Search This Blog

Monday, August 1, 2011

Review: Chilli India, Melbourne CBD

Chilli India on Urbanspoon
The Chilli Padi group of restaurants have popped up around Melbourne with 3 outlets in the CBD and one in the suburbs.  They specialise in Malaysian dishes for the masses for lunch time fixes.  Another addition to their chain of successful outlets is Chilli India – a busy little hub in a most unlikely setting offering a variety of very  tasty curries and flatbreads.  A friend introduced me to Chilli India where she had dined previously for dinner and had good remarks about the food. 
Chilli India is located in the CBD’s Melbourne Central shopping centre next door to Chilli Padi, and is accessible from Little Lonsdale Street unless you come through the complex.  The first thing you notice is that the shop is somewhat set up as a take away joint.  Glass counter over a bain marie.  Order taker pushing keys on a register with an extensive menu board behind, that you have to look up to, to peruse the dishes available and make your decision as you queue up alongside eager patrons.  There is no seating in the shop.  Instead, the walkway from the street entrance is set up with small tables and chairs to facilitate the dine in option.  The best part of this set up was the outdoor patio heaters, used at full blast to keep diners warm.  This is required because every time the sliding doors leading to the street opened, a chilly brisk breeze blows in and those patio heaters together with some hot curry fit the bill to keep you at a somewhat good temperature.
A feature of the shop is the open grill at the front where a skilled flatbread maker works his magic and comes up with beautifully fluffy rotis, crisp to the touch and melt in your mouth freshness.  These are a must at Chilli India – and are great snacked on plain or as a replacement to the rice in your meal as they go fantastic with curries. 

I ordered a Roti Platter - with 2 meat dishes and 1 veg dish, served with 2 fluffy rotis (When in Rome! Or India! As they say).  At 10.95 this very reasonable as most places only have a single roti on offer in their combo meals for the same price.
The first meat dish was a goat curry – I take the opportunity to eat goat prepared by Indian restaurants when I can, as they have a great way of slow cooking the meat in the spices that really brings out the flavour and tenderness that is most delicious.  Chilli India’s goat curry was no exception, lightly spiced and well-cooked it ticked all the boxes.  A word of caution when eating goat curry though, be careful of small bones – “shards” as a fellow foodie has once referred to them as.  For some reason the preparation of goat meat does not warrant any due care to remove any “shards” of bone and as a result these may end up on your plate at best, between your teeth if you are unlucky – do be careful but otherwise very enjoyable. 
The second curry was a Chilli Chicken dish that I held some high hopes for as I saw it as the namesake signature dish.  Unfortunately it was very disappointing, basic red chicken with bones intact in a savoury sauce lacking every bit of chilli that my mouth watered for.  Hardly a contender for the name – definitely omissible!
The vegetarian dish – Paneer curry, which is made from Indian cottage cheese pressed into cubes – more than compensated for the previous dish.  This was a flavour hit with a very pleasing taste.  I had had badly made paneer curries before that took away from the smooth supple cheese cubes and it was refreshing that Chilli India was doing this classic ingredient some justice in their dish. 

Chilli India also make a variety of popular snacks from the sub-continent – the most well know is the Samosa.  The pastry is crisp and tasty (not pasty) and the filling of dry curried potatoes and spices is well balanced and does not fall apart on first bite.  Obviously the chef at the back behind the scenes has worked out how to make good samosas worthy of the street sellers’ shops dotted around the bustling laneways and gullies of my hometown Kolkata, India.  At under $2.00 a samosa these are a very “snackable” should you happen to crave something so.  Ah, but to be in Kolkata snacking on these at a roadside hawker is really something and with the currency conversion rate your same $2.00 gets you a meal size snack – with a signature “chai”
I usually keep my visits to curry houses to a minimum for a few reasons:
1. I am from India so it does not take a lot to disappoint me with a bad curry dish – and many have.
2. My dad cooks curries which top most of the ones I have had to pay for
3. The more commercial an Indian take-away get the more its curry takes on a generic taste and smell that become quite monotonous and unworthy of a return visit
Chilli India is up there as one of the best Indian eateries in the CBD that I have eaten at in a long while.  The food is tasty and does not strike that boring curry note I dread.  The menu is extensive and inexpensive. Even the a la carte service is reasonable and given the quality of the food – especially the fresh rotis – it makes it great value.  If you can put up with a corridor of flowing breeze and unconventional dine in seating then you will be well compensated with good food.
  Check out the Chilli India website HERE   
Check out the Chilli Padi website HERE

13 comments:

Restaurant In Melbourne said...

Hi,
Thanks for Information. Nice Restaurant. Online Booking is a time saving concept. I like it.
lunch deals Melbourne

Fiji Produce Indian Grocery Store said...

This is time saving .Using online booking we can easily save time and order which is like..!!nice one….!!

Mukka said...

Offering an online booking and contact information about the restaurant along with the Indian traditional food menu is always been exciting for the people to confirm the availability of their favorite foods. See Mukka restaurant in Fitzroy for example, http://mukka.com.au/bookings/

indian restaurant Melbourne said...

Nice post, Thanks for sharing, & I have tried indian food in Melbourne, feel like home, In my opinion Jai Ho Indian Restaurant is the best indian restaurant, most loved Indian restaurant Melbourne.

Indian Restaurant in Footscray said...

Nice post, Thanks for Sharing, I would recommend Dosa Hut is one of the best Indian restaurants in Footscary, the quality of food served at a very reasonable price. They provides best Dosa and Biryani in Footscary.

Indian Restaurant in Malvern East said...

Nice post, Thanks for Sharing, I would recommend Gujju's Cafe & Chaat House is one of the best Indian Chinese restaurant in Malvern East, Melbourne. They provide various type of thali like Punjabi thali, Rajasthani Thali, South Indian thali and Gujarati thali.

Indian Restaurant In Oakleigh said...

I love Indian food and spend most of my weekends trying out Indian restaurants around my work place. This weekend was amazing and I came across this delightful little place that serves the best Indian food in town. I tried the curried chicken and rice, and also their special Indian dessert and it was all absolutely delicious. The ambience was great too and so were the people serving us. The hospitality was as good as could be. I can safely call this place the best Indian Restaurant In Oakleigh! Read more at: http://indianburrp.com/restaurant-in-oakleigh

Unknown said...

Thank you very much for sharing great information about Chilli Indian Restaurant. It is difficult to find the Best Indian Restaurant in East Melbourne. Thanks for posting.

kajal Rajput said...

Hi,
Thanks for Information. Nice Restaurant. Online Booking is a time saving concept. I like it.
Best Indian Restaurant in Melbourne

go to this web-site said...

Wow! Really Nice Post. I like this post.Your post will be helpful for people who suffering without ventilation. Thank you too much.

this contact form said...

SOOOO excellent!

Micheal Alexander said...

Thanks a lot for sharing this amazing knowledge with us. This site is fantastic. I always find great knowledge from it. Indian spices Melbourne

bigbazar said...

Buy Indian groceries online in Melbourne. We provide all types of groceries for the Indian community at the best price. Shop online and get home delivery in and around Melbourne