Cuisine: Indian Everyone in Tauranga seems to have their favourite Indian restaurant. There is a decent-sized Indian community here and a fair few restaurants to choose from: I know people who like Own Marsala on 11th Ave; I know people who eat every Sunday night at Talk Of India on Cameron Road. Then there's Castle 51 in Greerton, and various branches of Great Spice (Papamoa East, Papamoa Plaza, Mount Maunganui and Bureta Road), Mumbai Marsala in Papamoa, House of Spice in Bethlehem, Spice Trader in Tauriko and a bunch more.
But four of us have fallen into the habit of eating at India Today on the Strand about once a month. It's been there since 2011 and also has a couple of branches in New Plymouth. Jan and I go with two American imports from Kansas: Jim, owner of New Zealand's best little wine shop, Finer Wines in Katikati, and his wife Maria. We put the world to rights and drink red wine - usually something from the Rhone - and the other three order the same food every time.
That means that I get to pick a "wild card" starter and main each visit. Don't get me wrong, we all share all the food. But aside from my two choices it's always the same. And I always find the service friendly, but then we visit so regularly that they know us and our proclivities.
(And - AGAIN - a quick apology for the photos. It's a beautifully decorated restaurant but not very bright. And some dishes were steaming. Anyway, long story short - crap pics again, sorry. The food on their Facebook page looks much better!)
I suspect each Indian restaurant has its own individual touches. Here everyone gets a complimentary bowl of papadums on arrival, something to nibble while looking at the menu. One thing I do find slightly unusual is that India Today's Onion Bhajis are actually onion rings. Is that a trad thing I don't know about? Anyway, they're nothing like the patties you get elsewhere...
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| Aloo Tikka |
- Seekh Kebab - Skewered Lamb infused with spices and cooked over the tandoor (half $12.99) | full $24.99
- Aloo Tikka - Grilled croquettes made with potato, onion and various spices, served with yoghurt, cucumber and tamarind $11.50 (my choice du jour)
- Garlic Naan $5.00
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| Seehk Kebab |
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| Garlic Naan |
- Butter Chicken - Tender pieces of chicken half cooked in Tandoor and finished in a creamy tomato flavoured sauce and garnished with almonds $21.99
- Chef Special - Roast beef cooked with cumin, ginger, garlic and coriander, finished with Indian whiskey $25.99
- Tandoori Chicken - Chicken (with bone) marinated in yoghurt and spices, cooked in the tandoor. Served on a hot sizzling plate with mint & yoghurt sauce (half $14.99) | full $28.99
- Eggplant Subzi - Roasted eggplants cooked with ginger, garlic and red onion. Garnished with fresh coriander $20.99 (my choice du jour)
- Plain Naan $4.50
- Plain Rice x 2 $3.99 each
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| Clockwise from top left: Tandoori Chicken; Chef Special; Rice; Butter Chicken; Eggplant Subzi |
Of the main dishes, Jan likes the creaminess of the butter chicken and Jim likes exactly the opposite about the Chef Special, a slightly quirky beef curry with neither cream nor yoghurt, though there seemed to be less actual beef in it than usual which was disappointing. The eggplant sauce had a tomato base and was a tasty little number, slightly hotter and more intense than the other dishes (with a hint of pickle perhaps?). It tickled the tongue nicely. We always go for a full Tandoori chicken and it was just fine as usual.
I guess we should be a bit more adventurous. I blame the others. For those with dietary restrictions there are many vegetarian and gluten free dishes and I keep thinking we really should try some of the daals. I might also mention that if you are a smoker of such things, shishas are available in many flavours and seem popular in the courtyard area out back (which is a rather attractive space, as the bottom right pic suggests).
AND THAT WINE. MMMMMM...
In fact, nice though the food was, the high-point of the meal was two fantastic bottles of wine, both Chateauneuf-du-Papes from the Rhone Valley in France, recent arrivals in his shop that Jim wanted to try (and at moments like that we just say "Yes!", with big smiles...).
We actually had access to the famous wine critic Robert Parker's notes and were amazed by quite how accurate they were, particularly the lovely bouquet of the Charbonniere which clearly displayed cherries, orange and raspberry just as described. That was the winner from the pair. The Brotte was very good, noticeably "darker" in its flavour notes, a little more closed still and not quite as integrated. It lacked the extra edge of smoothness and concentration that the Charbonniere had in spades. In fact the Charbonniere was simply superb even at this young age, warm and rich with layer upon layer of spicy notes and just acres of lovely complex flavours. Yum!
I offer RP's notes as I'm sure they make more sense than my gobsmacked fawning over these two beautiful wines...
Charbonniere Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2017 Charbonnière's performance this year was remarkable, all the more so because I didn't visit the estate, so the wines were all tasted blind. The regular cuvée, the 2017 Chateauneuf du Pape, is a stunning blend of 70% Grenache and 15% each Mourvèdre and Syrah. Cherries, raspberries and orange zest mark the nose, while the full-bodied palate is silky-textured and concentrated, adding layers of dried spices and complex, tea-like notes. Warm and generous, it may not be the longest-lived vintage, but it will offer immense pleasure over the next decade or so
There are only 500 cases of the 2017 Chateauneuf du Pape Secret Barville, a barrel-aged blend of 75% Grenache, 15% Syrah and 10% Mourvèdre. It's super ripe and chocolaty, with modest cooked-fruit flavors, a broad, expansive mouthfeel, ample weight and some warmth on the finish. Tasted twice (once blind), with consistent notes.
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| A quick shisha out back perhaps? |
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