Right on the turn which tows the line where most residents would agree that South Brisbane ends, and West End begins - depending on which direction we are talking about - lies the second home of Eden Garden - right from Yeronga to here. What distinguishes this Indian place, from the hundreds (possibly not exaggerating) that I have been to is the dedication to both service, but also to catering and breaking into a new paradigm of a delivery service, of customer service and of less pretension and more honesty. This is something the folks at Zomato would love extensively.
What makes it better is that in spite of the new-age feel, it stems from a traditional love of eating food, and cooking food. The owners would manage and cater lots of food for up to 100 people, so it must feel right in their element to manage such a lot of hungry foodie mouths awaiting the next best thing. What does not hurt this place either is how fresh, and unique the curries feel - this is what I had been missing out for for years until some time back.
I was meeting a friend who was up from Sydney during the Christmas holidays in West End. It was that small window of opportunity, and I had known him a long time This was one of those times when the place to eat at was planned at the time on the fly, more about asking what the crew feels like than anything else. What he craved was something spicy, and Indian was one of the best options for that. Simple as that.
With the service, well - it needs to be spoken about the business model as a whole first. Someone who has been in the Information Technology field must be helping out along the way to manage customer service. The model has taken a leap and a bound for ordering and catering, taking to delivery really well. On their website, they have a checkout where you keep on adding items to the cart, and when you are done an alert can be sent to your mobile; this is much quicker, and more effective than the phone orders of old since it streamlines the whole process. That is if you want delivery or pick up. Going there, they use iPads to collect the orders - nothing brand new by any standards, but that is something I always like to see. It is efficient, and the technique more than the people is really what is noticeable about it all; just to get it out of the way, they are friendly and it is quick for a good meal. Heck, they probably are using the website for themselves when plugging it all in. This should be the way of the future.
Interior design, there is not really a lot to it. It's simple, some cricket or Bollywood music plays on a television and the whole atmosphere is relaxed. Small space, a few tables around including al fresco. It has its charms, but no real winner on aesthetics.
The menu is essentially what would be expected from an Indian restaurant. Both vegetarians and non-vegetarians are accounted for and neither seems to be neglected in any way; and I am sure both ways would be drooling at the mere description of some items. Beginning off, it has a substantial selection of entrees which are a mixture of tandoori and pakoras all highlighting different kinds of flavours and tastes and aren't all fried either - which makes them more interesting. They refer to this section as "Power Play 1".
"Power Play 2" comes in the form of the curries, which are mostly the usual choices as well - they have what Australian palates would be used to, basics for the native pallete (i.e. goat curry), and even a balti. There is a unified price between the two selections - again, vegetarian and non-vegetarian - which works in favour for value (with exceptions to surcharges for seafood in banquets). Breads to go with the curries come in either flour or wholemeal varieties, and a few types of rice are there in addition. As a rarity, the kids get a menu that is in tune with what the rest of the menu represents - bonus points all-round.
It is rare that I can't decide what to get, and it is rare that when a place offers a banquet it can get down to two heads for it to be possible. For best value, I suggested this and both of us went along with it - the non-vegetarian option. If three or more people come, a few extras are put on the side. With three fifths of the experience - they leave it up to you to decide, as with the entree, naan and curry of choice for each person, and offer a couple to select from for rice and dessert. This is one of the best banquets alone from that, choice rocks.
Starting off, the chosen entree was a sheesh kebab. These pieces of spiced lamb mince do not need any introduction. They are a staple of many cuisines from Greek to Middle Eastern to Indian, and are tender, well-flavoured in many ways and substantial. Alongside it came the usual mint sauce, but they were good enough on their own, being tender and really flavoursome.
Next was the curry of choice, where I went with a beef lazeez and my friend went with a mango chicken. The lazeez here was a medium spice, and is based on cream with plenty of nuts and the mango was also ordered as a medium, and is fruit based in a mango gravy. Both times apply here: the amount of meat was appropriate to the proportion of gravy used, both times there was certainly a good combination of spices mixing into a complex masala and at no point did it just look like a different coloured sauce - there were bits of nut and fruit where appropriate. I thoroughly enjoyed both, probably the beef more - but that is preference of meat.
On the side was a choice of naan, and rice. I allowed my friend to be in the driving seat for this one. He chose the peshwiri naan - which is the sweet one filled with fruits and nuts - and the rice was mixed through with marsala. As usual, the naan was really buttery and this time was filled with plenty of the items it said it had - it made it simultaneously sweet, savoury and its distinct combination. In general naan just rocks to mop up the curry sauce. The rice was also good, with one serving between two, fluffy with some added spice to make it a bit more interesting.
At the end of the meal, it was time for dessert. This was let for the waiter to recommend, and it ended up being the "Shahi Kulfi" - a specialty dessert from North India. It is ice cream mixed with rose syrup and falooda then topped with crushed nuts. Falooda is worth looking up on Google, and definitley worth trying - it is a sweet, flavoured beverage that is as interesting as it is colourful - and made it really sweet in flavour. Mixed in with ice cream, something I find hard to best with dessert, it was like the simplest version of an elaborate sundae. Crushed nuts just finished it off beautifully, and rose has a unique taste that is not quite sweet but is hard to really pinpoint anywhere else.
It was not included with the banquet, but an addition - I have a hard time not getting a lassi when going to these places, therefore I ordered masala lassi. Mango is good, but can be a bit sweet, and the salty lassi usually is a little lacking most of the time - this masala flavour was the perfect middle point. It still had that great creamy texture, was a little on the sour side in terms of flavour but not too much and was basically another good lassi.
In short, this was a great night out and a great meal to have. This will stand out for ages as one of the great Indian places anywhere I have been, from other cities to other countries - including England and Fiji. It suits every palate well, introducing them to the authentic experience. Plus it does not cost excessive amounts - value for all!
Basically, Eden Garden is stepping up the game for casual Indian dining. It is finding somewhere that is certainly better quality, and with more focus on ambiance and service that the usual curry house while managing to stay relaxing, affordable and a place to take people to for a meet up. Also, the delivery service is something that is fantastic and should certainly be used more around town. Way of the future indeed.
It also is to do with the food, which ultimately is going to seal the deal. Unlike most other Indian places, I did not leave feeling bloated and actually was more satiated than anything. Fresh ingredients, freshly made and good quality cuts of meat do a world of difference. If they are going to expand, the best of luck to them. If this is how they are going to remain - with two good locations - est of luck to them as well, working with what they have got. I thoroughly enjoyed my time here, and it gets my recommendation.
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