Maharaja

Trips to restaurants celebrating any cuisine in which chilli is a central ingredient causes a great deal of consternation amongst the hedonists. Despite being a dedicated foodie, the Indeterminate has a lower than average tolerance for chilli. In fact it is so low that anything spicier than a potato causes her to break out in sweats and reach for the water jug. Naturally, this causes much hilarity for the other hedonists.

So it was with some trepidation that the hedonists (one of them, at least) headed to Maharaja restaurant. Open since 1978, the relatively venerable Maharaja is located in the Windsor Cinema complex in a very distinctive setting. The building is very interesting and well set out. A good restaurant makes you feel as you are in a bustling, vibrant setting, but still lets you have your own space. Maharaja achieves this very well.

Food

The benefit of going to any Indian restaurant is that the Indeterminate will, for once, not take too long in deciding what she wants to eat. One of the only dishes that she can enjoy without risking steam out of the ears is Butter Chicken. The other dish order was Paneer Masala, which, as is common in Australia, uses ricotta cheese instead of Paneer as the bulk of the dish.

Before our meals arrived we had order a Mango Lassi and a Lassi to drink. These were beautifully smooth, refreshing and delicious and were a perfect accompaniment to the Curries we were to eat. Neither of the Lassis were overwhelmingly yoghurty, but had a nice blend of dairy, sweetness and sourness that made for a lovely beverage.

To accompany the curries, we ordered a single serving of plain Naan, a serving of Garlic Naan and steamed rice. Be forewarned two servings of Naan bread and two servings of rice between two people will not only be enough for you meal, but enough for lunch tomorrow. However it is worthwhile to have more than enough of this bread. The naan is crisp and doughy and has the beautiful charred marks give the Naan an excellent depth of flavour.

No matter how good the sideshows are, a performance is nothing without the main event. In this show, the main attractions were not too bad, but nor are they the best curries available in Perth. The Butter Chicken tasted as if there had been a reasonable amount of tomato puree added which not only over-sweetened the dish, but masked the flavours of the spices.

The Paneer Masala was a good solid curry. There was a nice balance of spices and flavours, however the dish needed a little bit more of a lift. The cheese does not in itself provide an extra hit of flavour that you would get from other vegetables or meats. Accordingly, there probably needed to be a more judicious use of herbs or even some garam masala which would have given the curry a little more oomph.

Service

The service was very good. The Maharaja staff were unobtrusive and very kind. The main issue was that our food took a fair amount of time to arrive.

Highlight: The drinks and the naan bread.

Lowlight: The curries were a little below the standard you may expect from an Indian Restaurant.

Ratings

Food: 6/10
Service: 4/5
Value: 3.5/5
Atmosphere: 4/5
Total: 17.5/25

Details: 96 Stirling Hwy, Nedlands. Ph: 9389 6566. Bookings recommended.

Sado Island

There was tension amongst the Hedonists as to whether Sado Island constitutes a Stirling Hwy restaurant. Sado Island's address announces it as being on the neighbouring Bay View Tce. However, the Gourmand, showing the use of legal training, determined that as Sado Island had a wall adjoining Stirling Hwy as well as looking out onto the utilitarian vista of Stirling Hwy. Accordingly it was sufficient to review.

In all honesty the hedonists felt like trying this place and we sought any justification we could to fit it into our schedule.

We went on a Wednesday night and arrived to a largely empty restaurant. The set out of Sado Island is quite attractive with a rather good view of the senior chef working on sashimi. Unfortunately, it looked as though Sado Island was having a rather slow night. Very few of the tables were full. Although this is not the fault of the restaurant, it is inescapable that an empty restaurant invariably has a dampening effect upon your initial impression of the restaurant.

Food

We started with a Sashimi tasting plate. The four seafood items were Salmon, Yellowfin Tuna, Snapper and Octopus. These were served with soy sauce, wasabi and sliced daikon radish.

Sashimi is unadulterated food, which relies purely upon the quality of the ingredients. There is no masking of flavours in sashimi, so if the ingredients are not good, the dish will be terrible. Sado Island's sashimi was of a good standard however it was not the best quality seafood that I have tasted. The salmon and the tuna weren't quite at their flavoursome best and the octopus was slightly tough. Yet the seafood was tasty and did have that delicious, slightly salty, flavour of the ocean which indicates good fresh produce.

We were disappointed when it came to selecting our main dishes. Sado Island provides only five options for main course. Out of these five options, the first three were Teriyaki Beef, Teriyaki Chicken and Teriyaki Fish. Although I am far from an expert on Japanese cuisine, I would tenatively venture that there is much more to Japan's food than teriyaki sauce.

We ordered the Mushiyaki Chicken (roasted chicken in a sesame paste sauce) and the Teriyaki Chicken. Both dishes looked good on the plate. As you would expect considering the menu, the teriyaki sauce did have a good flavour, however the sauce hadn't really penetrated into the flavour of the meat, meaning that the dish lacked harmony and depth of flavour.

The Mushiyaki Chicken was well executed with the sesame paste sauce complimenting the chicken well. This is no mean feat as sesame paste has a very strong nutty, toasted flavour which has the ability to destroy the balance of a dish. Too little and there will be no flavour, too much and you will taste nothing but sesame seeds. Sado Island's Mushiyaki Chicken managed to tread this fine line making a flavourful and well balanced dish.

Service

The service provided by the staff is a standout for the restaurant. Although a difficult art, good service depends should be quiet, unassuming but available when you want it. Sado Island's staff managed this very well. Our orders were taken without fuss and all dishes were served promptly.

Highlight: The service. The sashimi was also good.

Lowlight: The atmosphere and slightly unimaginative menu.

Ratings:

Food: 6.5/10

Service: 4.5/5

Value: 3/5

Atmosphere: 2.5/5

Total: 16.5/25

Details: 57b Bay View Tce, Claremont. Ph: 9284 6667. Bookings recommended but not strictly necessary.