Its been a while since I last posted a review on a Bunny chow. What can I say - its been a busy few months and I kind of lost interest somewhere down the line.
This blog has been solely dedicated to reviewing the signature take away meal of Durban but it seems as if the bunny chow has met some competition in the Indian fast food sector. There is a new (compared to the age of the bunny) popular take away meal that has got people addicted - and that is none other than the famous "Chicken Tikka".
I must admit, I have put the bunny chow on the back-burner for a while because I have been trying to find the best chicken tikka in Durban. I try as much as possible to visit different establishments mainly around Chatsworth and its surrounding areas. There are many establishments that make a good chicken tikka but my close friend recommended that I go try Royal Indian Cuisine. He assured me that I would not be disappointed.
So on his recommendation, I visited this establishment which is based in Main Road, Escombe. During my first visit to this restaurant / take way, I had witnessed that this place was not like your ordinary joe Indian / Pakistani outlet. It was exceptionally neat and well presented (I think its owned by a local indian person)
I ordered a take away 1/2 chicken tikka and a set of lamb sheekh kebaabs. When I got home and opened the polystyrene containers, I was taken aback on the size of the meal. It was massive - the portions were much larger than the stuff we used to. When I got down to sampling the chicken tikka and sheekh kebaabs I realized at that point, I had discovered the holy grail of chicken tikka.
Lets just say, once you have tasted the chicken tikka from Royal Indian Cuisine, you wouldn't want to go elsewhere. I now look for every occasion to visit this establishment.
Now you might be thinking why am I raving so much about chicken tikka on a Bunny Chow Blog -well this is how it goes. On my visits to Royal Indian Cuisine I noticed that the owner had entered the annual bunny chow competition and had been one of the finalists.
So, I decided to visit this place to try their bunny chow and see if it was able to match up to their Chicken Tikka's high reputation (which I had created for myself).
As usual, I ordered a 1/4 Mutton bunny and this is how it went :
As you can see in the picture above, the presentation was excellent. They use the larger bread - similar to the size of the Albany Superior loaf. The bread they use was of a good quality and the size of the bunny was above average.
Now lets talk about the taste - this part has already got my mouth watering whilst writing this post. The curry was not your usual Durban style curry - this was much more special. It had hints of the pure Indian spices that you get in those exotic Indian curries at Jaipur Palace and Oriental restaurant (Workshop) and other similar establishments. It seems the cook has found a way to fuse the best of Durban's curry flavour with the hints of a North Indian Rogan Josh.
The flavour of the curry was excellent. No complaints here. The gravy was in abundance as well as the salad. The meat itself was very good however I was not too impressed with the cut of meat that was used in the curry. That however did not stop me from enjoying this bunny.
I was lucky enough not to get too much potatoes - so the meat to potato ratio was excellent. The salad was the common "curry" salad you get anywhere and tasted good.
Likes:
- Size of 1/4 was way above average
- Price was reasonable R45 (prices of 1/4 bunnys have escalated in 2016 - some places are selling them for above R 50.)
- The flavour was excellent and unique
- Spiciness was perfect - just about right.
Dislikes:
- The cut of meat used was not to my liking
Overall verdict:
8/10
I believe that Royal Indian Cuisine has what it takes to complete with the big boys. I actually envy the people who live in the area of Royal Indian Cuisine - they don't have to go far to find the perfect food. I suggest all reading this go and try this place out - leave your comments below.
Li
