My dining buddy had been on a very strict diet for some months, and seeing an end point I asked him what kind of meal he wants first when he gets off it. There was only one thing he said, and that was some Indian. Thus, I took it upon myself to find somewhere that was new, that was acclaimed and it served Indian cuisine. Which brought me to here, the Klay Oven, bookable by Dimmi. So, for on Thursday night I had a reservation made and off we were to here.
The Klay Oven tucks itself just out of sight of the main street in Tenneriffe and into the suburban part of town. This is one is a long line of places to eat, that gives it a distinctive feel that is communal if a bit squashed from the lack of space. Inside is a little plain, but the real place to eat when going here is al fresco; buffering diners from the traffic is a row of trees which ads a bit of freshness. So, not many points go to interior but other ares do make up for it. Though, this probably got better with the atmosphere at night - more to work with (heaters, mood lights et al).
If there was one aspect about the dining experience that gets some points deducted, it would have to be the service. That is not to say that it was overall bad, however the waitress for that night could well do with improving her craft. In saying that, she was showing good aspects with the personable aspects of being a waitress - she was smiling, she was friendly and did manage to explain aspects of the menu to the two of us; with some more enthusiasm the technical aspects could well get better.
On the technical aspect of service, she could have been a bit more attentive and alert. After my dining buddy and I were finished with our plates between courses, they were left sitting there for quite a while and this was not a busy time for the restaurant (and believe me, we have been to places where it was packed to capacity and the waitstaff were switched on like clockwork and tending to menial tasks like clearing tables within minutes). Also, at some points I was beckoning her over and she seemed a bit distracted at the counter - where, again, there was not an awful lot of clientele visiting. I don't say this as a complaint, but more one suggestion to have stronger engagement between the waitstaff and the clients - never underestimate the power of that.
Getting onto the food, most obviously it can be stated that the Klay Oven serves Indian cuisine. I have eaten my fair share of Indian cuisine, particularly around Brisbane and it usually does quite well. Some places are better than others; since many of them do well, and satiate for the time being. Usually though, those don't make much of an impression beyond that and the sauces often appear a bit samey, maybe with different shades of colour. As tasty as they may be, the leave little more impression than having packet mix. Also, they don't have much in the way of variety, and often the vegetarian curries will feel like they are an afterthought.
On the other hand, that leaves room for other Indian places where you can tell that effort has been put into making the curries. You can tell that they put in lots of spices, the ingredients include actual vegetables such as onion, it has a fresher aroma to the smells, to the taste and to the presentation. Also, they are often more inventive and eclectic with the curries they serve. The Klay Oven falls into this latter category.
One of the ways to see whether or not the Indian restaurant is going to be above average is to have a bit of a look at their menu. You will get some of the usual basics including vindaloo, korma and rogan josh; however, there are other less usual curries including bhuna, jalfrezi and saagwala plus a couple of chef's specialties which can only be ordered with certain meats.
Going onto the vegetarian curries, they did more than simple mix vegetables together in a curry sauce before calling it a day. In fact, the menu is just slightly larger than the non-vegetarian menu. The curries in this section range from being based on paneer to mushrooms to different kinds of dumplings to potatoes. Even an ardent carnivore should probably be salivating if they saw some of the options offered on display here.
As well as the curries, there is one last section on the menu. The Klay Oven has a small selection of tandoori style pizzas and kati rolls (think of a shish kebab, rolled in a roti). You are bound to be able to have something good here. Because of that, it is best to go here as part of a group - the more, the merrier.
My dining buddy and I settled upon the two course banquet. What was so particularly good about this, aside from the good value cost, was that it was available for a pair. Often banquets are regulated to at least four people, and part of going out with people - at least to my opinion - is being able to share meals, and try all sorts of items from the menu across the board.
Starting off the banquet, it was a platter of mixed entrees. This platter contained for each person, an aloo samosa, an onion bhaji, and two pieces of chicken tikka. These came presented well on a board, on a bed of lettuce with the tamarind and mint chutneys for dipping. All three of these entrees were delicious: the onion bhaji was - as it often is - reliable being very crispy encasing the sweetness of well-cooked onions combined with the characteristic marsala, the bits of chicken were a generous size and absolutely tender and juicy. However, the samosas were the surprise for this round (the chicken was still the tops); it was mostly to do with their size. They were filled with a spicy potato mixture, and this mixture was encased in a crispy shell that was perfectly cooked. All three of them were distinct from one another, each one really delicious. From that selection, it was already apparent that we were off to a good start.
Another reason for why the Klay Oven is able sit with the best of them is due to the curries being able to be made to order by how hot the customer wants them. With the scale that they use for mild through to hot, it is based more off the Indian taste buds rather than the white taste buds. The waitress was lovely is describing this, and how the white "hot" would be best for ordering medium; my dining buddy and I are both very daring when it comes to spice, but there is a bit of reluctance for going *too* hot. She was a darling, and went ahead to say that she could organise something called "medium plus" which was just a few notes above and between.
Next, it was the choice each of getting a curry from the menu - any curry, with any meat (or lack thereof). I went with the lamb kerala, while my dining buddy opted for the chicken kadahi. The base of the kerala curry is coconut cream, with several types of south Indian spices mixed in; the kadahi curry is based off a mixture of capsicum, and onion then it is cooked in a version of a wok. Both of these curries were par excellence. The quality of the meat, in which the quantity was anything but skimped on, was fantastic. The vegetables in the kadahi curry were well mixed through, tender and added on to the flavour while the sauce of the kerala was the great mix between creamy and spicy. As for the spice tolerance, it was certainly doable but it did lead to quite the amount of sweats.
These curries came with the usual expected sides: a choice of nann (either garlic or plain, in the end both managed to be ordered albeit separately), rice and raita. The garlic naan was definitely the better one to the plain, mostly because of the thick coating of minced garlic on top mixed with butter. These naans aren't too big, so if you have ordered plenty of curries, a tip is to always top up the naans - they are good enough to justify on their taste alone. The rice was plentiful and well steamed, while the raita added a bit of a ceasefire to the hot spices in the curries.
On the side to drink, I got a salty lassi. This was served in a copper cup that was reminiscent of a goblet. As well as being a nifty touch the drink was also refreshing and delicious. The saltiness of the lassi was not as strong as normal, and the taste is a bit odd for some. Getting accustomed to it helps. This was cold, had a good texture that was semi-creamy and the flavours were slight.
The two course banquet did not come with dessert, and that was ordered mainly because my dining buddy was on a bit of a diet and could not have any. However, he was encouraging of me to go order some for myself; that is exactly what I did. Many cuisines have their own iconic dessert, and Indian is no exception. Few thought patterns stop before mentioning "gulab jamun". The dessert menu wasn't so big, and this might have been the only authentic dessert on the menu so that is what I had (also, they are reminiscent of doughnuts - that is good enough for me).
The order was made fresh, since they were pipping hot the minute that they came out. They were soft, very tender and really sweet from being infused so much with the rose syrup. If there is any way to finish off a good Indian meal, this is one of the best examples of that. Finishing this meal off, I was well satiated at the end.
The Klay Oven is deserving of the reputation that it has been starting out with, and the wish is that they go ahead and manage to keep that up as they gain further recognition from around town and the country. For some good quality Indian that also manages to be a bit different from the norm, you can barely go wrong with the Klay Oven. It definitely gets my recommendation; my dining buddy was quite impressed as well.
So, how to sum it up briefly goes like this: the food is at a high standard of quality, and the choices are both focused and plentiful. It presents itself well, and they have something going on in terms of a product. If they hone in on their craft, specifically the service, to get more interactive, more ardent and more energetic then this might become a bustling neighbourhood hot spot. It has many of the makings already.
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