Spice Lounge, Church St, Swinton, South Yorkshire

I'm sure you've gathered from my recent, frequent blogging that since I've been living in England again, I've been indulging my passion for eating out on a regular basis. From kebabs in Liverpool to Manchester carveries, the north of England is not safe from my voracious appetite. In recent weeks, I have eaten my way through the chippies in dilapidated seaside resorts and become a permanent fixture in Morrison's cafe- oh egg and cress sandwiches, how I missed thee! However, after a few bellyfuls of British stooge, it was time to get back on the curry again. As I am currently staying just outside of Sheffield, an area I'm not that familiar with, I relied on trusty Google to come up with a takeaway that delivers. Last time I was here, I came a cropper with the awful Sahib, let's hope my judgement won't let me down this time!

Spice Loungs is a restaurant and takeaway which does fantastic deals for diners, including early bird specials and midweek multi-course curry feasts. It gets glowing reviews on Trip Advisor, with diners going gaga over the fact that it gives out drinks on the house- a generosity the curry lover isn't accustomed to nowadays, what with the credit crunch. I feasted on popadoms served with a rainbow of dips, the dips plentiful, good quality and bursting with flavour. Popadoms beautifully crisp unlike some soggy failures that have been creeping into takeaways lately.

For the main event, I had a veggie Madras while The Carnivore chomped his staple diet, chicken Dhansak, with pilau and peshwari naan. My Madras was fantastically fiery, the veg an eclectic mix of cauliflower, huge potato chunks, carrots and more. My only complaint was that it was slightly on the greasy side and when I spooned it onto my plate, it separated like a Poundland lava lamp. The aftertaste of the Madras led my tastebuds to believe the spices weren't mixed properly. On the plus side, the rice was fresh and the peshwari bouncy.

The Carnivore enjoyed his chicken Dhansak, despite it being 'a different take on dhansak' in his words- by that, he meant it was the same colour of my Madras and a bit more watery than previous dhansaks. The chicken was beautifully tender and despite the different consistency of the curry, it made it somewhat easier on the tummy.

To sum up- nothing to rave on, but if you're in the area and are desperately seeking spice, it's a brilliant stopgap.