Mike Chapple, a noted curry-head, goes the distance and finds a gem

NOW that we’re all gastronomes, thanks to the great welter of TV chefs passing on their advice about what’s hip and what’s not, some of us have become a little sniffy about old familiars that we’re not supposed to like any more.
 
For instance, tell anyone that you’re going out for a skinful, pick up a couple of birds and finish off the night with a monstrous curry and you’re liable to get some spoilsport saying "Dahling! That’s so outro - you’d never find Ainsley or Nigella acting like such a philistine."
 
Well, bah-hooey to all that nonsense.
 
Up until now, the time-honoured favourite place to go after a few beers with adorable - if not adoring - female company has been Liverpool’s oldest-surviving Indian restaurant, the Asha, on Bold Street.
 
It has all the qualities to round off a perfect night out on the ale: friendly, attentive staff who know how to look after their regulars, a varied menu of quality but cheap-at-the-price dishes, and an intimate atmosphere ideal for exchanges of a sometimes clandestine nature.
 
A true oasis - but little did we know until now that its twin brother was alive and thriving in Chester.
 
In fact, the owners of the Bombay Palace, which is nestled away on Upper Northgate Street, claim that it predates the 42-year-old Asha by a year, making it this ancient city’s own oldest Indian equivalent. For many years, it has also been the favourite venue for those who have partaken in the amber nectar available in Chester’s splendid drinking hostelries - of which there are many.
 
And we - that is yours truly and the required female company Lady Janet of Crockie Park - have, to our eternal shame, only just discovered it.
 
In the past month or so, however, we’ve been making up for lost time with a couple of visits.