Another Sydney food feast spot!
H and I did the Harbour Bridge Climb (which incidentally was amazing, despite the 50km/hour winds!) while we were there and of course needed a delicious after exercise meal. So we headed off to Surrey Hills to eat at Maya Da Dhaba, a restaurant about which we had heard lots of good things!
Before I get to the main part of the post I must warn you that we were very, very hungry. Without this disclaimer you might think that we ate more than is humanely possible. Apologies for the iphone photos but my camera ran out of battery (again). I've now got a new battery so picture qualities should increase (yay!)
The restaurant itself is very nice inside. I showed a picture to a friend who has been there before and he said he thinks they must have recently renovated. It was warm and cosy, but also big enough that you could have a big family gathering as well. Although it was very quiet because we got there at maybe 2:30 PM and it was a weekday. We sat right next to the front window to enjoy the sunshine, and also because we felt bad that the staff were finally getting to have their lunch and we felt like we ruined their break (they told us we weren't, but they were all so lovely and friendly that even if we had I don't think they would have told us).
H usually always orders for us when we get Indian, and he knows so well what I like so its never a problem. This time we started off with some Amritsari fish, coated with a chickpea flour and methi, deep fried then served with a yoghurt sauce. I found the methi flavour a bit strong and the fish maybe a tad too dry but that was probably because I didn't have the sauce. I put a big squeeze of lemon on my second piece and that seemed to help with the dryness. Next time we would probably try a different entree.
We had three main meat dishes, each of which was delicious:
Kadai Chicken, cooked with tomatoes, capsicum and coriander (spicy). I really loved this one however the chilli got to me after a bit- I had to take big sips of wine so that I could keep eating it. I think it was a sign that I need to go out and eat more spicy food to increase my tolerance!
Chicken Chettinad, cooked with curry leaves and mustard seeds (mild). This curry was almost creamy even though it had no cream in it. I think I may have hogged this dish just a little bit.
Prawn Bhuna, cooked with capsicum and onion (spicy). I was very impressed with the size of the prawns in this dish and the amount that we got- I guess I am used to Canberra restaurants where seafood is so expensive that you get hardly any prawns in your prawn dish.
I liked each one for its variety, even though the Chettinad was quite mild it made up for it with the flavour punch it packed, absolutely moreish. And while both the Kadai and and the Bhuna were spicy, you could still taste the flavours coming through- I particularly liked the coriander flavour in the Kadai.
Of course you cannot have such a meal without some rice and breads.
For rice we had the Dum Hyderabadi Biryani, fluffy rice with lamb and spices. It soaked up the sauce from the Chettinad perfectly, I think the flavours matched really well. Because the biryani was cooked in a dum style (basically they turn the pot the rice is being cooked in into a mini oven and cook it for hours) the meat was delightfully tender, and the marinade still shone through. Even though the grains of rice were separate they were not dry. This would be a great dish to order if you were ordering just for yourself at a restaurant- the serving was huge (it was the only dish we didn't finish, but only because it was the last to arrive) but it was not a dish that you would get sick of eating after a couple of bites.
We had a couple of breads, I stuck with my normal roti (who can go past it really?) while H had naan and lachaa parantha. The roti came out lovely and fresh, when you tore chunks off the steam rose from the bread, it looked very nice in the sunlight.
Since we had worked so hard with our climb and had no big plans for the evening, I accompanied the meal with a fruity NZ sauvignon blanc. Because I can't have the yoghurt to help cool the fire from the spice this wine was a great choice (well, as much as wine can ever match curry anyway).
I really, really enjoyed the food. We had heaps of time just to sit and enjoy it in the sun, tasting every flavour and surprising each other (yet again) with just how much food we could put away! Needless to say, we did not eat dinner that night! If you are in the area and craving some deliciousness, I would absolutely recommend that you pop in.
Maya De Dhaba
431 Cleveland Street,
Surry Hills (Sydney)
(02) 8399 3785
www.mayadhaba.com.au
H and I did the Harbour Bridge Climb (which incidentally was amazing, despite the 50km/hour winds!) while we were there and of course needed a delicious after exercise meal. So we headed off to Surrey Hills to eat at Maya Da Dhaba, a restaurant about which we had heard lots of good things!
Before I get to the main part of the post I must warn you that we were very, very hungry. Without this disclaimer you might think that we ate more than is humanely possible. Apologies for the iphone photos but my camera ran out of battery (again). I've now got a new battery so picture qualities should increase (yay!)
The restaurant itself is very nice inside. I showed a picture to a friend who has been there before and he said he thinks they must have recently renovated. It was warm and cosy, but also big enough that you could have a big family gathering as well. Although it was very quiet because we got there at maybe 2:30 PM and it was a weekday. We sat right next to the front window to enjoy the sunshine, and also because we felt bad that the staff were finally getting to have their lunch and we felt like we ruined their break (they told us we weren't, but they were all so lovely and friendly that even if we had I don't think they would have told us). |
| Amritsari Fish |
We had three main meat dishes, each of which was delicious:
Kadai Chicken, cooked with tomatoes, capsicum and coriander (spicy). I really loved this one however the chilli got to me after a bit- I had to take big sips of wine so that I could keep eating it. I think it was a sign that I need to go out and eat more spicy food to increase my tolerance!
Chicken Chettinad, cooked with curry leaves and mustard seeds (mild). This curry was almost creamy even though it had no cream in it. I think I may have hogged this dish just a little bit.
Prawn Bhuna, cooked with capsicum and onion (spicy). I was very impressed with the size of the prawns in this dish and the amount that we got- I guess I am used to Canberra restaurants where seafood is so expensive that you get hardly any prawns in your prawn dish.
 |
| From left: Prawn Bhuna, Chicken Chettinad, Kadai Chicken |
I liked each one for its variety, even though the Chettinad was quite mild it made up for it with the flavour punch it packed, absolutely moreish. And while both the Kadai and and the Bhuna were spicy, you could still taste the flavours coming through- I particularly liked the coriander flavour in the Kadai.
 |
| Dum Biryani |
We had a couple of breads, I stuck with my normal roti (who can go past it really?) while H had naan and lachaa parantha. The roti came out lovely and fresh, when you tore chunks off the steam rose from the bread, it looked very nice in the sunlight.
 |
| Roti. Yes, I tore some off and ate it before I remembered to take a picture! |
I really, really enjoyed the food. We had heaps of time just to sit and enjoy it in the sun, tasting every flavour and surprising each other (yet again) with just how much food we could put away! Needless to say, we did not eat dinner that night! If you are in the area and craving some deliciousness, I would absolutely recommend that you pop in.
Maya De Dhaba
431 Cleveland Street,
Surry Hills (Sydney)
(02) 8399 3785
www.mayadhaba.com.au
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