Take a RICKSHAW at Smith Street

Last week I wandered into the hipster world of Gertrude Street and Smith Street of Fitzroy. Though it was a relatively overcast day with hues of grey everywhere, some pop up stores doused vibrant shades of happiness and nonchalance like a rainbow casting shades after a very wet day. As expected, I was lost in the world of contemporary clothing and food stores flooding with heavily bearded humans.

Just as I got to the end of Smith Street, my gastronomic senses started to signal that I turn some attention to them. I spotted an upmarket restaurant called THE RICKSHAW. It piqued my interest as there was a facade of a Tuk Tuk poking out of the wall. I entered the joint to be greeted by the maître de, Jordon ( he prefers to be addressed as Yordon) behind the bar and Bhali the chef sitting across the bar. I quickly sifted through the menu and understood that it was a place serving Indian cuisine. It had hawker style food as entree. It had other regular Indian food that you can expect from other established Indian joints.

As I was not very hungry (my gastronomical parts would suggest otherwise) I ordered for some Pani Puris, as I was interested in something crispy, flaky and hot.

When Bhali left inside to proceed with my order, Jordon politely decided to offer me some company and explained the concept of the restaurant to me. He said the food that they wish to cater to their customers is an upmarket contemporary Indian homemade avec hawker style. He said the idea was to attract young people who enjoy the art and essence of cooking. Also, he mentioned that the head chef Bhali was an import from the famed DESI DHABA at Flinders Street. He then mentioned that he was quite adept with the alcoholic drinks and was an expert in pairing beer and wine with the Indian curry. I did not try to test his claim as I was not in a mood to grab a drink, although it seemed like he knew what he was talking about.

The food arrived in a colourful and well decorated serving plate with some tamarind sauce on the side. The Puris were filled with cubes of boiled potatoes and pomegranate seeds which was a treat to my vision and palate. I gobbled up the pieces and thanked Jordon, Bhali and his sous chef and left the restaurant with a happy belly and satisfied heart.

The ambiance was quite nice with the brick wall decorated with a New Yorker appeal to it and had a collection of pictures of things and people representing the culture and tradition of India. It also had few brass automobile ornaments hung on the wall which added to the theme of the restaurant.

If you are in the vicinity, definitely do yourself a favor and go say Hi to the ever smiley Jordon and his crew.

Honk Honk.

You Can Check out what they have to offer here 

Mouthful of Madras

How often have we contemplated to have homemade authentic southern Indian sapaddu (Tamil for food). Drop your forks and knives. Wash your hands. Home is near. Madras Banyan Tree at Glen Huntly is a treat to your tastebuds.

They serve delicate idlies – steamed rice batter discs, dosa varieties – crispy salty crepes, vadas – crispy lentil doughnuts and their various coloured chutney condiments. One might be able to get their hands on a cousin of chapatti called Puri, which is a fried version of chapatti or the humble Roti with some blistered texture.

South Indians love the integrity and unison of the Indian sub-continent. So without any prejudice, they serve the North Indian dishes of Naan and curry. So dear Naan do not feel left out. They still love you.

For those of you who want to indulge in a generous serve of rice dishes, you are in luck. They serve different varieties of rice based dishes.

I invested my money on a Thali plate- a rationed portion of various dishes in a rounded steel plate and a weekend afternoon Buffet that had both vegetarian and non- vegetarian dishes.

Also, you are the boss in this restaurant. They ask about the flavour that you think your palate would appreciate and cook the food accordingly. Moreover, you have soothing southern Indian instrumental music catering your ears. The wall art is collection of traditional South Indian art depicting Ramayana – an epic Indian poem.

This franchise of the much loved Madras Banyan Tree is run by a humble and lime light shy MARIO. You might be able to see a nimble Mario working alongside the other front area employees. Make sure you have a chat with him. Prices are not exuberant

So fellow earthlings you have not tasted Indian food until you have tasted the secret flavours of the south

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P.S.: Madras curry is from a different planet altogether.  From Madras- NOT

You can find the restaurant here.

Have some Masala

It is said you can get anything and everything at Queen Victoria market in Melbourne. It was so refreshing to get a warm (or some may call it hot – not piping hot though) beverage of chai from a person with a warm and welcoming smile.

A cup of masala chai tea is exactly what you want when your energy level has slightly slipped a notch from the early morning shopping marathon. This chai tea reinvigorated the warmth and excitement that I needed to go home and think about the food I was going to make with the fresh produce that I had just invested money in.  The colourful set up of the stall infused into the ambience of Queen Victoria market just as the spices were infused into milk. Without the much expected sceptics of a shopper, I scurried into opting the dairy version of the beverage though a caloric-ally low option of soy was available. The only question I bothered to ask to the smiley vendor was – “Is it the same chai that we get in India?”. And with great enthusiasm, the person dispensing the tea from the canister affirmatively assured me – Yes, the same thing.   As I placed the order, I noticed a person who was performing a somewhat lunatic act just across the stall and singing rather cacophonously. I asked the chai- wala if he had to endure this the whole time while he patiently waited from customers to come by and get some tea. He responded very coolly saying that “No, that is just his act. He is a very usual person like us. After his performance, he comes around and chats with us. He is a good guy in need of some money. That’s all. He does not bother us”. And he handed me a take away cup brimming with masala chai with just the right amount of everything. Just as the tea hit my tastebuds, the words hit my head reminded me not to judge people by their appearance. You never know what you might get.

Just another reassurance about finding everyday wisdom in simple things and in unexpected places.

And make sure you visit THE ORIGINAL CHAI STALL in the organic section of Queen Victoria Market and I promise you that it is what you need on an overcast or cold morning in Melbourne.