INDU
Tucked away under pedestrian level near Angel place in the heart of the city, INDU's space is fun and convenient, perfect for a Friday night catch-up with friends. It offers two feasts, designed to be shared as a way of tasting some of the best Southern Indian food INDU has to offer. I have reviewed INDU once before, where a friend and I picked out a few a la carte items and I decided that while the food is good, it is overpriced. I thought, perhaps, the feast would give me the value I was looking for and allow me to taste a wider variety of what INDU has to offer.
There is a $65 version (the topic of this post) and a $80 version. I think the difference is that the $80 version includes the lamb raan, which is a rack of lamb roasted for 48 hours - but I haven't been able to find information on the INDU website to confirm this.
Is it weird to say that the bread is the highlight of the meal? For me, it was - the tumeric and onion bread is pillowy soft and wonderfully fragrant. The addition of coconut sambol (not spicy at all) and masala butter provides a complex flavour profile that leaves you wanting more and more.
The carrot is pickled, giving it a wonderful tartness while maintaining its crunch. The dish is simple yet very satisfying, and goes perfectly with the bread, which was served at the same time.
The octopus in the dosa is incredibly tender, but there were very few octopus pieces in the mixture. I counted one single square, and one of my friends, none. For the feast, two people share one dosa - which means you get even less octopus than if you were eating one all by yourself. Mostly what you taste is spice. The dosa is chewy and soft, but not a dish I would heartily recommend.
The bone marrow is held inside the bone, which we remove in order to "release" the pool of melted marrows and mix it in. The flavours are rich and complex, but I don't remember it being a stand-out. I am racking my brain - I feel like I should be able to say that the meat was melt-in-your-mouth, but I'm drawing a blank, which is quite unusual. Perhaps I was having too much fun chatting with my friends, or perhaps the dish was fine, but nothing to write home about.
I really enjoyed this pumpkin dish. The pumpkin was soft, gooey and mild, providing a welcome break from the spicy complex dishes that have come before it.
Paratha is a flat bread that reminds me of a Chinese shallot pancake (without the shallot, of course). It is buttery and flakey, but veered on the oily side. The daal is delicious - made with coconut, red lentil and mustard seeds, it is hearty and gentle.
The cheesecake was delightful. Not too rich and silky smooth, it is particularly enjoyable if you take some of the sea salt flakes on the platter and add it to the dainty mouthful. The reason it is a gin & tonic cheesecake is the tiny pearl of G&T on top - but to be honest you can barely taste it. The house chai is rich and delicious, but it is obvious that it is batch brewed and came in a rather small cup (150-200ml, at a guess), so the $5 price tag is a bit of a joke.
Overall, while I had a very enjoyable evening, I am disappointed. I looked to the feast to give me value, but when I do the maths, it's clear that $65pp is not worth it. Don't get me wrong, it was a very filling meal and I would not have wanted any more food - but considering what I have pictured here is a 4 people portion (and therefore cost $260, minus the chai pictured and not including any drinks), you can understand how the feast doesn't do it for me.
At this number of courses (some of which really should be counted as merely sides), what I would have liked to see are more delicate bites which showcase the chef's skills and more specialised produce / ingredient, rather than filling up with by daal, curries and bread. It is tough to do Indian fine dining because Sydney is filled with good Indian restaurants which are cheap as chips, and INDU, unfortunately, falls short.
Another thing that dismayed me was the fact that my friend asked for some chilli because she wanted to add some heat to her dish (brave woman!) and instead of providing what she asked for, the waiter up-sold her a plate of pickles, most of which had nothing to do with chili, for $9. For the record, it was INDU’s pickle plate pol sambol, luna miris, fresh mint chutney, mustard pickles, HOT pickled green chillies - as you can see, only ONE of these items provided the heat she was looking for. Just give the woman some chili, damn it!
Score: 2/5 Not a bad meal, but definitely disappointing considering the price point.
Price: approx $80pp including drinks
Address: 350 George Street, (entry via Angel Place) Sydney
Website: http://indudining.com.au/
There is a $65 version (the topic of this post) and a $80 version. I think the difference is that the $80 version includes the lamb raan, which is a rack of lamb roasted for 48 hours - but I haven't been able to find information on the INDU website to confirm this.
 |
| Tumeric & onion bread, masala butter & coconut sambol ($9 a la carte) |
Is it weird to say that the bread is the highlight of the meal? For me, it was - the tumeric and onion bread is pillowy soft and wonderfully fragrant. The addition of coconut sambol (not spicy at all) and masala butter provides a complex flavour profile that leaves you wanting more and more.
 |
| Heritage carrots labna, puffed wild rice, coriander & peanut dressing (a la carte $16) |
The carrot is pickled, giving it a wonderful tartness while maintaining its crunch. The dish is simple yet very satisfying, and goes perfectly with the bread, which was served at the same time.
 |
| Braised octopus dosa with chaat masala potatoes, pickled red cabbage (a la carte $18) |
The octopus in the dosa is incredibly tender, but there were very few octopus pieces in the mixture. I counted one single square, and one of my friends, none. For the feast, two people share one dosa - which means you get even less octopus than if you were eating one all by yourself. Mostly what you taste is spice. The dosa is chewy and soft, but not a dish I would heartily recommend.
 |
| Beef shin bone marrow & Kashmiri lamb curry with black cardamom (a la carte $36) |
The bone marrow is held inside the bone, which we remove in order to "release" the pool of melted marrows and mix it in. The flavours are rich and complex, but I don't remember it being a stand-out. I am racking my brain - I feel like I should be able to say that the meat was melt-in-your-mouth, but I'm drawing a blank, which is quite unusual. Perhaps I was having too much fun chatting with my friends, or perhaps the dish was fine, but nothing to write home about.
 |
| Devilled pumpkin with ginger, coconut chutney, crispy eshallots & fresh coconut ($22 a la carte) |
I really enjoyed this pumpkin dish. The pumpkin was soft, gooey and mild, providing a welcome break from the spicy complex dishes that have come before it.
 |
| Daal (a la carte $12), paratha (a la carte $6), yogurt, basmati rice (a la carte $6) |
Paratha is a flat bread that reminds me of a Chinese shallot pancake (without the shallot, of course). It is buttery and flakey, but veered on the oily side. The daal is delicious - made with coconut, red lentil and mustard seeds, it is hearty and gentle.
 |
| Bite-sized gin & tonic cheesecakes on a crispy coconut & pistachio crumb with dehydrated orange (a la carte $12 - unsure of a la carte serving size, but this plate served 4pp), house chai ($5) |
Overall, while I had a very enjoyable evening, I am disappointed. I looked to the feast to give me value, but when I do the maths, it's clear that $65pp is not worth it. Don't get me wrong, it was a very filling meal and I would not have wanted any more food - but considering what I have pictured here is a 4 people portion (and therefore cost $260, minus the chai pictured and not including any drinks), you can understand how the feast doesn't do it for me.
At this number of courses (some of which really should be counted as merely sides), what I would have liked to see are more delicate bites which showcase the chef's skills and more specialised produce / ingredient, rather than filling up with by daal, curries and bread. It is tough to do Indian fine dining because Sydney is filled with good Indian restaurants which are cheap as chips, and INDU, unfortunately, falls short.
Another thing that dismayed me was the fact that my friend asked for some chilli because she wanted to add some heat to her dish (brave woman!) and instead of providing what she asked for, the waiter up-sold her a plate of pickles, most of which had nothing to do with chili, for $9. For the record, it was INDU’s pickle plate pol sambol, luna miris, fresh mint chutney, mustard pickles, HOT pickled green chillies - as you can see, only ONE of these items provided the heat she was looking for. Just give the woman some chili, damn it!
Score: 2/5 Not a bad meal, but definitely disappointing considering the price point.
Price: approx $80pp including drinks
Address: 350 George Street, (entry via Angel Place) Sydney
Website: http://indudining.com.au/
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