T 0161 446 1155
E enquiries@sangam.co.uk
W http://www.sangam.co.uk/RestaurantsDidsbury.shtml
Visit arranged by: Gary Jordan
Review by: Martin Noble
The May curry was held at the Sangam II restaurant in Didsbury (Manchester), partner to the Sangam III in Heald Green.

7 members of the Curry Council duly arrived (Winfield was AWOL) and parked in the car pack behind the Co-Op. Poor signage had some council members worried that their car's may be clamped. Thankfully, this was not the case.
The restaurant was bright and modern. It's a large venue that can cater for parties of up to 120 people. However, the vast restaurant lacks intemacy due to the sheer size of the place.
Gary Jordan, the organisor of the May curry, had read about the Sangam's "Executive Party Banquet". He promised the Curry Council "a meal fit for a king". Expectations were therefore running high.
The Executive Party Banquet was chosen by all. This offered poppodums with chutney, a mixed shared starter (consisting of Chicken Pakora, Seek Kebab, Onion Bhaji and Fish Tikka), a choice of any main course, rice, a selection of differrnt nan breads, ice cream desert and coffee. This was all offered at a very reasonable price of £15.90 per person.
A regular discussion point for some of our Curry Council members is the old dilemma of "quantity versus quality". The more refined council members are prepared to pay a few extra £'s for the extra quality of meat and food preperation. Other members of the group want as much food as possible at the lowest possible cost.
The Sangam II 'Executive Party Banquet' was the proof of the pudding. The Curry Council have recently experienced great meals at both Shimla Pinks in town and the Jalfrezi Indian Food Bar in Bramhall. Both of which cost a little bit more than the Sangam deal. The extra cost was justified due to the quality of the said meals. Could the Sangam II live up to the high standards delivered so far on our travels in 2008 ?
The poppodums were served and were of a good standard. The chutney & dips portion sizes were very small and quickly disappeared. After prompting, the waiters did regularly offer to top these up.
The mixed starters arrived heaped on two plates (presentation slightly poor). The fish tikka arrived seperately. The food was equally divided up between the group but a couple of items were missing. The Council could not be bothered to alert the waiters that some items were missing, so Mr Jordan missed out on his lamp chop and Andy missed out on his onion bhaji. Unlucky.

A variety of main courses were delivered. Dave and Jord sampled the chicken madras. The lads reported that the Madras sauce was extremely HOT and could be likened to a vindaloo !
The Mix Shaslik was also sampled. The lamb was particularly tough and lacked flavour. The chicken was of an average standard and also tasted a little overcooked.
Overall, the main courses were of an acceptable standard but did not have any qualities that stood out or challenged the tastebuds. The quality of meat and how they were cooked were dissapointing.
A mixture of Nan breads and brown pilau rice, with cloves and cumin seeds, were served. The portions were plentiful and the group were offered extra nan and rice on more than one occassion (to the credit of the waiters). You certainly will not go home hungry after a meal at the Sangam !
The Nan breads were very thin and could almost be compared to Italian style garlic bread. The nan was of an acceptable standard but the curry traditionalist (who would prefer 'good old' fluffy nan breads, the size of a third world country, dripping in butter) may have been slightly dissapointed with this offering.
The meal was finished off with an ice cream desert and coffee. The Sangam offered good value for money but the food quality was of an average standard. The Curry Council left with full stomach's but overall were slightly dissapointed with the food at the Sangam II.
Food 6/10
Service 7/10
Atmosphere 5/10
Value for money 8/10
Originality 6/10
Overall 6.4/10


