There was lots of food, lots of drink and lots of cool belly dancers. Yes this was raising money for charity the fun way. None of this making people wear orange tabards, giving them clipboards and making them chase you down the street for your bank details.

No sir, there are more genteel ways of engaging people with a charity by plying your customers with food and drink – and this is what the lovely people at Zouk did to donate more than £1000 to Plan UK, which goes to help disadvantaged children in India. And after a bottle of vino Mr and Mrs Manchester Is Ace got giddy with the raffle and spent all our money on tickets, but didn’t win anything, except the warm feeling in our hearts. The organisation’s aim is to enable vulnerable children in some of the world’s poorest countries to live in a safe and secure environment.

Zouk is the new(ish) Indian food restaurant, which Manchester Is Ace reviewed right back when it opened. It blew our socks off and made sure we never darkened Wilmslow Road and its scruffy curry houses again. Zouk is run by Amjad (or Peter) Bashir who is from Bradford and still needs to teach our Mancunian restaurateurs a few things about running an Indian restaurant in the twenty-first century.

Anyway, back to the story. The Slumdog Millionaire evening started with a cranberry-based Slumdog cocktail, and a massive plate of meaty spicy goodness. Everything was fresh, crisp and mouthwateringly AND eye-wateringly spicy – just how it’s meant to be.

The main courses were barbecue lamb chops, Goyan fish curry and Dal Makhani. In my first review I said the lamb chops were pretty tough, so was pleased to taste the mouth-melting but spicy tomatoey chops that were placed in front of me. The dal was rich and creamy, with that earthy flavour of lentils that goes so well with the chilli and tomato, while the fish was firm, fresh and full of flavour (how’s that for alliteration?).

After we were done with the food, we feasted our eyes on the Bollywood-style entertainment, starting with a solo belly dancer and then a trio of Bollywood dancers shaking their thang.

If you’ve not been to Zouk, do check it out – they often have offers and events on a lot so watch out.

Zouk Tea Bar & Bar, Unit 5 Quadrangle, Chester Street, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M1 5QS
T: 0161 233 1090
www.zoukmanchester.co.uk

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