Sweets in Southall

Royal Sweets
92 The Broadway
Southall, UB1 1QF

Ambala
107 The Broadway
Southall UB1 1LN

Date of Last Visit: Sunday, July 11th, 2009

The Victim: Sarah

The Damage: Cheap. A couple of quid.

The Background: After we finish up our walking tour and our lunch, Bernard and Arielle go to get the car. Sarah and I go to look at the sweets. (Thank God for Sarah. She is very patient with me and my food blog.) I learn that Bernard is addicted to this stuff–barfi, in particular–and after eating a bagfull in the car on the way back into town, I can understand why. (Note to self: Southall really isn't that far from London by train. Car makes it seem terribly far. Like Heathrow-far. That's pretty far if you live in Clerkenwell.)

At Ambala, the barfi is delicious…dense and moist and sticky in all the right ways. Although Royal Sweets wins the presentation award, they get dinged in my book for two things: they yelled at me for taking a picture, and their barfi smelled weird. Like a bit rotten and mildewy. Luckily, I had more barfi from Ambala to erase the taste.

The Service: We found the service at both establishments to be less than hospitable. Abrupt. And unhelpful. I felt like a stranger in a strange land. Maybe I was. But you never know anyone's story now, do you?

The Verdict: Cheap sweets. I'd go back to Ambala if I were in the 'hood. Hopefully, they'll be just as sweet to me as their barfi.