Review #10 - BP Express - Chatsworth Circle

It's been a long time since I posted. Most people thought I gave up entirely posting on this blog. But guess what, I was still chowing everywhere in Durban just to see if all these places I reviewed before were still doing justice. Well let's say, some of them got better and some of them need to give it up. They must start selling pie and gravy instead. 

The price of the bunny has skyrocketed everywhere. Meat prices are really killing the affordability of this famous meal. Some restaurants are even selling a shorter quarter just to keep it affordable. 

Anyways, let me get on with my adventure. So the 2023 winners of the Bunny Chow barometer was BP Chatsworth Circle, ya - the one opposite the stadium. So these guys were runners up a few years back and they used to sell a good chow but slowly died off. Living in Chatsworth all my life, but only bought a chow here about 5 times. The last bunny I bought was a 1/4 chicken and it was not bad. This was about 5 years ago. 

When I heard that they won the competition, first thing came to my mind was some funny business here. Those that have been reading my blog over the years know my stance on the Bunny Chow competition. Apparently now the judging has got even worse. I first wondered how this place was able to compete with the big boys like Chettys and Curry Ous and still beat them. I had to investigate this for myself. 

My mum in law was in hospital for about a week and got discharged today. She told me she felt like eating a bunny. I told her I'd get one for her, my wife and myself. This was a perfect opportunity for me to go and try the famous BP Bunny. So I hit a quick drive, less than ten minutes from my home to there. 

So being a Friday around lunch time, I was expecting to see a huge line and expected long wait times. When I got into the shop, to my luck the line was very short. I was able to place my order within 2 minutes. While placing the order, one aunty that purchased a bunny earlier brought it back in to complain that they gave her a chicken bunny instead of the mutton she ordered. Then about a minute later her husband came in as well to complain that they waited so long for the food and was given the incorrect bunny. Anyways the owner of BP express was there and told the aunty they will swap it out but she must come show her receipt. The aunty didn't have it with her. The owner did say the right thing because what if these people were pulling a fast one. Anyways it's good practice  to give the customer the benefit of the doubt. 

When the angry couple left, the owner of the joint had a few nasty things to say but I won't mention it in my post. Anyways I paid for my 3 x mutton bunnies and went and parked off in the corner where the tables and chairs were. There I met a few other patrons that were waiting for their bunny's and we got talking. They too had come there to test out this bunny because people are still in awe of how BP Chatsworth Circle clenched the title. Whilst chatting away, the owner of the joint came with the the other patrons bunnies. They had ordered 5 mutton, but they only had 3 ready. So they had to wait a few minutes more for the other 2. I was then called to stand in the collections line and was given my 3 bunnies within 10 minutes or less. Those other patrons placed their order way before me and still had to park. I felt guilty for getting mine so quickly. 

On the way home I started thinking about what had happened in the shop and how this bunny was gonna taste. The Facebook posts that I was reading the past few days were mostly negative. People that haven't eaten the bunny as yet were complaining that it was bad or having bad experiences at this place. How's that for us chaarous? Being armchair critics. 

Anyways, I got home and started to unravel this bunny. The size was OK. Not too small. The aroma was beautiful. The smell of a freshly cooked curry that was allowed to rest for a few minutes. I poured myself a Pepsi max and took the first bite. My tongue had to acclimatize to the flavor and heat, so I only got the full taste in the second bite. I have to be honest here, the chow was too nice. I couldn't believe it. I stopped talking and started to map this thing. Meat and flavor with every bite. I don't think there was a single piece of potato in the bunny. This thing was loaded - more meat than bread. And all 3 were like that. Worth the R90. Even the salad was a winner. Sweet and tasty. 

Likes = Flavour on another level. Meat was soft and plentiful. 

Dislikes = the salad portion was too small. It tastes so nice and compliments their bunny, so I believe they should give more. 

Overall verdict = 8.5/10

Before I bought this chow today, I was criticizing this joint because I never ate a very good chow here before. I was telling my colleagues these ous must have paid the judges off to win. Today, I am eating my words. Never judge a book by its cover or believe the negative Facebook comments. Go try it for yourself and make the judgement. 

Ps. Even my wife and mum in law finished their entire bunnies. I have never seen this happen before. This will tell you how good it was. 

Review #9 - Curry O's - Mosely, Pinetown

Greetings to all readers.

You'll might be wondering why I haven't been reviewing Bunny Chows lately. Well,  its not like I haven't been visiting all the different Bunny Chow restaurants / establishments out there. I have been to all the establishments either made famous by the Bunny Chow Barometer or suggestions from friends and family. Most places that I visited are not worth even blogging about so I am not going to waste my time writing about it and waste your valuable reading time.

I had heard many stories and adventures about a mythical place in Northdene / Moseley called the Curry O's. Family and friends had been raving about this place as if they found a place that can cook a curry better than our grandmothers.

I had to go investigate and discover this for myself because I am highly critical of what others say especially when it comes to Bunny Chows.

This Sunday that passed, I decided to take my wife and her cousin who was down from White River, Mpumalanga for a bunny. She was leaving for home the following day and she advised me that she hadn't had a bunny for the duration of her stay in Durban. I thought that this would be a good opportunity to sample the "highly recommended" Curry O's bunny.

So we made our way in the blistering Durban heat (it was around 34 Degrees that day) to Curry O's. The establishment is on a Main road so it was not hard to find and I had been to this area several times before as my Sister-in-law has a business a few hundred meters away.

I walked up to the counter and placed my order with the most friendly Indian lady you can ever meet. She treated and spoke to me as if she had known me for a few years. This brought a smile to my face and I had a feeling that she was the person responsible for cooking the food in the restaurant.

Since it was so hot that day and inside the restaurant was a bit warm, the lady offered us a table outside which has a large umbrella. A gentleman and one of the waitresses quickly prepared the seating for us outside.

Within 5 minutes our Bunny Chows arrived. The first thing that got my attention was the aroma of the curry which cannot be described by words. The second thing was the look of this bunny. See the pic below - FOOD PORN!!!. And the bunny was MASSIVE.

Now lets talk about the taste - Please remember that I am looking at the pic above and trying to get my flavour memory reminiscing those good thoughts I experienced when indulging in this bunny.
The flavour of the curry was beyond excellent. All those people who told me about this place were correct. The gravy, bread and meat was superb. I am salivating just writing this paragraph. How can I describe this taste - I don't know? All I can say is that the cook believes in her own secret mix of ground spices. Not too much heat, but tons of flavour. I am a big fan of people who cook a curry without overdoing the masala. So this was spot on.
The bunny did have the correct ratio of meat to potatoes and at the end of the bunny, I was left with just 3 little meat bones. So the cuts of meat that were served to me was excellent.


Likes:
Size of 1/4 was above excellent.
Price was reasonable R55 (Some establishments feel that it is correct to charge you R 70 for a 1/4 mutton)
The flavour is something I cannot write about. You have to experience it for yourself to understand what I experienced.


Dislikes:
There was no disliking this bunny.

Overall Verdict:
9/10

If you know my posts on this blog, you know that I am highly critical of all places that win or become runners up in the Bunny Chow Barometer. I always believe these places to give it their best during the competition and after that magically lose the recipe. Curry O's is one of those places that have proven me wrong.

My wish is for Curry O's is to not lose the magic. I will be visiting more often.

Review # 8 - Royal Indian Cuisine - Escombe

Greetings

Its been a while since I last posted a review on a Bunny chow. What can I say - its been a busy few months and I kind of lost interest somewhere down the line.

This blog has been solely dedicated to reviewing the signature take away meal of Durban but it seems as if the bunny chow has met some competition in the Indian fast food sector. There is a new (compared to the age of the bunny) popular take away meal that has got people addicted - and that is none other than the famous "Chicken Tikka".

I must admit, I have put the bunny chow on the back-burner for a while because I have been trying to find the best chicken tikka in Durban. I try as much as possible to visit different establishments mainly around Chatsworth and its surrounding areas. There are many establishments that make a good chicken tikka but my close friend recommended that I go try Royal Indian Cuisine. He assured me that I would not be disappointed.

So on his recommendation, I visited this establishment which is based in Main Road, Escombe. During my first visit to this restaurant / take way, I had witnessed that this place was not like your ordinary joe Indian / Pakistani outlet. It was exceptionally neat and well presented (I think its owned by a local indian person)

I ordered a take away 1/2 chicken tikka and a set of lamb sheekh kebaabs. When I got home and opened the polystyrene containers, I was taken aback on the size of the meal. It was massive - the portions were much larger than the stuff we used to. When I got down to sampling the chicken tikka and sheekh kebaabs I realized at that point, I had discovered the holy grail of chicken tikka.

Lets just say, once you have tasted the chicken tikka from Royal Indian Cuisine, you wouldn't want to go elsewhere. I now look for every occasion to visit this establishment.

Now you might be thinking why am I raving so much about chicken tikka on a Bunny Chow Blog -well this is how it goes. On my visits to Royal Indian Cuisine I noticed that the owner had entered the annual bunny chow competition and had been one of the finalists.

So, I decided to visit this place to try their bunny chow and see if it was able to match up to their Chicken Tikka's high reputation (which I had created for myself).

As usual, I ordered a 1/4 Mutton bunny and this is how it went :



As you can see in the picture above, the presentation was excellent. They use the larger bread - similar to the size of the Albany Superior loaf. The bread they use was of a good quality and the size of the bunny was above average.

Now lets talk about the taste - this part has already got my mouth watering whilst writing this post. The curry was not your usual Durban style curry - this was much more special. It had hints of the pure Indian spices that you get in those exotic Indian curries at Jaipur Palace and Oriental restaurant (Workshop) and other similar establishments. It seems the cook has found a way to fuse the best of Durban's curry flavour with the hints of a North Indian Rogan Josh. 

The flavour of the curry was excellent. No complaints here. The gravy was in abundance as well as the salad. The meat itself was very good however I was not too impressed with the cut of meat that was used in the curry. That however did not stop me from enjoying this bunny.

I was lucky enough not to get too much potatoes - so the meat to potato ratio was excellent. The salad was the common "curry" salad you get anywhere and tasted good.

Likes:

• Size of 1/4 was way above average
• Price was reasonable R45 (prices of 1/4 bunnys have escalated in 2016 - some places are selling them for above R 50.)
• The flavour was excellent and unique
• Spiciness was perfect - just about right.  

Dislikes:

• The cut of meat used was not to my liking

Overall verdict:
8/10

I believe that Royal Indian Cuisine has what it takes to complete with the big boys. I actually envy the people who live in the area of Royal Indian Cuisine - they don't have to go far to find the perfect food. I suggest all reading this go and try this place out - leave your comments below. 

Li

Review Update

I haven't been posting too many reviews lately due lack of free time.

I still go out and sample many bunny chows and some places are not worth even commenting on. It seems as if these establishments don't even care about quality anymore - which is quite sad because the price of the bunny chow has sky rocketed. Its no longer a value meal (unless you go to Johnny's Chip and Ranch)

I want to inform you of an establishment which was once the pinnacle of the best curry you could find in Durban which has now turned into one of those mass production eating houses that has lost its magic.

It is no other than Jaipur Palace. I know, some of you'll reading might be thinking "What is this guy talking about - Jaipur is still one of the best".

Well, you may be right but let me take you back a few years when they first opened their doors. You'll would have remembered that fusion of the Durban curry with that North Indian flavour they are famous for (like their Korma's / Roghan Josh / Vindaloos etc.). The curry was delicious. Give their curries a try now - you will notice that there is a huge change. It is more tomato based than anything else. What i'm trying to say is that its more of a chutney than a curry.

They also trying to mask the bad taste with extra heat - added masala which kills the flavour. I think their changed their cook.

The meat and size of the bunny hasnt changed - which is a good thing. The price is a bit high though.

Its quite depressing to  know that you cannot get a good bunny anymore at Jaipur Palace - and its my wife's favorite restaurant. To make matters worse, both the Chatsworth and Durban North branches have the same issue.

I have given up on their bunny chows - however they make everything else on the menu very well. Their buffet is still the best and I still regard them as the best Indian restaurant in Durban. I'm getting hungry at this point - feeling for their butter chicken.

Review # 7 - Hollywood Springfield Park - Part 2

Greetings to all. Its been a while since I lasted posted a review on this blog of mine. I previously wrote a review of Hollywood Bets in Springfield park a few years back - actually it was my first entry with regards to a review. Since then I have frequented the place a couple of times to see if their quality has improved or not.

Well, I have good news. In these few years they have managed to improve the quality of their bunny's and the service at this place is excellent. Their service was never bad but now its uber excellent.

With regards to the bunny chow, as you'll may know by now I only sample Mutton and Beans curries. Im not a big fan of chicken. I ordered 2 mutton bunnies for my fiance and I. The picture displayed is that of my fiance's bunny chow. Mine looked much better but didnt take a picture of it as I had already tucked into it (Was too hungry to stare at it).

If you'll compare the pictures from my first review to the one shown here, you will notice that the curry looks more darker - like Britannia's curry. It is much more darker than what it was a few years back. They using a much better mixture of spices. With regards to the meat, it was excellent. The bunny was crammed with meat and was excellent value for money. Now I know you'll waiting for me to tell you'll about the taste - wait I'm getting there. I have to comment on the carrot salad - it was tasty and they gave me a large portion. Its always better to have more salad.

And now what you've been waiting for - the taste. Let me just say that this bunny was incredible. The taste was close to that of a Happy Chappy bunny. The spices were excellent and reminded me of a well cooked mutton curry that you usually get at an Indian function. The curry wasn't too hot - just right. Anyways I managed to finish the entire bunny and even help my fiance with hers. The size of their quarters are above average yet the one displayed on this page was a bit small but was perfect for my fiance.

After we finished the bunny, we got one more in the form of a Take away for my future father in law. I was also surprised when the waitress gave us finger bowls with lime slices in them. You don't even get those in top class restaurants anymore. 

Likes:
Alot of Meat
Good Bread and size
Excellent curry
Good Price
Good Service (finger bowls)

Dislikes:
Curry was a bit on the oily side.

My overall rating of the bunny is 8 / 10 .