Though I have never been part of the fast food bashing brigade, I have never been overly be fond of fast food either. I think there is a time and a place for eating a Mc Donalds once in a while yet I really don’t like eating it too often either.

Life is about balance.

While I was waiting in Subway down Mill Road  the other day with my sister I couldn’t help but notice that the prices were quite different from the last time I was there. A Subway meal deal coming to around £6.50 for a sandwich, cookie and a drink. 

Its the same with Burger King too. The other week while I was in there with my son it came to around the same price, being well over £6 for their biggest meal, a burger (which was smaller than I remember), chips and a coke.

I often find myself hungry a few hours after too!

Either way, it got me thinking. During my frolics around the local Indian houses in Cambridge you become familiar of the average prices of the dishes, especially when you order very similar things for the sake of comparison purposes on my blog.

A curry, whether it be a chicken tikka masala, a danska, madrass or vindaloo, usually come to around £5.50 in competitive restaurants. Rice, usually being just under £2 for plain boiled, means that both a curry and rice comes to roughly £7.50. 

Not too shabby? 

The Megnha, down Victoria Road, will in fact do a curry and rice for £5.95, which is in fact cheaper than most large fast food meals. Though this will not include a drink, it will include a much higher quality dish, prepared by a chef, rather than a part time student, and will be much more filling.
Not only that, but it will be presented politely and professionally by a well dressed Indian waiter, rather than a miserable under appreciated part time worker.

Its probably better for you too, with numerous studies showing the health benefits of curries, spices and herbs. Not only that but you will have enough money left over for a poppadom, which will get you a selection of sauces, such as mango chutney, lime pickle, and onion salad. 

Not to mention you will get a hot towel and a chocolate afterwards!

There is no doubting that the appeal to fast food is the fact that its…well, fast! 

Though for myself, more often than not, I go there when I am not really in any rush, I just fancy something to eat and cannot be bothered to cook, and fast food is something I have always associated with being affordable. 

The other appeal for me is its often conveniently located, but sadly this argument doesn’t stack up against Indian restaurants as they are nearly everywhere. There is always one (sometimes two) in every village in my area. My example today being down Mill Road, there is 4 Indian restaurants! 

There is 6-7 if you include take away only places. 

So the next time you think about going for a fast food meal at any of the big chains, think about this…can you do better?  

Go on, have a curry!