Following the trend.

Aagrah in Shipley on Sunday night - Buffet for 12.50 a head. Twelve of us went about 7pm when it was busy but by 9pm we were the only ones there.

[uStarters[/u
I had a couple of vegetable pakoras that probably were nice when cooked but having been kept warm for who knows how long had gone very dry. I think there was a tandoori chicken option too, as well as the ubiquitous poppadoms but I didn't bother with either. 3/10

[uSalads[/u
These were quite interesting. They'd got a pleasant and fresh looking mixed leaf salad as well as a very nice kachoomber. These with some mint sauce helped save the dry pakora. 9/10

[uPickles[/u
There were about a dozen 'pickles' in dishes that ranged from good lime pickle, mixed pickle and pea pickle through to the bizzare mixed olives and coleslaw options. There was also some ropey looking raita and an exceptionally bland 'fresh' tomato and coriander relish. Whilst the true pickles were pretty good there were some poor (and not very fresh looking) options as well as the weird stuff aimed at clueless whitey so overall 5/10.

[uMain dishes[/u
There were about 10 dishes overall, including the rice, all kept warm in big pots for self service. I had some chicken karahi which was nice but in a sauce just like water; a prawn curry with very rubbery prawns and it tasted slightly of bleach (this was a bad choice with hindsight); palak aloo which was good and what appeared to be lentil and mooli which was very nice. The centrepiece for the main dishes was a leg of roast lamb surrounded by peppers, carrots and tomatoes carved into fancy shapes that was as dry and tough as old leather - I didn't have any but none of those that did could eat it - it had evidently been kept warm all day. Overall 5/10.

[uBreads[/u
This was a weird one. You couldn't have chapatis or roti, only naan bread, and these were ostensibly made to order. In reality they just brought some to each table whether you wanted them or not, we were given 6 moderate sized breads between 12 of us. Whilst the bread itself was good, I would have liked to have had a choice and certainly we didn't get much - particularly as I dont have rice and just eat with breads. I got the feeling this was aimed at whitey with breads being an add on rather than a staple. 3/10.

[uPuddings[/u
I don't normally want a pudding and rarely is there much to choose from anyway. Here there were about 10 puddings to choose from, again very much aimed at whitey with the main focus being on gaudy looking sloppy gateaux. In addition there was some papaya (which I'm told was flavourless) and a vat of gulab jaman and a strange version of rasmalai. I tried the latter two and they were pretty ordinary. 4/10.

[uDrinks[/u
They served the usual array of faux Indian lagers for whitey, had a big (and surely pointless) wine list including the laughable 'Indian Champagne'. One girl had a coffee that was served in a teapot and apparently tasted "like weak Nescafé". Drinks were extra.

Overall its dificult to score/rate as there were some very nice dishes, but also some awful ones and others that were completely out of place. Twelve quid a head probably isn't bad for a 3 course meal but you could get much better for much less and the puddings are a bit of a waste of space IMO. The place was completely geared towards whitey and this was most notable with the weird accompanyments, lack of breads, 'Sara Lee style' puddings, drinks and 'trendy' decor.

Cheers for that, im not a big buffet fan due to the fact its kept warm for who knows how long, and the bleachy smell ??.....usually in prawns and chicken is a sign its "off" or on its way.
I think your right with the aagrah....they are aimed at whities, usually we eat at the sweet centre on lumb lane (best kebabs in the world in my opinion) and as a rule of thumb...if it has a bar we dont go.
BTW the samarkand in Heckmondwike is unlicenced, you cant pay by card, and is without any doubt the best lamb dopiaza i have ever tasted, and IMO the best indian restaurant i have been in ever....well worth the trip out, and take your own beers/wine....ile do a full review next visit....

A man after my own heart - having a bar is my rule of thumb, if it has then it'll be over priced and/or dissapointing.

You could be right about the prawns. I don't normally get bad guts after a curry but I had stomach ache and several trips to the loo on Monday.

Only been to the sweet centre once, and that was well over 10 years ago. Ought to give that a go again sometime soon. Same with Samarkand.

Not had a curry at the Sweet Centre for about the same period of time as you, largely cos I found it disappointing when I was there. The bosses got a job lot of samosas from there recently for people at work though, something of the order of 120 of them and the two I had were fantastic. Very possibly the best I've ever had. A trip back for yer actual curry is now a top priority.

Could this be a venue for Friday?

Don't see why not.

It's a bit of a walk from the FC though. However it's in a very friendly area. You often see kindly gentlemen stopping their cars to pick up female pedestrians who are walking around there, so we should have no problem cadging a lift.

It's very picturesque these days. There's always bunches of fresh flowers put out celebrating the latest shoots of reconciliation between the harmonious residents.

That's all between the FC and Tigertot's office these days, isn't it?

Anyhoo, just had an impromptu trip to Mr Khan's, just up the road from the International. Not bad for a buffet affair. Only one veggie option though which, considering we went there because of the International's paucity of veggie options, was a bit of a poor do.

Aye, I'm almost on nodding terms with some of them these days. There was an amusing episode a couple of years back when I left latish one dark night. I carried my bike out of the door which knocked a pistachio-eating pimp off the steps. The next morning there was a pile of pistachio shells about as high as that scene in Naked Gun where Lesley Nielsen & George Kennedy are in the car staking out.

Blimey, you know that Bradford's bouncing back when the pimps are eating pistachios



What next?

Pimps should stick to wearing wide brimmed fedora hats and safari suits and leave the pistachio eating to the Iranians.

It is part of what the [iEuropean Review of Urban Studies[/i call the 'four steps of Urban Renaissance'.

Expect KFC employees to quote Kant and Satre as the next phase.