Perth Curry
 

I know the last thread on this matter was correctly closed by Polly due to an abusive vested interest poster.

I have to say that in the 25 years I have lived in Perth the curries I've had have been very poor. I gave up a few years ago mainly eating out in the excellent Vietnamese restaurants in Northbridge/Girrawheen/Malaga area. This lunch time my wife and I decided to visit the Vietnamese along Alexander Drive just north of the Caltex servo. It was closed so we therefore decided to go next door to the Curry Affair. Whilst the decor is basic (plastic table cloths), the food was excellent and inexpensive especially by Perth standards. Wish I had gone there years ago.
BTW I have no vested interest in this restaurant.

Re: Perth Curry
 

Spices on the Ocean at Shocko is excellent too... I had given up finding a decent curry here till I went there....

Re: Perth Curry
 

I don't live in Perth but I'm a keen British Indian Restaurant curry home cook; I'm on a couple of curry forums and I hear good reports of British Indian at Kingsley (wherever that is). Run by an expat and they use UK methods, as opposed to Australian.

For example Australian Indian Restaurants use base gravies made on fried caramelised onions, garlic and ginger whilst B.I.R. restaurants use the base gravies made on slow-simmered onions as used in the UK and first introduced by the Bangladeshi curry houses back in the 60s.

This gives a totally different mouthfeel and flavour to the two "traditions".
In many ways Aussie Indian curries are probably closer to what they actually eat in India, but a fair bit different to the British styles that expats are used to from home.

Re: Perth Curry
 

Certainly is! If you fancy a trip to the country, the relatively new Yogi in Mandurah us great too.

Re: Perth Curry
 

$15 for Tarka Dal.....chips on the menu they are having a laugh
Strange how you use the same B.I.R abb. as the menu

Curry and Chips anyone remember this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curry_and_Chips

Re: Perth Curry
 

The BIR (British Indian Restaurant) acronym is commonly used on curry forums for brevity, just like we use terms such as AG (All grain) on my brewing forums. No affiliation with the guy, never been to Perth.

If you are looking for something reminiscent of what you ate in curry houses back in the UK (I'd guess not, from the chips comment) then I'd give a BIR restaurant a go, otherwise if you prefer something more like they actually eat on the Subcontinent then the place with the plastic tablecloths sounds more your style.

When I lived in Brisbane my favourite South Indian place didn't serve any BIR / Aussie stuff at all (Butter Chicken, Lamb Madras, usual suspects) and didn't even have tablecloths.. Indian Cuisine is vast and varied.

Re: Perth Curry
 

See the menu at my old local curry house NO CHIPS,says it all about your style.

http://www.starofindiarestaurant.com.au/star-of-india

Re: Perth Curry
 

From the closed old thread

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...n+perth&page=6

Likewise, most Indian restaurants here are owned by Indians. in UK 90 % of "Indian" restaurants are run by Pakistani or Bangladeshi owners. Traditional Indian food is based on fried tomato and onion pastes or "gravies" whereas Bangladeshi/Pakistani food (adapted for the UK market) are based on a different gravy where onions, peppers, carrots, garlic, ginger etc is boiled and liquidised to make a base gravy. This is the style of cooking used at the Kingsley shop, I know because I've seen it done, I know one of the owners.

This is the style of food that we are used to in UK. It is not authentic Indian, but we Brits like it, and to the best of my knowledge, they are the only restaurant doing this style of cooking in Perth. Try it, if you like UK food, I'm sure you'll be impressed. Obviously not everyone will like it (northernbird), but as I said, I know at least 30 people that have tried it, and they ALL loved it.


Same spruiker Micky-T =Mike at Taree?:ohmy:

Re: Perth Curry
 

No, they won't have chips because they are an Australian style Indian Restaurant as opposed to a British Indian style. AIR (another acronym) restaurants are mostly owned and run by Indians, for example our local place in Taree is Sikh.

BIR restaurants that appeared in the UK in the 60s were opened by Bangladeshis - mostly from the city of Sylhet, and they introduced a particular style of curry, including "curry and chips" as an alternative for the mostly working class customers who were suspicious of rice.
Going back to your original post that you haven't been able to find a decent curry in Perth, then if by that you meant you didn't find something that you were used to in the UK, then yes.. you wouldn't cos the Bangladeshi "Indian" style found all over the UK didn't exist until recently in Perth.

If however you mean you haven't found a decent curry in the AIR restaurants then yes... you probably wouldn't either :p
Personally I find AIR curries dumbed down versions of Indian classics such as Madras or Korma.

Personally I cook my own. Madhur Jaffrey's 100 essential curries is a good starter and quite authentic.

Re: Perth Curry
 

Trivia: just spotted in the menu from you old place in Sydney "Vindaloo, traditional Goanese cooked with vinegar, hot spices and potatoes" marks it as definitely North Indian owned.

Potato in Hindi is "aloo" but the "aloo" in vindaloo comes from the Portuguese "Vinho d'ahlo" meaning cooked in vinegar and garlic. Common misconception with North Indians.

If you liked the Star of India then AIR is definitely to your taste, so I'd just keep trying around Perth and I expect you'll eventually hit on a good one.

Re: Perth Curry
 

The Linked menu I posted was from Sawbridgeworth Hertfordshire:rofl:

Re: Perth Curry
 

Madhur Jaffrey is an "actress who could cook":lol:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madhur_Jaffrey

Re: Perth Curry
 

The linked menu on your post goes to Star of India, Glenbrook NSW :confused:

Re: Perth Curry
 

Sorry,could not find the menu for The Star Sawbo so try this one in Old Harlow Essex only 2 miles away

http://bengalcottage-oldharlow.co.uk...rant-menu.html

Re: Perth Curry
 

This topic comes up on here often

British curry has been developed, mainly by Bangladeshi people, to suit UK tastes and has become so successful that it is now one of the main types of restaurant and takeaway food in that country

Curry in Australia is different - they are not trying to cater for British people (although there are a few places that do). You will find that it will be different again in other countries - my cousin from SFO visited us in the UK when we lived there. He said that he ate a lot of curry at home but really loved the curry in the UK, said the taste was totally different. So, as usual, it's not just a UK/Australia thing (although most Poms on BE cannot see a world outside of these 2 countries)

I'm sure that Indian food in India will also be very different

Places that I have enjoyed in Perth are:
2 Fat Indians in Mt Lawley
9 Marys in the CBD (expensive but they are in the entertainment book)
A place in North Perth that I can't remember the name of
My house

The best Indian food I have ever had was on Langkawi Island, Malaysia

Re: Perth Curry
 

Why bailey's, how could you think such a thing?! ;)

I remember posting on that old thread, it was revolting the way the OP used this forum and the people on it.

Re: Perth Curry
 

Love 2 Fat Indians, also the Jolly Good Indian in Inglewood :)

Re: Perth Curry
 

I've never been to Perth, doesn't appeal to me and I doubt if I ever will. As to Mickey T, no connection.

At the end of the day I really don't care what restaurants there are in Perth.

Edit: as Amazulu says it's a topic that comes up often, I was simply trying to elicidate whether the OP was bemoaning the fact he couldn't get:

A decent BIR curry
A decent AIR curry
or any decent curry like substance at all, and whether he was aware of the factors that could be causing this sad state of affairs. Thus a brief explanation of why BIR and AIR curries differ from each other and of course from genuine Subcontinental cuisines. I see that's been covered elsewhere and nicely summed up by Amazulu.

As curry is one of my hobbies I was trying to be helpful ... I was under the mistaken impression that that was what forums were for.

Outta this thread, toodle pip.

Re: Perth Curry
 

another good one - BYO too

Re: Perth Curry
 

Yes, I love that, makes the evening much less expensive :)

Re: Perth Curry
 

The new Nepalese place next to Mrs Browns in North Freo isn't too bad - a bit lacking in atmosphere but the food's pretty good. Byo too - which is a plus.

Re: Perth Curry
 

It's Ballys... Baileys is something entirely different! ;)

Re: Perth Curry
 

'Orrible stuff:)

Re: Perth Curry
 

ooops, sorry!

Re: Perth Curry
 

I used to think so too, but after downing a few over ice on a really hot day, I quite warmed to it. :D

Re: Perth Curry
 

Curry and Baileys....Yuk:)

Re: Perth Curry
 

Oh I agree, it's icy cold Kingfishers with a curry :)

Re: Perth Curry
 

Not only spruiking on BE either!

http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry...c,12378.0.html

Re: Perth Curry
 

Chips on the menu...

non "indian" food appears on curry house menus simply to cater for diners who "don't eat that foreign stuff"


no one remember the late 70s on the Costa del Sol where British breakfast with Heinz baked beans was easier to find on the menu than paella???



IMHO its not a reflection of authenticity, simply an attempt to cater to...

OK... maybe it IS indicative of a pommie indian curry... what other nation would go into a restaurant and demand their "own" foods, ;)

Re: Perth Curry
 

The best in Perth I have found and the closest to British style is the Glasgow Curry House in Joondalup, Scottish Indian owner and chef and just like you get back home, with the spiced onions and huge peshwari naans filled with that yummy red coconut paste.

Give it a try

Re: Perth Curry
 

I've tried them all and have decided there is no decent curry in Perth. I will stick to thai and vietnamese for my chilli hit these days.

Re: Perth Curry
 

Not a bad call Northernbird

Re: Perth Curry
 

:thumbup: no shortage of good Thai and Vietnamese restaurants here, and usually far less expensive than Indian :starsmile:

Re: Perth Curry
 

No it wasn't. Madhur Jaffrey was a very well regarded 'cook'. Not sure why you think that's funny or even why it's relevant that she was an actress :confused:

Disclamer: said 'was', no idea if she's still alive, couldn't be bothered to look.

Re: Perth Curry
 

If you can read the whole thread you will see that I apologised for the wrong link then posted another as for Madhur Jaffrey this term seems to fit,Jack of all trades master of none.

Re: Perth Curry
 

I thought that proper British curry was fried caramelised onions..garlic and ginger...fried slowly...according to a book I have..

Re: Perth Curry
 

I've consulted 2 websites and it seems that indeed one is based on fried caramelised onions - then simmered, and the other is based more on boiling - both claim to be BIR. I think the important bit is that the sugar is released from the onions and that it is the garlic and ginger which is the hallmark - you don't use that much spices after all.

I think I will try the 2nd simmering recipe to compare the two.:thumbup:

Re: Perth Curry
 

Really doesn't matter IMHO. www.curry-recipes.co.uk has some good recipes although I take some of the advice with a pinch of salt (see what I did there?)

I make curry better than your average BIR. Why? Because I have the time to labour over it and do it better. Also I source spices from around the world and get it shipped in if I can't buy it in an Indian supermarket.

For extra interest in a pepper based curry like Jalfrezi: BBQ the red peppers first and it adds an interesting and remarkable aroma.

Re: Perth Curry
 

I'd be happy to sample your curry sometime. :)

Re: Perth Curry
 

I ate at 9 Mary's in the city on the weekend

Very nice but expensive, although the Entertainment Book makes it somewhat cheaper