Washed Out in a Curry

Brick Lane, in London's Whitechapel, is a street laced in history. For this Intern, the name will forever remind her of high school history lessons about the blood thirsty Jack the Ripper -nearby Flower and Dean Street was the address of most of Jack's victims at some stage of their ladies-of-the-night careers - with images of wet and foggy alley ways, and barefoot children calling out for tuppence. Nowadays Brick Lane is heralded as the place to grab a good curry... and it is... but you might have to battle a London storm to enjoy one!

Meeting my girlfriend at Aldgate East tube, torrential showers forced me to take shelter in a nearby McDonalds. As the smell of the deep fry began to overpower me, and the rain outside fell like sheet metal, I was tempted to ditch the curry idea and cut my losses with another London staple, a cheese burger and fries. But no! Locals have been on at me for ages to try a curry in Brick Lane, and by golly, I was going to indulge. When the image of my girlfriend, similarly drowned-out, appeared in the doorway I took up my brolly and together we braved the wind and rain.

With our umbrellas blocking our view of the street, we found ourselves shuffled into one of the first curry houses we passed. The lane boasts more than twenty Bangladeshi restaurants, and it's not uncommon to spot a celebrity or two dining out every now and then... but last night, we would have been lucky to see our feet for the puddles. Bengali men wait in the doorways offering free bottles of wine and price-fix menus in a bid to win you over. We were 'won' by the offer of a free bottle of Merlot (with our jolly waiter pronouncing the 't')... too funny to say no!

The dinner itself wasn't quite as fabulous as I had hoped - although my six-week stint in India a few years back raised the bar on my curry expectations - and the dishes marked 'hot' offered merely a mild kick. But the bottle of wine was nice enough, and the service quick, and best of all they allowed my friend and I to sit and chat well after out plates had been cleared, and our glasses emptied. And at £11 each, I'll be back in a curry!