Tiger Bills, Birmingham 23/05/15

This was a new one for me, I fancied trying somewhere different and had seen this restaurant on Google. Tiger Bills is located on Broad Street in Birmingham, its a very unusual mix of foods -its a Western and Thai restaurant, I was a little bit apprehensive as these two cuisines don't really go. It was fairly quiet, which did put me of slightly as I prefer places that are busier. 

I was intrigued about the food, the menu was pretty varied with lots of Western choices and lots of Thai choices - it was a strange atmosphere and the restaurant needs a revamp. I decided to go for the Thai food and Tom went for Western.

Coong Hompa - Deep Fried Tiger Prawns in Filo Pastry with Sweet Chilli Sauce

£5.50

Deep Fried Calamari - Battered Squid Rings with Garlic Mayonaise

£5.95

Both starters were reasonably sized, especially the Tiger Prawns, I got 6 prawns which is quite a lot especially for £5.50, a good price for prawns - they were very delicious and the pastry was crispy with juicy prawns in the middle. The sweet chilli sauce was tangy and went well with the prawns.

The Calamari on the other hand was a disappointment - it wasn't served with any sauce and therefore was very dry, even though the menu said it was served with garlic mayo. It was a small portion for £5.95 as it was served with no sauce or side salad - very different to the prawns. The batter was also very thick and heavy, not the best calamari at all and Tom was very disappointed as he loves squid!

I wasn't sure what to expect from my main course after the starters as I was pretty underwhelmed. 

Taramind Duck - Tender Duck Pieces in a Taramind Sauce on a Bed of Deep Fried Noodles and Noodles

£9.95

Coconut Rice

£2.50

Polenta Fried Fish - Whole Catfish Fillet Deep Fried in Polenta, Served with Salad, Salsa & Fries

£11.95

(Tom swapped the fries to sweet potato fries)

Well, we had a right to be underwhelmed, the main courses were very average. They weren't cheap and  I felt they were not worth the price. I usually love Taramind Duck but this was served with no sauce and the meal was so dry, it was actually a struggle to eat! The duck was cooked very well and was tender and the crispy noodles were lovely but the meal desperately needed sauce, I had to ask the waitress for some and did bring me some soy sauce in the end which made it better but it definitely wasn't worth £9.95! The coconut rice was ok - but not overly coconutty and I was disappointed. 

The Polenta Fish again was not good, the fish was very dry and the batter was thick and sticky, the dish needed sauce again - this restaurant seems to not believe in sauces! The sweet potato fries were good but everything else was very average and definitely not worth £11.95! 

I certainly would not return to this restaurant.