I am always on the look out for lunchtime deals and when an old favourite (and Cardiff stalwart) like the Purple Poppadum puts on a new one it is certainly not to be sniffed at 

As such, I was very much drawn to the below,

when I saw on the Purple Poppadum’s “Itsagramaaaaaazing” feed (I mean I could “Ad” it looked “to die for”/”banging“/”is this the best eveeeer”, but won’t because….).

The level of flexibility, in terms of the 12.00 – 17.00 Monday to Thursday availability  window for the deal, also makes it ideal for a pop down to Canton for a working week lunch when pesky work calls seeming to always be around lunch time.

As I was on a ripe mango hunt in Canton (found at Canton Food Centre and very good, but not cheap at £2.50+ a pop),

it would have been rude not to have popped in to the place (pretty much opposite – ish) for lunch.

Must say I am always a bit dubious as to the use of “From” in front of the price on a promo/marketing piece (and promo pics in general) as it often means the price is widely at variance to that advertised (the set price menu with multiple supplements, so no it isn’t, being a case in point). I had a suspicion that the £14.95 price may apply to a vegan/veggie one rather than any meat one despite the promo pic. featuring chicken.

My cynicism proved to be entirely unwarranted as, fair play to them, when the menu was presented to me

the chicken based platter was £14.95 (as were the vegan and veggie ones). The seafood and lamb options are a bit more pricey, but that is fair enough as it was the chicken on the ad.

I went for said chicken one and was very pleasantly surprised when it arrived.

If anything, it looked bigger and better than the marketing picture (take note McDonalds et al where a miniscule limp abomination of a meat disc in a bun is made to look, in the marketing pics by the food stylist’s rather that any kitchen’s work, like it is the size of your face and actually edible – personally think such practices should be illegal).

My initial dilemma was where to start, it all looking rather good, with me opting to dig in first into a good sized portion of murgh makhani/butter chicken.

Decent amount of tender, juicy, chicken hidden in the depth of the sauce (all too often such sauces hid a paucity rather than preponderance of chicken).

The sauce itself had a good flavour to it, with the sweetness of tomato (but not Heinzy sickly sweetness), just a touch of heat and nice spicing, as well as a pleasant creaminess.

The chicken tikka was even better, with a lightly charred and nicely caramelised coating to the chicken bringing sweet, heat and a deft level of spicing

Lovely juiciness to the interior of a well flavoured bit of bird too. A crisp, onion dominated, side salad was a good adjunct to this element.

Veggie wise, a thoran was both well spiced and well proportioned.

Carrot and green chilli interspersed the main cabbage element, with a really nice level of spicing here (definitely curry leaves, mustard seeds, turmeric and then  some other stuff).

A small, but perfectly formed, nann

was great for mopping up the makkani sauce and I used the cone poppadom as a  vehicle for shoveling into the gob an excellent chutney (heavy with mint and with a back note of orange).

Rice was very well cooked,

with great grain separation and a pleasing touch of clove in the mix.

Oddly, with it being called a “poppadum platter“, my least favourite (still nice enough) element was the poppadum.

Drinks wise, I had a mango juice (£3.25).

I would put money on this being from concentrate, but it did the job of quenching the thirst.

Booze is available, if need be, but was not for me on a working Wednesday. A Mosel riesling would have been my pick for food like this, if I had been wanting booze.

The verdict

Really enjoyed my lunch here. Very nicely flavoured and well proportioned, which made it good value for the £14.95 price tag (smidgen over £20 with a drink and service added)

Sometimes with these sort of dishes the presentation flatters to deceive, with bountiful looking bowls turning out to be shallow or tampered. No such tricks on display here, with very generous portion sizes and all important flavour in spades.

On the way out I noticed a rift on a Sunday lunch,

which I bet is great and sounds rather fun.

I do think they could do a bit more to advertise this lunch offering. A sign on the pavement outside/the door could assuage people doubt as to whether the offer is on/tell those not on Insta it exists (I noted there seems, at least when I looked, zip on their website re this lunch offer). I know all the cool kids (and even a few deeply uncool ones, like me) are on Insta, but a lot of people who may like this deal are probably not.

It is nice to see places bringing out new offers and trying different things to bring in the punters. It is really hard for hospitality out there at the moment, with me seeing news  almost daily of places closing and getting enough people through the door and spending is the main objective to keeping balance sheet out of the red. 

Use them or lose them, as the oft repeated mantra goes, and it has never been truer than it is in these current very perilous times for hospitality!

Who would be in the restaurant business these day?  God love, however, those who are soldiering on dispite the fiscal brickbats being constantly thrown at them

The details

Address: 185a Cowbridge Road East,upper floor, Cardiff CF11 9AJ

Website:  https://purplepoppadom.com/

Lunch platters are between 12.00-17.00, Mon – Thursday.