Tantalising glimpses of working chefs through a George Street window box; a well-dressed hostess highlighting the way into the basement off Angel Place… restaurateur Sam Prince sure knows how to generate excitement and intrigue. Switching out guacamole for Tableside Coconut Sambol ($14) and milk buns, Prince harnesses what he did for Mexican at Méjico to give South Indian a much-needed face-lift.
Chef Kumar Mahadevan uses beautiful mandarin skin and fruit in his Salmon Kothmiri Tikki. The bold, acidic sauce also employs spicy tamarind but somehow leaves a hole big enough to taste the gently cooked (sous-vide) fish. It’s but one masterpiece presented at a series of 25th Anniversary Dinners held last month at Abhi’s in North Strathfield.
On a harrowing, delay-riddled train journey through Rajasthan the only thing that saved me was the food. I reminisced upon this as I peered out of the window at Circular Quay and saw not harbour views, but a train docking into the station.
Some Indian restaurants celebrate authenticity; some celebrate a particular region; this one celebrates the time period of the British Raj. Television screens depicting the period of British colonial occupation clue you in, though a chat with owner Harmohit Singh is even more illuminating.
After dining consecutively on Saturday, Tuesday and Thursday nights last week at this new Rozelle gem, to say I've been hankering for good Indian is an underestimation. Vikram Arumugam has taken ten years cooking experience from the (hatted) Aki’s and three years of catering/menu development at home, and come up with an innovative and flavoursome menu.
A late-night conversation with a Sydney taxi driver led me to uncover this inexpensive, lesser-known, ethnic eat. It offers up a blend of Indian and Pakistani in a comfortable (but not too fancy) Cleveland Street locale. Watching them cook in the tandoor took me right back to childhood meals in Strathfield’s Surjits, where the chef would allow me to peer down into the hot, clay hole.