Balaka - Winchester

Balaka sets a remarkably high standard for Indian cuisine and going by the number of enthused diners coming and going regularly from their outlets in Woking and Winchester after a satisfying meal, one realises that this is indeed a place to go when the curry frenzy has you in its grip. The relatively finer touches to the décor are a welcome change from the all too frequent dusty, rustic artefacts that so often make their presence felt in Indian restaurants; here all is polished wooden floors and pastel shaded walls.

On the food side, cuisines from Bangladesh and India make an impact and the chef's unique dishes deserve special mention, with sylheti lamb chops seasoned with Bengal spices and cooked with papaya and coconut cream, and the spicy Jaipuri tiger prawns char-grilled in their shells and simmered in a rich seafood stock available. The menu is a merger of conventional ideas like dansak, korma, sag, rogan and dopiaza and the set meals are realistically designed for sharing.