Harvest of India
After watching new Pirates of the Carribean movie we were pretty hungry and had an impromptu farewell dinner at Harvest of India on O'Connell Street. Harvest of India is one of the smaller restaurants on O'Connell Street with cosy yet elegant modern decor. The menu seemed to be better priced than most upmarket Indian restaurants.
As it was pretty late by the time we started we decided to go straight for the mains. We ordered the prawn vindaloo, lamb saag and vegetable curry. We also ordered some raita, kuchumber (cucumber) salad, pickles and naan bread.
The prawn vindaloo was rather disappointing with not enough tang and spice to it, without the chilli kick to it the sauce was interesting rather than tantalising. Restaurants' insistence on serving prawns with the shell still intact on their tails is rather frustrating in my book and not worth whatever aesthetic value it brings. If I'm paying to dine in comfort at a restaurant, why should I have to peel the shell off the tail still and make more of a mess than whatever tidy apearance the shells on makes.
Still the prawn vindaloo was a pleasant dish and probably a good introduction to the delights of a good vindaloo. Less could be said of the lamb saag, lamb in a sauce with pureed spinach, which was inoffensive with a slight hint of spices. I would say that perhaps my preference for spicy food ruined my appreciation of the dish but a any dish with pureed spinach should have that moresome feeling and taste of spinach. The vegetable curry was also inoffensive and obviously forgettable.
Whilst the pickles were too salty and rather bland in every other respect. The raita was quite nice with a good blend of yoghurt, garlic, cucumbers and mint. Kuchumber salad is simply another way of saying garden salad with a subtly spiced vinagriette. The naans were rather nice, the garlic naan having a satisfying taste of garlic and the keema naan quite a revelation.
The spiced minced lamb throughout the bread gave it a nice subtle savoury flavour. I could have done without the excess grease on both naans but the keema's contrasting texture of dough and mince was worth the clogged arteries. Faced with the choice of two Indian beers I choose the less trodden Cobra beer. It was a refreshing lager which seemed to have a bit more crispness to it than the more famous Kingfisher beer.
Whilst it was a bit cheaper than Beyond India or Tandoori Oven I'd say the quality of the dishes is well worth the money. My dining philosophy has always been that it's better to have something you enjoy less often than to have something don't enjoy more often. After all spending $10 on something bland is $10 too much.
Overall the food at Harvest of India was, here it comes again, inoffensive with some highlights such as the keema naan. The staff and surroundings were nice although I'm not sure how they would have coped during busier times as opposed to the end of the night. However I can see how it can appeal to those less familiar with Indian cuisine with it's swish decor and well cooked but rather bland, for me anyway, food.
As it was pretty late by the time we started we decided to go straight for the mains. We ordered the prawn vindaloo, lamb saag and vegetable curry. We also ordered some raita, kuchumber (cucumber) salad, pickles and naan bread.
The prawn vindaloo was rather disappointing with not enough tang and spice to it, without the chilli kick to it the sauce was interesting rather than tantalising. Restaurants' insistence on serving prawns with the shell still intact on their tails is rather frustrating in my book and not worth whatever aesthetic value it brings. If I'm paying to dine in comfort at a restaurant, why should I have to peel the shell off the tail still and make more of a mess than whatever tidy apearance the shells on makes.
Still the prawn vindaloo was a pleasant dish and probably a good introduction to the delights of a good vindaloo. Less could be said of the lamb saag, lamb in a sauce with pureed spinach, which was inoffensive with a slight hint of spices. I would say that perhaps my preference for spicy food ruined my appreciation of the dish but a any dish with pureed spinach should have that moresome feeling and taste of spinach. The vegetable curry was also inoffensive and obviously forgettable.
Whilst the pickles were too salty and rather bland in every other respect. The raita was quite nice with a good blend of yoghurt, garlic, cucumbers and mint. Kuchumber salad is simply another way of saying garden salad with a subtly spiced vinagriette. The naans were rather nice, the garlic naan having a satisfying taste of garlic and the keema naan quite a revelation.
The spiced minced lamb throughout the bread gave it a nice subtle savoury flavour. I could have done without the excess grease on both naans but the keema's contrasting texture of dough and mince was worth the clogged arteries. Faced with the choice of two Indian beers I choose the less trodden Cobra beer. It was a refreshing lager which seemed to have a bit more crispness to it than the more famous Kingfisher beer.
Whilst it was a bit cheaper than Beyond India or Tandoori Oven I'd say the quality of the dishes is well worth the money. My dining philosophy has always been that it's better to have something you enjoy less often than to have something don't enjoy more often. After all spending $10 on something bland is $10 too much.
Overall the food at Harvest of India was, here it comes again, inoffensive with some highlights such as the keema naan. The staff and surroundings were nice although I'm not sure how they would have coped during busier times as opposed to the end of the night. However I can see how it can appeal to those less familiar with Indian cuisine with it's swish decor and well cooked but rather bland, for me anyway, food.
Labels: restaurants
posted by Forrest Rivers at 23:14
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