Dining Out at a Little Gem of an Indian Restaurant / 印度风味餐馆 “Bnova”

Last weekend, I was out with @ezzy around the Stanmore area (North West of London) and came across an Indian restaurant called “Bnova” which turned out to be a great find.

From outside, the place doesn’t look like anything special at all if I am being honest. However from first entering the premise, I felt like this was something special and, as it turned out, the whole experience didn’t disappoint. Even the service was exceptional. We were warmly received by the staff and promptly shown to our seats.

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I would describe the interior as a long and narrow fronted urban trendy Indian restaurant. It was nicely decorated also. There are two dining areas located at the front and back with a stylish bar located right in the middle. In addition, a few art deco style sofa and armchairs made everything look very cozy. Pretty eye-catching statement pieces they were too!

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The bar offered quite a variety with soft drinks, beer, wine and cocktails. I ordered a lychee martini at the bar and it was fabulously refreshing!

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With its superb setting, this is more than simply a regular suburban curry house but very close to a top-end "fine dining" experince, complete with linen napkins and amouse-bouche! The seasonal menu presented a selection of popular Indian cuisines with a contemporary twist. I love a bit of innovation and diversity in regards to traditional cooking. It's always a nice surprise and inviting something new to your palate!

Starter

Before our food arrived, we were served up an amoush-bousche as a complimentary from the house! It was a savoury little vegetarian bite. The way the dish was presented showcased a glimpse into the chef’s culinary skill in creating and blending flavours. A very artistic form and what a great way to start our meal!

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Both starters we ordered were stunning! My "salt & Pepper Prawn" tossed in chilli, salt & pepper was absolutely amazing! The king prawns were sliced in the shape of butterflies with a crispy shell as well as being tender and juicy inside. And I am telling you, it tasted as good as it looked! Salt and pepper gave it an almost "simple" flavour that doesn’t overpower the deliciousness and fresh taste of the king prawns. So good!

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@ezzy opted for the spicy lamb chop and he was in for some serious taste bud treats, lol. The meat was very tender to the bite and the tandoori-spiced flavouring was incredible! Super yum!

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Main

For our main, we had the house special Dum Puk Lamb Biryani, which is the Lucknow style lamb with cooked rice and served with Raita. Breathe in the aroma of the dish and taste the highly fragrant basmati rice. The meat was succulent, rich and heavenly! Definitely a winner!

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I went for the Lamb Jalfrezi. The meat was cooked perfectly tender with chopped tomatoes and a sizzling, spicy sauce. This curry has enough heat to satisfy those of us who crave that unique tingle of indian chilli. It will have you going back for more, I promise, lol.

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Peshwari Nan was also great, which is basically a freshly made flatbread filled with delicious coconut filling. It was soft and a little chewy, exactly how I like it!

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Dessert

For desserts, we wanted Kulfi but unfortunately it was not available on the menu that night. Instead, we had two scoops of vanilla ice cream from their La Maison selection. It was so smooth and rich. So much so, we were very tempted to order another helping!

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We were also recommended by our waiter to try out their sweet called Pan. Pan is made of betel leaves with spices added. It looked very interesting so I gave it a go but I have to say this was not really my thing, hehe.

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The service at this place is first class by all the staff who were very accommodating and efficient, always with a smile on their faces. The waiter who served us realised I didn’t like the last dessert, so kindly removed it from our bill straight away, which was a really sweet gesture!

I had an overall great experience at Bnova with its beautiful ambiance and unique freshly prepared Indian dishes that stand out from the rest. It isn’t the cheapest food by any means but definitely worth every penny. A fantastic place for a date, to take the family or an enjoyable social night out with friends. I would recommend this place to everyone and can’t wait to visit again in the near future!

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上周末我和@ezzy在伦敦西北部的Stanmore附近尝试了一家印度风味餐馆，味道超棒，所以在这里和大家分享一下。

老实说，从外面看餐厅门面不大，并不起眼。但是从踏进餐厅的一刻，服务员热情周到的服务，让我感觉很温暖。餐厅内部装修比较时尚，前面和后面部分是用餐区，而中间则是酒吧地带，配有Art Deco 艺术风格的沙发和靠背椅， 显得十分舒适惬意！

酒吧选择蛮多，我点了常喝的荔枝马提尼鸡尾酒，很美味！

这里比一般的印度风味餐厅要高雅一些，从餐台上折叠漂亮的餐巾就能看出，呵呵。他们家餐牌也有特色，将现代元素融合到印度传统烹饪上，让客人有不一样的味觉体验。我等不及要试试他们的手艺，呵呵。

前菜

我很惊喜地发现，餐厅为每位客人免费提供一道前菜！它小巧精致，充分显示了厨师精湛的手艺以及创新的艺术感！想得真周到，值得一赞！

我们点的两个前菜也非常不错！我的椒盐虾卖相十分漂亮，呈蝴蝶状用铁盘盛着，上来的时候还直冒热气，看着就流口水，呵呵。虾肉口感酥脆，味道鲜美，连虾尾都能嚼得津津有味！

而@ezzy选的辛辣羊排也很赞。羊肉腌制得非常入味，肉质细嫩，火候烧得很到位！喜欢辛辣口味的朋友，可不要错过哦！

主菜

主菜呢，我们点了餐厅主打的特色羊肉焗饭。我之前的博客里有介绍过，Biryani是印度饭的一种煮法，把肉和米混在一起后置于砂锅里再放入焗炉。拌饭味道一级棒，诱人的色泽和浓郁的香气，让我吃得好满足哦！

羊肉咖喱（Lamb Jalfrezi）是我们的另一个主菜。Jalfrezi是印度咖喱的一种，有点儿类似于“干炒”。它是用切碎的西红柿和辣酱配肉煮熟。这家做得很好吃，不但够辣，味道又够浓郁芳香！吃得我都停不了口，哈哈！

印度”飞饼“ 也很不错，外酥里润，浓郁香酥！

甜点

最后是甜品。我们本来想吃Kulfi，但那天店里正好没有，所以我们叫了香草冰淇淋。这其实也是很不错的选择，它有香草甘甜，奶味也相当醇浓，好吃！

店员也推荐我们另一个传统印度甜点”Pan”. 它是用槟榔叶包裹着香料制成的。我尝了一口但不是太喜欢。我想这是个人喜好不同吧。

餐馆的服务非常到位，他们不但热情而且效率也很高，最重要的是总是一脸的笑容，让我感觉很亲切。为我们点餐的服务生知道我不太习惯最后那道甜点，主动提出从账单里去掉。真是让我意外得甚至有点感动！

我在Bnova吃了一顿丰盛的印度晚餐，度过了一个非常愉快的夜晚。这里不但环境幽雅，最主要得是他们家美味的印度风味菜肴从伦敦众多的印度餐厅中脱颖而出，值得推荐。虽然这里价钱不是最便宜的，但我觉得物有所值。这家餐馆非常适合情人约会，家庭聚餐或是和朋友聚会。我已经迫不及待想再回来一尝这里其它的菜式，呵呵。

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