VANCOUVER: Knock-out Flavour at Vij's Rangoli

For once, we showed up in Vancouver this past weekend without an eating plan. This is extremely rare as Vancouver is one of my favourite place to eat in the world, but we have been extremely busy with visitors this month and barely booked a flight out West to begin with so we literally just showed up. One of our first stops was South Granville for a visit to Williams-Sonoma....and to our most pleasant surprise, we saw activity near Vij's. I was convinced it was just deliveries, but Rangoli, which doubles as a market and restaurant, was actually just opening for lunch! We've tried to revisit Vij's in our last couple trips, but always too impatient (or hungry!) for the long line. I can't tell you how excited I was to have an unplanned opportunity to eat at Vij's Rangoli!

We decided to sit inside, right at the door, because I like to see all the activity in the restaurant. It's a casual, modern place, including doors hidden in the back wall behind wood panels (I heard one staff tell another the majority of his job is telling people where the bathrooms are!).

Sleek, but not pretentious...perfect. We were excited to crack open the menu and were quick to decide what to eat: I ordered the goat and jackfruit in creamy curry with coconut cabbage salad and Tony ordered my second choice, spicy pulled pork with sour cream chutney. We couldn't possibly just have 2 dishes so we also started with lamb, beef & lentil kebabs. This was the highlight of the meal - colourful and full of flavour! There were 4 kebabs, I made the mistake of stuffing the first one quickly into my mouth without indulging in the date-tamarind chutney. First, it was kind of spicy (but in a delicious "I could eat this all day" kind of way) and the chutney helped to cut the heat...but more importantly, the chutney was the BEST CHUTNEY EVER. It was so delicious, I was obligated to pile on as much as I could in every bite in my 2nd kebab. This is a MUST have at Rangoli. I was ready for more explosions of flavour in my mouth with the goat and jackfruit curry, but relative to the kebab, it was actually

pretty tame. I LOVE goat curry and this was every bit tender and delicious although not as creamy or spicy as I expected. The coconut cabbage was FANTASTIC. I lapped up every bite of curry, goat, cabbage, naan and rice on my plate. Don't worry, they are healthy lunch portions and I was not over eating. In fact, our meal felt pretty healthy, unlike most Indian meals we have had where I feel deathly after from the heaviness. Tony's spicy pork must be a regular favourite, it just had "staple dish" all over it and again, not too spicy. Honestly, I think we could have used a bit more spice but I also think we had the flavour knocked out of us by the starter kebabs.

Eating at Vij's Rangoli is a total experience. A suitably diverse crowd buzzed in and out of the market/restaurant, picking up frozen and ready-to-eat dishes from the market. There were also a number of single diners, finely dressed and also dressed down enjoying the food with a good book out on the patio. Someone also pulled up in a spectacular white Lamborghini - good food reaches all demographics :) While the restaurant was still quiet, I was able to interrupt my way into a conversation among the staff about David Chang's first issue of Lucky Peach after overhearing a familiar discussion about Ivan Ramen. It is the most amazing food journal, and yes, I have a subscription, thanks to my very thoughtful friend, Surina! Great food, great crowd, and crazy food lovers...what could be better? Oh right, being in Vancouver!

Vij's Rangoli

1488 West 11th Ave, Vancouver BC

604-736-5711

www.vijsrangoli.ca

A Feast at Banjara Indian Cuisine

I had a craving for butter chicken last week, and too hungry to wait on the great food at Matagali (although delicious, sometimes the wait is just too long!), we started to look up where else we could go. Bread Bar is always a favourite, but then we were also too lazy to drive north. There are plenty of great Indian places around town, and I thought of a place our friends Stella and Andrew recommended - the best butter chicken in Toronto!? Worth a try!

Pulling up to the front of Banjara Indian Cuisine, Gloria immediate recognized it as a place she had been before and said the food was good....so we were off to a good start. They don't take reservations (I tried), but it seems we arrived at just the right time, and the first round of diners were just finishing up so we were seated within 10min. Banjara is what you would expect from an Indian restaurant - lively and colourful! There is also abundant space on the patio for a hot Summer night. The menu is extensive - we had already browsed it while waiting so we wouldn't have to waste time deciding what to eat :)

Here's what 4 hungry people settled on:

- 2 orders of butter chicken: we were foolishly hungry and the metal bowls at other tables didn't look that big!
- goat curry: I had been craving this since we had it at our friends' wedding in Calgary at the Taj Mahal restaurant. It was the first I had it and was so delicious!
- shahi shrimp: we ordered this because we had never had it, shrimp cooked with coconut and green spices.
- palak panner: done with spinach and cream.
- bheendi masala: another dish we had not had before, okra done with onions and tomatoes.
- sides of saffron rice (my favourite), plan naan and garlic naan.

Yeah...it was a lot of food! Don't let those little bowls fool you, we forgot how rich things like butter chicken can be and ended up with leftovers. The food was all good and satisfying, we often found ourselves staring at the table and wondering what we should eat next! The best of the night was the okra, most unique and delicious. While we were very happy with our food, it was served just warm, not hot enough in temperature...and in fact, also not spicy enough. We had ordered all our food "medium," I was the weakest link, but it really was mild so next time I think we would definitely go spicy.

Butter Chicken of the Sea at Bread Bar!

I pass Bread Bar on my way to and from work everyday. Tony and I finally decided to try it sometime last year. I did not have this blog at the time, but let me tell you, it was an unforgettable meal! It is a bustling restaurant that is great for groups/parties. You may be lucky to have your own table, or be seated at the long communal table - either way, the ambiance is warm and friendly.

On our return visit last night, the first thing I looked for was the "butter chicken of the sea" I affectionately remembered from our initial visit - lobster and prawn in the same makhani sauce. I remember the taste fondly and couldn't wait to have it. Imagine my disappointment to find it was not on the menu. I read and re-read the menu several times before resigning to the fact that the must have replaced this dish with the seafood curry. Of course, I was not ready to give up on the single dish I had returned for so we asked the waiter....and I was THRILLED that it was available, a "special" not on the regular menu. Aren't I glad I asked! I especially loved being able to order something not on the menu...has some kind of insider exclusivity to it.

In addition to the deliciously rich lobster and prawn, we also had a lime lamb shank curry, a nice contrast to the flavours of the makhani sauce, and also saag panner - a spinach and rapini puree with paneer (Indian unsalted cheese). All of this served with basmati rice and garlic naan of course. Bread Bar is actually so named for some of its unique naan offerings, but we were so overwhelmed with the mains already that we ended up going minimal with our accompaniment and sticking to the basics. There's always next time!

Bread Bar is a lovely choice for an indulgent Indian dinner, and probably better celebrated with friends (so you can try more food of course!). It is part of the Amaya group of restaurants, which I have yet to try the others, but I'm sure the name and taste is familiar to some of you. Remember to ask for the butter chicken of the sea - I didn't make the name up, I swear that was on the menu last time!

Celebrating an Indian Wedding at Taj Mahal Calgary

We had the pleasure of attending a wonderful East Indian wedding of our friends Paul and Aman last weekend. It was our second experience of the traditional ceremony at temple and of course, the amazing food. We're not well versed in all the do's and don'ts, but the celebration is always colourful and spirited, and we certainly appreciate how friendly and welcoming everyone is. We had to cover our heads and remove our shoes as we entered the temple, and men and women were seated separately. This particular temple in NE Calgary also had projectors translating the entire ceremony, allowing us to understand the blessings and prayers by the gurus. Ceremonies at the temple included a snack in the morning - delicious mixed pakora and veggie samosas and a buffet lunch...yum!

We were invited to join a smaller group for dinner at the Taj Mahal in Calgary. The restaurant has been around for 38 years, and I only recall driving past the giant Taj Mahal facade on the front and never thought to try it - always seemed so cheeseball! I still can't tell you much about what the restaurant looks like inside because the reception was held in a small event space on the third floor...but I can tell you that the food was absolutely wonderful!

Snacks:

Fish pakora with hot mint jelly - I think I could have hot mint jelly with everything and I just love fish pakora.
Crisps with chick pea salsa, yogurt and tamarind sauce - a unique snack that I had not had before, thankfully there was someone to show me the way. The crisps reminded me of the crisps we put in our congee :P

Main:

Saffron rice/naan

Goat curry - this was my first time having goat curry and my favourite dish of the night.
Chicken makhni (butter chicken) - if you have never had butter chicken you are missing out on one of my all time favourite dishes, it is boneless chicken simmered in a rich butter/tomato sauce.
Gulnar paneer (Indian cheese) - was delicious and served with yet another flavourful sauce.

Although our gracious hosts tried to appeal to everyone by offering both an Indian buffet and a "North American" one that boasted roast beef and vegetables, it was of course the Indian buffet that was lined up and enjoyed by all. Tony and I were stuffed and found it hard to prevent ourselves from refilling again and again because we could simply fit no more of the delicious food in our stomach.
Indian weddings are a wonderful experience - a unique celebration embraced by the entire family, young and old, and celebrated through food, music and dance. We were happy to be a part of our friend's wedding and have the opportunity to indulge in such amazing food.

A Quaint Indian Experience at Matagali

We live in the core of downtown Toronto, in an area considered old Chinatown - this can be told from the relic Chinese restaurants in the area. When we first moved to the area, we were keen to find some gems in the neighbourhood - if they have survived years of competition, there must be good food to be found! We were disheartened early when we tried a small Chinese restaurant that appeared popular and was recommended by a friend, which turned out to be unauthentic and probably the worst meal we've had in Toronto. Since our painstaking experience, we have been hesitant to try new "hole-the-walls" that populate the area, whatever the cuisine.

Last night, we were on our way out for a casual dinner, our usual Friday night routine, when I suddenly thought of Matagali on Elm Street - a restaurant our friend Stella had recently tried and recommended. It is a quaint little restaurant in a run down row of brick buildings - next to a sketchy looking salon and what appears to be a frat house. We head down the stairs to the restaurant and discovered its rustic charm - it is small and cozy, with no more than 10 tables and dimly lit. The 2 member staff was friendly, although service is not speedy as they scurried away into the kitchen, not to be seen for more than 10min at a time. That can only be expected of a small restaurant, and who's in a rush on Friday night anyways? The menu appeared to feature both Indian and Thai cuisine, but I stuck to the Indian items, and can barely recall what Thai food was on the menu.

We started with seafood tikka, which included prawns, fish, and a slightly spicy mango chutney. The butter chicken was rich and very satisfying! I was ready to polish off the whole dish, along with the saffron rice and garlic naan. We also had lamb marsala - the meat was good, but I was distracted by the delicious butter chicken. In the end, I shared very little of "my dish" and Tony polished off the lamb. Overall, our food was comforting and delicious - exactly what I was craving! I can't wait to satisfy my butter chicken craving at Matagali again.