Records SMASHED as OCC heads over to NEWA

Love was unquestionably in the OCC air in July. Chairman Greg was down on one knee (and out of pocket) in the Turkish sunset, Kam absent on a Swifty romantic weekend getaway, and dramatic Dave out of the country with his old flame, golf. Even acting Chairman big Sammy got in on the act with warm Pedro cuddles & embraces. Warning the picture below shows a disturbing image and graphic content.

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Oh .. and a big to mention YOU….yes, all you readers for your love as our last post generated a record number of views and many new followers. With 11 global franchises spread around the world and growing, the OCC is clearly a club on the up. It’s highly doubtful whether the same can be said about the Beefsteaks and Lollypop Club.

Heavily depleted numbers did not deter 9 curry loving souls from braving the Shanghai sauna sweltering heat to visit the recently opened NEWA in the bustling pedestrian area at M+ complex in Jing An.

NEWA, a Nepalese restaurant named after the ethnic people from the Kathmandu Valley region, opened its doors in late 2023. With Nepali Kitchen, a multi-approved OCC restaurant, how would NEWA fair?

With above average levels of customer care and attentive service seemingly reserved in Shanghai for Haidilao hot pot restaurants, Basu and his team did an excellent job of looking after us all throughout the evening. From a warm and friendly smile on entering NEWA to enthusiastic explanations and backgrounds of the dishes, it was a masterclass. Basu also offered up free small samples dishes throughout the evening.

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Dan definitely delivered on the ordering front as the group got to try a whole host of dishes. Starters included Chatamari (rice crepe with minced meat toppings & egg), breaded bull frog legs, bara (spiced lentil patties), and samosas.

In between the starters and mains, James, inspired by telling his Mrs before the meet how much he loves her, unraveled a delightful chickpea chutney that will have Bazmati sweating back in Dubai with a perfect 9-0 score. Even better, James at 9:00pm was actually at the meet to introduce it himself. Don’t believe me do you?

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Moving on to the mains: chiken tikka, chicken curry, momo beef dumplings, chana dal, aloo bhindi and lamb skewers were all sampled. The knockout, and OCC recommendation, would be the slow cooked goat curry. WOW. The tender mutton pieces fell off the bone, having been slow cooked and marinated in aromatic spics. Food quality was exceptional throughout. No grid reference portion sizes or overcooked pieces of chicken swimming around in a sauce at NEWA. All of this was washed down with Lhasa Beer and IPA Buddha.

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The atmosphere on the night was a little mixed. On entering it was fairly lively but towards the end, numbers had thinned out. It was great to hear the table next to us getting involved in the evening with a few chants of “OCC OCC OCC”. Important to point out here that Gary “Kev” Barlow is available for hire (on any musical instrument) to add a bit of ambience in the future.

Summer in Shanghai typically brings an exit or two, and sadly our shotmaster Jamie will be leaving our shores. Or will he? Let’s hope he does a Dave, as lets face it, no one in the group wants to go back to drinking garage baijiu again. The rumor mill suggests that he cant get enough of the OCC and will be back for a fair few meets on work trips.

No doubt about it this was an exceptional meal. When the bill came back at a little over RMB 300 a head, Sammy started to sway more than palm tree in a category 5 super typhoon. OCC approved for sure but just how good was this place…..?

Customer Care = 9.3

Service = 9.2

Value = 8.8

Quality = 9.2

Atmosphere = 8.2

Total = 8.9

A total of 8.9 puts NEWA into the OCC history books. A huge congratulations to Basu and his team. This was the highest score by a restaurant in 83 OCC Shanghai restaurant visits & has the OCC statisticians working overtime checking to see if this is the highest score in GLOBAL OCC history. NEWA goes top of the 2024 CHOTY (Curry House of the Year) leaderboard. With 5 months left in the year, NEWA is going to take some beating. Some couldn’t believe it. Some can’t believe it. YOU better believe it. Hop on down! OCC OCC OCC