Indian Delights, Adelaide

445 Pulteney Street
Adelaide
SA 5000

Back in Adelaide, we had the final South Australian meal of our sojourn across the border at the well advertised Indian Delights on Pulteney Street.

The decor inside was functional and clean with some sparkle and pictures from south Asia on the walls. The menu covered pretty much all of the 'classic' Indian dishes with a few specials also available.

We ended up going for an all veggie dinner, including the channa masala, with the chickpeas being served with lots of the mildly spiced tomato and onion sauce.

The chef's special of eggplant and potato was a winner being more flavoursome than you might expect, with the aubergine developing that super silky texture.

The dahl tarka was served in a small decorative metal bucket! The yellow lentils were nicely cooked with a hint of cumin seed & garlic and the nutty flavour came through.

The naan did the job with out being standouts.

The whole meal was both fresh and fairly light for Indian food, there wasn't too much oiliness or evidence of too liberal use of the ghee... The service was friendly and efficient and the bill came to $60 with a couple of drinks. It's a solid option if you fancy some Indian cuisine at this end of town.

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The Oysterbeds Good Food House

61 Esplanade
Coffin Bay
SA 5607

While we were staying Port Lincoln, we made the trip over to Coffin Bay on the other side of the Eyre peninsular, and while we were there we headed to the 'Oysterbeds Good Food House' for some lunch. We arrived around 1pm, and there seemed to be a sudden rush of diners, but we still found a good spot out in the sun.

Given the fame of the region's oysters, it was inevitable that we'd have to try some of the local produce. The Kilpatrick versions were good examples of the form and the ingredients.

My favourite though was the soy and wasabi dressing which nicely complemented the oyster without overpowering it.

I ordered the the fish and chips, the serve was meant to be main sized, but wasn't that big. The fish was good, the chips fine.

The chilli bean wrap looked fresh, full of pulses and went down well.

Our share of the bill was around $45, our meals took a fair while to appear and the service did seem overwhelmed at times. The reviews and votes on urbanspoon are pretty negative, and I can see with the prices charged, portion size and standard of service it isn't a standout. The oysters were good, and with good views and a nice location, it is probably worth a try.




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The Franklin Harbour Hotel

1 Main Street
Cowell
SA 5602

We stopped off in Cowell for a late lunch on the drive to Port Lincoln. The Franklin Harbour Hotel is a heritage listed building and a classic example of the Victorian era Australian Hotel still in good condition today.

Arriving after 2:30, we'd just missed the lunch menu, but pizza's were still available, and we shared the seafood number. My expectations were surpassed, especially by the amount and quality of the fish, prawns and anchovies topping the simple tomato and cheese covered base.

The pizza certainly did the job for us, and the wait wasn't too long. The place was friendly enough, we sat outside, inside there were separate bar and dining areas. there are worse places to stop off on the long drive down the Eyre peninsular.

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Le Riad Restaurant, Adelaide

314b Pulteney Street
Adelaide
SA 5000

We were out hunting for a spot to eat on a quiet Sunday evening in Adelaide near our accommodation and werne't finding anything pushing out buttons, until we spied Le Riad, right next to The Coopers Alehouse on Pulteney Street. It had been a good while since either of us had eaten North African food, so after a quick scan of the menu we pushed open the big wooden front door and headed inside.

The decor reminded me of Parisian Moroccan eateries with lots of wall hangings, carpets and decor almost to excess! We were shown to a table towards the back, near the exotic bar area.

In the end we both opted for similar dishes, with my selection being the Seafood tagine which combined squid, prawns and fish with tomato, garlic, lemon and capsicum cooked with hot Moroccan spices and herbs topped with parsley. The dish came out bubbling and the flavours combined nicely. The tagines came with rice or bread, and I made an error selecting the bread, as the half a khobz was pretty small, and extra serve of rice wasn't much more substantial and overpriced at $4.

The fish tagine consisted of simmered chunks of fish in a spicy tomato, onion, garlic and herb sauce with capsicum and olives.

The meal was reasonably priced overall coming in just over $50. The service was friendly and efficient and Le Riad is a good option if you are keen for some North African cuisine at this end of Adelaide.

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Manee Siam, Adelaide

150 Goodwood Road
Adelaide
SA 5034

Our friends took the six of us along to Manee Siam which is one of the regular local haunts. We sat out the in the front courtyard.

The menu covered all the Thai classics, along with a few other options, and after a bit of indecision we made our choices of a selection of  dishes to share. We started with veggie spring rolls, which were warm and crisp and were served with individual sweet chilli sauce.

The 'Golden Bags' were more exciting, filled with minced chicken and prawn stir-fried with chopped water chestnut and wrapped with crispy golden pastry.

Then we moved on to the mains, which were also served with a huge tureen of rice. The Pad Thai was traditional with its stir fried rice noodles, chicken, bean shoots and egg served with peanuts, and the flavours seemed pretty authentic.

The Massaman curry chicken had plenty of chunks of poultry, potatoes and roasted peanuts in its mildly spiced creamy coconut milk sauce and was my winner of the night.

The stir fried prawn and vegetables with chilli and fresh Thai basil  was packed with plenty of broccoli and a good number of prawns along with plenty of basil to provide flavour and chilli for some heat.

The dinner came in around $120 as we had BYO'd and given that had filled 6 of us great value. The service was friendly, and pretty attentive given we were away from most of the other diners. I can see why our friends are regulars.

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Little Miss Mexico, Adelaide

188 Grenfell Street
Adelaide
SA 5000

Adelaidean friends took us along to  Little Miss Mexico which is through an archway off Grenfell street. It's a pop up bar and restaurant with a bit of a food truck vibe, and it will be closing very soon - 28/4/14!

'Inside' is actually mostly outside with little shelter from the elements, but this wasn't a problem on the warm Saturday lunch time we visited. A lot of the furniture was fashioned from shipping pallets, the overall feel being a sort of laid back and grungy/hipster cool, with central American elements.

The menu was fairly straightforward, with a few specials also on offer.

The six of us made our choices then we ordered at the bar and the food arrived as it was ready. The chicken quesadillas with corn and fennel salsa and sour cream were 'lovely' if a little heavy on the cheese.

Both the beef burritos ordered went down well, they were packed with the meaty sauce, rice and 'slaw with a little guacamole, sour cream and salsa.

I had the veggie burrito featuring a mix of kale, beans and tomato, along with the rice, 'slaw, guacamole, sour cream and salsa. It was wholesome and satisfying, with the components complimenting each other well.

The special was a Mexican Scotch Egg, made with a chorizo sausage meat, which was a winner with Stu.

The hot wings were suitably spicy and pretty plentiful for the $10.

The char grilled corn with smoked chilli mayo was another winner, it was a good thing we'd ordered more than one serve!

The food was great value overall, even if the drinks were a little on the pricey side... The place is certainly super laid back, and if you can get there before it shuts (or at a resurrection!) it's certainly worth a go.

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The Balti House, Adelaide

167 Goodwood Road
Millswood
SA 5034

The Balti House on Goodwood road in Millswood south of center of Adelaide was set up by its Bangladeshi owner, Sultan Ahmed, to fill a void in the supply Balti style Anglo - Indian currys that originated in Birmingham. The menu also covers other Indian dishes and caters to most spice needs. We visited on a Friday evening and when it was reasonably busy when we arrived around 8 but quietened down after this.

We started off with a few papadams, with mango chutney, raita and one of the freshest and best onion salads we could remember.

The chicken sagwala had a different look to many of the saags I've previously sampled, maybe it was the fresh spinach rather than the almost pureed version that is more common. The flavour was good, with some heat and plenty of garlic.

The Chana Massala was packed with chick peas cooked with onions, tomatoes and spices.

Although simple the Tarka Dhall of lentils cooked with fried onions and garlic was subtly flavoured with a hint of nuttiness.

The chapati was super fresh and had a great slightly chewy texture.

The naan bread certainly reminded me of British style curry's, it was huge and had a familiar puffiness, nit often found in Australia.

Despite ordering probably a little more than needed I managed to do my usual mopping up of the final parts of the dishes! The service was attentive and efficient. The bill came to Just under $60 including a glass of wine and a beer. If we lived nearer, I'm sure we'd be regulars here!

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