Indian Zest opens
in Sunbury on Thames
I remember a few years ago walking
past a local Indian restaurant
when a big catering van was making
a regular delivery. There was
a pile of large bags sitting
on the
tailgate waiting to be carried
in. Being a nosy sort of person
where anything to do with food
is concerned, I couldn't help
having a look. I was intrigued
to see
a couple of large bags of Greenland
prawns - so much for regionality
I thought!
I followed this up
with a squint at the rather faded
menu (written in stone nevertheless)
next to the entrance. The list
of dishes under the heading Fish told
me all I needed to know. Prawn
madras, prawn vindaloo, prawn rogan
josh and so on until I felt a bit
like a sag prawn myself.
Even a cursory glance at Indian
Zest’s beautifully designed
website will dispel any doubts
about their menu. Having scored
a great success in Hammersmith
with Indian Zing, the owners, chef
Manoj Vasikar and Bhanu Pratap
launched Indian Zest back in February.
The pair are clearly passionate
about real Indian food and have
travelled all round India to experience
the best of Indian regional cuisine
in private homes, stately palaces
and not least from street vendors,
who purvey some of India's most
exciting cooking.
Indian Zest is located
in what looks like an old pub,
with its
own car park, in Thames Street.
It covers two floors and has several
interconnecting dining rooms some
of which can be hired for private
events. There's a lot of slick
brown paint, purposefully giving
an old Edwardian colonial feel.
On the walls are old photographs
of stout chaps in burly moustaches
posing in front of dead tigers,
or wielding polo sticks.
The starters are
very grand indeed, beautifully
presented with interesting
contrasts of colour and texture
as well as carefully contrived
combinations of flavours. They
represent the new look of Indian
cuisine in this country - a sort
of reverse fusion. The main course
dishes on the other hand, whilst
having been carefully researched
and cooked with passion, follow
more familiar Indian restaurant
traditions and are served in separate
bowls together with side dishes
of rice and vegetables. This makes
them easier to share, with a few
exceptions such as my friend’s
monkfish tikka which was arranged
on a dinner plate in western style.
Just to highlight
the differences between Indian
Zest’s fish
dishes and your neighbourhood curry
house, just take a look at these
starters:
Prawn
and Aubergine Kharphatla £4.75
A warm medley of jumbo prawns and
aubergine finished off with a caramelised
onion, tomato & pickle masala.
Mussel
Rasam £4.75
Mussels gently simmered in
tomato and tamarind broth with
a prominent
flavour of garlic and curry leaves.
Patrani
Macchi £4.75
Seasonal fish marinated in
fresh green herbs and coconut
rolled
in banana leaves and steamed
Not wanting to scare
off less adventurous diners, there
are a few familiar
standards, such as Thalis, a biryani,
and a lamb rogon josh that was
particularly delicious. It is extensively
prepared “in a traditional
style originating from the ‘Awadh’ region
in North India with a unique flavour
of rogan (tinged, flavoured and
spiced oil) and josh - a strong
punch of knuckle juice and marrow.” Makes
you wonder about prawn rogon josh,
doesn’t it?!
One of our favourites
was the Duck Chettinad £8.50 - Breast
of barbary duck in a blend of Chettinad
community spices, roasted coconut
and tempered with mustard seeds
and curry leaves. My saffron chicken
came in a deliciously delicate
creamy sauce which all too easily
became the victim of our sharing.
After mouthfuls of the duck and
the lamb, I could no longer taste
the subtle spices. The selection
of side dishes is really mouthwatering,
and included one of the best Taka
Dhals I've ever tasted. Vegetarians
could have a field day choosing
from this list which does not include
the various rices and flat breads
which have their own list.
Puddings can be
a bit of a disappointment in most
Oriental restaurants but
Indian Zest proved to be an exception.
I couldn't persuade any of my friends
to try a gulab jamin, but we greatly
enjoyed something called rasmalai,
a milk pudding poached in saffron
and caramelised milk - it was gorgeous,
with delicate spicing and the accompanying
ice cream was of a high quality.
The service was
both friendly and ultra-professional,
although to
be fair, we arrived early so as
to beat the main rush. The bill
for three courses for four people,
which included two bottles of wine,
two Cobra beers and four coffees,
came to a very reasonable £134.20
including service.
Clifford Mould March
2008
Indian Zest is open
daily for lunch 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
and dinner
5:30
p.m. until midnight - the restaurant
remains open 365 days of the
year. Take-away is also available.
Location: 21 Thames
St, Sunbury on Thames, Middlesex
TW 16
reservations: 01932 765000
web: www.Indianzest.co.uk
