Indu Dining
350 George St
Sydney CBD
Indu Dining is a hidden gem. Walking down the stairs - below street level, you feel as if you are in Aladdin's secret cave. There is so much atmosphere and wow - how big is this place. It really is deceiving as you walk through and see just how big Indu Dining is. As well as having an Industrial feel with exposed pipes there is also beautiful exposed brickwork. For those with good memories Dymocks bookstore used to reside here.
The cuisine here is Southern Indian/Sri Lankan.
We commenced our meal with a cocktail each. Sir had a "special" Gin and Tonic with orange and Mlady had Mother Rose-Mary - Beefeater Gin and apricot shaken with rosemary, cranberry and lime. Each taking a sip of our respective drinks in unison - we both said - "Oh that's nice". They really were both lovely drinks. Refreshing flavours and so easy to drink. Yum.
We had the lovely smoked goats's leg dosa, zucchini ribbon raita, pomegranate, chilli and bacon jam. There are two ways to eat this. You can roll everything up and eat it almost like an Indian sushi roll or break bits off and dip it in. We chose the latter. This was such a nice tasting dish. The pomegranate went so well, adding it's vibrant colour and crunchy texture and we do love goat.
Next we had coconut crusted fresh crab kofta with squid ink and cardamom aioli. This had such a nice light crispness with a soft flavoursome centre. These were a great starter.
Then came the twice-cooked NSW lamb ribs with an almond jaggery spice crust. This was so tender. The meat just fell off the bone and the flavours were "great" said Sir.
The salad we tried was watermelon salad, mint, cucumber, hung yoghurt, cardamom and pomegranate molasses. There's that wonderful pomegranate again. Oh how good was this! Could not stop eating it. Beautiful fresh aroma and tasted too good! Loved the hung yoghurt. Such amazing flavours and textures that all complimented one another so well. So visually appetising too.
We then had a glass of red each. Sir had Babo Saniovese Tuscany Italy 2015 and Mlady had Vinden Estate Shiraz Nouveau style Hunter Valley 2016. These both were such "good drops".
Wanting a fish dish we had the 5-spice crusted local barramundi, string hoppers, turmeric and coconut molee. This was a delicate dish that was perfectly lightly cooked and the sauce was delish. Love Barramundi! This was a standout dish.
Choosing some "greens" we had the sauteed snake beans topped with coconut, green chilli and red onion. How good were these! Simply loved the taste and flavours. They had a nice soft crunch and they were not at all soggy. A great, green dish. Saying that quickly - bit of a tongue teaser.
We did fit in dessert with Sir choosing the bite-sized gin and tonic cheesecakes on a crispy coconut and pistachio roti with dehydrated orange.
Mlady had peanut semi-freddo with jaggery popcorn, chocolate mousse, salted caramel and coca crumbs. Oh my Goodness - so divine! These desserts were so visually mouth-watering and oh the taste - so yummy. And - how pretty were they!
To cap off our deliciously flavoursome meal Sir had Ramos Tawny Port from the Douro Valley near Porto in Portugal (a favourite area of ours to visit) and Mlady a Disaronno. These complimented our meal perfectly.
The food at Indu Dining is really delicious. The presentation - pretty as a picture and the combinations of textures and flavours are just so good. The meals (that we chose) were substantial but not heavy. Make sure you do leave enough room for their incredible desserts!
Sir and Mlady dined as guests of Indu Dining. Thank you to Kirsten and James for looking after us on the night. Special thank you to Shannon for arranging this visit.