EMMA DUNN gets a little bit adventurous at an award-winning Indian restaurant

Jewel In The Crown 14-16 Victoria Road, SN1 3AL Tel 01793 522687 www.jewelinthecrown.co.uk

I HAVE always dreaded being the one who orders the dish that everyone turns around to stare at.

And I cringed slightly as the waiter at the Jewel in the Crown brought my curry next to our table and cooked it over a mini gas canister in front of all the diners.

I looked enviously at my friend’s Chicken Rogan Josh, which had just been placed quietly on the table.

But after only about 30 seconds, I was served my award-winning lamb and pumpkin curry.

News editor Katie Bond and I had ventured to the bottom of Victoria Road for a meal at about 6pm on Tuesday evening after finishing work.

We were the first in that night and were given a warm welcome.

The restaurant soon filled up as we browsed the menu.

As I read through the pages, I was feeling adventurous and wanted to branch out from my usual chicken dishes.

So when I spotted a small leaflet standing on our table for the restaurant’s award-winning speciality, lamb and pumpkin curry, I knew what I wanted.

The dish took the title of Best South Asian Restaurant in the Newbury Teas Tiffin Cup in 2010 after being judged by a panel of top TV personalities, including Ainsley Harriott, Lisa Faulkner and Hardeep Singh Kohli.

Katie and I had some poppadoms, which came with a colourful array of fresh dips, while we waited for our main courses.

And as we chatted we could see the restaurant was filling up with diners of all ages, from businessmen to families.

After about 15 minutes, our main courses arrived on a trolley.

As we watched Katie’s being placed on the table I could see flames out of the corner of my eye and was suddenly worried my dish was more impressive than I had bargained for.

I had visions of my curry catching fire, but in reality all it really involved was watching the waiter cook the fresh ingredients in front of us – hardly enough to put you off your dinner.

We shared out our pilau rice and peshwari naan as we waited, and when he put it on the table I couldn’t wait to try it.

I had been nervous it would be too spicy for me, but it was just the right amount of heat for anyone who wants to start eating more exciting dishes than korma.

The chunks of pumpkin had been rendered nice and soft and the lamb was tender – it was a great dish and I could see why it had won the award.

When I saw the size of the portion I thought I would only manage half, but it was so delicious I ate the whole thing.

Katie was also impressed with her Chicken Rogan Josh and we both agreed the food was definitely worth coming back for.

As we were eating we soon heard ‘happy birthday’ being sung behind us, and could see this was the kind of place people return to time and time again.

The waiters were polite and were keen to make sure we had enough to drink.

The staff were prompt with the food and were quick when we asked for the bill, which was served with After Eights.

Our bill, which included two orange juices and a coke, came to £28.10.