Event: Rajdoot's 50th Birthday in Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham

Can you believe that Rajdoot is 50? It's extraordinary to think that celebrities including The Beatles and Princess Margaret have dined at one of Birmingham's oldest Indian restaurants.

Today, Rajdoot sits on the corner of George Street, proudly facing outwards towards the city centre. Serving traditional North Indian cuisine, Rajdoot is family run and always has been since opening in 1967.

Last week, I was invited to celebrate this special occasion with loyal customers and friends of Rajdoot.

Greeted with prosecco and smoked masala nuts, we mingled at the bar whilst listening to the sounds of the sitar and tabla. Creating a heady atmosphere, we were seated at our tables ready for the seven course banquet.

We dined on Papri Chaat, crisp fried dough wafers topped with chickpeas, potatoes, yoghurt and tamarind chutney.

Next up was Dal Puri, fried puffed bread which is pierced and filled with green lentils, potato, tamarind and mint chutney.

Onto some seafood, we dined on Tandoori Prawn Lollipop, marinated in ground spice and and a tomato chutney glaze. This was cooked in a tandoori oven and had a great crisp texture to the exterior. The same could be said of the Paneer and Pepper Kebab that came next, homemade paneer coated in ground spices drizzled in a balsamic vinegar glaze.

Our first main was Rajdoot Butter Chicken. Rather than being served in pieces in a butter chicken sauce, our chicken came out as a quarter chicken, on the bone, marinated in butter, yoghurt and fresh tomato gravy, finished off with Rajdoot's own home roasted spices and garnished with fresh cream. There was no doubting the portion size of this and it was substantial in itself.

However, there was still a traditional Rajdoot 1966 Thali to be served. A mixed spread of Lamb Rogan Josh, Daal Makhani, Stuffed Baby Aubergine and pilau rice with peas, the hgihlight for me was the stuffed baby aubergine. The Lamb Rogan Josh was packed with the kind of flavour that only comes from a substantial amount of time spent in marinating and slow cooking.

Finally, we finished off with a sweet treat, a trio of desserts including Gajrella, Gulab Jamam and Kulfi.

As well as some emotional speeches and a few words from our European MEP, Neena Gill, there was also a raffle with money raised going to Birmingham Children's Hospital.

Thank you for a great evening Rajdoot!

Food Review: Vivaanta Private Dinner

I love a private dinner. Whenever I eat out with friends and family, it's usually a very informal affair. A private dinner however? There's something special about stepping into a room and knowing you'll be well looked after away from the hustle and bustle.

Vivaanta is an Indian restaurant specialising in seafood located right on the water's edge at The Mailbox. I was invited to a private dinner to sample some of the fabulous dishes available.

Before we sat down to eat, we enjoyed a few drinks at the bar right beside the water's edge. I opted for a Bellini but the bar staff are charismatic and excellent at rustling up some unusual creations.

Into the main room, we were seated at a horseshoe shaped table which enabled up to talk to guests opposite as well as those beside us. First off, we tucked into a variety of poppadums, from seeded versions to some with pepper and sesame alongside four dips; mango chutney, raita, spicy chilli sauce and citrus pickle.

We devoured these before being presented with a seafood medley of char-grilled salmon, Devonshire crab with ginger and lime, mussels in lime, baked sea bass, Nepalese cod pakora and aloo tikki. This was a special dish made up for us on the evening to allow us to try a selection of dishes (Indian tapas; I like it).

The mussels were served in a rich, sweet sauce which I devoured and the white fish was soft and perfectly cooked. I couldn't try some of the dishes as they were in breadcrumbs sadly but the staff were great at pointing out what I could and couldn't eat which was great.

Next, we had a few larger plates to share from. We had Nihari lobster and seafood medley, chingree muncharian, lamb kaalia gosht and garlic chilli chicken.  The chicken reminded me of a chicken satay but of course heavy on the garlic, in a rich, thick sauce, whilst the lamb in a sweet tomato sauce was pretty spicy and contained dried chillies. However, even being a wuss as I am, I still enjoyed this dish and it was hearty and rich. The king prawns in the Chingree were huge and this dish was in fact mild in a chunky sauce.

The lobster was of course, wonderfully presented but don't worry, the actual flesh had already been taken out and the shell was just for show. There were also some decent sized scallops in the medley too and the whole dish was super creamy.

To round us off, another platter. This time a dessert platter of Indian classics including gulab jaman, almond helwa, jelabi, pistachio ice cream and fruit. It's unusual to find helwa on a dessert menu but I enjoyed this super sweet speciality and it rounded off the meal. Sadly I couldn't try the gulab jaman or jelabi as they are not gluten free but I'm told they were pretty authentic.

I have to admit, I never normally order seafood at an Indian restaurant as I don't associate the two, but I was pleasantly surprised. The main dishes all worked well with seafood and the mussels and baked sea bass starters were my favourite of the lot. The scallops on their own in the seafood medley were tasty and would have worked just as well without the lobster, but for an occasion I can understand that the shell helps give the dish the wow factor.

The evening changed my perceptions of Indian seafood and I really enjoyed the experience of private dining as the service and presentation was excellent on the night. For a special occasion, Vivaanta would be a wonderful place to dine as the whole experience felt luxurious and discreet. Would I go back? Yes, I just need something to celebrate so I can go back and dine in style.

*I was invited to dine as a guest of Vivaanta. All view remain my own.