Mon Chai - Bengali Cafe & Halal Breakfast Norwich — Restaurant in Norwich

The great British Bangladeshi community has almost single handedly turned Indian cuisine into the mainstay of British fast food and lovers of Indian 'heat' and spices. So when it comes to finding a cafe that wants to sell me chai! Well I was all in! I remember drinking pink tea out of a rickety old hand cart in Peshawar, served by a grinning Afghan. The smell, the taste instantly became part of my DNA. At Mon Chai it's top of the drinks menu and pulled me into the cafe, with my daughter in tow. Walking in the cafe is clean and well presented with a gorgeous tiger painted on the wall, surrounded by mock green foliage. I was getting a good feeling about this place. Everyone looked like they were enjoying themselves and the prices clearly had a nod in the direction of the large student accommodation down the road. I asked the kind server behind the counter if she could show me the pink tea blend. I couldnt wait to see the blend of leaves and herbs they were using. Instead she presented me with a glass jar of what I can only describe as pink milk powder, that looked like mutant horlicks, I instantly shook my head- no to mutant pink horlicks thanks. Disappointed I ordered a cappuccino and mocha before deciding on the reasonably priced kebab in paratha and the lamb curry with two paratha's and went back to my seat. To be fair to Mon Chai I have only had pink tea in one place outside the Indian subcontinent that was remotely authentic, and that was in London on brick lane- the Mecca of Bangladeshi cuisine. The drinks and food arrived in good time. Unfortunately the mocha was thin and wispy and the cappuccino was powdery and lacked a froth worth licking. But honestly what did I expect after narrowly avoiding the pink abomination. The food portions were VERY small, and although not a deal breaker were all the money. Almost £6 for the kebabs was stingingly expensive for what the materials were (I'll come to that in a minute) the £8.50 for the lamb immediately felt better as at least I got two partha's. (See pictures) Now here is what is most frustrating, the kebab and the lamb were absolutely delicious. The lamb masala was thick and had the zing of authentic seasoning. A delicate peppery heat that was perfect with  the soft and tender chunks of lamb. The kebab was equally good, clearly hand made and with a satisfying bite to them. BUT- Mon Chai what's with the reheated straight from frozen Paratha? In my home we call these bad boys 'emergency parathas' (for when you have a hankering for a paratha and your wife is on the phone to her sister... a man needs his paratha's!!) if you say paratha and you charge £8.50 you have to make real partha. Not Sainsbury's frozen specials! The absolute shame here is this chef has real skill. The lamb and kebabs on their own were amazing, how hard would it have been? One star for the food and one star for the great choice in decor and music. If I ever find a place that sells original hand made paratha or chapatis, I swear I'll eat there twice a week (the number of times I beg my wife for them) and I'll tell you too as well. For now, this place is not on the Norwich foodie map. But students will love...

I popped in with my wife as all of the other coffee places were incredibly good and I'm glad we did. The staff were really friendly and welcoming and we sat at our table.

The menu was fantastic! So many different coffees and teas to try and different Bangladeshi food as well, it was difficult to decide what to go for in the end.

Eventually decided on Mon Chai house blend latte and a Karak coffee along with a Pakora basket which came recommended by the staff. So, with that we sat and waited for this to arrive. It took longer than anticipated to arrive and the staff couldn't have been more apologetic. As an apology the owner popped over with a Chana Paratha and the Pakora basket soon followed.

Those little nuggets of joy in the Pakora basket were quite simply delicious and I could have quite happily eaten another basket of them. The Paratha was just as nice and I can honestly recommend both. I can also highly recomment the two drinks as well.

This is a hidden gem on St Benedicts Street and I cannot...

I ordered via uber eats. The fact they took my order at 7.50pm because i didn't check their closing time (8pm) was amazing, I spent 15 minutes expecting them to cancel my order, but they didn't.

We ordered handi gosht (perfect lunch size portion and if you have with a starter enough as a dinner), Shingara (4 stunning potato pastries... I'm in love), kebab roll (good but the other items impressed me more), khichri bhuna (again nice lunch sized portion, really great flavours without heat which makes it a great midday meal if you have a meeting soon after) and mishti paratha (nice, it was good to see an affordable sweet/dessert option).

I've eaten a fair amount of food in Pakistan and the Middle East and was impressed with the food, though as someone else said I could spot the frozen paratha a mile away, funnily enough we also call it emergency food 🙃 🤣.

I now am planning to grab a friend and go to the restaurant to try the...