It was at night time, and starting to get a bit into the near-late part of the night. My housemate's daughter was feeling hungry, and she likes to have most of the food out. Being down in Sydney, one thing she surprisingly doesn't get a lot of there is Indian food and that was what she particularly felt like. She is a simple lass, she just wanted a butter chicken. Also, there is a bit of a high standard with the marks here. The place had to have at least a 4.0 average on this site, and there is getting to be a bigger number of that with marking algorithms making more sense, however, that is still a bit of an ask. Nevertheless, narrowing the range down to what was nearby and Indian cuisine, the short list was manageable on one hand. After a bit of discussion and locating where the places were, this one was the chosen destination. The place is located just off to the side on a main road, and it is more or less blink and you will miss it. Blending in with a few other bland office spaces, once you see it walk on in and it is warm and welcoming inside.
This was partially on my part, so don't take it as criticism to the place, some of the ordering was haphazard. You know sometimes when you see the table next to you, or a few tables across, that someone orders something that looks really good? That has happened plenty of times to me, and the urge is to ask them what it is so you know to order that. However, I often hesitate with the inferred implications. What doesn't hurt though is asking the waitstaff and that is what I did. Since there is a good and active level of customer service here, it was possible to get the waitress in the middle of her rounds to do exactly that. A couple of girls were on the next table, and they had these pakoras which looked quite good. You could say it was "order envy" there - a shorter way to summarise what I have meant in that past paragraph. Basically, that is how we ended up with some potato voda. Those will be discussed later, but that is part of the service.
So with that anecdote out of the way, the service here is at a decent standard. It probably won't meet the "standards" of being professional or anything, however, I am not one to expect that. Instead, they just have to deliver well, and having an effective system in place as well as a good and pleasing personality. Things are fairly flexible, and it is all cooked to order, so things are done very much in the vein of taking it as it comes.
Getting both the look of the place, and its menu down to a simple description, Mahendra can best be described as a curry house. What I mean by that, is the restaurant space is a simple square, with maybe a few different decorations around the place, and most of the tables are basic, and simple. Lighting is not too bad, and a TV plays in the corner. Aesthetics are not up to the best standard, so let us leave it at that, shall we? With the kind of food that they serve, well it is Indian. A few of the basic curries, cheap mind you - I was wondering if I was looking at a far outdated menu when I saw the prices, which are based on either beef, or chicken, or lamb, some seafood, and a good range of vegetarian options. To go on the side is a range of accompaniments, some rice dishes and several lots of naan bread to mop up the sauce. As well as gulab jaman, and a few other things to grab from the fridge, that is about it. Less is more I have found to be used in place of more is less, but this time, I do think the former is the right term to be using here.
Upon getting to the table, the first starter (on the house) was some papadams. Crispy, slightly oily, and just like a big chip, it was a good beginning to the meal. Next, it was the potato voda (albeit it was the last thing ordered, the were quick to cook them up and serve them), these were a very good starter. There were three of them, and on the side was a small tub of tamarind chutney. The tamarind chutney was nice and thick, with a good and distinct flavour. As for the potato voda; now. those are worth ordering. They are a basically potato patties with a spice mixture mixed through them. These were really well cooked, having a thick layer that was crispy on the outside, and the potato was mashed and tender inside, with just the right amount of garam marsala put in. It definitely had a bit of tanginess on the tongue, but it wouldn't have you reaching for the milk - though I am not one to be really judging it upon that. I am glad I convinced the other two to get these.
As for the curries, as well as the butter chicken, there was a beef rogan josh and a lamb bhoona gosht. The first two were ordered as mild, what a pair of wimps. With mine, the most latter I went in for the kill. I got it at a medium-hot level of spice. All of these were really good. There is no need for an introduction to butter chicken, since how many times can it be discussed in actuality? For the mild curry lovers, it is always a good choice. Especially here, with the meat being so tender, and the sauce being both creamy and thick with tomato and cashew nut being the dominant flavours. That one is a winner whatever way you put it. The rogan josh is a bit of a darker and more complex curry, adding ginger, garlic, coriander and a spice mixture into the works. Also good, with tender beef. We have ourselves another winner.
To get on the side with the curry, because it is essetially essential, I ordered a naan. The one that was ordered was a garlic naan. As well as that, I also got a mango lassi. Both of them quite good. Maybe the naan was a bit smaller than usual, however, quality of it was fantastic, and the flavours were so stark and bold. There were actual bits of minced garlic spread on top the bread. It was cut into bits, and those bits could be further ripped apart - indicating a good, soft texture for the bread - and went well with the curry sauce. Finishing it off, the mango lassi was what it needed to be - cold, thick, and fruity.
Recently, I have had a range of Indian that was decent and serviceable but none of it had really gotten to such heights as it was here in a while. When it comes to Indian places, a funny and inverse indication of quality is to think the crappier the place looks, often the more authentic and tasty the food will be. This was the case at Mahendra. You got a real feel for the passion of the food in here, which was all hot and filling. Down to the bone, it really gets the best aspect of the cuisine down pact, which is that it is wholesome, filling and reliable - they are there for the late night traveller, and welcoming to any diners. For that, they are providing some of the best Indian on any side of town.
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