An American tourist and a local find the best curry house in London
"Food Wars" hosts Harry Kersh and Joe Avella travel across London to find the best curry house in the city. They'll be visiting four different locations in just one day to see what the city has to offer. This is "Food Tours."
Category
🤖
TechTranscript
00:00So Joe, today we're going to visit some British Indian curry houses.
00:02There is a distinction there because these probably aren't going to be like
00:05the most traditional Indian meals that you've ever had in your life,
00:07but they are specifically British Indian cuisine.
00:10The way that we've identified these is places that have
00:12chicken tikka masala on the menu. Have you had that before?
00:15I think so, yeah.
00:16Although I think there is some debate as to whether or not it's like
00:18a British Indian dish or whether or not some places do serve it in India,
00:22but it's just become really popular here.
00:24Man, you British. Can you guys just stop colonizing for like five minutes?
00:28Let them have a thing.
00:30Okay, well, regardless, I'm really stoked to get it.
00:33I'm so jet-lagged. I'm like this close to crying.
00:37So I feel like some Indian food would really hit the spot.
00:42Yeah, this could be like an emotional day for you.
00:44So we're here at Tyab's. This is an East London institution.
00:47It's been here for years. People love it.
00:49Celebrities come here. John Favreau absolutely loves this place.
00:52Came here with Pedro Pascal. Love him.
00:54The standard things that we're going to order today, like I said,
00:56probably the chicken tikka masala and then probably a naan as well.
00:59We might slightly mix up the filling of the naan or the topping of the naan,
01:02but I think those two are a good baseline. Does it sound good?
01:04Yeah, great.
01:05They're kind of famous for their lamb chops here.
01:06They do a really good grilled spiced lamb chop,
01:08so I think we should get some of those.
01:10You know they're good when the picture made the menu.
01:12Yes.
01:12Right?
01:12Yeah, that sounds good. It's not too much food,
01:14but I think we should pace ourselves.
01:16I've learned the hard way that we should pace ourselves.
01:18Oh, I know. That's your problem, pal.
01:25These are the poppadoms. Have you had these before?
01:26Probably. Yeah, probably.
01:29You get these and they always come with a range of dips.
01:31And I'm just taking one?
01:32Yeah, you can kind of go for whatever.
01:34Some people just karate chop the whole thing.
01:37Did you want to do that?
01:38I mean, do you want to do that as our guest of honor?
01:40Sure. Ready?
01:41Just go for it.
01:43Wait.
01:44There we go.
01:45And then you just have nice little bits that you can kind of pick and dip.
01:48And these will probably come out immediately
01:49because they just always got like a stack of them ready to go in the kitchen.
01:52They bring these out, you have a few of these,
01:54then the rest of the food kind of like starts to come out.
01:56So we've got a few dips here.
01:57This one, mango chutney.
01:59Getting any mango flavors from that?
02:01I am getting mango flavors.
02:03And that is so good.
02:04Yeah, this is probably my favorite.
02:06Wow.
02:07Yeah, it will vary slightly depending on the curry house.
02:09But normally you're getting a mango chutney,
02:12a yogurt cream based sauce, like a ricer of some kind.
02:15And then usually a spicy option as well.
02:17I haven't actually tried that one yet.
02:18How spicy are we looking?
02:19Not very spicy, but enough spice to let you know it's there.
02:22Uh-huh.
02:22Right?
02:23I love this.
02:24This is always the one where like,
02:25if you came for a family meal and you had a curry.
02:27Yeah.
02:27Your parents would be shouting at you at this point to not fill up on poppadoms.
02:30I was about to say, slow down.
02:32This is like in America when you get Mexican food,
02:34after you order, chips and salsa at the table.
02:36Nice.
02:36We don't really get that here,
02:37but I see how that would be equally as dangerous as this.
02:40Yeah.
02:40Because you're waiting and you're socializing,
02:42you're just heading to the next thing you know,
02:43your food shows up and you're like, I'm not hungry anymore.
02:46So like, obviously you guys have Indian food.
02:48Oh yeah, yeah.
02:49In the US.
02:49But am I right in thinking it's just like culturally not as
02:52significant and not as much of a big deal?
02:53I think it's pretty popular.
02:55I mean, I understand the India culture here in Great Britain,
02:59probably more evident over the century or so versus in America,
03:02but hey, America is a melting pot, baby.
03:04We got everyone.
03:05Yeah.
03:05I got everyone and we got everything.
03:07There we go.
03:09Yes, sir.
03:12Oh yes, all right.
03:13I'm losing my mind.
03:15I'm instinctually grabbing my head because I feel like it's going to spin off.
03:19This looks, oh my God.
03:21It's pretty good, right?
03:23This looks so good.
03:24I think the rest is on its way.
03:25Yeah, they're bringing it in.
03:29Awesome.
03:30Fantastic.
03:30Thanks very much.
03:32I have to say everything here looks absolutely incredible.
03:35I'm so excited.
03:36Me too, honestly.
03:37Wow.
03:38I'm just excited to eat.
03:39Should we just dive in?
03:39Yeah.
03:40Okay, cool.
03:41I feel like, grab yourself a lamb chop.
03:42Yes, sir.
03:44Hear that sizzle.
03:45Oh my goodness, is that a bed of grilled onions?
03:48Yeah, that's amazing.
03:49A lot of people will refer to it as naan bread.
03:52That's actually just like saying bread twice because naan is just kind of an Indian word
03:57for bread.
03:57You want me to do the chicken tikka masala first?
03:59I feel like it's up to you, man.
04:01Go crazy.
04:01I think that's a nice place to start our curry journey today.
04:03So we're here for, we're doing this at every place.
04:05So let me try it.
04:10What are you getting there, Joe?
04:12Well, it's delicious.
04:13I love the flavors.
04:14Good start.
04:15Really taste how the meat is grilled.
04:16Sauce is incredible.
04:18What are some of the distinct flavors here that I'm getting?
04:20It will vary slightly depending on the restaurant you're in.
04:22Generally speaking, they'll start with a masala, which is kind of the way that you actually
04:27refer to like a blend of spices.
04:28Yeah.
04:28Some common ones, kind of like ginger, cardamom, coriander in there as well.
04:33Flavor-wise, profile is absolutely incredible.
04:35No notes on that.
04:37No.
04:37Very good.
04:38But I mean, this lamb is beautiful.
04:42Juicy lamb chops.
04:44Wow.
04:46Wow, wow, wow.
04:48It's so juicy.
04:49Okay, so the spice on this pairs with the lamb perfectly, right?
04:52The flavor is just jumping out of me right away.
04:55It's enough spice to know that it's there, but it really accents the flavor of the meat
04:59perfectly.
05:00It pairs with it incredibly.
05:02So I don't feel like I'm eating a piece of meat that was just covered in a spice.
05:07No.
05:07Yeah.
05:08You can tell this has been like marinated.
05:10Yeah.
05:10It's been cooked in the sauce.
05:12It's like you said, they're not just like cooking them separately and then kind of like
05:14combining them at the last second.
05:15Yeah, yeah, yeah.
05:16That flavor is in there.
05:17Yeah.
05:18You might also see some variation with like the type of chicken that's in there as well.
05:21Okay.
05:21We're generally talking chicken breast pieces, but I think this is good because you get like
05:24quite big pieces of chicken.
05:25Yeah.
05:25So they've stayed really tender in the cooking process as well.
05:28Really juicy.
05:29It's not really about the heat with the chicken tikka masala.
05:31This is something that was kind of adapted for the British palate.
05:34So not super spicy.
05:35Yeah.
05:35But in terms of the richness of the flavor, it's really, really tasty.
05:38That's what I'm talking about.
05:39Richness.
05:40Quite tomato-y.
05:40Do you get the tomato coming through from that?
05:42I absolutely do.
05:43This to me, I just want to like take the chicken and the rice and the naan, put it all together.
05:46Boom.
05:47It's kind of the joy of like eating at an Indian restaurant.
05:49Yeah.
05:49You can kind of just mix whatever you want.
05:51Often if you come with a big group.
05:53Yeah.
05:53You'd all get like a few dishes and you just kind of like share them around,
05:57try lots of different things.
05:58If the camera wasn't here, I would lick this bone clean.
06:00The sauce is just...
06:02The camera's here and I am licking the bone clean.
06:04So go crazy.
06:05I'm not going to.
06:07I don't have the footage on the internet.
06:09So they don't eat a ton of lamb in the US, right?
06:11It's like not super common.
06:12Lamb doesn't seem to be as popular of a meat in the US as it is here, certainly.
06:17But I think that's something to do with the fact that the US like clearly we're just like cattle,
06:21beef, pork, beef, beef, pork.
06:23Like the two animals were really just pushing on the population for at least 200 years.
06:29There certainly is lamb.
06:30It's just not as popular.
06:31Interesting.
06:32I will say these are like some of the best lamb chops I've ever had.
06:35These are like fantastic.
06:36Yeah.
06:37So we took you to Tyab's because it's kind of like an elevated British Indian experience,
06:41I would say.
06:42It's like a pretty standard British Indian curry house in the terms of like, you know,
06:46the decor, it's a little bit kitschy.
06:47They have some familiar things on the menu, like the tikka masala.
06:50But I think, yeah, like I say, this is kind of like an elevated version of a tikka masala.
06:54The place we're going to go to next, I think will give you a much more authentic,
06:57like British Indian experience, particularly when it comes to the masala.
07:01I think the color might surprise you.
07:03The flavors might surprise you a bit.
07:04It's going to be interesting.
07:05All right.
07:06This was fantastic.
07:08But how authentic is it?
07:09I don't know if you've noticed this about me, Joe, but I'm actually not from India,
07:12so I can't really talk to the authenticity of the food and the cuisine.
07:16I can maybe talk to the experience of a British curry house, but not that part.
07:20I have invited a friend along who's going to meet us at the next place,
07:22who I think will be able to explain a little bit more about what British Indian cuisine
07:26actually is, how it compares to actual Indian cuisine, and we'll kind of go from there.
07:30Sounds great.
07:32I've known Kev for many years.
07:34We've been an insider together for what, like five years now?
07:36It's been over five years.
07:38We're kind of old.
07:39Yeah, we started on the same desk together, have kind of like gone separate ways,
07:43and now rejoined again on the video team, which is great.
07:46You might have heard her voice on So Expensive videos.
07:49That's how I know you.
07:52And there's also, I don't think anyone more qualified, at least that I know,
07:54to talk about the authenticity of Indian food, definitely more so than I am.
07:58Well, I grew up in Liverpool, but my mum immigrated from Karachi when she was quite small.
08:04I think she might have been about one, and her mum was from Uttar Pradesh,
08:07which means that she's a UPIPE, and her dad was from Sindh, so Sindh being UPIPE.
08:14And because I've got that background there, obviously we grew up at home,
08:16kind of like cooking a lot of food, making rotis on the cover all the time.
08:19We cooked food at home ourselves quite a lot.
08:22And we did also go out for lots of Indians, which is quite a British phenomenon.
08:27Like it's a very, it's very important, but in my mind, that's quite separate
08:31to sort of the food that we had at home.
08:33So let's see how the food stands up, I guess.
08:36I think two metrics are important here.
08:37So I'm going to be measuring this against different chicken tikka masalas that I've
08:41had elsewhere, but I'm also going to be measuring this against my mum's butter chicken
08:45or chicken makhana, which I'm going to say that it's kind of more authentic.
08:50Okay.
08:51So we'll see.
08:53Great.
08:54I mean, if this beats your mum's curry, I feel like that could be a problem.
08:57She's going to see this video.
08:59I know she's in the comments.
09:01She's definitely a food tourist head, so.
09:03Of course.
09:04I'm scared.
09:06Same.
09:07So you may be wondering why we're at this restaurant specifically.
09:10Very much so.
09:10There's a few reasons for it.
09:12Obviously, Brick Lane and Curry, iconic in London.
09:15Like this is the place where you will probably go if you just Google like London curry houses.
09:19This is kind of where it's going to send you.
09:20It's very iconic.
09:21There's so many of them.
09:22There's like 23 or 24 restaurants just on this one stretch of road, which is a lot.
09:26But this one consistently just dominates in the rankings.
09:29People have rated this really highly.
09:31It's very up there on TripAdvisor.
09:33It's the 15th best rated restaurant in the whole of London on TripAdvisor.
09:38Not just curry houses, just restaurants in general.
09:40Fantastic.
09:41All those people can't be wrong, right?
09:42That's correct.
09:43I totally agree.
09:43They should have that in the window though, do they?
09:45Maybe they do.
09:46I think they generally tend to put pictures of the celebrities who've visited.
09:49I have noticed that.
09:50So thank you.
09:51One thing, so I live in Los Angeles and what's really popular there, they do this as well.
09:55But another thing they'll do is, because everyone in Los Angeles is a performer,
09:58is that they'll give them a signed headshot.
10:00Nice.
10:01Which makes sense.
10:02But then when you go into restaurants, they'll be plastered with framed headshots.
10:05And you're like, I don't know who any of these people are.
10:07That's right.
10:07Yeah, so.
10:09It could be a good way to try and get a discount on your bill.
10:12Be like, I'm actually kind of famous.
10:13Here's my headshot.
10:14Yeah.
10:15You just fold that into the little tab book.
10:18There you go.
10:18Do the handshake where you slide it in.
10:21It's like this big picture.
10:22Like, can I get a table near the window?
10:24Because what are you doing?
10:26A4 size headshot.
10:27I'm taking the 11 inch.
10:31All right.
10:34I'm actually really curious to try this,
10:36because I don't know that I've ever tried anything like this before.
10:39No?
10:39Oh, really?
10:40Look at the color on that.
10:41That's beautiful.
10:42That is bright.
10:43Wow.
10:44Wow.
10:44Low voice.
10:46Wow.
10:48Ketchup, please.
10:50Ketchup.
10:50Did we order ketchup?
10:52For the ketchup.
10:53A lot of ketchup.
10:54So much ketchup.
10:55Okay.
10:56Very generous with the ketchup.
10:58This is exactly like my mum makes it, by the way.
11:01Exactly.
11:01This is...
11:02With the ketchup.
11:02With the ketchup as well.
11:03Yeah.
11:08We have a small feast.
11:09I'm really curious about this.
11:10That's almost like it might be radioactive,
11:12but it's very bright.
11:14I don't think I've seen a chicken tikka masala this bright before.
11:17Have you not?
11:17I feel like I have.
11:19See, we went to Tye Ab's and we had the chicken tikka masala,
11:21and it was much more like this color.
11:23It was not that bright.
11:24I want to try it.
11:25Yeah, we all are.
11:27I'm very excited.
11:28This is actually quite a traditional thing
11:29to have like little bits of colored rice as well.
11:31Like we often do like rainbow rice around,
11:33which was a novelty thing.
11:36That was my favorite track on Mario Kart.
11:43Should we start dishing up?
11:44Jo, do you want to maybe grab yourself some rice?
11:46In my mind, tikka masala is this color.
11:49To be fair, this is...
11:49I mean, if you think about an authentic British-Indian curry,
11:52if this is supposedly like a British take
11:57on an Asian, traditional South Asian food stuff,
12:00it makes sense that it's that color, right?
12:02I think traditional is authentic
12:03is doing a lot of heavy lifting there.
12:05Try some rice.
12:06Thank you very much.
12:07But it's very, it's always tasty.
12:09How are you going to do with a naan?
12:10I'm going to go for a little bit of a naan scoop.
12:11It smells nice.
12:13Cheers, guy.
12:14Yeah, cheers.
12:17This one is sweeter than the last one.
12:20And much more creamy, right?
12:22Yeah, a lot creamier.
12:23The chicken is cooked well.
12:24It's cooked well, very tender.
12:26It's not chewy, which I get very angry
12:28when people give me curry and it's like chewy chicken.
12:31That's not okay.
12:32It's almost impressive to make chewy chicken
12:34in a sauce where you've been like simmering it, right?
12:37The one we had at Tayab's definitely had some heat to it.
12:39Yeah.
12:40It wasn't spicy.
12:40But I think I was taken aback by that
12:42because this is, again,
12:43more what I'm used to from like a classic British curry house.
12:45This kind of hits on the classic you're expecting?
12:47Pretty much.
12:48There's almost no heat to it.
12:49It's very sweet.
12:50It's very creamy.
12:51It's fantastic though.
12:52I am very impressed with the flavor.
12:55Over here we have...
12:56So this is the lamb vindaloo.
12:57Okay.
12:58It's got an interesting story, vindaloo.
13:00It's like come from several different cultures.
13:02There's like Portuguese in there.
13:04Then it's kind of gone from Portugal over to India
13:07and then back to the UK.
13:09And every time it's kind of like changed what it actually is.
13:12Interesting.
13:12In the UK, if you order a vindaloo,
13:13it's basically like one of the spiciest curries
13:15that a curry house will offer.
13:17Okay.
13:18I've ordered this one with lamb.
13:19This is the spicy guy.
13:20This is the spicy guy.
13:22This might be the thing that wakes me up.
13:23It may be.
13:24I've never tried this before because I just wouldn't.
13:28Like it's not really something that I wish...
13:29Is there potato in it?
13:30I mean, it is aloo in the name, right?
13:31Of course.
13:32Okay, I'm getting the spice.
13:34I'm getting that tingle.
13:35Is it only a tingle?
13:36Yeah, it's not that overwhelming spice.
13:38Oh, another swallow.
13:39I'm kind of like feeling a buildup on my lips.
13:41You gotta watch out for those chilies, man.
13:43They creep up on you.
13:44This has a decent spice too,
13:45but oh, the flavors just...
13:46The lamb cooked perfectly.
13:48I feel like for me, I'm not feeling anything.
13:51But there is flavor there, which is really nice.
13:52I'd probably have a little bit more seasoning, but...
13:57If we had to nitpick.
13:59As mentioned before,
14:00Kay has made me cry with chilies before
14:01and I'm not crying from that.
14:03It's very tasty though, like you say.
14:04I do think it's a nice balance of like, yeah,
14:06that warmth, the richness.
14:08That lamb, the lamb's so good, man.
14:09It like falls apart in your mouth.
14:10So I noticed that none of us have been tempted
14:12by the chips yet.
14:13Yeah.
14:14I will just say this is very much not authentic cuisine.
14:16Yeah, I do want to say chips, fries,
14:18as we call them in the States,
14:19do not normally come with Indian cuisine.
14:21No, and I'm not sure like when they started
14:23coming with British Indian cuisine,
14:24I do think it's very more the British side
14:26of British Indian.
14:27But I think it's one of those things again,
14:28where sort of like immigrant populations
14:31would open a restaurant
14:32and if there's demand there,
14:34which in Britain, there often is demand for chips,
14:36you're just going to serve it.
14:37Like you're missing out on free money
14:38and free customers if you're not.
14:40And therefore, chips appear on the menu.
14:42I do think like they go well with stuff.
14:44I mean, what I will do,
14:46let's get a couple of chips,
14:47dunk it straight in that masala sauce.
14:49Can I also just weigh in and say,
14:50these are more like,
14:51these look to me more like French fries
14:53than they do traditional British chips.
14:55Like a chunky chip is what I associate with British.
14:57Is this what I'm doing here though?
14:58You got the sauce now?
14:59Go for it.
14:59And also like we do this at home.
15:01I'm British, Pakistani, Indian,
15:03like there's a whole mix going on there.
15:05Chicken and chips, man, it's a thing.
15:07It's really good.
15:08It's really good.
15:08I do think that's a good idea
15:10to have the chips, fries,
15:11to finish off the sauce
15:12because one thing I've noticed
15:14in my many years of eating Indian food
15:15is that you eat the protein or the veggie,
15:17that's whatever's in the sauce.
15:18You usually have like a lot of sauce left.
15:20This is kind of what you grow to expect
15:22having Indian food.
15:23Yeah.
15:23So to have something for cleanup
15:25is a pretty smart idea.
15:26Yeah.
15:26One of the founding brothers of Tyab
15:28says that when he goes out,
15:29he will order chips with his Indian food.
15:30So yeah, it's not just a British thing.
15:33Sounds legit.
15:34Yeah.
15:34And what do we have here?
15:35This is a bhaji and it's kind of
15:37like a battered onion thing going on.
15:40I don't really like breaking them up
15:41because I just tend to eat them all to myself.
15:42But I'm going to split it up.
15:44Annoyingly, they've given us two
15:45between three.
15:46So just get stuck in.
15:48That's fine.
15:48You can have the whole one.
15:54Mmm, crispy.
15:56That's really good.
15:58That's fantastic.
16:00I love ordering these when I go out.
16:02These are an excellent starter.
16:03These are like a mainstay in my curry order.
16:06Sure.
16:06That's a good one.
16:07It's very crispy.
16:08Not overly oily.
16:10This was fantastic.
16:12I loved everything.
16:12I think the chips thing is growing on me.
16:14Again, it'd probably be more of a
16:16clean up with the naan than the chips.
16:17But I think it's a pretty good,
16:19an inventive idea that I do stand behind.
16:21And then Kea, final note from you.
16:23How does this kind of compare to
16:24a home-cooked Indian meal?
16:26Is it better?
16:27Is it worse?
16:28Is it just different?
16:30I do still put them in two
16:32completely different ballparks
16:33because they're just not the same thing for me.
16:35And it's still a really nice thing
16:36to go out for an Indian.
16:38But for me, it just tastes so different
16:43to my mum's cooking.
16:44Kea, thank you for joining us.
16:45I hope you've had a nice time.
16:47Please take some leftovers
16:48because I'm not going to want
16:48any more curry after today.
16:50Thank you very much.
16:51So what do you want to do next?
16:52I've probably got room
16:54for like two more curries.
16:55Yeah, I can go for two more curries.
16:56All right, cool.
16:56That sounds good.
16:57Let's go.
16:57Let's go.
17:00So this is Punjab Indian Restaurant.
17:02They've been here since the 40s.
17:03They used to be actually further in East London
17:05and then they moved here
17:06actually to be closer to the Indian Embassy,
17:08which is really cool because
17:09the staff at the Indian Embassy
17:10missed some traditional dishes from India
17:13and they moved here to be closer to that
17:14to supply that demand.
17:15So you know it's going to be authentic here.
17:17And from what I've heard, very tasty,
17:19although I've not been here before.
17:20Well, I'm very excited.
17:21Everything in the menu looks amazing.
17:22I love the vibe in here too.
17:25Really digging it.
17:25So yeah, a lot of like historical feel to it.
17:28Pictures on the wall.
17:29They're pretty like proud of the heritage here.
17:30So we're two in, we're about to do three.
17:32What are you expecting from this one
17:34that's different from the other two we've been doing?
17:35I think with this one,
17:36we should pay especially close attention
17:37to the flavors.
17:38Because one thing that
17:39I don't think we've actually talked about much yet
17:40is that oftentimes with curry houses
17:42in the UK, they will all start their curries
17:45from the same base.
17:46So you'll get basically their masala,
17:48which is like their blend of spices.
17:49They'll kind of create that
17:50and then every curry is built upwards
17:52from that same foundation.
17:53Okay.
17:54So I want to see if those flavor differences
17:56really shine through
17:56with like a couple of the different options
17:58that we've got today.
17:58Yeah.
17:59Ooh, I can't wait.
18:01Something's sizzling.
18:01It's sizzling on its way over to us.
18:06Okay.
18:07Okay.
18:12Yo!
18:15I mean, that's just great fun.
18:17That was fun, yeah.
18:20Thank you so much.
18:22Talk about a dish to get everyone's attention.
18:24There we go.
18:24Yeah, we thought the previous sizzle was good.
18:27Wow, wow, wow.
18:28Man, look at that.
18:29So this isn't the masala.
18:30This is just the chicken tikka.
18:32So you get these pieces of meat,
18:33usually put on a skewer
18:34and then grilled over an open flame.
18:36So it lends itself to this
18:37really lovely charred flavor on the outside.
18:39And we've got like a mint sauce on the yogurt, I think.
18:42Mmm, really succulent.
18:44Fantastic cooked it out.
18:46Nice little show with them setting on fire too.
18:48I mean, you know.
18:48People in America love dinner and a show.
18:50That's right.
18:50Kind of our version of dinner and a show.
18:52Yeah, that heat knocked me out of my jet lag
18:54for about 30 seconds.
18:56And let's just settle back in.
18:57So what we have here, samosas.
18:59You haven't had these before, right?
19:00Yes, I have had a samosa before.
19:01These are fantastic.
19:02Yeah.
19:02A real staple.
19:04These are very like spherical
19:05as far as like the ones I'm used to.
19:06Sometimes you see them as like quite a flat triangle.
19:08No, these are usually the ones that I get in America.
19:10Yeah, where's these?
19:11Place I go to in LA has them like this.
19:13I was going to cut them, but like, what am I thinking?
19:17With the sauce.
19:19I love you so much.
19:21So definitely a go-to.
19:23Oh man.
19:25Whoa.
19:26The pastry, the crust, so savory.
19:29Fantastic.
19:30Wow.
19:30This is another thing that's like,
19:32it's easy to mess up.
19:33Similarly to the bhaji, when you fry something like this,
19:36it's kind of a risk that you'll just make it really oily and gross,
19:39but you get none of that here.
19:41Just like extremely like flaky, crispy pastry.
19:44That filling's really good.
19:45I don't know what that sauce is, but that was lovely as well.
19:46It's like sweet and smoky.
19:48Chicken tikka masala.
19:49Thank you, sir.
19:50Oh yeah.
19:51All right.
19:52Okay.
19:52Start with the classic, the tikka masala.
19:54Initial impressions, not as...
19:56Not as vibrant as the last one?
19:58Not as luminous.
19:59Yeah, this is the color like, okay.
20:00But I want to say also the first one,
20:02again, was more like this.
20:03It was darker, yeah.
20:05It's really interesting to see, yeah,
20:06I guess like what small changes they're making,
20:08they're kind of causing quite a big difference in the end product.
20:12Oh man.
20:14That is fantastic.
20:15That might be the strongest reaction we've had today.
20:17Yeah, this sauce.
20:19Wow.
20:20Right?
20:21Right?
20:22What is it about this one that stands out from the last two?
20:25I feel like it's, the sauce is like bonded more to it.
20:27Like it's thicker and creamier.
20:30Although the last one was pretty creamy too.
20:33This one, I mean the flavor of the sauce is remarkable.
20:36There's a richness to it that I don't think we've had before.
20:39It's that like concentrated flavor.
20:40Yeah.
20:41Oh wow.
20:42I love that so much.
20:43Intense tomato flavor as well from that one.
20:45Yeah, there is a richness to this one that we have not had in the previous two.
20:50I'd say the previous two weren't also very good,
20:52but this one, as far as like first bites are concerned,
20:55that's the first one I've been like, yo.
20:58Yeah, that was the strongest reaction I've seen from you all day.
21:00I'm just giving you some rice.
21:01Okay, thanks.
21:02I'm trying to...
21:03What about today have made you think I can't rice my own plate?
21:06I'm trying to be a gracious host.
21:08All right.
21:09I did just want to point out the description on the menu of the garlic naan.
21:13What do you got?
21:13Which says that if you have any erotic activities planned for after you leave us,
21:18perhaps you should resist this sensational garlic naan.
21:21I don't know if it's erotic, but after this I'm meeting up with Dracula.
21:23Okay.
21:24Yeah, I mean maybe stay clear.
21:26I don't want to give him some kind of like reaction.
21:28Blah.
21:30That's my whole Dracula impression.
21:32Blah.
21:33Has Dracula ever said blah in the books?
21:36Like I've read a Dracula book.
21:37I'm more going about the Dracula from Looney Tunes.
21:40Oh, okay.
21:41Not Bram Stoker.
21:42You know what? Maybe you don't pick up on this here,
21:46but in America, I have noticed a lot of Americans
21:52would probably think Dracula is from Great Britain.
21:56Okay.
21:57Oi, mate, let me suck your blood.
21:59Oh.
22:01I think it works.
22:02What's all this then?
22:03When Van Helsing shows up, what's all this then?
22:09We've gone wildly off task.
22:13So Indian food.
22:14Yeah.
22:15This is fantastic.
22:16Oh, I haven't even tried the naan yet.
22:17That is garlicky.
22:19They're not lying.
22:19I mean, if you actually look at it, I wasn't sure what these were,
22:21but I think this is like strips of like grated garlic just straight on that.
22:25Not playing with the garlic here.
22:26Mm-hmm.
22:28Vampire freezing.
22:29Yeah, forget about churches.
22:30I'm going to get vampires chasing me.
22:31I'm going here.
22:33I do like the amount of garlic on here.
22:34It's very garlicky.
22:35Yeah.
22:35I think maybe the texture, it's like on the thinner side,
22:38a bit more like thin and crispy than we've had at some of the other places.
22:40A lot of the time when I think of naan, it's a bit more like pillowy and thick.
22:44Yeah.
22:44Well, I feel like I'm hitting my limit.
22:46I have room for maybe one more curry.
22:49That's great because we have one more curry to eat.
22:51Fantastic.
22:52Ready for that?
22:52Let's do it.
22:53Just think of the sleep you're going to have at the end of this.
22:55It will be restorative.
22:56I'm going to make it all worthwhile.
22:57All right, let's do it.
22:58Let's go.
23:04All right.
23:04Hey, it's another great day.
23:06Cheers, my man.
23:08I don't believe I've had this before.
23:09This is mango lassi.
23:10This is another sort of classic South Asian drink.
23:12Give it a try and see what you think.
23:13Okay.
23:17Oh, yeah.
23:18Oh, yeah.
23:19I was about to ask what's in between this and a smoothie, but it's great.
23:22This is actually fantastic.
23:23It's really good.
23:23It's very thick.
23:24It's like a yogurt-based drink.
23:26This one has mango kind of blended into it.
23:28It's funny.
23:28I was thinking the way over here, like I'm really thirsty.
23:30Yes.
23:30Nothing quenches my thirst quite like anything.
23:33The consistency of gravy.
23:35The thickest liquid imaginable.
23:36I'm just imagining, like, finishing a marathon and handing this like, no.
23:42Slightly better.
23:43Look, we did a Food Wars and we talked about thick water and you loved thick water.
23:48This is just kind of like that, but with fruit.
23:50I will say, if I were from swallowing pills.
23:53Yeah.
23:54Take one of these.
23:56So, Joe, here we are at our last spot of the day.
23:58We are at Spice Village.
23:59We're in Tooting.
24:00Have you been to Tooting before?
24:02No.
24:04What kind of question is that?
24:06Have you been to Tooting before?
24:07I have been to Tooting.
24:08My brother actually lives kind of around here.
24:10I haven't been to this restaurant before, though.
24:11Okay.
24:12So, now we're in South London.
24:13We started off in East London.
24:15I think between maybe East, South, and maybe like Southall and some areas kind of like Northwest
24:21London, those are the areas where you're probably going to find some of the best South Asian food
24:25in London.
24:26So, this is kind of like completing the tour in that regard.
24:28Fantastic.
24:29Compared to some of the other places we've been to, this place is slightly more modern.
24:32They only opened, I think, after the year 2000.
24:34Been here about 20 years, but in that time have established a real foothold in the kind
24:38of like South London curry game.
24:40They are known for doing a very good curry, which is, of course, why we brought you here.
24:43They were shortlisted at the British Curry Awards.
24:45The BCAs?
24:46The BCAs.
24:46Wow.
24:47Highlight of the calendar year for many people in the UK.
24:50They're taken seriously.
24:51Like politicians go.
24:52When you purchase your yearly calendar, you flip right to it.
24:55Like, got to make sure I don't accidentally get right to the, yeah.
24:58And the curry-themed calendar as well.
25:00So, you flip it over and you're like figuring out which curry you have for that month.
25:03Yeah, yeah, yeah.
25:03It's like, oh, damn.
25:04If at the march, you're like, oh, I can't wait to eat that one.
25:07Oh, it looks good.
25:09But look, the curry's...
25:09Hey, we're kind of joking around, but like if I still had a paper calendar hanging up
25:14to use for it, a curry-themed one would be really great.
25:17Yeah, curries of London.
25:18Curries of London calendar.
25:20I will purchase that one.
25:21We should make that.
25:22I think we've been pitching merch for a while now.
25:24I think Food Tours merch.
25:25That could be like the first place to start.
25:27I'm rallying for this curry.
25:28Can you make one more?
25:29Yes, I can.
25:30Okay, cool.
25:30We'll do that.
25:31Okay, I have to say this looks incredible.
25:34The food looks very tasty.
25:35You get to serve yourself.
25:37Last time you didn't like it when I served you food, so.
25:39It's not that I don't want you to serve me food.
25:41It's just it came out of nowhere.
25:42It was weird.
25:42All right.
25:43Yeah, is this going to become like a thing between us?
25:45I mean, the way you said that was very pointed.
25:47I was trying to do a nice thing,
25:48and I just felt like it got thrown back at me, but that's fine.
25:51We're going to be bickering like an old married couple by the end of this.
25:53Can I get the check, please?
25:56All right, I'm loving how this looks.
25:57Okay, man.
25:58And go.
25:58Cheers, man.
26:05Dude.
26:07Dude.
26:10Whoa.
26:11It's really good.
26:15Okay.
26:16We're hitting some areas there.
26:18I'm just going to free associate.
26:20Spitball, go on.
26:21Heat, spice, perfect level.
26:23I'm feeling the heat.
26:24Nothing I can't handle.
26:26Let me know it's there.
26:27Enough to really keep the tingle going as you savor the rest of the flavor in your mouth.
26:31Speaking of flavor, fantastic on this.
26:33Savory.
26:34It's getting thick enough to really get in the flavor of the sauce, but not too thick.
26:37It's like pasty.
26:39It's not thin enough to where you feel like it's running around everywhere.
26:42Dude.
26:42I think you're right.
26:43You've hit on the mouthfeel that you get there, the viscosity of that sauce.
26:47It really coats your whole mouth.
26:49I'm still, just one bite, I'm still holding onto the flavor.
26:54It's not so much like, ow.
26:55It's like a numbness that just is soothing.
26:58It's almost like my mouth is relaxed.
27:00Yeah.
27:00And that makes sense?
27:01Yeah.
27:01I feel like that's taking us on a bit of a journey there.
27:03I bit into it and I was like buttery.
27:06Yeah.
27:08Heat starts to rise.
27:09You get the tomato.
27:10You get the spices.
27:12That's fantastic.
27:13I'm going to try it with a bit of the naan.
27:14Oh yeah.
27:15I'm going to dip.
27:23That's really good too.
27:25It's that thin style of naan again, which I think is actually maybe a bit more authentic
27:29than the kind of thick, fluffy ones.
27:30Oh, is that right?
27:31Yeah.
27:32I adore that.
27:34That was very good.
27:35Okay, pakoras.
27:37Yeah, so these are pakoras.
27:38No, I've had pakoras before.
27:39You have?
27:39Oh yeah.
27:40I haven't seen pakoras shaped like this.
27:42Like a lump.
27:43Yeah, I'm used to these more in like bhaji type of form.
27:46But I like this.
27:46I feel like you get a lot more exposure to the oil and therefore they'll like get crispier.
27:50This might be the best pakora I've ever had.
27:52And I love my pakoras.
27:54Here we go.
27:57Okay.
27:58Wow.
28:00I feel like the spice level of this dish is higher than probably any of the other tikka
28:05masalas we've had today, right?
28:06Yeah.
28:06Not in a bad way.
28:07The spicier one.
28:08But you want to make it clear, like it wasn't too spicy.
28:11Like overwhelmingly spicy.
28:13Enough heat to like, you know, remind you where it's from.
28:15Yeah.
28:16The heat is almost like, you know, I could bring it.
28:19I'm choosing not to.
28:21Just like flexing on you a little bit later.
28:23It's like to forget where you're from.
28:26Taste buds.
28:27Tikka masala, part of the reason why we've tried it, I think, is because it's such a
28:31good reflection of the curry house.
28:32Because there's no two recipes that are the same.
28:35Everyone does it slightly differently.
28:36Even here, they have two recipes.
28:38We got the creamy one, or you can just get kind of the normal one.
28:41But I thought the creamy one would be nice.
28:42Yeah, but you're out of your mind if you're getting one different from that.
28:44I mean, I guess I would try the normal one, but there's no way they have a better version
28:47than that.
28:48But I mean, all the versions we've tried today, none of the two have been the same,
28:51have they?
28:51They've all been completely different.
28:52I think that's really interesting.
28:53And again, I think it's a nice way to measure the quality of a place, just like as a baseline,
28:58kind of building from there.
28:59Didn't KSA say that like Indian food will differ family to family?
29:03Yeah.
29:03So it's interesting that per Indian restaurant, it could be completely different.
29:07Yeah, I think there's no right or wrong way to do it.
29:09Obviously, it will come down to personal preference.
29:11Yeah.
29:11But yeah, it's just really fascinating to see those little changes in the gravy and
29:15the masala being so strongly reflected in the final product.
29:18Yeah.
29:18They've all been delicious.
29:20I think we've got a decision to make.
29:22Yes, we do.
29:23So first of all, thank you for taking me to all these great places.
29:25So welcome.
29:26If these four are any indication of the Indian food you can get in this city, in this country,
29:32wow, you guys are so lucky.
29:34What I love about it is every place did it basically how they wanted to do it.
29:37So Tyab's, I do have a soft spot for.
29:39I've been there before.
29:40Love it there.
29:41The lamb chops were fantastic.
29:42Oh yeah, those lamb chops.
29:43Those lamb chops were excellent.
29:44This ain't a lamb chop video though.
29:45Not a lamb chop video.
29:46Those lamb chops, world famous, rightfully so.
29:48True.
29:49I think Brick Lane was good.
29:50It was educational, I think, for you.
29:52Maybe not in terms of quality or taste the best,
29:55but I will always have a soft spot for the British curry house experience.
29:58Yeah, and the chips with there, that was fun.
30:00Yeah, the little thing of ketchup.
30:02Fantastic.
30:02There's a lot of ketchup.
30:03There's a lot of ketchup.
30:04Okay.
30:05And then between, I think, Punjab and Spice Village,
30:07what we've seen really is a more like elevated experience.
30:10I think the flavors on display here have been wonderful.
30:14Yeah.
30:14And for me, I think it kind of comes down to these last two.
30:18But I want to hear what you think first, Joe.
30:20So it was down to these last two.
30:23But for me, this was the best one.
30:26This was the best.
30:26I'm just jumping to it because I say like everything about this was fantastic.
30:30The spice, I noticed the texture, the mouthfeel.
30:33The chicken was cooked perfectly and these pakoras were the best I've ever had.
30:37I know we were also talking about the naan.
30:38This might also be my favorite naan.
30:39Interesting.
30:40Yeah.
30:40So for me, this is the best one.
30:43What do you think?
30:44I do think this might have just nicked it.
30:46Although I don't think it's as big a margin as you might think.
30:49Oh, really?
30:50Just picked it to the post.
30:51But I mean, the flavor of that is just unbelievable.
30:53Yeah, so I think we're in agreement.
30:55This is the best food we've ever eaten ever.
30:59Wave the little Spice Village flag.
31:02This also has the distinction of being the first food tours we've done
31:06where I kind of want to steal the cutlery so you can see it.
31:11Because I mean, when they're branding on cutlery, you know they're doing something right.
31:14Golden cutlery for a gold star restaurant.
31:17This looks like if I knew how to throw a knife, I could just like break the wall.
31:20Anyway, yeah, this place is fantastic.
31:22Worth coming down.
31:23The first, the only reason to come to Tooting.
31:27You're the first American to step foot in Tooting.
31:30First of many, I hope.
31:31Yeah, and the last.
31:32When I go back to, how was it?
31:33I was like, Tooting, skip it.
31:34Tooting, that's fine.
31:35Skip it.
31:36Yeah, just gatekeep Tooting.
31:37Yeah, all right.
31:39The end.
31:40Boom.