandoori chicken that was nicely charred, its biggest downfall was that it was way over done, resulting in it being bone dry. The salad had a lot to be desired too.

6oz Beef Burger £5.00, with fries and drink +£1.50

If a burger ever told a complete story, it was this one. The moral being that if you do visit an Indian curry joint who knows a thing or two about curries, don’t bother with any other sideshow, particularly when they’re catering for the masses by offering burgers.

Arguably the worst burger we’ve ever had!

Tandoori Naan £1.00

Fresh, fluffy and fantastic. Naans done to perfection!