SCALLOPS, duck and king prawns- a trip to the Blue Lily in Amersham was a delightful treat.

The Indian restaurant opened in January- just a few doors from its sister Thai restaurant, Blue Orchid.

It has that nice new edge with spotless linen tablecloths, freshly painted walls and fresh flowers adorning the tables.

The staff are really welcoming and friendly and the restaurant can get fully booked at the weekend.

We started the lunch with the usual papadoms with four sauces of tamarind, mango chutney, red onion salad and mint yoghurt.

And there was an added extra of curried olives, which were a delight- lovely, moist black and green olives with a coating of curry flavouring.

We had a mango lassi to drink- which was a rich, indulgent drink. It is a yoghurt fruity drink, which wasn't too sweet and refreshing accompaniment to a curry.

My friend, Daisy, had scallops to start (£6.95). They were beautiful scallops- perfectly cooked, large and with that lovely sweet flavouring.

Along with the tomato based sauce with olives, garlic, red onion and red pepper it was a divine dish, with a warming heat.

I went for the spicy fish cake (£4.95), which were balls of traditional Bangladeshi fish chunks cooked with spring onions, garlic, coriander and herbs and breadcrumbs.

They were densely packed balls, full of flavour. The fish taste didn't particularly stand out, but I loved the crispy breadcrumb coating. It was served with a lime dip.

For the mains we had smaller dishes of four on offer. The menu is huge and it was a good way to sample what was on offer.

I particularly liked one of the home cooked dishes, which the waiter told me he would eat at home.

It is called Tarkari Jul with chicken on the bone (£7.95). The chicken was tender and flavoursome with a simple and fresh, thin, spicy sauce.

When I ate it I felt as if I was abroad- I would highly recommend this dish- it's not too rich.

The king prawn rezala (£12.95) was also great- huge, succulent, grilled prawns were served with fresh herbs, vegetables and green chillies.

It wasn't too hot though, and the onions, garlic and tomatoes just worked so well with the prawns.

The lamb shashlik (£8.50) was tender, well cooked in the tandoor and served on a hot plate with green pepper, tomatoes and onions. I never bore of this dish as the meat is just divine.

We also tried the duck tetul, which is cooked in a spicy tamarind sauce (£12.95). I am not a huge fan of tamarind as I find it quite tart.

But Daisy thought the sauce went very well with the richness of the duck meat.

The dishes were served with a lovely mushroom rice (£2.95) and a paratha (£2.10), which is unleavened bread fried in butter.

Daisy and I went away happy from the Blue Lily. The food is really good quality- it is fresh, wholesome and it is not too rich as it packs in enough flavour with its spices and herbs.

I can certainly see why the restaurant has had a successful opening period.

To find out more go to http://www.bluelilyamersham.co.uk/