Maisha, St. Andrews

Tuesday 15 April

Today we got on the train up the west of the country, and after seven hours, surprise! we were in St. Andrews, Scotland, where we were going to give some lectures. 

Our colleague on the spot, Myles, kindly let us into our convenient accommodations just across the street from the School of Classics, and gave us a page of restaurant hints.  So after a staggeringly picturesque coastal hike in unusually sunny weather, we headed for Maisha Indian Seafood.

Maisha is stuffed with potted plants and Christmas lights, inside and out; many of their chatchkes are Chinese or African, and seem to come from other restaurants.  Despite the blinking lights, the service is courteous, and the specialties are actually special.

We started with some papadoms and a chutney tray, which had not just the usual lime pickle, pepper and onion, and mango types, but a fruit mix that would have made an excellent smoothie.  We snarfed them down, and still didn't have any trouble doing the same to a plate of hot vegetable pakoras. 

Mains (which came with rice pilaf, plus some Cobra beers) were proudly made with local ingredients.  

The first was Jhal Kakra Bhuna, crab marinated with garlic and ginger, green chili paste, and coriander, in a curried sauce.

  

The second was deliciously deep-fried pomfret fish, or rupchanda - yay, a new fish - apparently marinated in the bhuna spices before being breaded, so each bit was tasty to snack on, from cheeks to tail.

So no haggis tikka masala, but Maisha is certainly one of Scotland's best Indian restaurants.