ROYAL Bombay Express in Stirling is not only royal by name but after tasting their food, you will feel like you’ve been treated to a king’s meal.
The Indian restaurant is styled to resemble the old luxurious Indian train coaches, with it actually being in the shape of a train carriage. It also has pictures of Indian rajas on the walls. Even the toilet is styled like those on trains of the olden days.
Owner Alan Gunn and son and manager Kyle, as well as chef Chezray Vengadajellum, worked hard on the menu that fuses Indian and South African tastes.
“We had a few trial runs with the menu, inviting people to sample the food and choose their favourites,” Alan said.
My girlfriend, Bernie, and I decided to sample it for ourselves, starting with the Kashmiri roast fillet and the tempura prawns to share. Both starters were really tasty with the crispy batter covering a juicy prawn on the inside, served with a tasty sweet sauce. We both loved the prawns but were absolutely astounded by the beef fillet with roasted beetroot and peppers on a carrot puree.
The fillet was perfectly soft with a tasty sauce and puree that had just a light taste of the spices that make food from the subcontinent so good.
One word for the fillet I kept on repeating was, “legendary”.
For mains, Bernie ordered the lamb vindaloo and I went for the prawn vindaloo … and the treat to our taste buds just continued.
Bernie opted for mild and utterly enjoyed it, calling her meal “really amazing” and “so, so good”. I had a forkful of hers and knew why she was raving as it had the perfect amount of spiciness and heaps of flavour with the tender lamb making for a very good curry.
My medium-hot prawn vindaloo was just as good with the prawns done to perfection in a rich sauce with cream and all the great spices of India that just tantalised the taste buds so much I did not want it to stop.
Both of us did not have space for the dessert of homemade ice creams but our friendly waitress Marianna said we just have to taste it, so we asked for one scoop of cinnamon ice cream.
It comes served with a honey, ginger and chocolate sauce and we were really sorry we asked for such a small helping as it was delicious!
Bernie and I agreed the restaurant was close to perfectly done, with the music and the aroma of the food really setting the Indian theme – with the decor just an added bonus.
