Sankranti

250 Barkly Street
Footscray
VIC 3011

We'd been meaning to visit Sankranti for a while and got around to it on a wintery Saturday evening. The long windowed frontage faces on Barkly Street. Inside the fit out is bright and modern with some Indian touches. We were sat fairly close to the entrance and waiting area for take away and delivery pick-ups which saw some traffic while we were there. Otherwise there were several other groups of diners, but in a big space, it didn't seem busy.

The menu is extensive covering western and Indo-Chinese dishes as well as plenty from north and south India. We stuck to the Indian options the first to arrive being the smooth and flavoursome Dal Makhani featuring its black beans in a creamy onion and tomato sauce. The Gutti Vankaya wwas a new dish to us and turned out to be a winner with tasty eggplants stuffed with onion, peanuts and spices.

The naan and rumali roti both hit the spot.

The Murgh Saagwala combined boneless chicken cooked with spinach and fresh herbs and spices lived up to our expectactions.

The meal came to $74 including a couple of drinks. The service was efficient and courteous. Although we enjoyed our meal, it seemed a little more expensive than some of the competition in the 'scray or in wefo, and the atmosphere was a little flat. Maybe a visit with a bigger group would be better to generate more of a vibe.

The Roti Man

10-12 Armstrong Street
Middle Park
VIC 3206

We'd been told our booked table had been moved to make room for a large group before we arrived at The Roti Man. As it turned out the entire front room was filled by the event.

We were in a smaller back section which  featured similar decoration with brightly coloured material hanging billowing below the roof and matching colours on the walls.

 We were served drinks fairly quickly and then spent a few minutes figuring out our choices. There was then a pause before our orders were taken. After noting our choices the waitress apologised for the delay, but we ended up unsure as to f that was for the one that had occurred, or that which was to come...

Our entrées arrived after only 10 to 15 minutes. The Chicken Tikka salad, apparently "Lossely translated as 'chunks of chicken' ... is marinated in spicy yoghurt and cooked in the tandoor and presented as a delightful salad." Although the chicken was fine the salad was somewhat more basic than the description portrayed. 

The cauliflower Bhaji, coated in it's spiced chickpea flour and fried also came with a few leaves and what seemed to be a sprinkling of ground pepper. The dish was well executed with a crunchy exterior encasing the tasty veggies.

It took another 50 minutes for our mains to arrive, by which time we were ready to devour anything! The Prawn Goan curry went down well.

As did the Beef Vindaloo.

We shared the smoked spiced eggplant, which was enjoyable but not quite as smoky as we had hoped for and have had elsewhere.

The Lamb Vindaloo was spicy and sour as expected.

The saffron rice looked good and 

The naan bread was unusually square shaped.

The paratha was softer than it looks in the photo.

The meal came in around $45 a head with a couple of drinks each. The wait for our meals ended up being the most memorable part of the evening, and I wouldn't want to go back again if they were that busy.

D Asian post sponsored by Eat Now

68-82 Hopkins Street
Footscray
VIC 3011

This post has been sponsored by the EatNow website.

We had tried the site once before to order takeaway so were happy to give it another go. The site is simple to use, first selecting your postcode before choosing your suburb and pick-up or delivery, e.g. Melbourne CBD Food delivery, and you are then presented with a range of options of places to order from.

We chose to try out a D Asian, which I ride past most days but hadn't visited, as we 'd have to walk past so many other favourites to get there and it often looks quite empty. After placing an order around 7pm a text soon arrived promising a delivery time of 45 minutes, enough for my hunger pangs to fully develop. In fact the order arrived around 50 minutes later, so pretty good accuracy.

It was the first time I'd had a dosa delivered and it was warm rather than hot, despite the two layers of foil insulation. The onion version of the rice and lentil crepe came with sambar a watery but spicy curry with root vegetables including carrot and a mild coconut chutney.

The Cutmet Aloo was a new dish to me, the boiled potatoes were dressed with Indian spices and served with a firey tamarind chutney. The bright red chunks of tuber were a surprisingly sweet and filling entrée.  

The Kothimeera Vankai was a vibrant green eggplant curry, with the verdant colour coming from plenty of coriander which along with a blend of different spices combined to give a punchy edge to the brinjal flavours.

 The Palak dahl with its lentils cooked with spinach and spices had a fantastic smoky flavour. I'm not sure how to get a good photo of dahl, and this one was on the runny end, which makes things harder!

 The wholemeal Tandoori Roti lived up to my expectations.

As often with takeaway the plain naan had lost something on the way from the tandoor oven to my plate but still soaked up the curries well.

Through the eat now site first time orders at D Asian get 25% off and all orders over $30 get free delivery. The meal ordered came to $30.22 after the discount and was certainly both packed with flavour without being too oily and satisfyingly filling.

Kitchen Samrat

36 Leeds Street

Footscray 

VIC 3011

The better half wasn't feeling great but was still keen on a spicy curry so we decided to give a takeaway from Kitchen Samrat a try as we hadn't eaten there before. After placing an internet order and waiting the requisite 30 minutes I arrived to find a very quiet restaurant. It was another 10 minutes before the meal was ready, then it was back on the bike to get the boxes home!

The mushroom masala was cooked with onion and capsicum and the flavour was a little too sweet for my preferences.



We asked for the chicken saag extra spicy, and there was certainly a good amount of spicy bit in the smooth spinach sauce.

The channa masala didn't look the best in it's container, the chick peas were cooked in traditional north Indian spices. The dish was a little more watery than versions we've had before but came packed with a kick.

The plain naan was good without being spectacular.

After discounts the bill came to $ 27.9, which is great value for 3 dishes, and despite the slightly long wait at pick up I'd certainly be happy to give a few more dishes on the menu a try...

The Rickshaw, Fitzroy

199 Gertrude Street
Fitzroy
Victoria 3065

We were wandering down Gertrude Street after work on a Friday evening looking for a bite, on the way to catch up with some mates. We had a vague idea of a few options but decided to give The Rickshaw a try after checking out the menu.

From outside and as soon as you walk inside you can't miss the front section of the restaurants name-sake.

The fit-out is low key and cool with a view through to the kitchen at the back.

The wavy wire ceiling features lights hanging down over the bar. It was pretty quiet when arrived around 6, but the tables filled while we were there. Amit the owner welcomed us and was a friendly presence through the evening.

The menu is fairly short with a mix of dishes from India and across the rest of Asia.

We kicked off by sharing the beautifully presented Papdi Chaat of crushed chickpeas with cumin yoghurt, pomegranate and date sauce. The 'street food' inspired dish tasted as good as it looked!

Amit persuaded us to try the Pani-puri, another Indian street snack, in this case a a hollow semolina puff, containing spiced potato and tamarind and topped up with the coriander and mint emulsion. The resulting delicate casings slip into the mouth then burst with flavour.

We stuck with the veggie Indian theme for our main dishes. The pumpkin lakhanawi was subtly flavoured with mustard and coriander seeds and cooked to leave the pumpkin soft with disintegrating into a mush.

The slow cooked daal bukhara was a wonderful blend of lentils and spices. It had a surprising kick amongst almost smokey flavours. While we tucked in to our mains the head chef came out to chat to us, explaining each dish was cooked with it's own specific base.

The onion seed and basil naan was a nice twist on the classic bread and the rice nice if a little on the small side, indeed we ordered a second serve later.

desert,

We would have finished up at that point, but Amit was so keen for us to try a sweet that he shouted us gulab jamun. These again were presented beautifully with the soft dumplings sitting on Chantilly cream, with rose petals and a pistachio crumb. The flavours and textures complimented each other to finish the meal with a flourish!

The service which seemed to have caused a few comments on Urbanspoon was great for us, with plenty of opportunity to hear from Amit and the chef about the food and their influences and inspiration. The bill came to $87.50 including a few beers. The ambiance and attention to detail with the food and it's plating impressed us both and we'd be keen to return and try more of the dishes on the menu.

The Indian Palette, Seddon

1/140 Victoria Street
Seddon
Victoria 3011

We've walked past The Indian Palette many times since it opened, and often thought about going in but were dissuaded by the empty tables.

We'd read good things about the food and on a recent Friday needing a curry fix and not fancying the walk over to West Footscray we decided to take the plunge. As we'd expected it was pretty quiet, with only one other couple eating in. Several take out customers came in over the time we were there.

The menu featured plenty of dishes I didn't recognise, as well as a few more familiar offerings. The Gutti Vankayakura had two small eggplant in a sauce seasoned with ground nut, tamarind pulp and finished with South Indian spices. Although whole the aubergines were tender and the sauce complimented them well.

We asked for the hot version of the Andhra Kodi Kura a favourite homestyle Southern Indian spicy chicken dish, but it was perfect for us.

The Dal Makhani a favourite of ours containing black lentils cooked with tomato, fenugreek and butter was a little light on the pulses for us, but the flavours were great.

The rice was fluffy and light, the naan not quite as puffy and light as I prefer.

The service was occasionally interrupted by calls from take out customers, as there was only one waitress covering both tasks. The food was cooked to order in a reasonable time and the bill came to $67 with a few beers. The lack of atmosphere means will probably make the walk west to the more popular options in that direction, unless we notice an uptick in patronage, it is a handy local option for take out though.