Mirch Masala- Leicester

Where: Mirch Masala pure vegetarian restaurant in Leicester (that’s lacto-vegetarian, although they also serve vegan and no onions/no garlic dishes)

When: Late lunch today

With Whom: My dear parents

Value for money: 7/10. You get a heck of a lot for what you pay for

Menu Choice: The restaurant prides itself on offering a wide selection of international dishes including those from; India, Italy, China and Mexico

Okay, so today we went to Mirch Masala for some serious eats. I was starving (as per usual, I could have eaten a horse… HA! Just a little vegetarian joke for ya there! I’ll shut up now). We were greeted by a nice young chap who promptly showed us to our table. The restaurant was buzzing, especially for a Sunday afternoon (partially due to the large number of people doing their Diwali shopping nearby on Belgrave Road). My dad decided on the Vegetarian Hot (surprise surprise) Pizza Platter which consists of one 7inch pizza, fries and awesome eggless coleslaw. After much deliberation my mum also opted for the pizza platter (it IS excellent value for money at £6.95-7.25) however she decided that today was not a spicy day and got the regular veggie pizza. As for me, I could NOT physically bring myself to choose what to order. The eclectic range of dishes was proved to be counterproductive (sometimes I just wish restaurants would give me a simplified menu of maybe 10 dishes. It would really make things much easier). My dad was, as he says ‘not best pleased with my performance’ when I said I didn’t know what I wanted. It was a horrible dilemma.

My brain: Paneer Uttapam? Or Deluxe Samosa Chaat? Paneer Uttapam? Or Deluxe Samosa Chaat? Paneer Uttapam? Or Deluxe Samosa Chaat? Paneer Uttapam? Or Deluxe Samosa Chaat? Paneer Uttapam? Or Deluxe Samosa Chaat? Paneer Uttapam? Or Deluxe Samosa Chaat? Paneer Uttapam? Or Deluxe Samosa Chaat?


Like seriously?

*Waiter: waiting* (oh how very ironic)
*Dad: glaring*
*Me: blank*
*Waiter: still waiting*
Mum: Do you want something South Indian?
*Dad: glaring more*
*Waiter: looking confused*
Me: uhh, I’ll have mutter paneer and a plain paratha
Waiter: Plain naan?
Me: Paratha.
Waiter: Yes. Naan?
Me: I WANT A PLAIN PARATHA!
Waiter: You want something to drink?
All of us: TAP WATER (Indian custom. It’s free… Ha.)
Dad: Falooda. One falooda for her *points at me*
Me: HUH?!
(N.B: Falooda is an Indian ‘milkshake’ made with rose syrup, vermicelli noodles, ice cream and tukmaria- edible vegetable seeds). It is notorious for its extreme sweetness.
Dad: Oh, and a mogo sizzler!

So as we waited for our food I decided I would write this ‘review’ (It’s more of an ‘experience’ than a ‘review’, huh?) I sat thinking how I would try to covertly take pictures of the food in a way which wouldn’t make me look like a food pervert.

Time up. Here comes the Falooda

And the Mogo (Cassava) Sizzler

And the Mutter Panner and Naan. I mean Paratha.

And the Pizza Platter

Truthfully my paratha was a little too chapatti-like for me, although the mutter paneer was lovely and mild. Or as my dad calls it: ‘too creamy’.

I’m not gonna lie, the portion sizes are HUGE as you can see. But the value for money is excellent. We waited around fifteen minutes for the food to arrive at the table which isn’t too bad. I ended up taking half of my mutter paneer home in a ‘doggy bag’ (so much for eating a horse. I’m gonna blame the falooda for being so goddamn sweet, rich and delicious!) Or I could blame the little boy on the next table shouting ‘I WANT CHICKEN MUMMY!’ He put me off. Honest.

I did keep the receipt for reference to write this but I regret to inform you lovely people that SOMEONE threw it in the bin ‘by accident’. But, for the first time my usually short-term memory has not failed me and I remember that the bill for everything came to around £28 for the three of us. Not bad at all. All hail tap water!

Ciao!