Two Indian restaurants from Aberdeen and Elgin have been nominated for the Asian Curry Awards, which is dubbed as the “curry Oscars”.
The biggest event in the Asian culinary calendar, the finalists were chosen from a shortlist of over 200 restaurants and takeaways, and voted for by the spice loving public.
Judges from the Asian Catering Federation will now meet to discuss the list of finalists and determine this year’s overall winners, which will be announced at a gala dinner and presentation on November 17 at Grosvenor House in London.
The Asian Curry Awards cover the complete range of Asian and Oriental cuisines, which includes: Bangladeshi, Burmese, Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Malaysian, Middle Eastern, Pakistani, Singaporean, Sri Lankan, Thai, Turkish and Vietnamese.
One of the Scotland finalists for Best Restaurant is Aberdeen-based Light of Bengal, which is one of the Granite City’s best known Indian restaurants.
Located on Rose Street in the city centre, it has been going strong since it opened in 1978.
Also up for the award is Spice Tandoori, which is located in a former church on Moss Street in Elgin town centre.
The restaurant is no stranger to success and won Scotland’s Asian Restaurant of the Year award at the Asian Restaurant Awards in both 2020 and 2023.
In addition to the awards given for best restaurant, there are also a number of other awards up for grabs, including Best Fine Dining Restaurant, Newcomer of the Year, Street Food of the Year and Takeaway of the Year.
‘The standard of finalists is exceptional’
Asian Catering Federation chairman Yawar Khan said: “We’re delighted by the number of people who have taken the time to vote for their favourite restaurant this year.
“The standard of finalists is exceptional and we also have some excellent newcomers on the list which is great news for the industry as it continues to flourish in today’s challenging economic climate.”
Conversation