Malabar is an Indian cuisine restaurant with two locations in Sydney: Darlinghurst and Crows Nest. We were having massive curry cravings last week and messaged A: “Yo, Indian?” and she booked the place instantly 🧠😂.
We ate here last night and had a great time with a bottle of:
FYI I have a very low tolerance for spice 🥵 and loved it.
We ate here last night and had a great time with a bottle of:
- Marc Bredif Vouvray (France) – aromatic, gentle and easy to drink
- Kilikanoon Morts Block Riesling (Australia) – intense lemon acidity with sour notes
FYI I have a very low tolerance for spice 🥵 and loved it.
Entrée
To start, this was the onion tomato katchumber. It was a small salad of chopped tomatoes and onions with a hint of lemon juice that brought a lot of freshness to our palates and cut through the heavy curry bites.
This Kheema Dosai was a rice pancake with homemade lamb mince, fenugreek, fresh ginger and cinnamon. The exterior pancake was soft and crispy, hugging the minced lamb in this wonderfully delicious bite. The lamb was savoury with the slightest spicy kick. The accompanying sauces were mildly sweet, elevating the flavours.
We got 2 servings of the starter sampler which had tandoori chicken tikka, Mysore chilli chops and Patti samosa. A and Mick voted for the Mysore chops but I was digging the samosa.
🍗 The tandoori chicken was well marinated with a good amount of spice mixed with the salty chicken flavour. The charcoal flavour came through, highlighting the juiciness of the meat.
🥩 The Mysore lamb chops were savoury with lots of scrumptious salty flavours and an addicting spicy taste, even for my basic tolerance. It was very satisfying sucking on the bones.
🥟The Patti samosa was this delicious flakey puff with a mildly sweet filling of sliced onions. It was so good when dipped in the avocado sauce.
🍗 The tandoori chicken was well marinated with a good amount of spice mixed with the salty chicken flavour. The charcoal flavour came through, highlighting the juiciness of the meat.
🥩 The Mysore lamb chops were savoury with lots of scrumptious salty flavours and an addicting spicy taste, even for my basic tolerance. It was very satisfying sucking on the bones.
🥟The Patti samosa was this delicious flakey puff with a mildly sweet filling of sliced onions. It was so good when dipped in the avocado sauce.
Main Course
For our mains, we got 4 curries.
The first was a Hyderabadi Dum Murgh on the special menu. It was a marinated chicken cooked with garam masala, cashew, yoghurt, almond and fried onions. It was very flavourful with lots of depth of spices. The chicken texture was slightly tough, contrasting with the silkiness of the curry.
The first was a Hyderabadi Dum Murgh on the special menu. It was a marinated chicken cooked with garam masala, cashew, yoghurt, almond and fried onions. It was very flavourful with lots of depth of spices. The chicken texture was slightly tough, contrasting with the silkiness of the curry.
This was the beef kerala. It was a medium spicy curry with seared beef cubes cooked with grated ginger, chilli and coriander, all submerged in coconut milk and baby potatoes. The beef pieces were very tender, almost melting in our mouths with the blend of the creamy coconut milk. It was delicious when dipped with the garlic naan 🤤.
This eggplant and potato was an interesting combo. It was a mild to medium spicy curry with baby eggplants cooked with panch phoran and chunky onions. I’m not a fan of eggplants but the other two enjoyed the vegetable. I found the potatoes very soft and flavourful.
This lamb varutha was the favourite of the night! 😍 It was a pepper hot curry with diced braised lamb cooked in homegrown curry leaves, peppercorns, fennel and star anise. The lamb was a lean cut and very tender and juicy. It had a light lemon zest to the bite. And despite being pepper hot, I found it tolerable. It was almost addicting to eat.
Oh fek, gimme more of this garlic cheese naan 🤤. Naan is a leavened, oven-baked flatbread and curry’s favourite partner-in-crime. Add on the garlic and cheese and oooft, it was a dynamite combination.
The bread was soft with its baked exterior. The garlic was sharp and the cheesy filling was milky, dampening some of the spice from the curry so we could enjoy all the levels of flavours.
The bread was soft with its baked exterior. The garlic was sharp and the cheesy filling was milky, dampening some of the spice from the curry so we could enjoy all the levels of flavours.
We also got paratha; a flakey bread cooked on a hotplate. It was not as wowing as the naan but it definitely paired perfectly with the curries, elevating the sauces on its plain body.
Dessert
We got the dessert platter to share.
🍨 The rasmalai was two soft handmade paneer bonda soaked in saffron milk. It was very light and enjoyable, like a pudding.
🥭 The mango kulfi was like condensed and creamy ice cream. The added popping pearl mangos were syrupy and sweetened the bite.
🥕 The gajar halwa was sweet carrot pudding with cardamom and roasted cashews. It was definitely very sweet with a light, crumbly texture.
🍨 The rasmalai was two soft handmade paneer bonda soaked in saffron milk. It was very light and enjoyable, like a pudding.
🥭 The mango kulfi was like condensed and creamy ice cream. The added popping pearl mangos were syrupy and sweetened the bite.
🥕 The gajar halwa was sweet carrot pudding with cardamom and roasted cashews. It was definitely very sweet with a light, crumbly texture.
This was the galub jamun of two golden sticky milk dumplings soaked in rose and cardamom and infused with sugar syrup. They had a light and chewy texture and with every bite, there was a good amount of sweet syrup bursting into our mouths.
Service
The service was great! The staff were friendly and attentive. They even covered the table with another white cloth so our desserts would look great in the pictures 😊.
The restaurant was Covid safe. They had heaps of hand sanitising stations and abided by the social distancing rules.
The restaurant was Covid safe. They had heaps of hand sanitising stations and abided by the social distancing rules.
Review
The food was very delicious. There was a lot of options on the menu, even more so than the one of their website. There was also a lot of vegan options. I reckon their menu is mildly spicy, catered towards the Australian community.
The restaurant had a great ambience with a casual vibe. We had a great time last night and we would love to go back next time we have a curry craving again 😆
Thanks for reading!
The restaurant had a great ambience with a casual vibe. We had a great time last night and we would love to go back next time we have a curry craving again 😆
Thanks for reading!
Wow, wonderful blog structure! How long have you ever been blogging for? you make blogging look easy. The overall look of your web site is excellent, let alone the content!!
Wow, incredible weblog layout! How lengthy have you ever been blogging for? you made running a blog look easy. The entire glance of your website is excellent, let alone the content material!!