It's Food, not Fight, at Dishoom in London
I may have come five years later than everyone else but I like to think that, like seasoned wine, Dishoom's food is tastier now than it was at the start.
So I heard all about yet another new Indian restaurant in town a few years ago. It was styled along an old Bombay cafe. Funnily enough I was about to re-locate to Mumbai just around then (and that's also the time when i started this blog). So needless to say, visiting a Mumbai-style restaurant in London was not high priority!
When back in London after my short India-stint, I felt sated enough for about a year to keep away from desi food hang outs. But last year was a turning point in more ways than one and I found myself making more rotis/ paranthas in a month than I'd done in a decade. In my quest to avoid this weekly grind, scouting for good Indian restaurants became a temporary past-time.
It was finally a cousin and a friend who dragged me to Dishoom for afternoon tea, leaving me hooked (perhaps for life) to the 'Naughty Dark Chocolate Masala Chai' that comes with a splash of bourbon.
My second visit with my Dilli-walle mates (read Delhites) followed soon after. This time I was able to add three more hot favourites to my list:
1) Rajma-chawal (Red kidney bean with rice): Mmmmmmmmmmmmm. Near perfection and one that brought back joyous memories of Mahinder's canteen at SPA Delhi.
2) Black daal (Dal Makhani i.e. dark, creamy lentil curry): Yummy! Esepcially with roomali roti.
3) Lassi (milk-based drink that can be sweet or salty) - We tried three flavours including....bhang lassi! Just to be clear this wasn't the typical north Indian bhang (i.e. marijuana-laced, watery milk shake with pistachio) that is traditionally had during the festival of Holi in March, especially in Rajasthan. This was a mild hemp-based version but delightful none the less. Equally delicious was the rose and cardamom lassi. The third one, mango and fennel, was thicker but full of flavours.
Now all I need to do is find out if they can pack and deliver my rajma-chawal and my naughty dark choc chai to my house, my workplace and anywhere I happen to be in the world really......
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Addendum: Alas, perfection is only a fleeting concept. My third visit to Dishoom was for brunch with more desi people. We went for the Indian style omelet and a few other tid-bits. I would say the taste and variety was just 'average'. A bit of a let-down. My plan now is to stick to main meals. Rajma-chawal and lassi here I come!
So I heard all about yet another new Indian restaurant in town a few years ago. It was styled along an old Bombay cafe. Funnily enough I was about to re-locate to Mumbai just around then (and that's also the time when i started this blog). So needless to say, visiting a Mumbai-style restaurant in London was not high priority!
When back in London after my short India-stint, I felt sated enough for about a year to keep away from desi food hang outs. But last year was a turning point in more ways than one and I found myself making more rotis/ paranthas in a month than I'd done in a decade. In my quest to avoid this weekly grind, scouting for good Indian restaurants became a temporary past-time.
It was finally a cousin and a friend who dragged me to Dishoom for afternoon tea, leaving me hooked (perhaps for life) to the 'Naughty Dark Chocolate Masala Chai' that comes with a splash of bourbon.
My second visit with my Dilli-walle mates (read Delhites) followed soon after. This time I was able to add three more hot favourites to my list:
1) Rajma-chawal (Red kidney bean with rice): Mmmmmmmmmmmmm. Near perfection and one that brought back joyous memories of Mahinder's canteen at SPA Delhi.
2) Black daal (Dal Makhani i.e. dark, creamy lentil curry): Yummy! Esepcially with roomali roti.
3) Lassi (milk-based drink that can be sweet or salty) - We tried three flavours including....bhang lassi! Just to be clear this wasn't the typical north Indian bhang (i.e. marijuana-laced, watery milk shake with pistachio) that is traditionally had during the festival of Holi in March, especially in Rajasthan. This was a mild hemp-based version but delightful none the less. Equally delicious was the rose and cardamom lassi. The third one, mango and fennel, was thicker but full of flavours.
Now all I need to do is find out if they can pack and deliver my rajma-chawal and my naughty dark choc chai to my house, my workplace and anywhere I happen to be in the world really......
****************
Addendum: Alas, perfection is only a fleeting concept. My third visit to Dishoom was for brunch with more desi people. We went for the Indian style omelet and a few other tid-bits. I would say the taste and variety was just 'average'. A bit of a let-down. My plan now is to stick to main meals. Rajma-chawal and lassi here I come!
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