[GIVEAWAY + REVIEW] My Tandoori Indian Restaurant, Green Valley via Menulog Food Delivery

Don't forget to check out the giveaway at the end of this post! :)

It's August so the weather is having its mood swings. One week it's bright and sunny with clear blue skies. The next week it's cold, windy and rainy. Then there's a sudden blackout on your street and you are having post-gym hunger cravings (true story). That's where Menulog Food Delivery comes in to save the day. With its own mobile app, you can easily order takeaway online without needing to wait for the electricity to turn back on (though I would recommend eating with a torch or candle next to you). 

Long time readers may remember that I have previously reviewed Menulog late last year which was an enjoyable experience getting food delivered to my workplace - apart from a minor mishap with the delivery date from the restaurant (but it was still on the dot). However, I am one of those people who believes in second chances especially when Menulog resolved it immediately without any added burdens.

Menulog has been expanding its list of more than 3500 restaurants offering online delivery and takeaway across Australia. You can use it anytime, anywhere and it's free to use! You can even pre-order in advance if you wish. If you do not have the Menulog app on your phone, it is available to download for free on iTunes and Google Play.

Simply type the postcode or the name of your suburb on the app and you can access countless restaurants available within your area whether it's takeaway or delivery. For a suburb as obscure as Sadleir, I was surprised to see a decent selection of restaurants in the area offering Italian, Lebanese and Indian cuisines. 

Since the weather was cold and wet and I already had pizza a few days ago, I decided to go for Indian food this time with My Tandoori as my restaurant pick based on ratings, reviews, specials and the delicious selection of dishes on the menu. Though be mindful of the Minimum Delivery cost!

Select your dishes from the menu and make your order. There are options for certain types of dishes like curries such as the level of spice whether it's mild, medium or hot.

After you made your choices, review and confirm your order then enter your contact and delivery details and voucher code at the checkout. Finally you enter your payment details and away we go! 

After the order has been processed, you receive an SMS confirming your order and expected delivery time. Get your stomach ready!

This time, the friendly delivery guy arrived on the dot which has definitely put a smile on my face. Imagine our excitement when we opened up the large bag afterwards.

We started out with the vegetable samosas with slightly spicy mint chutney on the side. The vegetable filling had lots of unusual flavours and seasonings which were crumbled and mashed together inside layers of crispy pastry. Despite the delivery time, the samosas still remained crunchy.

Vegetable Samosas ($6.90 for 2) 

There was actually many different types of naan bread available on the My Tandoori restaurant menu including plain, garlic, cheese, Keema (stuffed mince) to name a few. Because the folks enjoy eating garlic bread on the side in the past, I opted for the garlic naan. It did not have that strong garlic taste but was still light, fluffy and perfect to dip with the curries.

Garlic Naan Bread ($2.50) 

Finally we dug into the curries starting with the Beef Korma. While the beef was not too soft (but not too hard), the curry had a mild, rich, nutty and creamy taste with a hint of coconut milk which balances everything out in this dish. In fact, the beef helped to soak up the curry juices especially once the milky and creamy taste took over the taste buds. Really liked that the beef cuts used in this curry had no fatty parts attached.

 Beef Korma ($15.90)

The Chicken Tikka Masala was a favourite for me and the folks out of all the dishes. It was a tad spicier than the beef korma since it was cooked in various spices but still mild enough to handle if you aren't a fan of spicy food. It was also incredibly flavoursome and aromatic with loads of soft and tender tandoori chicken. Perfect for dipping with naan bread. The thick and rich curry was so good that we nearly finished this off before the food coma took over. 

Chicken Tikka Masala ($15.90)

Really enjoyed the dishes I've had tonight even though it's pricier compared to other local restaurants especially in South-West Sydney. The minimum delivery cost was $35 so I had to order a few more dishes than my stomach could handle but at least there are left-overs to eat again on a later day. After this experience, I am definitely keen to order from My Tandoori Indian Restaurant again at a later date to discover more essential Indian dishes whether it's by delivery, takeaway or dining in. 


GIVEAWAYYYY TIME!
Thanks to Menulog (and because I'm a nice girl), I've got 1 x $25 Menulog voucher to giveaway! For your chance to win the voucher, use the Rafflecopter app below to follow the prompts:
1. Like The Random Foodie on Facebook
2. Follow randomgrrl on Twitter
3. Leave a comment on the post below answering the following question: What's your favourite dish or cuisine to eat on a rainy night? 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Terms and Conditions:
1. This giveaway is open to Australian residents.
2. Giveaway closes at 12:00am AEST on Monday 1st September 2014.
3. The winner will be notified by email and announced on the blog and relevant social media sites on Monday 1st September 2014. 
4. Voucher is valid for delivery, credit card payment and one-use only.
5. The voucher will be emailed to the winner as supplied by Menulog and expires 1 month after winner selection.

Good luck everyone!

Disclaimer: The Random Foodie received a voucher courtesy of Menulog. Opinions are however, my own.

My Tandoori Indian Restaurant
Shop 6, 170 Green Valley Road, Green Valley NSW 2168
(02) 9608 8023
Tue-Sun: 4:00pm-9:30pm


Menulog Sydney: http://www.menulog.com.au/browse/sydney

The Colonial Restaurant, Darlinghurst

A few months ago, my colleague suggested that I should explore a few Indian restaurants one day so he can see what's good to try out. Since the weather has been so cold lately, nothing beats a bowl of hot curry. It was no surprise when I received an invite recently to try out the dishes at The Colonial Restaurant, in Darlinghurst - very close to William Street in Wooloomooloo. In fact, it was actually an easy walking distance from both Town Hall station and Museum station. 

While I was looking forward to trying out the food at this restaurant, I wasn't too familiar with Indian cuisine (let alone British Indian...though they are actually very similar) so AI, my plus-one, was able to help me in getting familiar with the menu. In terms of the atmosphere, the restaurant had a classical colonial feel especially with the spacious room, colour, lights, artwork, mirrors and chandeliers as decor. It was a quiet and intimate space though we were there for a Saturday lunch. Perhaps it will be a bit busier at dinner.  

We were greeted with a super friendly waitress who looked after us and gave us very detailed descriptions on selected dishes. She was also originally from Vietnam which got the both of us interested with her personal stories before moving to Sydney (me being of Vietnamese heritage while AI travelled to Vietnam in mid 2013) We started off with a complimentary basket of thin and crispy pappadum with creamy mint chutney on the side. The flavour was very light, crunchy and not oily at all so we gobbled these up pretty quickly.

Forgot the name of this drink (arrrghhhh) but I remember that it had a bit of vodka and possibly gin but it wasn't as strong as I initially expected. 

Plain Salted Lassi ($4.50)

I had a sip of it and thought that the texture was quite thick but AI really loved it. He commented that it was one of his favourite drinks to have on a sunny day.

Non-Vegetarian Platter: (Clockwise L-R) Tandoori Chicken Tikka, Meat Samosa, Tangari Kebab and Lamb Lollipop served with mint chutney ($14.00)

Although they had not obtained the Halal certification yet, the owner confirmed to us that the meat was sourced from Halal meat shops, which seems to satisfied my friend. After hearing that The Colonial Restaurant was well known for their Indian tapas, we were convinced to try a selection of them for our entrees. Unless you have specific choices on what to get from the tapas menu, I would suggest going for a platter just to sample a bit of everything especially if you are not too familiar with the cuisine.

After taking a very long time to decide, we ended up choosing the non-Vegetarian platter. While the Tangari kebab (chicken drumstick) was nicely seasoned though I did not detect any cheesy flavour even though it was marinated in yogurt, spices and cheese (according to the menu). The marinated tandoori chicken tikka was one of my faves from this platter because of its juicy, tender and spicy flavours which brought heaps of excitement to my taste buds. Another fave of mine was the meat samosa which was deep fried buttered and flakey pastry stuffed with minced lamb, peas and potato. Personally I thought it was very addictive and was really bummed that it was gone. We both enjoyed the Colonial's signature lamb lollipops which were soft, tender and did not have that strong gamey lamb taste which would turn off those who aren't fans of lamb.  

$15.00 Lunch Special: Two Curries with Rice - Lamb Rogan Josh and Daal Makhani

For lunch, you can get two curries (selected curries only though) with rice for only $15.00. I had the Lamb Rogah Josh, which contains diced lamb pieces cooked in "Traditional Kashmiri" sauce and spices. This was actually not very spicy yet still full of wonderful bursts of flavour coming from the fall-apart lamb. AI went with the vegetarian Daal Makhani which was whole black lentils cooked with kidney beans, ginger garlic, tomatoes and fresh cream. I wasn't sure if I would enjoy it at first because of the sight of fresh cream but it was mixed with the other ingredients so it wasn't as noticeable as I thought. Was surprisingly enjoyable and aromatic that I actually wanted to eat more than half of my share. We thought that we could easily go for another curry but the curries were fairly rich especially with the rice so we both got full very quickly. Both are perfect to have on a cold, windy winter day like the last few weekends.

Lamb Rogan Josh (Individual: $16.00) 

Daal Makhani ($12.00)

Garlic Naan Bread ($3.50)

If I didn't order any other dish, I would easily chow down the whole basket of garlic naan bread because it was so good to enjoy with or without the curry for our mains. Very flavoursome though not too strong if you fear of garlic breath. Cannot get enough of the puffy and flaked texture of the bread.

Gulab Jamun ($6.00)

I initially wanted The Colonial Special Creme Brulee but it was unavailable at the time. Thankfully AI's good knowledge on Indian sweets has convinced me to explore the Gulab Jamun. This is actually one of the most popular desserts in the Indian subcontinent. It's basically dumplings made from solidified milk and soaked in a sugary syrup usually made from rosewater, cardamom or saffron. While I was unable to recall which syrup that The Colonial uses, it has a sweet and fruity flavour which takes over the milk taste of the soaked dumpling. I was pretty impressed with this dessert since I never tried Indian desserts before. AI absolutely loved the dessert so much that he was muttering that name for days. 

We were very satisfied with this restaurant from the decently-sized aromatic food to the lovely service, tidy decor and calm atmosphere. If you are vegetarian, you would be glad to know that half of the menu consists of non-meat dishes. In terms of pricing, it was pretty reasonable with most dishes costing less than $20.00 (except for lamb shank which was $24.00 for 2 pieces). Will certainly consider about coming back to try more of the tapas and curry dishes to discover more authentic Indian cuisine next time we are in the area or even at their sister restaurant at Leichardt. While I can't confirm what it would be like at night, I would recommend this restaurant for family or friends gatherings and special events.  

Disclaimer: The Random Foodie and co dined as guests of The Colonial Restaurant in Darlinghurst. Opinions remain personal.

The Colonial Restaurant
118 Crown Street Darlinghurst NSW 2010
(02) 8084 6700
http://www.thecolonialrestaurant.com.au/
Lunch: Tue-Sun: 12:00pm - 3:00pm
Dinner: Mon-Sun: 5:00pm - 10:00pm