SPICES was a group of friends that once a month went out for a meal at an Indian or Chinese restaurant. Sampling food from many of the area's best restaurants, the idea of the night was for lots of male bonding, laughing and storytelling. Tonight was the first night I had managed to join up with the group.

SPICES Night Out.

After coming out of the hospital last week and being stuck in the hospital or my apartment for the best part of a month, I was looking forward to going out for a meal and meeting lots of new people. My friend Pat had arranged for me to be picked up by Andrew and himself, and I was chauffeured to tonight's restaurant for the September 2018 SPICES night out.

I had never been to tonight's restaurant 'The Indian Hut' in Torre de la Horadada before and was looking forward to it. On arrival, I was struck by the restaurant signage, an obvious reworking of the 'Pizza Hut' sign. I don't know which came first, but it is a question that food lovers worldwide often ask 'Which Came first, the Pizza or the Curry?'.

The restaurant had a few tables of people already seated when we arrived, and the restaurant soon filled up as around 17 group members arrived for the meal. Most of the group ate off of the cheaper  Menu del Dia, and the food was really good. We started with the obligatory popadums with a selection of sauces to go with them.

Having just come out of the hospital and having to be careful what I ate and drank for a while, I went mild for everything. For my starter, I had the chicken pakora, which was very good, after being a little worried about what it was beforehand, it was very tasty, and I enjoyed it. Think Indian-style chicken strips with some salad, and you've got it. 

For my main meal, I ordered a chicken korma with pilau rice. After hospital food and plain food at home, I felt my stomach would thank me for this. The rest of the party went for a wide range of curries, all of which smelt fantastic as they were brought to the table, and although my stomach was thanking me for my sensible choices, my nostrils and other senses were yelling out to try some of the more aromatic flavours and smells that passed by every time a new dish was brought to the table. I did try a sample of one of the slightly spicier versions and have to say that it was very good.

I had pilau rice, which I like, but soon, all sorts of different kinds of rice were being passed around, all very nice smelling and very tasty. The group ordered a variety of naan bread for the table, which was passed around, and as I had never tried most of them before, I did try them all, and they were delicious.

I am not sure what the name of my favourite naan bread was, but it was like having a naan with jam and coconut. Trust me, it tasted much better than it sounds, and I loved it.

After our meal, whilst the banter was still going strong, our hosts brought us all an Indian dessert or ice cream. Even the vanilla ice cream, which I usually find bland, was very nice, and the guys that tried the Indian desert said it was fantastic but couldn't say what it tasted like. I will have to try it when I next go there. The meal was finished nicely with a round of brandy or tia maria.

My security team finally whisked me home after a needed and enjoyable night out. Thanks, and I am looking forward to the next event.