The Canberra Science Fiction Club usually meets twice each month. The first Thursday is a General Meeting and on the third Thursday members, friends, family or guests can gather together to talk and eat at a restaurant. Each person pays for their own choice of meal. Everyone is welcome. You don’t have to belong to the club to join in. The only requirement is that you notify the Secretary at least two days before attending the dinner.
The Secretary has pre-selected the restaurants for this year and the cuisines are varied – Chinese, Ethiopian, Indian, Malaysian, Mediterranean, Mexican, Nepalese, Thai, Turkish and Vietnamese, just to name a few. Most restaurants have a banquet as well as a normal menu.
July’s choice was Indian cuisine. After just 4 months, we again gathered at Flavours of India at G90 Corrina St, Phillip. We had dined there many times and said we would be back. And we were. As usual we were looking forward to an excellent meal. Yet again we were not disappointed.
They remembered us so well that when I approached the restaurant (I can only walk distances with the aid of a Tri-walker), the staff were waiting to open the door to assist me. And had reserved a lovely table up near the back where my ‘wheelie’ could be parked and wouldn’t get in the way of other guests. You can’t get better service than this. Talk about wonderful, friendly and helpful staff.
As usual, while we waited for everyone to arrive, we were offered drinks. The drink menu is very wide and varied – wines, beers, ciders, spirits, soft drinks, juices, lassi and a selection of hot drinks. What more could we ask for?
We didn’t have the usual banquet. Everyone ordered their favourite meal. So on with some of our selections.
Entrees included
- Samosa Deep-fried crisp triangles of spiced peas and potatoes, Beautifully cooked and so tasty. You have to try them to see just how good they are.
- Sweet Potato and Spinach Chat Sweet potatoes, spinach, wheat crisps, date and tamarind chutney. Mouth watering
Mains of:-
- Chetttinad Chicken, Chettinad (Southern Style) Lamb/Beef/Chicken/Prawns. An aromatic treat from the Chettiyar Business community of Tamil Nadu.
- Lamb cutlets, cooked to perfection and so, so tasty
- Chicken Korma, That usual wonderful tradition dish
- Lamb Rojan Josh. Has anyone not tried this traditional dish?
- Kadai Beef Something new on the menu to us, and to quote the diner “wow, what a dish! Remember this for the next visit” (Note from me – oh dear, I had to forgo my two favourites Golgappa and Kosha Mangsho, goat. If you want to know about these, look at their extensive menu online.)
With the usual accompaniments of
- Rice – A fragrant accompaniment to any meal.
- Riata – Yoghurt and cucumber to compliment the spicy tastes.
- Papadams – Love those crispy wafer-like snacks.
And this is not the full list of their dishes. Just look at their menu online, or better still, look in person.
Dessert for those who wanted it –
- Gulab Jamun and Belgian Chocolate Mousse, or Mango Rasmalai Homemade cheese patties, or Almond Pista Kulfi Homemade Indian ice-cream with almonds and pistachios and berry coulis, or Vanilla Ice-cream. Choice of toppings: Mango/Strawberry/Caramel/Chocolate. Who can resist their ice creams? Not us!
- Then coffee or tea to round off the meal.
What a meal! What can I say to add to everyone’s compliments? It was just so good! While I though the chef was top-notch after our last visit, I am now convinced he is even better. Perfection.
We all had a excellent time and very, very much enjoyed the food. We will definitely be back there again.
