All right. Picture this. It is the long weekend for the Queens Birthday. Full night partying at my place till 4 a.m. and then we drive down to Coffs Harbour, NSW. About 550 kms away from Sydney, departing at about 7 in the morning and reaching at 2:30 approx. I am starving is an understatement, because our good friend riving doesn't like to stop the car, and hence its just about a chicken pie and a cup of coffee.
Anyways, as we reach Coff's Harbour and settle in our accommodation, I check out Trip Advisor for some options. The questions is as always- Indian or Thai or Italian. Italian isn't too much of a popular options with 4 Indians. Thai gets a nod but the friends Mrs has reservations so we head back for Indian. A short drive to main strip in town- near the Coffs Harbour Jetty lands us there. We are looking for a restaurant called Taste of North India. When we reach there, we are told that its too late and that they would be opening at 5:00 pm. The time is 3:30. I could eat whole kangaroo if I could get one, but no way was I going to wait for another hour and a half. Probably bad luck for the restaurant and as we are walking back the street, we enter this restaurant called Oberoi's another Indian restaurant. For those unaware, Oberoi is a popular surname in the north, especially in Punjab. With great expectations, we walk into a restaurant which is pretty normal to be honest and totally empty.
There is middle aged lady on the higher side.may be like 55 who seats us. We quickly order for the chicken tikkas and the onion bhajjji. Well to our surprise it is served almost too quickly for our expectation. It is only later we realize that it probably looks as if it has been microwaved. The chicken tikka's are despicable. Not spiced properly, too much of artificial color, The onion bhajji is also about just average.The serving size it just too small and so we decide to order another set- onion bhajji and chicken tikkas. 4 starters for 4 people.
Suddenly the lady comes and nearly throws a plate of yellow rice on the table and I think may be its a complimentary.For main course we order the Chicken Tikka Masala and the Goat Curry and some breads.
The food arrives shortly. Well its a bit cold and the food is steaming hot, so that's good. The chicken Tikka Masala is again a disappointment. It is sweet. And way too sweet to be true. Its like butter chicken with the chicken tikkas served earlier, popped into the curry, except that would have tasted better.
The Goat curry was unbelievably horrible as well. The curry seemed to be too spicy with coarse pieces of pepper. While another friend of mine, did seem to like it initially. I can tell you this friend of mine is a quack and all he savors is just chilli and excessive spicy food. While I personally think this friend of mine is a lunatic and doesn't have taste in the very first place, I still can tell you that even a freak like him didn't like the food eventually.
For me this level of spice doesn't add to the favor of the food, but destroys it. Well, after all the partying the night before, the travelling and empty stomach, I can tell you even the chicken tikka masala seemed to be soothing and better.
I had also ordered a chilli chicken naan. Boy the naan was actually super hot, if you ask me. Probably the only thing which I liked. I had initially been curious to see what a chilli chicken naan would be like, because in India, chili chicken is usually associated with the Chinese version. Over here, it was a normal naan stuffed with shredded chicken with green chilies
While I was eating the lady appeared and started asking us if she could clear the plates. Bloody Rude.
The unit is run by a Sikh couple who have been here for the last 35 years. The gentleman was polite and did ask a few times how the food was. He was helpful to tell us the places around to visit. Apparently there is a Gurudwara, some 25 kms away from a Coffs Harbour on a hill and Sikhs have been here since 1935. Amazing isn't it, when you think about a remote place like Coffs Harbour and you find an Indian presence.
Overall cost is AUD 80. But not value for money.
Well Overall, Not recommended at all. Very poor food and I just didnt like any bit of it. At the risk, I can tell you one of the most pathetic Indian Restaurants.
Oberoi's Indian Restaurant
376 Harbour Drive, Jetty Strip
Coffs Harbour
Ph: 02-66519699
Comments
Post a Comment