For the starter I went for roast lamb and couscous salad, which was not as tasty as I had hoped or it had sounded. With a meagre amount of feta cheese, and I did not find one piece of the promised grilled aubergine, it could have been served as a main course as there was way too much couscous which ended up dampening the other already scarce flavours. My choice of main was the pubs’ version of a classic – chicken Kiev, which came with red cabbage slaw and fries. The Kiev was a little dry, it had been rolled tight and there was precious little rich, melted garlic butter which I found disappointing as that’s the reason this dish became famous in the first place! The fries were fine but nothing special and the slaw tasted good but didn’t feel “sloppy” enough, it could have done with more ‘mayo’ to help the overall dry dish.

Halfway through the starter I was looking green eyed across the table at the rabbit, green olive and pistachio terrine my brother was tucking into, in fact I was looking longingly at almost every other dish that came out of the kitchen.

Ever get the feeling you made the wrong choices?

It looked like if I had played it safe I would have had a big juicy char-grilled steak and been thoroughly satisfied.

Ordering from within your comfort zone is a trap a lot of us fall into. At Indian restaurants I find it especially noticeable. I know some people, when they go out for a curry they will order the exact same thing every time, even though they have been going there for years. But with some many other dishes on the menu it is easy to not have to think about what you are going to eat, but you will be missing out on new experiences and tastes…choosing safely is not going to develop your palate.

I personally like to try different things as often as possible, especially when it comes to ethnic and high end restaurants. It is these restaurants which you can bet are most likely to give you a truly new flavour experience, not always to your taste but definitely different. So next time you’re at your local Chinese why not try those duck tongues in mandarin sauce, at your local Italian try the liver as a main.

So going for something totally different can be a great experience and enhance your sense of taste, and best of all give you some new ideas for your own kitchen.

Unfortunately it’s not guaranteed to always work in your favour.

Do you stick to just a few dishes at restaurants and play it safe? Have you ever gone for something totally different and had a pleasant surprise?

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The Food Curator

The Food Curator (AKA Michael Robinson) is an aficionado of all things food and bon viveur based in London. A passion for cooking and dining has driven him to put fingers to keyboard to bring you his thoughts on the world of food. When not writing, eating or cooking he has a love of American muscle cars. Pop on over to my Facebook page and let's start a Facebook food revolution together: http://tinyurl.com/thefoodcurator

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