This restaurant, at least from what I ordered, has a reputation that I think is very reliant on a clientele largely non-native to the cuisine. Everything tasted as it looked, for better or worse.
Got curried tiger prawn, gunpowder dosa, fried cauliflower with coconut chutney, braised beef short rib with black cardamom and peppers.
Cauliflower was good. Spicy, slightly crispy way to start the meal, and the coconut sweetened the bite. The cauliflower was still a bit crunchy in the middle so every bite wasn’t mushy and instead texturally satisfying. Very balanced and tasty dish, but the cauliflower just didn’t retain a lot of crisp on the breading, which prevented it from being great IMO.
Tiger prawn was great. The head juice combined with the curry and it was ultra sweet and seafoody when I sucked the shell. The flesh itself was overly firm for my liking, not bouncy like shrimp should be. The chilies and fenugreek rode on the flesh super well via the thick sauce and provided the punchiness and creaminess that the dish needed.
I wish I had more than two prawns and that they were cooked less, though. I guess cook-time and flavors infused just have an inverse relationship which can’t really be helped.
Gunpowder dosa was easily my favorite dish. I just love dosa. If you leave me alone with this shit I'll eat it till my hands are stained christmas colors from the chutneys, and I'll still be licking my lips and asking for more. If I went back, I’d order one dosa for each person just to wait until everyone got full and asked me to finish their piece.
Braised short rib was nothing crazy, really well spiced and super tender, and the crispy mint was nice as a freshness kick. I do feel that without any sauces like a chutney or raita, the meat was on the drier side, and pretty one-note as far as flavor goes.
Overall, every dish was very tasty, some more so than others, but nothing truly stood out to me except for the super craveable dosa. I understand southern indian cuisine is very underrepresented in America and the Michelin star which is just indicative of good cuisine, is perhaps warranted, but there were just some small holes which keep it from being something I’d seek out again.
by kmpham2013