The dishes are filling the table, the rich colours enhanced further when placed against the crispest of white tablecloths.
It won't stay that way though – the cloth will soon be housing subtle splatters of curry. Well, spillages are an unfortunate hazard when attacking such fabulous fare.
And the Spice Village, tucked away a little too well in Shenley Church End, the Indian restaurant has served up a tremendous amount of tasty pleasers for us.
Already, popadoms have been snapped, cracked and savoured, and we have dealt with our starters proper – vegetable samosas for me, and panir chat puree for Al.
Visually, the latter sits somewhere between an omelette and a pancake and is served with a filling of spicy flavoured Indian cheese. My tried and trusted samosas duo have a tang of their own, they are a failsafe and easily polished off.
But we hone in on the plate opposite and have a taste of the panir chat puree too. It's only polite... Tasty and light and balanced with a crisp salad, it sets us up for the aforementioned main courses.
While we await their arrival, we take the opportunity to soak in the restaurant's ambience.
At odds with the traditional Indian dining vision that you are probably now conjuring up, Spice Village is decidedly contemporary, and very exclusive in feel; swish ambient lighting and clever attention to detail combine for an altogether elegant experience.
Swiftly, the food arrives; a nizami mix vegetable korahi for me and gobi panir jalfrezi for Al, with mushroom rice to accompany each.
The former mixes stir-fried vegetables with fresh chilli, green herbs and spices. The menu says 'medium to hot,' but at our request, ours has been turned down a little on the heat-o-meter.
The mix of flavours is spot on, and still plenty spicy enough to entertain our taste-buds.
The gobi panir jalfrezi blends cauliflower florets with more tandoori panir and those favourite green chillies.
We opted for a trio of side dishes, bombay aloo, tarka dall and chana massala, because from experience, portions are seldom enough for two people to share.
But at Spice Village that isn't the case at all. In fact, so generous are the dishes that the task ahead suddenly feels less leisurely and more like a battle, there is such a volume laid out before us!
We've chosen well with our dishes, assures our waiter Ali, explaining how the fusions of flavours work.
It's not just about bunging dishes together, or ordering the hottest dish 'just because', as some do.
It's about enhancement, subtlety and dishes that complement each other. Our all-veggie selections work very well together, Ali says, and the verification is found in every mouthful.
Ali clearly loves his work, and has a real passion as he shares some of his knowledge, built up over years in the industry.
He looks after us fabulously well, and with his colleague Oli make our dining experience a really fine one.
We should give special mention to the chef, too, of course, the magic maker behind the scenes.
Plates are duly filled, twice, and cleared again, but there is still much for the eating, and nowhere for it to go.
Half empty serving bowls do their best to tempt us, but alas, there is room for no more.
Fetching us a liquid refill, Ali says we can enjoy our generous leftovers later, clears the table and returns with the food perfectly packaged to take away.
There will be no cooking at chez Total MK tomorrow, either then.
With the table emptied, and the lure of the desert menu placed before us, we debate and then decide to go for a refreshing coconut ice cream housed in half a coconut shell.
We don't make light work of it, but do try admirably.
Eventually, we gather ourselves, and our food, and go on our way, with the knowledge that we'll be repeating the tasty experience tomorrow, at home...
Go: Spice Village, 5 Benbow Court, Shenley Church End, MK5 6JG
Online: www.spicevillagemk.co.uk
Call: 01908 330476
