The Indian Kitchen

"All you can eat $8.99" is the only thing I've known about the Indian Kitchen for years. Heavy curries are not the kind of thing I usually aim to eat in large quantities, so my only interactions with the Indian Kitchen were seeing that sign time and again as I frequented the sushi place next door. However, when I recently returned to Thornhill , my goto Indian place had closed down, and this was my only choice. We went for dinner, so I cannot speak for the affordable lunch buffet, but our experience certainly exceeded expectations.

Neither of us had been to the place before, and when we entered only one other table was filled- suspicious. We flipped through the menu, and they have great variety of both curry, vegetarian and non curry options. I ordered the goat curry with basmati rice and my dad ordered the tandoori lamb with naan bread and roti.

The last time I had ordered a lamb curry I wasn't a big fan, but this was several years ago, and I was feeling adventurous. My daring paid off because the dish was delicious! The meat was tender enough to fall off the bone and be gorged by my teeth. This was my first time visiting an Indian restaurant since becoming gluten free, and I thought resisting the naan was going to be torture, but my curry went so great with the rice that I didn't even mind missing out on one of my favourite treats.

The menu helpfully ranks the spiceyness of each dish, so those with brave souls or for the faint of heart can both find the perfect dish. By the time we were leaving the restaurant was beginning to fill up, so I guess we had just been a little keen, this is a little treasure of Thornhill that will remain hidden no more!

Lifesaving Lattes

Last weekend something horrible happened- I had to come into work on a Sunday. One could say it was my fault for slacking off most of the week, but I'm not here to point fingers, I'm here to relent on how depressing it is to have to drag yourself into the office on Sunday to try and hurriedly finish your work that will determine your legacy (it's my last week). As per usual, when things started to get really depressing I started getting hungry. I waited as long as I could but eventually I had to cave and go get lunch. Coburg Coffee is the closest cafe to my work, and being the cool hipster joint that it is, it is always filled with healthy and sensitive choices.

My first recommendation is not to go into Coburg too hungry, because I always get distracted by the book exchange shelf on the way to the counter. There is something about (free) books that I just cannot resist, and usually spend a good 20 minutes looking through the shelf to see if there are any keepers before I make my way to order.

I always have a hard time when there are so many gluten and dairy free options to choose from- There usually aren't very many options that suit my dietary needs, and I'm just not expecting the staggering weight of a food decision when I've committed to going gluten and dairy free. I was craving a green tea latte so I skipped the salads and went for a soy latte and Pakora, (which I would describe as a giant Indian style potato latke) probably the least healthy of all my options. I had not gone out drinking the night before, but it was Sunday morning so I felt like I deserved at least a bit of grease.

I smuggled the food back to my office so I could eat on a couch and catch up on some TV before I had to get back to work, sipping the latte as I quickly walked, desperate to get to my food. The green tea latte was as flavourful as ever, the best in the city, in my opinion. I usually find when I order tea lattes, they mostly taste like warm milk or syrup, but this one, made with real green tea finds the perfect combination of green tea flavour and creamy soy milk.

The pakora comes with a side of chutney or hummus, the chutney sounded more exotic so I went with that. It was perfectly greasy without the overwhelming breading or bacon grease that these dishes are usually fried in. It had gotten a little soggy on the bottom during my walk, but that did not effect the taste. The chutney gave it a little kick, and the pakora had a hint of spice mixed in with the potato, cauliflower and chickpea flours.

As my show ended I slowly made my way back to my desk to continue my work, anxiously awaiting my next meal.

Stats:

Gluten Free: yes!

Dairy Free: yes!