Takeaway Review: The Silk Route, Preston proves why it is Curry House of the Year

So what better way to celebrate than with a takeaway.

And if it’s the Indian which won the Post’s Curry House of the Year competition, then you know before you pick up the phone that you’re on to a good thing. And so it proved.

Having taken some direction from the other half, we had opted to ‘go the whole hog’ with poppadoms, chutney and onions, followed by a mixed starter for two, then a main meal. Each.

I was concerned that this was a trifle ambitious, but as ever, happy to go with the flow.

In the end our eyes proved to be far too big for our bellies, but I’m delighted to say not a morsel was wasted and our Friday takeaway turned into Saturday dinner too!

But back to the details.

The poppadoms were crispy and plentiful - still warm too, even though the Silk Route is a good 10 minutes drive from home.

We shared them out along with the mixed starter, which was a generous offering. Chicken and lamb tikka, a shish kebab, onion bhaji and a tandoori lamb chop all competed for room on the plates with a fresh and zesty salad.

Thinking ahead, I removed half the kebab and the tikka pieces back into the container, believing they might make a lunchtime snack for the next day.

After all, there were still main courses to come....

It was a wise move. My chicken shashlik and Bob’s lamb bhuna were also generous portions and the rice - one pilau and one mushroom - provided enough to feed a small battalion.

Not only were the portions generous, they were delicious too. Tasty, but with a genuine kick, so you knew you were having a good curry.

A garlic naan bread and a chapati completed the feast and both were perfect for scraping the last bits of sauce from the plate.

My decision to save parts of the starter for another day were now looking like genius.

We did the same with the mains and this was transformed into another meal on Saturday evening - a tasty biryani-type concoction, which was also delicious, even though I say so myself.

The bill was £30 - but let’s face it, we pigged out - and it did provide two great meals.

It was our first try of the Silk Route, but given that a queue was forming early on a Friday for takeaways, it’s a favourite for many.

We’ll be joining them from now on...