Chakra
2497 Yonge Street
416-487-7188
Dinner for two with all taxes, tip, and wine: $155

“Simply revolutionary Indian Cuisine!!”

So says Chakra’s website. I decide to forgive the over-the-top punctuation – I’m a big fan of Indian food, and I’m always curious about things all revolutionary-like.

A nasty wind is blowing when my guest and I arrive at Chakra, but we are warmly welcomed at the door and given our choice of table. Newly opened in the former Mimosa location, just north of Eglinton, the interior by Cricket Design Co. is spacious and thoughtfully lit, and the house music creates an appropriate atmosphere without being intrusive. Colourful paintings by Gregory Burns line the walls. The setting is seductive, and as my guest and I settle in with a gin and tonic, we are looking forward to trying what Chef Johnson Yohannon has described as “modern Indian”.

Continue reading Not Enough Spice for the Price »

Indian Flavour
123 Dundas Street West, 2nd floor
416-408-2799
Buffet lunch for two with all taxes, tip and lassi: $30

So it’s pretty much a given that no one actually expects great food at an All-You-Can-Eat buffet. Passable, possibly flavourful, but never outstanding. Reasonably priced, but with the knowledge that you get what you pay for.

Such is the case with Indian Flavour. Formerly located in the Atrium on Bay, Indian Flavour reopened its doors a few months ago on Dundas West, just west of Bay Street. Like so many Indian AYCE places, the new location is up a flight of stairs, lessening the draw to walk-by traffic. Yet at lunch time, the place remains busy, with local office workers teeming in, even on the rainy day we were there.

Continue reading The Number One Rule of the Buffet - You Get What You Pay For »

Federick’s Restaurant
1920 Ellesmere Road
416-439-9234
Dinner for two, with all taxes and tip: $40

There are a few important things that every Indian expatriate in Toronto and its suburbs will know: one of them is where to buy chapatis in bulk quantities, and the other, where to source the best Hakka this side of the Atlantic.

Indian Hakka cooking is legendary – amongst those of the Indo-Chinese Diaspora. The highly educated self-titled Hakka people of China are part of the earliest diasporic movements in the world. After centuries of migration from northern China to the southern provinces, millions of Hakka people left the south by sea and settled on coasts around the world, including the port cities of Bombay and Calcutta. Reflecting their transcultural adaptability, the Hakka people living in India created a unique cuisine that melded Indian spices with their own simple cooking styles. A far cry from the signature, simply spiced dishes of their ancestors, Indian Hakka food is a scorching ride for the palate.

Continue reading Chinese Food, Indian Flavour »

Jaadu
1415 Yonge Street
416-944-8885
Dinner for two with all taxes, tip and juice (no desserts available): $46

Toronto has a large and vibrant Indian community which is easily reflected by the amount of Indian restaurants and little hole-in-the-walls which dot the downtown landscape. A recent and welcome addition to this landscape is Jaadu. It’s only three months old but it’s already challenging the older Indian eatery in the region, Rangoli (1392 Yonge Street).

Rangoli has a more open and bright atmosphere with lively colours on the wall. A friend once described dinner there as “feeling like you’ve been invited to dinner at a good friend’s house.” At first glance, Jaadu looks dark, clean and modern. First impressions suggest it’s a higher end Indian restaurant. After walking through the door, those impressions are confirmed. It’s grey, and, some would say, quite bland. There’s a fully stocked bar on the southern wall, which instantly reveals that it’s not like other Indian restaurants. This is not just another hole-in-the-wall. My partner notes, “this used to be a Chinese restaurant, right? You can tell the paint job was quick.” She’s right and something like that can say a lot about the nature of the establishment. Having said that, I go into a restaurant to eat, not judge the paint on the walls.

Continue reading Jonesing For Jaadu »

Nataraj
394 Bloor Street West
416-928-2925
Dinner for two with all taxes, tip: $35

On Saturday night I was in the mood for two things: a stroll along Bloor and Indian food. My boyfriend and I figured we’d encounter an Indian restaurant somewhere in our travels, so off we went, and along the way we found Nataraj. We’ve enjoyed a few meals here in the past and thought this was a great place to curb my craving.

Nataraj is located near Bloor and Brunswick and is easy to walk past if you’re not paying attention. Luckily, it’s usually quite busy, so there’s often a line-up out the door. The place isn’t big on décor; fairly plain walls with turquoise green table clothes, not overtly Indian in feeling, but clean and bright. But I’m never one to get overly touchy about design when the food is good.

Continue reading Cheap and Delicious Indian in the Annex »

Udupi Palace
1460 Gerrard Street East
416-405-8138
Dinner (no dessert) for two with all taxes, tip and mango lassi (unlicensed): $40

Everyone who visits Little India inevitably has their favourite place to eat. Mine happens to be a chain. Yes, a chain. Udupi Palace has locations in Maryland, Illinois, Seattle, Queens and Mountain View, California to name but a few. All focus on South Indian vegetarian food, and all are located in areas with a concentrated Southeast Asian population.

The Toronto location, smack in the middle of the Gerrard India Bazaar, is a basement space that disconcertingly resembles a banquet hall. Tile floors, granite tables, and trompe l’oeil paintings on the wall combine to make the space feel somewhat cold and stark. It’s freakishly clean to the point of being almost clinical, and while it doesn’t actually smell of bleach, I always have the impression that the whole place is “sanitized for your protection” every evening at closing.

Continue reading Treated Like a King at Udupi Palace »

South Indian Dosa Mahal
1284 Bloor Street West
416-516-7701
Lunch for two with all taxes, tip and drinks: $26

South Indian Dosa Mahal has the ambiance of a fast food joint, in all its formic and linoleum glory. The tables are crowded together and it’s hard to move around them — you really get to know your neighbours, for better or worse (it was a pretty cool crowd on my latest visit, truth be told). The lighting is bright and glaring. They have no liquor license. The Bloor and Landsdowne neighbourhood, aka Bloordale, is the kind of place I usually get asked for change several times in a couple of blocks. But inside South Indian Dosa Masala the clientèle seems to have enough scratch for great food at cheap prices, so discreet gawking and eating became the happy orders of the day.

Continue reading For Me, It’s All About The Dosas »

Embassy Restaurant: Samosa King
5210 Finch Avenue East, Units 9-11
416-332-0944
Lunch for two, with all taxes and tip (no beverages): $10

Even before walking into Samosa King, the first thing I noticed was the ridiculously long cafeteria-style display of desserts and hot food that spanned the entire length of the restaurant. The second thing I noticed was the similarly lengthy throng of customers lining up to order. As my friend and I queued up we were acutely and awkwardly aware of our presence sticking out like a sore thumb, as two people who were completely unfamiliar with the menu, and as the only Chinese-Caucasian duo in a sea of Indian regulars. Amidst the fluidity of said regulars, we moseyed down the line, staring open-mouthed at all the tasty choices and feeling just a bit overwhelmed at the sheer variety.

Continue reading How Am I “Samosa” Stop Eating? »

Indus Junction
811 Queen Street West
647-428-7119

If I say “let’s go for Indian food,” to any of my friends, their first thought is going to be buffet, where we all fill our plates over and over again with passable but not especially memorable food. Sure, there are some upscale Indian restaurants in Toronto, but even there, the focus is on traditional, with the compartmentalized plates reminiscent of a cafeteria. Like so many ethnic cuisines that are now part of the culture of our city, we have this idea that Indian food must be traditional. But India as a culture has embraced the 21st century, and there’s no reason why Indian food can’t be modernized as well.

Enter Alka and Poonam Dhir, whose month-old Queen Street restaurant Indus Junction serves up beautiful Indian food, laced with authentic flavours and techniques, but with a modern twist. It is the junction where east meets west, old meets new, and the traditionally male-dominated industry gets a feminine touch that is as breath-taking as a jewelled sari.

Continue reading Restaurant Profile - Indus Junction »

It was the promise of mangoes that lured me across town to Little India; sweet, juicy, luscious things available only for a few weeks each year. But since I was there and all, it didn’t hurt to pick up some other sweet tasty treats, like burfi.

Burfi or Barfi is an Indian sweet, similar in consistency to fudge. Also known as Indian cheesecake, it is made by boiling milk, usually condensed milk, along with sugar and flavourings and spices and then allowing it to cool.

Nuts are a common flavouring, particularly pistachios, but burfi can also contain cashews, mango, chocolate, coconut, rose and saffron, as well as spices such as cardamom.

Continue reading Gerrard Street Sweets »

Ghandi’s Cuisine
554 Queen Street West
416-504-8155
Rotis for two with tax, tip and drinks: $25

It’s been at least six months, maybe a year, since I’ve come up with a good excuse to treat myself to a roti at Ghandi’s Cuisine. So when I was heading to the west end to buy a couple of concert tickets at Rotate This, how could I not go? I mean really? How? Exactly.

If you’ve been there recently you’ll notice they’ve spruced up the joint a little – a new coat of paint, some new tables, a newly printed menu hanging over the counter. Fancy. Well, not quite. It’s still pretty dive-y. Let’s face it; you’re not there for the ambiance. Get your roti and carry on with your day (i.e. leave the place, eat at home, find a bench, anything). There are very few seats inside and they’re often full. But this time of year, it gets pretty hot in a joint like that. I feel for the staff working all day in that tiny kitchen.

Continue reading Can’t Resist the Roti »

Annapurna
1085 Bathurst Street
416-537-8513
Dinner for two, including all taxes, tip, and tea: $35

How to describe Annapurna? “You just have to see it” is a cop-out, but the closest combination I can think of is an afternoon tea crossed with a meditation centre. Baby blue walls and motion-activated chirping birds stood alongside tabletop fountains of Hindu figures on laminated tablecloths, again in baby blue. If nothing else, it spurred an amused half-grin from this newcomer.

Continue reading Annapurna »

Banjara Indian Cuisine
796 Bloor Street West
416-963-9360
Dinner for two with tax - $25

Just west of Christie Pits Park is a strange building that sort of looks like a strip mall. It has been home to many a sad coffee chain, at one time it looked a lot like a Coffee Time but was cleverly named “Coffee Tip”. So when I heard from a friend that a “really good Indian place opened up there”, I was a bit surprised. I would not say it was the ideal location for any restaurant, let alone the spot for really freakin’ good Indian food!

Banjara Indian Cuisine set up shop at this location a few months ago. It used to be at Yonge and Bloor under the name Mr. Maharajah, which was frequently packed. A Yonge Street Banjara was added to accommodate overflow and after closing for a short while, it moved to Bloor and Christie. The owner is Chef Raj Veerell, who has an extensive list of credentials, from chef at Sassafraz to working with Jamie Kennedy. I trust that Chef Raj knows what he’s doing.

Continue reading Hurrah Banjara! »

I bought my wife a spittoon for Christmas, a genuine antique spittoon. I considered it a unique, charming and romantic present. She certainly didn’t. Ironically enough, she tried to spit on me. Well, things eventually calmed down. I talked her out of a divorce and the spittoon makes a lovely planter for our African violets. And when she’s not looking I spit in it.

Well, tobacco spitting isn’t an activity I should have promoted within my family. It is uncouth and unhealthy. Snail spitting is not as unhealthy, but contains an element of cruelty. Yet, for some reason, the urge to masticate (hey, I said masticate) and expectorate overwhelmed me this Sunday. I walked jauntily into Little India for exotic chewing experiences well beyond the simple pleasures of Juicy Fruit or Red Man.

Continue reading The Paan Handlers »

Tikki Tikka Indian Bistro
2057 Royal Windsor Drive, Mississauga
905-823-2000
Dinner for two with non-alcoholic drinks including tax and tip: $65.00

This week my husband got to pick the place. For our ninth anniversary, he took me to his favourite strip mall Indian restaurant out near where he works, out by the invisible line separating Mississauga from Oakville, out in the complex with the police station (Region Of Peel!), the Firestone Tire, a surviving Harvey’s, a bank, a dry cleaner, and other stuff that is hard to notice or remember. Moderate was my trepidation, hopping the Go Train out from Union Station on the (not quite) last train to Clarkson, but great was my pleasant surprise. Tikki Tikka Indian Bistro met and exceeded my Toronto-city-cat expectations. I was surprised to find such an innovative and interesting Indian food out in the land of the big boxes, many-axeled trucks and red light cams, but, really, on reflection, why not? This bistro was unique and it was good, darn good.

Tasteful was the interior of Tikki Tikka, making one forgetful of the prefab exterior and the police to one side and the bank tellers to the other. Mellow, yellow strings of lights defined the ceiling plane of the interior space, so far removed from the heavy traffic of commerce beyond the frosted glass outside, creating a pleasant, self-contained ambiance. Butcher paper and unprepossessing IKEA-ware on the tables kept things on the casual tip, but the overriding impression is one of cleanliness. I mean, the place is done up in earthtones and soft yellow lights – it is no hospital – but it is exceptionally clean, and there ain’t nothing wrong with that.

Continue reading Tikki Tikka Indian Bistro »