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 If you’ve ever
had a real desire to go out for a Chinese or a Thai meal, but
your partner insists they’d prefer an Indian, then The Silk Road
is a multi-cuisine establishment that will probably solve this
particular problem for you. With a wide range of dishes from the
sub continent, there really is something here to satisfy the
vast majority of taste buds.
On arrival we
decided to have a drink in the comfortable armchairs and I
personally would use this time to review the extensive menu. By
any standards there are countless dishes to feast your eyes on.
The Silk Road boasts that they have “designed a menu that is
contemporary in style yet still maintains the tradition of
authentic Indian cooking.” This is ironically, where I moaned a
little. I wondered immediately on reading on, whether this was a
truly a multi-cuisine restaurant or not? The answer is probably
“not” because the menu is biased towards traditional Indian
dishes with far fewer choices for Chinese or Thai.
One of the
first things to strike you is the perfect lighting. With brown
circular lightshades that are probably over three feet long and
look great, there is a cosy and romantic feel to The Silk Road.
There is more than ample room between tables too, so no matter
where you are seated, you should feel comfortable. You cannot
say this about many restaurants in Milton Keynes. The brown,
high-back leather chairs not only look good, but they are
comfortable too.
My guest
continued to “Awww” and “Ahhhhh” all evening regarding the
waiting staff; commenting often how incredibly friendly and
polite they were. This is how service should be. We kept a close
eye on them waiting on other tables and it was perfectly obvious
the staff enjoyed their job, cared about their customers and the
smiles were genuine. Atmosphere It does of course help, if like
me on this occasion, you’re in great company, but whoever you’re
with, and no matter whether the restaurant is half empty or
full; there is a relaxed atmosphere about the Silk Road that
many establishments would die for. If you’ve had a hard day in
the office and need to chill out for a while, come here!
A selection of
both poppadums and prawn crackers are brought to your table soon
after taking to your seat. I did find this combination strange
at first, but I have to confess it does work surprisingly well.
If you enjoy a glass of white wine we would happily recommend
you try the Lindemans Premier Selection Chardonnay. Light,
medium, Australian wine, pale straw in colour with fruit
characters and a nutty background. This proved a lovely
accompaniment to our meal and I will definitely be drinking this
again soon. We took some time to make our choices but never felt
rushed. There are some 27 starters to choose from alone.
I have visited
Thailand and spent many evenings eating their gorgeous food so
opted for the Thai style fish cakes with sweet chilli dip (thai
shi yu bing). Flakes of fish, special Thai fish sauce, kaffir
lime leaves and Thai red chillies pounded together and made into
small patties then pan fried and served on a bed of salad with a
sweet chilli dip. There were four fish cakes which made for a
generous start. The salad was fresh and the sweet chilli had a
nice kick to it. All-in-all, a pleasant introduction to food at
The Silk Road. My guest loves duck and not surprisingly opted
for a Chinese starter, Crispy aromatic duck (1/4): Served with
cucumber, spring onions and pancake. £8.50. The duck was tasty
and moreish. Depending on the size of your appetite, two people
could share this dish.
For mains I
again stayed loyal to a Thai dish. I opted for one of my
favourites, the Thai Green Curry (Gaeng keoWan). Green curry
flavoured with kafir lime leaves and Thai chillies (chicken). I
ordered steamed basmati rice which was cooked to perfection. The
curry had a real kick to it which I loved but the chillies did
not overpower the taste sensations and the chicken was
incredibly tender. A fantastic curry which more than matched the
food I enjoyed in Thailand itself.
I’ve already
mentioned my guest loved duck, but for mains they chose an
Indian dish and decided to overdose on coconut! They opted for
the Shahi Korma, Cubes of chicken breast cooked in a rich gravy
of onions, cashew nuts and aromatic hot spices. They chose the
Southern style rice cooked with coconut milk and tampered with
mustard seeds and curry leaves and peshwari naan, Unlike the
chicken served with my curry, the chicken cubes were not as
tender as my guest would have liked but they did comment that
the curry was incredibly tasty, and very little was left on the
plate.
Unlike many of
the Indian or Thai restaurants you will visit in the UK, The
Silk Road do put some serious thought into their desserts and
for this, they receive full marks. I am ashamed to admit that I
was not brave enough to try the Hot Gulab Jamun. Cottage cheese
and reduced milk soaked in golden syrup served with ice cream. I
did however, go for the Kesar Kulfi / Mango. Delicious home made
Indian ice cream made from whole milk, natural fruit, nut and
cream. This dessert is an absolute must! Served on a huge white
plate, the ice cream did look a little lost, but people that
visit India often rave about this dessert and now I know why.
My guest was
too full for dessert so instead, she opted for a Cappuccino
which was thoroughly enjoyed and rounded off a great night. In
summary, when looking at our scores you may feel we have marked
down on the food because it has our lowest number of points. We
have not. Quite simply, The Silk Road offers cuisine to a very
high standard which we have marked accordingly – but they excel
with their warm and friendly service. It is difficult to imagine
anyone walking away from here and not enjoying themselves. |
