West Midlands Safari Park Review

West Midlands Safari Park Review-August 2014

Disclaimer: all opinions expressed are my own. I have not been paid for this review by the companies mentioned.

There’s a lot to be said about pre-School children/toddlers. They develop likes quicker than some celebrities change partners. But one thing that is usually a given is they have a favourite animal. My little one loves animals-in particular penguins and big cats. I really have no idea where she developed this love for penguins as I am a lover of Giraffes and yes big cats. It’s a unique quirk of her personality and like any other parent we try to encourage her to have ‘likes’ that are specific to her and her only in the family.

As a child I have fond memories of visiting Farms, the odd Theme Park and the Zoo. I loved the Zoo. Exotic animals to look at in the UK?! Yes please! My particular love for a certain West Midlands Safari Park started back when in 1995 and I have been in love with it since.

Now that I have two children of my own to keep occupied I found a new reason to visit WMSP. I wanted little ones to learn about the animals that they cannot see walking around in the wild. I also want them to develop from a young age an ethos that includes conservation of animals (in particular those which are vulnerable). One of my biggest fears is there will be animals my girls won’t be able to see when they are older as they will become extinct. So my approach is this-actively encourage my children to visit Zoos/Farms/Sanctuaries and allow their love of animals to develop.

So enough of my mission to create children who understand the importance of conservation let’s get onto the bit you guys want to read about West Midlands Safari Park.



Safari's are thirty work; so be prepared

I shop as Tesco (before the do-gooders start calling for me to be stoned to death please note I haven’t done a shop at Tesco since pre-Ramadan 2014). I collect Clubcard points. I love the Clubcard points and when I get the chance to boost them I am literally on a high. I get giddy calculating my savings. Oh the sheer bliss of being frugal. After using my points last year to take little on to WMSP before her sister was born I decided I wanted to take her back there as she is now older and more into animals than when she was 2 & 1/2. As soon as the Clubcard ‘sale’ came up I was quick to order tickets for WMSP as well as tickets for Blackpool Zoo. Tickets to WMSP (excluding the rides) cost £17.99 per adult and £12.99 per child. Under threes are admitted free. This price also includes a return visit. However this visit must be carried out in the same car that you used on the original trip as the ticket has your car registration on (as well as noting how many people were in the car). If you some reason you cannot do this e.g. you sold your car you can contact WMSP with evidence of this fact and they are more than happy to help. Even when you purchase your tickets via the Club card scheme you are still given a free returns voucher which stretches your points even further. Even if you pay the full admissions price you are in for a treat (and so are the little ones).


One piece of advice I do have for those who hate queues. Always check the traffic updates for the route you will be taking and like any other attraction avoid peak times as the self drive safari will take you 2 hours which can be a problem with little ones in the car.



Smile for the camera

After a 90 minute drive to WMSP we had two very excited children who wanted to see the big cats and Pingu. We got to the park around 1:30 (don’t ask folks) and there were no queues into the park. We exchanged the vouchers for admission tickets and soon commenced the self drive 2 hour safari in the heart of the Midlands.  
 
 


Little one was extremely excited. We decided to take both our children out of their car seats. We weighed the pros and cons and decided that as the car would be traveling at a very slow speed we didn’t feel there was a need for them to be buckled in throughout the safari. Plus when we visited last year little one hated being stuck in one static position and that put a damper on her enjoyment. So we decided to let little ones roam around in the car. And we were not the only ones; other parents clearly had a similar idea as we saw many little people sitting on their parents laps.

Once we had snacks and drinks sorted (remember it was a 2 hour safari) we set of to enjoy the views.

The safari itself is 4 miles across 100 acres of land set in the heart of the Midlands between Kidderminster and Bewdley. The safari is organised by areas which are:

African Plains where you will find the herd of southern white rhinos, my favourites the giraffes as well as zebras, Ankole cattle, Congo buffalo, ostrich and eland (the largest of all antelope species (to name but a few)

The Grasslands is home to the Barbary sheep, the Persian fallow (which is endangered) and the Adder snake-yes a snake! Believe it or not it’s the only venomous snake that resides in the UK.

The Wild Woods is home to the very playful dholes.

Wild Asia is where you will find Asian water buffalos, sambar deer, Przewalkski’s horse, Philippine spotted deer, barasingha (translated=12 horns) as well as the magnificent greater one horned rhino who look like they are wearing a coat of truly pretty armour.

The Tiger Ridge where you’ve guessed it you will find the gorgeous stripy Tigers.

Cheetah Plains is home to the world’s fastest land mammal. Quite frankly I don’t favour my chances of outrunning these beauties that can reach up to 70 miles an hour.

Land of the Painted Dog-I don’t think I would ever say this about a predator but these guys are cute. But of course they are wild dogs so yes they are scary too.

Realm of the Lions is the patch of the Safari where you will find the stars of the show the African Lions. Simply beautiful.

Kingdom of the White Lions is what I look forward to out of the big cats. These beautiful creatures are not albino. Seeing these guys in the wild is very very rare so it’s a privilege to see them here.

Asian Lowlands is home to the addax, bactrian camels, fallow deer and banteng-to name a few of the residents of this part of the park.

Elephant Valley is now to the very happy and cheery African elephants which include a baby that my little one named Dumbo.

We were lucky enough to see the majority of the animals. We didn’t spot any adders (for which I am grateful for believe me).

Me feeding a giraffe

The park has clear signs dotted around reminding you to keep your windows closed (where appropriate) and whether or not you can feed the animals (feed boxes are available at the kiosks priced at £3.00 per box). There is also advice on how to feed animals which I found useful as I got the chance to feed the elegant and truly breathtaking giraffes. You put your hand out (arm full stretched) and open your hand. The animals happily take a nibble. And when you want to stop feeding the beauties you turn your hand and drop the feed on the floor and put your hand back in the car.

Once you complete the safari you will find ample parking. The park also provides lots of hand washing facilities as well as toilets that are clean. Hooray! Clean lavatories. Believe me it’s hard to find a venue that is clean during the holiday period. Yes there was a bit of a stink in the toilets but what would you expect? Little ones can sometimes ‘miss’ their aim and well a stink here and there can only be expected.

Once we were parked up I was getting hungry. As a lot of you guys will know I prefer to take my own picnic for two main reasons-for variety and to be more cost effective. I noticed some of the prices at the food booth and noticed some of the prices. A portion of chips cost under £3.00. Drinks included Pepsi however I didn’t notice the prices on them. There were a variety of ice-creams including Wall’s ice-creams.

After a two hour drive around there was plenty more to see. For the older children and families there’s a Discovery Trail that will keep you amused whatever the weather. Activities include talks on various animals.

For those who love a good show don’t miss the 15 minute Sea Lion show. The theatre becomes quite packed so you may wish to get a seat about 15 minutes before the show.

If you like Creepy Crawlies you can have a look around the place (called Creepy Crawlies) which includes goliath tarantulas and a plague of locusts.

The SeaQuarium is home to Nemo (I meant clown fish) and piranhas.

And if that’s not enough to get your adventurous side you can visit Mark O’Shea’s Reptile World where you will meet crocodiles, snapping turtles and vipers!

For those like me who prefer fluffy creatures you will find them in the African Village and the Lemur Woods. You will find three types of Lemurs around all equally as fluffy as each other. And once you have walked around and enjoyed looking at them move onto our favourites-the Meerkats. These little creatures are not only our favourites thanks to clever TV marketing the fact they interact with their audiences makes them family friendly. Our little ones just stood there talking to these beautiful animals and they stood there listening. Stunning creatures and a must see at the Safari Park.

Whilst you are in this area of the park don’t forget to take a peak at the goats too who live nearby in the Goat Park.

And for the Pingu lovers out there you simply cannot miss the Penguin Cove which is home to a family of Humboldt penguins. These fun guys are great to watch. Both girls loved watching them. I’m sure little one was asking her sister for Pinga.

The Hippo Lake is well home to the hippos! You can take a walk up to the viewing platform to watch this huge animals relax in the lake. Great spot for taking photos of them too.

There are many facilities dotted around the park for families. There were various eateries, first aid points, toilets and shops to buy a memento or two. Little one dug for a dino egg (cost £3.00 per egg; however every player wins a prize). Once your little one finds the egg they get to pick a dinosaur toy. We picked a pink one and named her. She later married Rex from Toy Story. There were plenty of suitable backdrops for family photos too including a Safari Jeep all kited out for well a Safari.

And the fun doesn’t stop when you’ve seen all the animals. There’s also the Theme Park to explore (for an additional cost to the admission price). We decided to purchase a cub wristband which gave little one unlimited access to rides in the Tiny Tots Theme Park. These rides included a mini pirate ship, a train, magic carpet ride and our favourite a carousel (plus other rides). The wrist band cost £7.99 and covered 7 rides which little one could actually ride on. We thought that was a reasonable cost to keep little one entertained. She went on the rides a few times and liked the independence. This park of the park is designed for under 120 cm talk people making it ideal for little people like our oldest.

Older children can ride on the other rides that shape the Theme Park landscape however we chose not to look around the rides little ones wouldn’t be able to enjoy.

Adult wristbands cost £11.99 (16-64 years of age). Children’s cost £10.99 (2-15 years of age).
 Summer nights mean longer opening times at the Park-9PM in fact giving families plenty of time to enjoy the park. We managed to last until around 6PM before we got tired. There was a picnic area situated in the Tiny Tots part of the Park which is where little one enjoyed her second picnic of the day.

Asian Elephant

There were plenty of bins dotted over the park and the park was clean and tidy. I am aware that paying the entry fees seems like a lot of money however this is now I justify the cost:

• You get two visits for the price of one
• You get a 2 hour safari drive
• You get to see penguins
• There’s a Sea Lion show
• There are meerkats, Lemurs, goats-plenty of ‘fluffy’ animals for little ones to look at, interact with and enjoy being around
• The park is clean and tidy
• You can take your own picnic as there are picnic areas
• The staff were friendly and interacted with children extremely well
• If you want to pay extra and enjoy the rides you can do so
• There are plenty show times enabling you to enjoy the shows throughout the day at a pace that suits your family rather than rushing around the park
• It’s a Park that is built for families and caters for families.

And if you can get hold of the tickets via Tesco Clubcards or other schemes it’s even better value for money.

What did I think of the food?
We took our own picnic so cannot comment as little one only had an Ice-cream (feast).

What did we pack?

a white Tiger having a nap.

The usual-a change of clothes, changing bag, sunglasses for all the family, feeds for little one, picnic, cameras as well as a small first aid kit and wellie boots. Oh and various audio stories for in-car entertainment.

Would we go again?
Yes, yes yes. In fact we plan to go back around October time as the children enjoyed it (as did we).

Highlight of the kids day:
Too many to mention-although I think they loved the Penguins and Meerkat moments

Highlight of the adults day:
Feeding the giraffe and Ostrich! Little ones hid when they saw the animals coming over to the car.


A beautiful tiger-all photos are my own

Any advice for visitors:

Give yourself plenty of time between activities. Take enough snacks and drinks to keep you fueled during the 2 hour Safari. Keep costs down by taking your own picnic. Pack for the varied weather the Midlands is famed for. Don’t forget your camera.

Enjoy your day guys and if you visit let me know what you guys thought of it.

　

　

Gulliver's Warrington review

The wonderful world of Gulliver’s-Warrington

Note: I am writing this review based on my own experiences. I paid for our own tickets-this review is not endorsed by anyone.

When you have children your idea of entertainment and a day out are no longer a an afternoon of shopping followed by dinner at a fancy restaurant. Oh no. Soft play will be your ultimate destination and if you are lucky a leftover Happy Meal will be your five star lunch (as voted for by kiddies). Your DVD collection will be replaced by Scooby Doo, Disney and random films that your little cherubs have developed a thing for (Minions anyone?). And a day out starts with military planning. You check the weather, stroller access, what food outlets are on site and how much it will cost to keep your bambinos entertained. You then buy tickets, plan wardrobes and pack your nappy changing bag like you are off into the Sahara dessert or Antarctic depending on what time of the year it is. You then pack a bag of snacks and drinks. Then and maybe then you can sleep easy and leave the house by a reasonable hour. Okay so now that you understand that you are not the only parent who runs around like a loony on redbull let’s get cracking (by the way Mamas-I have a list that I use when I am packing for days out-if you would like it please let me know).

My three and half year old have developed a thrill seekers streak. She wants everyone to drive faster, and wants to go down slides head first. I do wonder if my love of adrenaline rides has worn off on little one but that’s a different story. After our semi-disastrous trip to Alton Towers I decided that I should look for a venue aimed just at kids. No really these places exist outside the world of soft play zones. The venue also needed to be within at least an hours drive-after all my 1 year old doesn’t enjoy audiobooks the way the older one does (oh yes, your CD collection will consist of Disney soundtracks-altogether now "the cold never bothered me annnnnyyyyywaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy). So with that we decided to give Gullivers World in Warrington a go.

Cost wise I must admit we had a strike of good luck-the park had discounted tickets for their Ben and Holly weekend and as some parents will know a lot of little folk are madly in love with these lovable fairies and elves. So I booked tickets at £9.00 per person. I checked the weather *sunshine-wow* and did some research online to access what was worth potentially queuing for. Some of the reviews slated the park no end. Other reviews were glowing (easily pleased perhaps?). Either way I was going to experience this place for myself.

We got to the park at around 11:30 (with oldest dresses as a Princess) and there was ample parking available-on a grassy area. We noted that if we wanted to park on the official car park we needed to arrive earlier. We decided to arrive late as my children can only really last between 3-4 hours before their batteries run flat.

We noticed a queue for tickets and bypassed them with our printed out online bargains. The staff were friendly and told us what time we could expect Ben and Holly to make an appearance on the main stage.

As soon as we got into the park the oldest was happy-very happy. The type of happy were children scream with delight. The park was clean with enough bins dotted around to keep it clean. We had a brief sit down whilst little ones had an early lunch of sandwiches (we took our own packed lunch based on the reviews of the eateries at the park-I won’t risk eating horrid food I have to pay silly money for). After lunch we waited in a small queue to have our photos taken with Ben and Holly. There was no pushing or shoving-the kids were very well behaved and the parents too.

We got our photos taken and quickly moved onto the rides. The first thing I noticed was-NO QUEUES for the rides. You read that right! No queues! And...most of the rides were suitable for a three and a half to ride-across the whole park. Not only that but a lot of rides were under cover so if rain did appear it wouldn’t spoil the day. And the icing on the cake? There were rides the oldest could ride alone and rides we could take littlest on too.

Best rides & some worth avoiding:

The best bits:

• Tree top Swings
• Carousel
• Leonard’s flying raft
• Caterpillar Rollercoaster
• Runaway train coaster
• Mad hatters Tea party (cups)
• Barrel ride
• Ellie’s Animal Merry Go Round
• Pirate ship

Avoid

• Adventure Canyons (especially in damp/hot weather-insect overload)
• Tomb raiders-I’ve never seen a more bored 3 and a half year old in my life *enough said*
• Water rides-unless you have a poncho to protect clothing as wet kids tend to be grumpy. I’ve seen some cheap ponchos around so buy before you go.

Okay it’s rant time....

Hygiene of the toilets and baby changing facilities

The smell of wee drives me insane. For crying out loud how hard is it to maintain clean floors when you claim to check the toilets every hour?! I used the toilets near Ellie’s Animal Merry Go Round and there was enough water on the floor to provide a group of barbie dolls with a lake. There were two toilets that needed a good clean (why do some people NOT flush toilets?!). The smell? Bloody awful. Baby changing facilities were okay-but still needed a good clean to be up to my standards (sorry there Gulliver’s).

I also had the misfortune of using one set of toilets that had net curtains in them that looked like they needed binning. Yuck. The rest of the park was clean and tidy.

I would suggest that you do not sit near the bins or pedalos to have something to eat. The wasps will drive you insane (that’s if you have any sanity left with being the parent of a toddler/pre-schooler).

　
Food:
We only purchased a bottle of water and ice creams on site. The prices were reasonable.
As mentioned before this was due to reviews we read. Plus let’s face it-food is generally overpriced at Theme parks. We did see a parent complaining the fresh doughnuts she had purchased were rock hard. Not sure if they are meant to be inedible. A new diet trend perhaps? We took our own food and found plenty of suitable places to sit down and enjoy food. There is also sheltered picnic areas for when the weather is less than sunny.

First aid:
We didn’t require it however I always carry a small kit with me. I have three kits made up and left in changing bags and in the bag we take with us to the local park. Plasters, a few antiseptic wipes, antiseptic cream and dry antiseptic spray and we are usually good to go.

What to pack:

• A picnic (if you are looking at a frugal meal)
• A small cool bag to keep drinks cool in. I froze a couple of boxes of juice and took them out in the morning. Not only did we have cool drinks but the boxes kept the food cool too.
• Hats, glasses, sun cream
• If you are visiting in potential wet weather take wellies
• Your camera-unlike places like Alton Towers Gulliver's
• have limited on ride photography
• Wipes-ideally the antibacterial ones you use around the home. For use on chairs, baby changing and even toilets.
• Your usual baby changing supplies
• Your usual baby feeding stuff. I recommend that you take food pouches for little ones as they are easier to transport.

　
Ticket pricing
Buying in advance like many other things is more cost effective than buying on the day. There are plenty of special events at Gulliver’s Warrington-from weekends dedicated to Grandparents to Father’s Day events which often include special discounts (e.g. Daddy goes free).

Would I go again?
Well we did. We visited twice in June. We attended the Ben and Holly Weekend and then a Toddler Thursday where we paid £5.00 per person. The only ride we noticed closed was the pedalos. Would I pay full price? That’s a hard one. Yes I would only because this place made little ones happy.

Merchandise:
We went into the shop to have a little look around and walked out with a Princess Gully mouse. She cost us less than £15.00.

　
　
Final thoughts:
Yes the park would do with a bit of a makeover. A lick of paint would be lovely. The park does look tired however let’s be realistic; kids love this place. Children can ride the majority of rides-which is the appeal of this place. Not many three year olds will notice how the paint in chipped and some of the gazebo fabric needs repairing/replacing. What matters is the little one have fun-and they did.

Baby Dam product review

Baby Dam product review

Please note: I bought this product myself; this is by no means a joint venue review with the company in question.

Look in any Parenting Magazine and they will give you a list of ‘must have items’ for your baby or toddler. Items range from the simple items to the damn right ridiculous and waste of money as your child will never use that said item.

In my experience buying products based on others suggestions is often a hit or miss; there is no sure fire formula that will help you in your quest to find the the best value for money products; especially when you are preparing for bambino numbero uno.

What I can tell you is before your baby is born there are some things that you can buy with confidence because you know you will buy them and others will simply collect dust in your attic.

My review today is for a product called the Baby Bath Dam. It’s an inventive plastic ‘dam’ that fits any straight sided bathtub. It basically creates a mini bathtub within your larger tub thus perfect size for babies and toddlers.

The Bath Dam idea was conceived by a parent who got fed up of seeing puddles on water on their carpet from bathing their child in a portable bath tub (the ones babies grow out of quickly) and when they moved onto using the family bath tub they noticed their bills rise as they were on a water meter. Plus it took a while for the tub to fill up (and it’s face it not many of us have the extra patience with a little one to deal with the smaller things in life).

It eliminates the need to purchase a baby bath that babies quickly outgrow and are often hard to store as the Dam can be used from a newborn. The product is quick and easy to fit. You simply place it in your bathtub curving it to create the Dam. You then smooth the rubber seal to ensure it’s water tight. You pull the little yellow levers in the two ‘feet’ which are suckers so that product attaches to the bath. And voila; you are ready to fill your Bath Dam.

The Dam is easy to fit; however it’s advisable to ensure there’s no soap residue on the bathtub as this creates a slippery surface which isn’t suitable for the Dam as it simply slips out of place letting the water out. There’s also a small ‘plug’ in the Dam to let out water if you accidentally overfill your bath. The product is blue in colour-no other colours are available however would you really want a pink one? We certainly didn’t feel that was something that would add any type of value to the product.

Once you fit the Dam you fill up like you fill up any other bath. If you fit it properly it will stay in place. It’s just as easy to dismantle after a bath. You loosen it and remove it from the tub. It’s easy to store too; we leave it standing against the bath wall so the water drips off completely. The Dam of course like any other product that comes into contact with water can become ‘slimy’ which is sorted with a good clean with any good cleaner.

We have been using our Dam since my little girl was a few months old; and I would consider it an essential baby item for the following reasons:

It’s environmentally friendly; It saves water (and will save parents money-especially those on a water metre)

You don’t have to buy a baby bath

As it creates a smaller ‘tub’ it’s quicker to fill up (I don’t know many Mamas who like waiting for their bath to fill up with a screaming toddler who wants to play with bubbles)

It’s easy to install and dismantle

It doesn’t take up lots of space in terms of storage

You can use it for approximately 30 months (if you buy it whilst your baby is a newborn)-it’s hardwearing and will easily be used by other siblings.

Cons:

I don’t think this product would be suitable for bathing more than one child because there wouldn’t be enough room in the Dam you create so you would stick to using the full tub filled. However, I don’t think this should put you off as you wouldn’t bathe a newborn or a child (in my opinion) who needs support in the bath with an older sibling who splashes around.

The pricing of this product for me makes it an affordable and reasonably priced item for parents budgeting for all the essential items. It’s priced at £26.99 plus £5.50 postage cost for UK customers. Dispatch was quick-we got our Dam within 5 days of placing the order.

Customer Service experience:

I emailed them when I placed my order because my email was playing up so they confirmed quickly my order had been received and would be dispatched as soon as possible. Quick, friendly and efficient.

Would I buy the product again/recommending to friends:

I would buy the item again if I needed to however it doesn’t look like I will need to purchase another one as this one is still doing strong-hurrah! And yes indeed, I would recommend to friends. I think this item would make a fantastic Baby Shower gift-I doubt highly anyone else will be buying it for the expectant Mother.

SAFETY NOTICE: You still need to supervise your child whilst they are in the Bath tub-regardless of what you use to bathe them. Never think a product is a good substitute to parental responsibilty and guidance. Never leave a child alone in water-ever; period!

Where can you buy the item from?

Directly from the company via their website: www.babydam.com

　

A detailed review on Nawaabs Buffet Restaurant-Manchester

Nawaab Manchester Review

My review is written from parents prospective with a young toddler.

We visited Nawaabs on Thursday 6^th December 2012 after a hefty 90+ minute drive. Lucky for us, Munchy (now two) was kept occupied by the YouTube app (Curious George anyone?).

We arrived in Manchester and were greeted with the rain and wind. The car park had ample parking space and is a short walk to the actual restaurant. There is a staff member manning the car park, however always you should remove all valuables from view and secure your vehicle.  

We knew we were close to the glorious food-the fragrance greets you on your approach.

On arrival the first thing that you notice is the grand scale of Nawaab-it’s affordable luxury for everyone. The entrance hall is decorated simply but elegantly with images of Bollywood stars from the bygone era (an image of a young Amitabh Bachchan sticks out to the Bollywood nut in me). There’s a lovely relaxing water feature too providing the backdrop to many family photos. There’s also plenty of seating if you are waiting for family/friends to arrive.

The toilets are also well kept-and by the looks of them are checked on a regular basis.

So we steadily moved on into the restaurant. As soon as we entered we were swiftly greeted by a member of staff asking how many were dining and we were quickly escorted to a table. The waiter was very efficient and quickly provided us with a High Chair for Munchy he also took our drinks orders (which were a jug of Pepsi-for the OH and water for me-bottled though. More on that later). There is no Alcohol at Nawaabs-perfect for those like me who prefer venues that do not serve it.

I got my husband to go up and get his food first so whilst I was waiting I made a few observations which I hope Nawaabs are able to take on without the potential of losing profit.

Firstly, to maximise the amount of people that can be seated we were literally packed in like sardine cans. There’s no privacy. Okay, so we didn’t go to Nawaabs to make out, however when you have a small child with you, you do cherish extra space. I would really recommend that Nawaabs allocate the seating against the wall to families with young ones. That way, it gives more leg room to the parents and you won’t be in fear of your child reaching over to others plates on the table next to you. I know it’s a tall ask, however believe me, parents with toddlers will understand what I am talking about. Also, you can easily fit in two High Chairs without them obstructing the walkway of others as children cannot move their chairs-a bonus. Maximum clearance for everyone to go up to the Buffet and fill their plates (to a reasonable size-please folks do not waste food).

Once the OH came back with two plates (one with chutneys, one with food-this is a simple measure to ensure Munchie didn’t eat any chillies) I approached the Buffet.

Actually before I talk though my experience, my husband pointed out that you can actually get barbequed 'chops' freshly cooked off the buffet. You simply ask the gentleman cooking them. There not on the buffet like the other dishes, you have to basically get them fresh as they come off the fire (literally). Just a note for those of you who love their chops. Okay moving on.

Now I have been to Nawaab at least five times. I love their food. The set up this time round was similar to how I remember however the only change I noticed was there was more non-Pakistani (desi) food. I shall move onto that later.

I had the following from the salad cart:

Hummus (Arabic chickpea dip-heavy on calories)

Pickled chilli

Boondi raita (this is a accompiment made of tiny gram flour bites served in yogurt-very nice when done properly-more on that later).

No other salad for me, however I did notice the following:

Leafy salads, pasta salads, cholay, plenty of chutneys.

What I had as starters:

Lamb seekh kebab (minced lamb kebab)

Aachari cholay (chickpeas flavoured with pickles e.g. Aachar)

Aloo tikki ( potato pattie)

Masala fish (fish fried in a thin flavourful batter)

Baigan pakora (aubergine dipped in a gram flour batter and fried)

Aloo pakora (potato dipped in a gram flour batter and fried)

Mixed pakora (onions and potatoes shredded and mixed into a gram flour batter and fried)

Masala fries (fries that have been tossed in corn flour flavoured with various spices)

Please note that I had literally bite size portions of the above so that I could taste them all.

From the mains (after polishing off the starters) I had:

Pilau rice (one pot rice dish where the rice is cooked with various spices e.g. black cardamom) Known as Brown rice amongst the Parsi community

Palak Gosht (meat curry cooked with spinach)

Sarson ka saag (mustard greens cooked in a similar way to spinach has a distinctive strong taste)

Lamb karahi (lamb curry cooked in a tomato sauce)

Again, I had small portions. I’m happy with variety rather than quantity. I mean if someone else is going to cook for you you’d want to try everything right?

Now let’s get onto the important stuff-taste.

The starters:

Oh boy, I have such fond memories of the starters at this place I don’t know where to begin. So you will have sussed that I am going to write something negative about the starters, and believe me it pains me to do so! There will be people out there saying ‘you can dip them in chutney’. To you I say I don’t want to dip them in chutney, I want to enjoy their unique taste. Not sure if this was just a one off, however if Nawaab have adjusted the flavourings of the above I do not recommend the items to those like me looking for punchy flavour. Don’t waste food folks, just enjoy the other items.

Frankly, the following items were bland: masala fries,potato pakore, mixed pakore, baigan pakore, boondi raita, masala fish and aloo tikkis (these were introduced somewhere between our last two visits). I don’t know what else I can say-they lacked flavour and someone clearly forgot the salt. I’ve had all of the above(apart from the aloo tikkis) at Nawaab and they were all sublime-this time round though they were so bland even Munchy wouldn’t eat them.

Mains:

So I noticed a change on the mains menu-the tarka daal that used to be chaana daal has been replaced with another lentil. I loved the tarka channa daal so skipped this.

I simply cannot get enough of the following:

Sarson ka saag (the Punjabi in me loves this stuff)

Palak gosht

Lamb Karahi

I enjoy their pilau rice too-plain with no meat so you can enjoy your mixing and matching with the various curries.

The flavours of the Sarson ka saag was smooth, not too spicy and went really well with everything else I had chosen. Palak gosht is a favourite of mine since I was a child, and the way it’s prepared at Nawaab makes it almost a comfort food for me. If I was ill and needed to eat out this would be my staple. Strange I know, most people ask for chicken soup.

The Lamb karahi-what can I say the balance of spices with the meat make this the perfect partner for the pilau rice.

So now there are people reading this saying ‘where’s the chicken’. There is plenty of chicken on the menu so relax  I just chose to stick to the red stuff.  Chicken dishes included Chicken Biryani, chicken boti, chicken wings and various chicken curries.

Other meat curries on the menu were: Haleem and Nihari. Both of which take ages to prepare and cook at home so eating these two dishes whilst at Nawaab would make sense.

Non-Pakistani (desi) food. Nawaab are proud of the fact they can cater for literally all tastes and so they should be. On the non-desi food cart I spotted the following: Noodles, chicken pie, pasta bake and lasagne plus other dishes I cannot remember. There’s also the usual fries and even pizza for the less adventurous eaters.

 Sweets:

Anyone with a sweet tooth must be in Heaven when they take a glimpse at the sweets cart  at Nawaab. There’s plenty of cake (chocolate cake and ice-cream anyone), ice-cream and Pakistani sweets e.g. Gulab Jaman, Gajar Halva, Seviyaan and other traditional sweets to keep all amused. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to taste the sweets this time round, however judging on the paste Nawaab provide fresh sweets to satisfy all.

Okay so now that I’ve covered what I ate and so forth, I wish to share my positives and negatives with you all:

Positives:

·         £13.95 per adult for all you can eat. Children between the ages of 4-11 years are charged at £6.00 per child. This price includes all courses, drinks are extra.

·         Ample free parking

·         Friendly and helpful staff

·         Service is incredible

·         Variety of food

·         Quality of food-in particular the meat

·         The freshness of the food-you can see the food being cooked as you move along the Buffet.

·         Under 4 year olds are free

·         High Chairs available

·         You can bring your own cake if you are celebrating a special occasion. Cakes can be provided by the venue at a cost.

Negatives:

·         Tables are too close together-not enough space to move around if you have a child in a High Chair.

·         You can only pre-book for group sizes of 15 or more. Weekends can get really busy, so a wait can be expected.

·         There’s only Bottled water? What about the stuff that comes out of taps?

·         The starters as highlighted in my review are too bland for my palette that is used to the previous punchy tastes provided by said venue.

·         Tarka daal has changed!

If I could have a chat with the management of Nawaab I would say please consider allocating the space along the wall to parents with little ones in High Chairs-please think of the space we need plus we don’t want to annoy neighbouring tables with our children reaching over for their items. It happens and believe me even the most well behaved child can become distracted by a shiny purse on another table.

I would also like to see a ‘spice indicator’ on the Buffet. Perhaps there is one and I did not see it? I honestly think having an indicator will assist on reducing food waste. I actually ate all my starters even though I wasn’t happy with them, how many others would do that? Maybe a simple system of ‘chillies’ from a scale of 0-5; 0 being no spicy, 1 being flavourful not spicy...5 being hot.

I do hope the starters I had were simply down to a mix up in the kitchen and that the flavours haven’t been adjusted to the extent that the food is no longer as flavourful as it was in the past. If this is the case, I would be more than happy to re-rewrite my review to reflect this (once I have sampled the starters that is).

Overall experience:

Nawaab is an award winning eatery which delivers quality food every time. If you want to experience genuine Pakistani/Desi cuisine at an affordable price (and all the food is Halal too) this is the venue for you. Nawaab do not hold an Alcohol licence making this the perfect venue for Muslim families and those who wish to stir clear of it. If you are away from the homeland and are craving proper home cooked food-Nawaabs can help you out. Don't forget that it's a buffet so you can go up as many times as you please. Let's not overload our plates and waste food. Think of those who are unable to eat as they have nothing. I don't want to put a downer on this review, however wastage is not liked my Nawaabs-and I must agree with them on this. Just go up a few times guys, everyone is there to eat noone will be watching you.

Until next time folks,

MM. X