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TRIP REPORT: Our week

  • Thread starter Thread starter Stephen
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Stephen

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Sep 24, 2008
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Location
Warrington,Cheshire.
We have just arrived home after a week in PP.
My observations:Without doubt the place was quieter than in previous years -
we have been in September/October for the last 6 years - but that's not necessarily a bad thing for us,as we prefer it on the quieter side rather than busy.
I know that's not what the locals want(it being quiet)but it doesn't spoil our holiday.
Anyway,there's been plenty of discussion on here about the price increases in the port and the effect it has had on the numbers visiting.From my experience over the past 7 days I can safely say that there is some very good value to be had and some of the worst I've ever had.
Eating out:We ate at Ca'n Josep,Na Ruixa and El Posito after reading good reviews on here,and thought all of them to be pretty good.There were petty things wrong at all three that could be mentioned but that would
be churlish.The overall feel of each place was good,the food better than most and yes the prices aren't particularly cheap but I never felt that I was being taken for a ride.
However,we found the best value to be in the square of all places,at Makassar.
At 15.9E for 3 courses it was a bargain and appeared very popular on Thursday evening when I counted over 80 people enjoying,amongst other things,the shoulder of lamb which was very similar in quality to the three restaurants mentioned above.
I counted less than a dozen eating at El Mojito so Makassar seem to have got it right to me.
We also had the MDD at lunchtime at Nico's and thought that to be very good too.
Regarding a lunchtime baguette,I have to give a mention to Rumbo which is next door to Eroski.
Their baguettes can only be described as monstrous in size and are very well filled.Recommended.
Before I come to the very bad value mentioned earlier I think it worth mentioning the overall value or lack of in the port.
We thought that eating out,being an occasion and integral part of our holiday,to be worth spending money on,even if it is on occasion
a bit expensive.The drinks - beer at 3E a pint and wine at 10E a bottle - are on the high side but acceptable because we wouldn't drink all that much.
Where we think that it's getting a bit daft though is all the extra bits that you spend on holiday.If you are a family with 2 kids then that 11E for your bed and shade on the beach,your bottle of pop at 2.85E,your ice-creams at 2E+ then those bits and pieces are adding up to 40-50E a day.
Is there ANYTHING for sale in any shop in Majorca for less than 1E?

Unfortunately I have to report (I feel it is my duty as a lifelong Indian Food fan)on our Saturday night at Mirch Massala,the Indian near the Flora.
We arrived at about 8.45pm and took a table inside.My first impressions were that it felt a bit like a cafe and didn't have a good feel about it.After a few minutes the very apologetic owner/chef asked us whether we would be prepared to wait for half an hour as he was very busy.
No problem we said,we'll wait.(there were no more than 25 people in the place).
Complimentary popadoms and chutney etc arrived to ease our wait.Thats when the culinary alarm bells began to ring.
The mango chutney was of the cheapest watery kind,the onions prepared days before it seemed,and the raita the most insipid,lifeless gloop.
I ordered Lamb Rogan Josh and my wife Special mixed biryani.Side dishes of pilau rice and naan bread completed our order.
When it eventually came I was stunned.My rogan josh contained no more than 10 tiny bits of lamb in a tomatoey sauce that had probably had a teaspoon of curry powder sprinkled over it.The Biryani was an absolute disgrace - a dozen tiny frozen prawns and the same miniscule scraps of lamb mixed with some rice.
The naan were straight out of a packet and warmed in the oven.
We didn't create a fuss.We paid and left.It would have been a scandal at half the price.
This meal was not only the worst we've had in PP over the last 6 years it enters our top 3 worst-meals-ever charts.
Possibly at Number 1.
 
Had a similar experience recently.Initially we were turned away as they were extremely busy-later established they were catering for a large party of english speaking PP residents,who seemed to get great attention and service.As we headed towards the door a waiter caught up with us to advise chef had agreed cook for us,however we were advised to expect to wait for a while.
We ate from the MDD which on the surface was pretty reasonably priced (can't remember exactly how much but reckon about 15-16 euros for 3 courses.)
Hubby decided to upgrade his curry from prawn to king prawn. We've done this often when eating at the Kashmir in the square paying about 2 euros extra. Both starters and meals were OK but certainly nothing outstanding.We did wonder if prawns were king prawns as they seemed pretty small. Anyway got completely ignored after main course. Eventually asked for bill-twice. At that point they offerred us pudding but by this time just wanted to leave.Got the billl-thought we'd been charged for extra bottle of wine but when queried found we'd been charged 7 euros extra for king prawns-definately won't be back!.
 
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I went to MM recently and the food was still up to a high standard. I think Stephen you must have had a one off bad experience there.

My friends and I are regulars there and the curry there is some of the best curry we've had. The staff are really friendly too and they can actually speak English so theres's no problem of getting what you want.

It's definitley still my favourite restaurant in the Port.
 
Justin
Now I've been home for a couple of weeks I can reflect on my review of MM.
It was without doubt one of the,if not THE worst Indian I have ever had.
You don't get a meal like that because it's an off day.
They didn't put a few scraps of lamb in the curry by mistake.
The spices that were tasteless weren't used accidentally.
They chose not to employ enough staff to deal with 30 people.
This may be a controversial opinion but I think they do it because they know they can get away with it.
By that I mean that Indian food has become so "inoffensive" over the last few years that people under a certain age think that it's always been like that.
In their attempt to make Indian food more palatable to all people they have abandoned what made it popular - with those that like curries - by making it bland.
Thinking about it again (and having eaten a curry at home 2 nights ago-how easy is it to make a good curry at home?.....dead easy) what they gave us that night was unforgivable.
 
Hi Stephen

am inclined to agree with your comments - my hubby loves an Indian and we visited here when in PP last year - it was dreadful and being the first Indian we have ever tried abroad subsequently did a good job of putting us off!! too many nice Spanish restaurants to waste time with an Indian as far as I'm concerned - needless to say when we visited in June this year it did not feature on our list of eateries. We have missed PP for our main holiday this year and tried Portugal, hopefully we will be back in the Port next year !:)
 
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