Maya Da Dhabha
All right, this one is about Maya da Dhabha at Surry Hills.
The context- last weekend in Sydney for my mom and brother and its mothers day
as well. We head out from Strathfield at 2 in the afternoon. The lunch buffet
at Nilgiri’s is an option, but we want to do something in the city. Zaaffran
kitchen closes at 2:30, so that’s ruled out. And suddenly we remember that Maya
Da Dhabha had beb on my to do list for quite some time. So we decided to go for
it and give it a try.
Now, may years back when I had come to Sydney for the first
time and always craved for Indian food, I did go to these restaurants a few
times, but somehow I stopped going there. A few reasons included the long walk
from Central station and the fact that I found better restaurants at other
places. After so many yars I was back in Surry Hills. The good part of Maya Da
Dhabha was that the kitchen was open all time. We took a cab from Central
Station and arrived here. Settled for a table at the entrance next to the big
window, watching the cars and traffic go by. It was a bright sunny day.
The order- simple- Tandoori Chicken and Amritsari Fish. The
main course, Goat Curry and Karahi Chicken along with a bread basket. Now the
interiors were about ok. Like Surry Hill, one of the old houses, converted into
a restaurant. Stereotyped interiors, music and feel. The table was a bit sticky
and we requested for it to be cleaned, but the waiter assured and disappeared.
We had to remind again. Very soon the appetizers appeared. The tandoori chicken
half, was quite a surprise to be honest. I thought being in Australia, the size
of the chicken would be descent but it was quite small. The chicken looked
extremely tempting and tasty. Perfectly grilled, and with red color, it reminded
me of the tandorri Chickens from India. But a few bites and it was just about
ok. The chicken was a bit too small pieces to be honest. Texture wise cooked ok
and looked really good but taste wise, just missing the punch and a bit bland.
I wished the color and spices went hand in hand. I found the salt very less and
not spicy at all. So in my opinion- just OK, not that great.
Next came the Amritsari Fish. I enquired which they used at
the time of ordering and it was ling Fish, something we like as well.So this
preparation was deep fried fish in a chickpea batter. Now the fish when
presented looked golden and crispy. Taste wise, initial bite and it was god.
Not out of the world but nonetheless good. By this time I realized, I gotta to
make it tasty. So I requested the waiter to get chaat masala and lemon. Once I sprinkled
a generous amount of chaat masala and lemon,it was perfect. Loved it.
Lets come to the main course. We got the Karahi Chicken and
the Goat Curry. After finishing the starters, we were a bit full and wondered
if we had over ordered. But the serving size of the dishes was quite mall to be
honest. The karahi chicken was again ok. The curry was a bit weak and resembled
the curry I make at times at home. Well I do think I am a good cook, but at
times I have my bad days. This curry texture was similar. The water of the
curry, kind of separate from the main curry components. Being Kadhai Chicken,
there were diced onions and capsicums, but I think the dish, while edible, but
missed the mark. Again, just about ok and not too wow.
The goat curry was good with a darker and more spicier
curry. Liked the curry. Good taste. The quality of goat meat was varying. Some pieces were soft and tender meat while a
few pieces were extremely chewy and tough. So the dish was again ok. I liked
the gravy but wished the quality of meat was uniform.
The bread basket had an assortment of breads. The garlic
naan, butter naan, cheese naan, Kashmiri naan. Again the breads were just ok.
While fresh, I have had better bread elsewhere.
The service was ok, although I wish they frequently visited
the table.
The biggest blunder was when we cam home. We had requested
for a take away of the chicken and mutton curry and the breads. I expected them
to be separately done. When we came home, they were in one box along with rice.
Now we hadn’t ordered rice at all and I was just wondering whose rice was this.
We threw away the food with doubts on the rice.
All in all, an average experience. I would probably not go
there specially to be honest. If you are looking for a good Indian food
experience, Id rather suggest Zaaffraan, or any other joint.
431 Cleveland Street, Surry Hills
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