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Tayyabs
First dates are the worst. I particularly hate first dates that involve going to a restaurant because I get so nervous that eating – such a simple thing – becomes impossible. So a first date that involves not just food, but very spicy food, really is the stuff of nightmares for me. On the plus side, however, this date took place at Tayyab’s. Despite the fact that the relationship eventually crashed and burned, I will be forever grateful to him for introducing me to this gem of a restaurant. Tayyab’s is a Punjabi restaurant tucked away down a side street in Whitechapel. It is something of a local institution, with people prepared to queue…
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Spice Village, Tooting
Was it the screaming baby right behind me? Was it the two drunks next to me who only stopped slurping cans of Carling to pass out? Was it the food so smelly that it assaulted my nasal passages and walloped my sinuses? Or was it the person playing their music so loudly that I’m sure they were only wearing headphones as a fashion accessory? It was shaping up to be the journey from hell, and by the time I arrived in London I was feeling about as festive as a turkey on Christmas Eve. Returning to an empty kitchen and having already made myself sick after gorging an entire box of Quality Street…