Right in what has felt for longest time as in the middle of everything, a few small junctions are on each corner of the several busy roads. Tucked away a bit, and a little difficult to get to on the fly, most of what is there is fast food more or less. An exception to this rule is a newly opened establishment - that is doing well with its location to an advantage - is an Indian curry house called Kohinoor. While it is a bit early to tell its success story and anaylse it too much, the food was enjoyable and when I got here, it was proof some of the best surprises need not be planned.
My parents were going to be up in town for a few hours, in the base of having their own meeting, and in advance there was an offer to meet up after lunch. The day that was proposed, I worked within the Eastern area and more or less when I finish up anyway. Therefore, with the right arrangement it would not just be feasible but absolute for certain that it could get managed. A previous visit was saying this, and the place was in mind - for the time being. Not many chances have occurred for me to be able to get up here and review this neighbourhood, so with that opportunity presented right on a platter, you bet that I was picking that offer up.
All the information online stated it being open at the time, but at the actual location it was shut and closed. This meant having to do a bi of a U-turn and find somewhere else. Even with just a small bit of recollection of here, some Indian didn't sound too bad either and it looked promising. The whole thing hinged on whether a lucky car park could be found and... well I would not be reviewing it now if it were otherwise (and if so, the successful story will always get out instead). Before too long, the three of us were in here, awaiting at a table and about to get some great curries coming up.
What is apparent from the first steps into the restaurant is the level of service you shall expect. A word to describe it would be genuine. It is run by a husband and wife duo, and both of them were really friendly, knew the tricks of trade, the small attributes with customer (e.g. getting water when you sit down) that really add up in the end, as well as the beats and rhythms of when to approach for request plus how to readily space it out. It is the sort where you might not want to be in too much of a hurry, since the curries are all cooked fresh to order. This is somewhat green at the moment, not quite getting the professional edge on yet, but it is all a case of development. At this moment in time, I would definitely rate them competent and encourage them to continue practicing all the aspects for good customer service to make it more memorable. With a good rate, people will want to come here and then return.
They have done pretty well with the small corner store that they have been given. The kind of aesthetic they have is somewhere between the many curry houses I have frequented, and a moderate-key Indian restaurant. That is that the space is uncomplicated, pretty much a polygon, though it is not without some choice decorations being around the place. Small touches like the statue on the counter give it character, and the inside tables are decorated; plenty were around the corner outside the restaurant - memory slips with whether they had any or not. All around is red walls, red tablecloths and such. A TV screen shows all the food and some specials. They have it sorted well here.
What more to say about the place than it is an Indian restaurant if the menu is to be concerned? One way this differs from quite a number of the local takeaways is that it does not follow the stock standard formula where the curries are separated into meats (or that each meat can be gotten with each sauce), though there is a separate vegetarian section. The latter is pretty well balanced between the cheese curries, the lentil curries, and other such ones, and maybe the former is a bit lopsided towards the chicken; it has a good range of familiar favourites, and some a bit more unusual and presumably authentic to India.
In addition to the curries, the entrees begin well with an affordable balance of both tandoori and fried options. For something a bit different, there is the bombay chats. Even in eating a lot of Indian, I don't quite get what these are - but they are here to enjoy. Naans are kept modest in selection, and are pretty simple for the most part. Rice consists of a couple of biriyanis and side rices, while there are a few desserts on offer. Condiments are kept to the basics, and drinks are pretty simple as well. A good meal without much frills is right here.
Usually it is the lassi that I go for. However, something else took over my brain. An aspect with beverages that I usually have in restaurants is that coffee is the default hoice, and if there is a new sort of coffee to try then I go for it (so long as it is alcohol-free). That was only said because it was the case here, with what was called "Indian coffee". I have tried ordering it before to no avail, and this time was a success. That was the first order of business, and kept my parents occupied while they still perused the menus. When it came out, to say a brief word the coffee here is interesting. This is in many ways done a lot like teas, with the texture and (presumably) the way that it was brewed. The texture was smooth, it was mild in flavour - the waitress there quipped it was Nescafe. Whatever the case, there was definitely some spices brewed along with the coffee - think a bit like chai tea, that sort of stuff. Overall, it was milky, soothing, and quite recommended. As a coffee drinker, definitely try new forms because ones like this have something different about them. Thumbs up already.
Getting onto the main part of the meal, a couple of curries, and a rice dish, plus the side of a naan were ordered between the three clients. That naan was a potato one, and the curries gotten were a paneer butter marsala, a prawn malai, and a chicken biriyani. All of these were delicious. The paneer butter marsala might well have been some of the best that I have ever tried. The sauce there was thick, it was spicy (both curries were ordered medium-hot to get the right balance and hit), plus both the spinach and the cheese were put in generous quantities. The cheese was soft and chewy, then the spinach and thick and absorbed the sauce readily.
Getting onto the prawn curry, that was the star of the show. This was creamy with a great hit of coconut throughout it, and a distinct and unique blend of spices mixed specially by the chef. They had quite a fair few prawn in there, somewhere between countable on one hand, and a generous scoop. These prawns were massive, robust, sweet and well cooked. Then we have the biriyani, which was certainly generous with the big bits of chicken they had in there. These were either pieces of breast or thigh, and were well seasoned before cooking, all mixed in a good, spicy rice mixture. Plus, with hot, fresh, buttery naan (where the potato was folded into the mixture, hot and soft), it all came together well.
This may only be me or something, but what I got out of the curries here were that they were done in more of a British style than anything. That means they are a little creamier, the texture is more smooth and the spices are ramped up a bit but still wholly manageable without the need for milk. What could also be possible is that I just truly liked it a lot, and wanted to find something to grasp at to discuss why - being hungry at the time also helped a lot.
It is early days yet to give too much of a judgement about here, and how well it is going to do. What it is not too early to decide upon is whether it deserves to do well or not, and this place definitely deserves to do pretty well. Outside of the expected good food, they are certainly putting themselves out there in terms of service and many online avenues - think review sites, delivery services, general customer service et al. The food is fantastic and tasty, maybe quite a margin better than most of the Indian restaurants in town - and we are already talking a fairly high standard as is. There was something different about them that is hard to put my finger on; it was not ambiguous that each one was tasty and good quality. The layout is also pretty good, and business is deservedly kicking in as we speak. Good luck to them.
TL;DR: Indian that is damn well near restaurant quality, if not solidly restaurant quality. The curries have a freshly made aroma and taste about them, it is not like most places serving curry and has something of an aesthetic to it which makes it an oasis in this busy and hectic part of town. With a good focus on customer service both inside and outside the restaurant, and an ardent willingness to ensure that it delivers and the food is good, if lady luck is on their side they will be seeing a lot of it.
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