Thursday, June 21, 2012

Discovery night #1

We recently agreed with Mr 30's suggestion that Thursday nights should be 'discovery nights', set aside to discover a previously unknown restaurant in our local area.

For discovery night #1 we cheated slightly, choosing the Wishing Well of India in Toorak Road Camberwell. Two of the five discoverers had been here before and insisted on their favourite dishes, the lemon coconut rice (LCR) and the dal tadka. The other dishes chosen were chicken vindaloo, lamb saag and aloo chole, with plain rice and garlic naan.

I can't speak for the meat dishes but the dal tadka (yellow split dal punjabi style) is lovely - crunchy with mustard seeds, and aromatic with curry leaves. The aloo chole dish is a soft and lightly spiced concoction of chick peas and potatoes, quite pleasant but not remarkable. The LCR (rice with lemon, shredded coconut, saffron and mustard seeds) is rich and delicious.

Another good thing about the Wishing Well is that it is next door to a very good licensed grocer. Our meal was accompanied by Charles Sturt University shiraz and James Squire Four Wives pilsener.

Our host has imposed a rule for discovery nights. After the initial checkin to facebook or foursquare, there is to be no social networking or other mobile device usage at the table. Discovery nights are not only about discovering neighbourhood eating experiences, but provide an opportunity to learn more about each other without the distraction of personal electronic devices. Mr 27 therefore decided it would be a good idea to bring along a book as an alternative means of annoyance, choosing The Tibetan Book of the Dead. We were treated to selected readings from this throughout the evening.

 

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