A night out at 'The Curry Leaf' Indian restaurant proved to be the perfect tonic at the end of a busy day. I was accompanied by my son Andrew who deserved a treat for helping me out with IT issues at work. At last, a chance to sit back, relax and talk about something other than technical matters. The comfortable ambience, friendly service and glass of wine in hand had us relaxed in no time, looking forward to our meal as we caught up on our news.

We chose starters from the 'Pakora' selection - Indian street snacks served with chutney. Andrew chose Chicken Tikka and I decided to try Palak, a vegetarian starter of balls of spinach which melted in the mouth. Andrew commented that the starters were just the right quantity to whet the appetite for the main meal to come.

When it comes to mains in an Indian restaurant, my preference is for mild, creamy dishes, so I chose a 'Special of the Cuisine', Chicken Malai, favoured with almonds, herbs and exotic spices. Andrew prefers something a bit spicier and chose another special, the 'Xacuti Chicken' described as highly flavoured, spiced and fairly hot, prepared using coconut. To go with our main courses we ordered Pilau Rice, Onion Bhaji and a recommended dish, the Special Vegetable Sizzler. The sizzler made a very pleasant change to the usual side dishes I go for, consisting of potato, tomato and capiscum cooked in a clay oven which gave the dish a lovely, slightly charcoal flavour. Even better, we were told the dish is great for dieters!

The meal was lovely and the main courses turned out to be perfect to suit our tastes.

'The Curry Leaf' are now offering takeaway Indian food for summer barbecues such as pre-marinated Chicken Tikka. With such flavoursome foods being cooked outside, just imagine the delicious aroma that could be wafting over your garden fence this summer!