I paid a visit last week to the Shahi Nan Kebab House on the Stratford Road in the Balti Triangle. it’s one of my favourites even though it will never win any interior design awards. Custom is 90% Asian and it’s usually very busy yet I noticed one of the main guys who usually mans the front counter was missing.

I then went on to have one of the best baltis (a simple chicken and mushroom) that I’ve ever had in the thirty plus years of Balti going. At the end of the meal, the ‘missing’ guy appeared and I shook his hand and asked him to congratulate the chef on a superb meal. He laughed and said that the chef was off on holiday to Pakistan so he had assumed responsibilities. Chef shortage? Not at the Shahi, it would seem!’

Balti and Birmingham were featured this week by prestigious Australian national broadcaster Special Broadcasting Service who were set up to specifically deliver multi cultural and multi lingual broadcasting. One of their team, Carla Grossetti (@carlagrossetti) visited Birmingham to sample the City’s signature dish and suffice to say she left impressed!

For the full story …

The curry drawing tourists to England’s second city – via www.sbs.com.au

Al Frash in the Balti Triangle is in my top five for a ‘proper’ balti so on my recent visit, I was interested to see the menu proffered the option of having my balti cooked in organic coconut oil for a £1-50 premium.

Usually, this sort of thing is a fleeting fad but I have to say my excellent Balti Chicken and Aubergine was superbly enhanced by subtle coconut undertones. Absolutely recommended for taste, never mind the health benefits! Incidentally, this was washed down with a powerful but quaffable 7% coconut porter beer from the Jewellery Quarter’s excellent ‘Burning Soul’ brewery……Nice!’

Andy