281 Bridge Road Richmond (corner bridge road and church street)
94280008.
Ok, i have to admit, indian is one of my falling graces. up until 3 months ago, i refused to eat it. the flavours, the spices, the chilli, the smells, none of it appealed to me. to me, it was an aberration on an otherwise perfect plane of asian food.
then my eyes were opened.
it was malaysia that did it, that drew me in. those damned roti chanai for breakfast, at 30 cents a hit. it was like food crack. i was addicted. for two weeks straight, rain, hail, shine, hungover like a dog (and yes, there were many of those days), i still had to get my fix. it took a train ride, a 15 minute walk, and some careful walking (avoiding trucks, bikes, and wild dogs) just to get to my favorite crack den, but oh man, was it worth it! the mango lassi (still a little bit tart), the dahl, the roti. oh my god - the roti. i was in heaven.
so when i came back, i started to look around, to get my fix. i was like a man possessed. and now i've found it.
garlic naan ($2). notice the chunks of garlic liberally all over the bread. ultimate turn off, yes. ultimate flavour, definitely.
palak paneer ($8). cottage cheese simmered in spinach puree. my food testing friend loves this dish, but i have to admit, it was pretty damn good.
lamb bhuna (8) my favorite of the night. lamb cooked with onion, chopped mint and coriander. this was amazing. i love mint and coriander, so this did everything i wanted. there were a few small bone bits, but otherwise great.
Goat karahi ($9). goat cooked with tomato, onion and capsicum. so gamey.
saffron rice ($3). saffron rice. go figure.this food was perfect, and so cheap - for two people, it was under $20 (with corkage). we ate more too, but by then my hands were shaking with delight, and i didn't want to dirty the new toy (camera).
all the meats were tender, and the service was good - the waiter is the owner, and even brought us water without us having to ask for it (although to his credit, we'd already opened the screwtop wine and started drinking before he came to serve us. no, he wasn't slow - we'd only sat down for 10 seconds before reaching for the bottle).
the tables are all designed for 4 people, and are just big enough (actually maybe a little bit small, but manageable). dark wooden tables, dark wooden seats, oh, and of course, the big widescreen tv playing indian music and bollywood films.
not much else i can say. i'll be back.
and once more:
12 comments:
Will give this one a go! :)
Just try them out last Friday. Superb. I had Butter Chicken, and my partner had Malai Kofta and Chicken Korma. The blend of the spices lingers... Very yummy! Thanks for the post!
Tried this place last night. It was terrific and seemingly quite popular. The garlic naan was easily easily easily(!) the best I've ever had and would dash back in a heartbeat for the garlic naan alone. The curries were great too. We had beef madras, butter chicken and palak paneer. Lamb cutlets (entrée) were sensational.
Not sure if this was normal for Rasoi, but our waiter was the only one on the floor and with the place nearly full he was very busy and we had to be a little patient with service. Lovely fellow though and he did quite well alone with so many tables.
Since then, I've been back to Rasoi 3 times! *LOL* It's quickly become me & my partner's favorite Indian restaurant.
Very delicious butter chicken! I almost licked my bowl clean! :) Try the Kashmiri Naan too - also yummy!
Ooops, redcirce, yeah - I know who you meant, only one waiter who take order and deliver food. But yesterday we were served by another junior waiter. Hopefully that means they're getting additional staffs due to popularity :P
I just stumbled upon your blog and this is the first post I read - instantly hooked! I lived in Malaysia for the first half of the year - roti canai, garlic cheese naan, milo ais and tandoori were my life - your post brings back soo many good memories. Thanks!
ps - And I'm a poor student - digging this whole very cheap eats blog overall!
Ate here tonight due to this blogs recommendation. Our usual Indian haunt, Curry Curry on Burke Rd in Camberwell, has a serious contender. Not only was the food just as good, it was $15-$20 cheaper! It really was exceptional.
Many thanks for the original review (it was the pictures that made our decision to eat there!).
This place is my local curry joint, and never fails to impress. I've been there with a load of different people, trying a load of different dishes, and never heard a complaint. An instant favourite for me, which soon became a regular haunt.
We had a family dinner here and I was concerned it was going to be too noisy or too cafeteria-like but it wasn't at all. The atmosphere was very nice and they had music on, not the TV screen.
Our waiter was very pleasant, courteous to the extreme but not annoyingly so, and all importantly he offered very helpful advice as to which dishes to order which meant the difference between having a very good dinner and having a sensational dinner I suspect. He definitely deserved the tip we left and at those prices it doesn't break the bank.
Needless to say here under all these other posts - the food was delicious. The Lamb Bhuna, the Goat Karachi, the Malai Kofta and the Butter Chicken were the standouts for our party. And those garlic naan!
The Rasoi is our local, and we go there often. The Lamb Bhuna is excellent, and we are in love with the garlic Naan!
We also have a new found love for the Kathi Roll, which for $7.00 takeaway is a seriously good deal (Wayyyy better than the souvlaki up the road).
i just came from malaysia, and have been wondering what is UP with the indian restaurants i've been going to here.
so it's good to see a place that looks quite promising on review. will be heading there soon, thanks!
Visited Rasoi last night.
Very, very pleased with quality of food, portions and prices. Food could have come a bit faster, but had good company so it was alright.
I have the delivery menu with me, so the prices I quote are from it, and (very likely, especially in the case of entrees) pricier than the dine-in menu by a few dollars:
Starters:
$5 Samosa (2pcs). very lovely pastry, thin, vegetarian, good flavours.
entrees:
$19 Rasoi Tandoori platter
Selection of tandoori meats on some vegetables. the meats (lamb cutlets and chicken drumsticks for me) were tender, the tandoori was beee-oooo-ti-ful, and the veggies it came with was a great complement.
Came with good home made dipping, onions went really well with it.
If you have a few people with you, I strongly recommend this.
Vegetarian:
$10.50 Palak Paneer
I love palak paneer, but like the review says, this came out great. everything I expected.
$9.50 kadai paneer
Cottage cheese with onion, tomato and capsicum. Also very good.
Non-Veg:
$10.50 Lamb vindaloo, and $11.90 Goat karahi
(if I didn't get these wrong). I was expecting the vindaloo to be a lot spicier, so was surprised that I could handle it easily. Meats were all very tender, very tasty.
Rice, and some Breads: $3 Garlic naan, $2 plain naan (I loved how generous the garlic naan was, lots of garlic).
Dessert:
I was elated to see mango kulfi on the menu, but the chef wasn't available. I couldn't really hear what the restaurateur was saying, but it's probably best to enquire early while ordering entree, if it's available.
Instead, we went for the gulab jamun with vanilla ice cream ($5). I can be fussy about this, but again, Rasoi delivered. Good gulab jamun.
Our bill came up to slightly under 100 (minus drinks), for 5 people (we also over-ordered).
Basically, I found no fault with the food. Very pleased overall with the experience in Rasoi.
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