Don’t you
just love it when you find a five pound note in a pocket that you've
completely forgotten about? ‘Great’,
you think ‘that's brilliant. That just made my day just a little bit better.’
Eating at
Papa J’s isn’t like that. It’s like finding a tenner instead.
Recommended to
me at a recent Milton Keynes foodie evening get together, I am ashamed to say
that I hadn't really heard of Papa J’s presence in the 18 months they have been
at Oxley Park. It's the baby brother of the original restaurant back in Luton (which I hadn't heard of either) but I have to admit that I was more than a little skeptical when it was first pitched to me as 'the best Indian in town' by @nirajwriter because my evening at Mastee was still fresh in my memory. However I am nothing if not a team player and so always willing to suffer for the cause, I persuaded Mrs P. to yet another dinner out and swung by Papa J's a couple of days later.
It seems to be the time for Indian fusion to come to Milton Keynes, first Mastee with modern British Indian, next a newly opened Indian burrito option (more on that in the next couple of days) and now Indian tapas. Not two words you would usually find together, but here they were thrown onto the same menu without any care for what you might think about it. We were looking at an Indian menu the like of which I had never seen and everything looked good. We had to be guided through it by a very helpful waiter who pointed out a couple of favourites that we might want to try. We were advised to choose only three or four plates and so we were forced to be ruthless in our approach.
We've all eaten popadoms, these are standard Indian restaurant staples that you don't think twice about. They all look the same, taste the same and are the same. Not quite. The two you see here cost the same as six in your standard balti house, but I implore you to try them, they are fab. u. lous. These are the Real McCoy, the popadoms that all others aspire to be. The plain one was beautifully seeded and tasted of sunshine and pleasure, while the masala option was scattered with tomato, onion and chilli and set the tone for the rest of the meal in stunning style. Expensive? At £1 / £1.30 each, yes eye wateringly so, but worth it? Without question. Go on, you only need one right?
On then, first we shall deal with the Chicken Delicious. Yes, that's what it's called. I'm afraid that I missed a photo but it's a dry chicken dish across which was scattered peppers, coated and fried chicken and was, unsurprisingly, delicious.
Second was the Chilli lamb, and here the fusion style started to kick in with a sweet soy based sauce with chilli and spring onion, now I wasn't a massive fan of this because I felt the lamb was just too chewy and each bite left half of each mouthful in between my teeth. This was not my ideal dish but Mrs P. scoffed at my reticence, declared it phenomenal and forced me to agree that it did taste lovely regardless of my chewy reservations.
Now lets talk Chatpata Chicken wings, I had no idea what to expect from these and I still find them hard to describe. A dark sticky glazed plate of chicken that didn't look like much but smelled and tasted like the best curry-fied KFC hot wings you've ever tasted. Which I can assure you is a serious compliment.
Then we come to Aunty K's Baby Chicken.
This was not a baby chicken as the menu promised, but I feel I can let that go because it tasted absolutely unbelievable. It ticked all my boxes, savoury with a hint of sweet creaminess, strips of ginger giving a great twang to cut through the rich, velvety sauce. The chicken was sweet, tender and very generous in portion size. It was a dish that, if it wasn't for the fact that there were so many other things on the menu that I need to try, that I could go back to again and again.
But I must also find time to mention the extras, the naan for example - house made without a hint of microwave, exactly how it should be; crispy on the edges, with doughy pockets and a savoury mouthful that reminds me why I can never give up carbs.
And as for the rice, this was a vegetable Biryani number and quite honestly, I could have eaten this all night long. Ever heard of black cardamom before? I certainly haven't but here you can see an example in the center of this picture. It's massive, about the size of a small grape but it's beautifully mild cardamom flavour doesn't give you that palate ruining soapy pungency that totally ruins the meal when you crunch down on it by mistake.
And now, after all that, I've got to talk about the spicing. Perhaps I've given you the impression that the meal was tasty and unusual but otherwise fairly standard. Oh no. No, no, no, no. The spice was what took this right up to another level; hot and chilli heavy for sure but it was so effortlessly blended that it acted as a seasoning that lay over the dishes with such delicacy that even Mrs P. managed to worked her way round it without too many problems. Don't think that your heat levels won't be tested, but trust the chef and you'll enjoy the pleasure and rush of chilli heat without the caustic morning after ring-sting which is so prevalent in your standard madras/vindaloo typical English curry houses.
So, is Papa J's the best Indian in town? Well, it is certainly right up there and I am only grateful that we have a growing choice of good food. Mastee and Papa J's (and maybe soon to be Maaya if we're lucky) cater for different types of experiences, both with fresh ideas on great Indian food and I would happily go back to both. For Mrs P and I including drinks, Papa J's turned in at £55 which I understand is pricey for a curry but raise your expectations and you will be rewarded plus we took home enough food for another complete diner so I would certainly consider the meal to be worth the expense if you are going for a really special evening.
I'll give Mrs P. the last word on this review because when I offered to continue our evening elsewhere, her response will hopefully inform your next choice of dinner out:
Me: That was a great evening, do you want to go to the cinema?
Mrs P.: No, let's go home. I want to show off our leftovers to the babysitter.
Boom.
@papajsuk
www.papajs.co.uk
We've all eaten popadoms, these are standard Indian restaurant staples that you don't think twice about. They all look the same, taste the same and are the same. Not quite. The two you see here cost the same as six in your standard balti house, but I implore you to try them, they are fab. u. lous. These are the Real McCoy, the popadoms that all others aspire to be. The plain one was beautifully seeded and tasted of sunshine and pleasure, while the masala option was scattered with tomato, onion and chilli and set the tone for the rest of the meal in stunning style. Expensive? At £1 / £1.30 each, yes eye wateringly so, but worth it? Without question. Go on, you only need one right?
On then, first we shall deal with the Chicken Delicious. Yes, that's what it's called. I'm afraid that I missed a photo but it's a dry chicken dish across which was scattered peppers, coated and fried chicken and was, unsurprisingly, delicious.
Second was the Chilli lamb, and here the fusion style started to kick in with a sweet soy based sauce with chilli and spring onion, now I wasn't a massive fan of this because I felt the lamb was just too chewy and each bite left half of each mouthful in between my teeth. This was not my ideal dish but Mrs P. scoffed at my reticence, declared it phenomenal and forced me to agree that it did taste lovely regardless of my chewy reservations.
Now lets talk Chatpata Chicken wings, I had no idea what to expect from these and I still find them hard to describe. A dark sticky glazed plate of chicken that didn't look like much but smelled and tasted like the best curry-fied KFC hot wings you've ever tasted. Which I can assure you is a serious compliment.
Then we come to Aunty K's Baby Chicken.
This was not a baby chicken as the menu promised, but I feel I can let that go because it tasted absolutely unbelievable. It ticked all my boxes, savoury with a hint of sweet creaminess, strips of ginger giving a great twang to cut through the rich, velvety sauce. The chicken was sweet, tender and very generous in portion size. It was a dish that, if it wasn't for the fact that there were so many other things on the menu that I need to try, that I could go back to again and again.
But I must also find time to mention the extras, the naan for example - house made without a hint of microwave, exactly how it should be; crispy on the edges, with doughy pockets and a savoury mouthful that reminds me why I can never give up carbs.
And as for the rice, this was a vegetable Biryani number and quite honestly, I could have eaten this all night long. Ever heard of black cardamom before? I certainly haven't but here you can see an example in the center of this picture. It's massive, about the size of a small grape but it's beautifully mild cardamom flavour doesn't give you that palate ruining soapy pungency that totally ruins the meal when you crunch down on it by mistake.
And now, after all that, I've got to talk about the spicing. Perhaps I've given you the impression that the meal was tasty and unusual but otherwise fairly standard. Oh no. No, no, no, no. The spice was what took this right up to another level; hot and chilli heavy for sure but it was so effortlessly blended that it acted as a seasoning that lay over the dishes with such delicacy that even Mrs P. managed to worked her way round it without too many problems. Don't think that your heat levels won't be tested, but trust the chef and you'll enjoy the pleasure and rush of chilli heat without the caustic morning after ring-sting which is so prevalent in your standard madras/vindaloo typical English curry houses.
So, is Papa J's the best Indian in town? Well, it is certainly right up there and I am only grateful that we have a growing choice of good food. Mastee and Papa J's (and maybe soon to be Maaya if we're lucky) cater for different types of experiences, both with fresh ideas on great Indian food and I would happily go back to both. For Mrs P and I including drinks, Papa J's turned in at £55 which I understand is pricey for a curry but raise your expectations and you will be rewarded plus we took home enough food for another complete diner so I would certainly consider the meal to be worth the expense if you are going for a really special evening.
I'll give Mrs P. the last word on this review because when I offered to continue our evening elsewhere, her response will hopefully inform your next choice of dinner out:
Me: That was a great evening, do you want to go to the cinema?
Mrs P.: No, let's go home. I want to show off our leftovers to the babysitter.
Boom.
@papajsuk
www.papajs.co.uk
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