Browse Directory







Hosp... Chef's Tandoor Restaurant Review

Chef's Tandoor Restaurant Review

For years, Chef's Tandoor restaurant has perched in sedate, suburban Surrey Hills. Its plush carpet unruffled by other Indian restaurants moving in around it, it stands firm like its stiff linen while young, rowdy Indian street-food joints grab the limelight.  In its 19th year, Chef's Tandoor is an elder statesman of north Indian restaurants and the Punjab tradition of the tandoor.

Chef Virender Bist (who worked at India's Taj Hotel group before opening Chef's Tandoor) works the vertical clay-lined oven in the semi-open kitchen, slapping naan against its side walls, and dipping in skewers threaded with chicken destined for your butter chicken – because you are destined to have butter chicken.

The description on the menu transcends a rollcall of ingredients and characteristics, saying just: "choice of millions". It's not hyperbole either, considering the dish was created at Delhi's famous Moti Mahal restaurant – now in its 95th year. The Moti Mahal is credited with popularising tandoor cooking generally, experimenting with meats and marinades to meet the demand for lighter (less oily) dishes. These days, it's a 150-restaurant franchise serving more than 100,000 butter chickens a year.

Chef's Tandoor is doing its bit to add to the butter-chicken count. Char-tipped tandoori chicken pieces are cooked twice, the second time in thick terracotta-coloured gravy that's creamy and tomato tangy.

Dhal makhani was also invented at the Moti Mahal, as a vegetarian alternative to butter chicken using the same sauce. Here, it's much deeper and earthier than butter chicken – the soft black lentils in a mellow onion-and-tomato based gravy finished with cream. Spoon some out of the copper-handled pots onto a bed of impossibly long fluffy rice, or let it pool on your plate and swipe it with naan hot off the tandoor.

And why stop at staining those bright white tablecloths with just orange and brown splatters? Add a splash of green, and order a palak paneer, fresh cubes of paneer cheese bobbing just beneath the surface of a silky smooth, spiced spinach puree. As with all the curries, of which there are nigh on 50 (including vindaloo, korma and masala) you control the heat, nominating mild, medium or hot.

While Chef's Tandoor may sound fancy, with its linen cloths and serviettes (folded like fanning peacock tails) and finger cymbals tinkling gently from the speakers, it's really a neat local restaurant. The price for mains hovers around $20, your table number sits on a stick, and plates may not be cleared until you clear out. So, if you do order a kulfi (traditional ice-cream with a strong milky flavour), you might need to push aside and pile up the empty plates and pots to make space, and, maybe, pat down some colourful spills.

Do … Come toting that nice bottle of dry riesling from the fridge; there is no corkage.
Don't … Mind a cleansing lager? Kingfisher is on the drinks list.
Vibe ... Discreet and neat.492 Whitehorse Road, Surrey Hills, Victoria

  • 03 9830 0655 
  • http://chefstandoor.com.au/
  • Cuisine - Indian
  • Prices - Entrees $6.20-$17.50; mains $18.50-$21.50; desserts $6.50
  • Features - BYO, Licensed, Accepts bookings
  • Chef(s) - Virender Bist
  • Opening Hours - Fri noon-2.30pm; Tue-Sun 5.30pm-10.30pm
  • Author - Simone Egger

 

Source: Good Food, Simone Egger, 29th September 2015
Originally published as: Chef's Tandoor

Industry News
Product News