Shandaar - Timperley

T 0161 973 7611
A 336 Manchester Road, Timperley, Altrincham, WA14 5NH

The September 2008 curry was held at the Shandaar Indian Restaurant. The months curry organiser, Steven Woodman, opted for a restaurant in West Timperley(Altricham). Woodman had again (predictably) chosen his venue based on a recommendation from a work colleague.

The restaurant was located on a busy main road and parking was extremely limited. Two Curry Council members managed to park their vehicles in the side passage next to the restaurant and were instantly alarmed at what they saw. One of the kitchen staff was at the back door of the restaurant having a quick drag on his cigarette. The Curry Council operate a strict zero tolerance attitude towards smokers and this sight did not fill them with confidence.

The group sat at some comfy chairs next to the bar and waited for the remainder of our party to arrive. The final member of our party arrived and we were all disappointed at the extremely low number of attendees this month.

The small restaurant has a bright and modern feel but still held the traditional features of an ‘old school’ style curry house.

The council members present were shown to a table and had to inform the waiter that the table originally booked for seven people had now embarrassingly decreased to just four people. The waiter fulfilled our request to move to a smaller table and promptly offered to move our drinks and relocate us.

Poppodums were served whilst we perused the menu. The pops came accompanied by a selection of four dips. The dips were presented in rather small square bowls that were instantly eaten. The waiter was friendly and happy to oblige to our request for extra chutney and red onions.
The Curry Council does not understand why so many Indian restaurants think that this is an area that they can cut back on. A large group of people surely deserve a higher volume and quantity of dips compared to a couple of people eating a poppodum each?

The conversation quickly turned to discussing the low number of attendees at the evenings curry. Woodman quickly pointed out that his texts and emails were sent out with plenty of notice and that he was very disappointed to see that 50% of the Council had chosen not to attend his curry.

The Revised 2005 Curry Council Rules and Regulations state that only “Only deaths, marriages and childbirth” are an acceptable reason to not attend the monthly curry.

Chris was attending an evening college course and Day had childcare commitments. Messieurs Hague and Jordan were “ill”. The former again failing to notify the curry organiser that he was not attending. The Council members present declared that the ‘rules and regulations’ must be revisited to protect the monthly curry and that constant rule breakers must be dealt with.

Jordan's non attendance also provided Noble with his chance to rightfully claim his regal crown of 'King Curry Council Attendee'.

The starters arrived and were of a good standard. Dave opted for the mixed starter (pictured below) which offered good value for money. Winfield sampled the chicken chaat (also below) but was slightly disappointed with the small portion size and its poor presentation (no side salad was available).

A variety of main courses were delivered by the waiter. Two members of the group opted for the Chicken Balti Jalfrezi. This tomato and onion based sauce contained a large quantity of green chillies that added a lot of extra spice to this already fiery dish.

The Balti Exotica was also sampled. The dish provided a combination of meat, including chicken, lamb and king prawns and was cooked in a spiced balti sauce.

The Rice and naan were of a good standard, with two portions of pilau rice being more than adequate for four people.

The service was extremely good but this had in part been due to the fact that the restaurant had been almost empty throughout our whole visit.

A complimentary drink of Baileys Irish Cream liqueur was presented to the group along with the customary small piece of chocolate. The Baileys was a nice gesture but not really suitable for the council members who were on driving duty.

All in all, the Shandaar may be worth a visit if you appreciate balti dishes and good service.

Food 7.5/10
Service 8/10
Atmosphere 5/10
Value for money 7/10
Originality 6/10

Overall 6.7/10

Curry CHAAT with Bodrul Choudhary (Mousam Restaurant)

Welcome to the latest new and exciting feature here at currycouncil.com! The site will now regularly bring you exclusive interviews with businessmen from the local Indian food community.

Currycouncil.com recently caught up with the Gatley’s own curry connoisseur, Mr Bodrul Choudhary.

Choudhury was grilled at currycouncil towers about many interesting topics (mainly being curry!) and provided a unique insight into his life at the Mousam Indian Restaurant in Gatley (Cheadle, Stockport).


In what year did the Mousam Indian Restaurant open ?
We opened in February 2002

Please can you tell us a little bit more about the history of the Mousam. Is it a family run business ?
Mousam means “Seasons” and is a family run business. We opened the first part of the restaurant in Feb 2002 on Old Hall Rd providing 45 covers, which was not enough as customers had to wait a while for seating.

By the end of 2005 we extended onto Gatley Road which provided another 45 covers. This was an instant hit; it provided us with a lot of space especially when it comes to booking big parties.

The initial concept was to bring in a traditional Indian cuisine in the heart of Gatley next to the old Tatton cinema. I have researched thoroughly and have come up with the idea of having traditional Indian, Bengali and Nepalese cooking in Gatley and infuse them all in one menu, this was lacking in many of the restaurants in the local surroundings.

On our recent visit to the Mousam, we noticed that there was a very colourful and traditional looking theme running through the restaurant. What was your inspiration?


The theme of the restaurants is very colourful full of pictures which emphasizes on the culture of India and parts of rural Bengal.

The Pictures’ were also influenced by the Tatton cinema as it used to be a popular picture house hence the pictures in the restaurant. I believe the Mousam has a very “cosy” and relaxing dining experience.

What is the most difficult part of running a busy restaurant ?
I personally think that maintaining a good management is the most difficult part of running a restaurant, especially the early stages when you are getting established in a small village like Gatley.

On a daily basis, one must ensure that everything is running smoothly and consumers are getting good value for their money bearing in mind that customer service is imperative at all times. Therefore, my views on maintaining good management would be the most difficult part of running a business.

There has been lots of stories in the press recently about the credit crunch. The increasing price of rice is hitting the Indian food industry hard and forcing many restaurants to increase prices. Has the Mousam been affected by the changing economic climate and are things becoming harder for small businesses?
Well, this does have a big affect on all of us. But we must carry on in life and try to ensure that we work closely with our suppliers and get the best value for money.

We are going through a difficult period at the moment and many obstacles will come you’re way, you just have to remain positive and hope things will soon calm down.

There are lots of new modern Indian Restaurants (for example the Purple Pakora, EastZEast etc) opening in the area. The restaurants have the look and feel of a trendy wine bar, much different than the more traditional "curry house". Do you think that the perception of Indian Restaurant's is changing and are consumers expecting more from their experience at an Indian restaurant?
I have been to many of the up market and modern restaurants in Greater Manchester and think it’s great for the Curry Industry.

It’s nice to see a change in trend and the wide choices of restaurants you see in Rusholme’s curry mile gives it a joy to look at especially in the night when all the neon lights are lit up.

The Mousam is different in terms of the market where we are situated; Gatley is in a small village and we have kept the traditional Indian theme, which has been very popular amongst the local villagers. I think the trendy wine bar and funky colours would suit places in the city centre.

Describe which dish would you recommend our readers to eat if they visit the Mousam restaurant ?
Well, it really depends on ones taste. Some like it hot some like it Sweet and Mild. My personal favourite is the Mousam Mix Chom Chom which is made up of mixed spices, poneer (Indian cheese) mushrooms, King Prawn in a thick spicy sauce.

Another one of my favourite is the Chicken Rozzella which is to a madras strength made up of mix spice and creamy sauce and topped up with fried onions. They both have a lot of flavours and spices.

This really does bring back memories of how my Grandmother used to cook in the rural villages of West Bengal – I have tried every effort to bring this culinary taste to the Mousam.

Finally, what do you think of currycouncil.com ?
I find the website really fascinating. The lads are doing a great job; it’s been a pleasure being interviewed by one of the members. The council site brings every one together and gives the opportunity to see new businesses opening up – which is great for the Industry. “Keep up the good work”

If you would be interested in appearing in our next feature, please use the “Contact Us” button to provide us with your contact details and we will get back you ASAP.

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What is currycouncil member Steve Woodman thinking?

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Curry Announcement: Shandaar (Timperley, Altrincham)

The September curry is to be held at the Shandaar Restaurant (next to the Pelican pub) in Timperley. Please refer to your individual email/SMS invites for the exact details and confirm your attendance to Steve Woodman ASAP.

It is located at 336 Manchester Road, West Timperley.