Today we were at the stunningly decorated Desi Lounge, to try their new seasonal menu. Their esteemed Chef Bal Ajagaonkar has combined traditional Indian spices and flavours with the bounty of this season’s local vegetables. The result is something oddly familiar, yet all together new.
This is a five course tasting menu at $45 per person, with the option to add-on wine pairings for $25 more. I found it of great value.
Chef Bal recently placed third at the Great Kitchen Party in Vancouver. This is a national culinary competition and celebration that highlights top local chefs, Canadian musicians, and elite athletes. The event focuses on celebrating Canadian culture while raising funds and awareness for youth-focused charities in music education, sports, and food security. This year was the first time an Indian chef and restaurant were invited to compete in this prestigious event.
The New $45 Prix Fixe Feast is inspired by the flavours and recipes of our Chef’s homeland in the coastal town of Malvan, located in Western India. It is available Tuesdays through Saturdays from 6pm onwards. It requires 24-hour advance reservations.
Our first course was a Tandoori Squash. Tandoori-spiced butternut squash and avocado kachumber. Both together ate like salsa and soup. The freshness from the vegetables mixed with the nutty richness of peanut butter in the soup. I didn’t necessarily find the two complimentary. A crostini, slice of baguette, or even roti would have been nice to bridge the two. The soup alone had a lovely warmth and gave the back of your throat a nice spice and tingle, indicative of fall characteristics.
Our starter was Sago Cassava Tikki, one of the many striking presentations from the use of contrasting colours. This was a crispy patty of cassava and tapioca, served with a side of sweet yogurt and seasonal chutney. Spicy and tangy, it had a similar flavour profile to the soup, but a lot more bold, thanks to its ribbons of sauces.
Both the soup and fritter was paired with Unsworth’s sparkling white wine from Vancouver Island. A dry and tart white with orchard fruit notes that worked to cut into heavier spices.
Our third course and first Main was paired with Grey Monk’s Riesling. Its lemony citrus was a welcomed and natural pairing with the Malabar, and its sweetness soften the spicy heat.
A refreshing and a fulsome plate of spiced salmon tikka, quinoa pilaf, and fennel cream sauce. For the vegetarians you had the option of substituting salmon with paneer. The presentation was simply lovely with the pink radish flowers adorning the salmon like a crown. The fish was on the zesty spicy side. Cooked thoroughly with most of the flavour coming from the skin rub, or the chutney that reminded me of pesto. And lastly the quinoa was the perfect base to carry it all.
Our Second Main was the Kolhapuri Lamb Bhareli Vangi. This is baby eggplant with spiced ground lamb, coconut sauce, and raagi roti. The vegetarian substitute was lamb for mushroom. Minced lamb meaty stuffed in to an eggplant shell. Two halves of a whole eggplant sitting in a sauce that was wonderfully buttery and not overwhelmingly coconuty. The wrapped roti scroll served as the ideal vehicle to scoop up and sop up much of the tasty sauce.
This was paired with Sandhill Merlot 2022, to add some acidity and tart berry fruit to cleanse the palate.
And for dessert we had a combination of treat with the Ukadiche Modak. Steamed coconut-jaggery rice dumpling, cranberry pudding, and mango ice cream. I didn’t necessarily liked them all together, but enjoyed each of the three elements as a separate. The flavours were pleasant enough, but I found the textures not to my liking. Based on the softer starchy texture of the sweet dumpling shell I thought the crushed nuts and shredded coconut too gritty. I thought a creamier filling would have been better received, and more parallel to the quick to melt ice cream. The pink was like a floral sweet congee with nuts. Its soapy taste and clashing texture had me liking this bite the least.
Our dessert course was paired with Quail’s Gate Field and Flight Rose 2024. Going back to rose after a bolder red felt counter intuitive. Nor did I find it helpful to the already very expressive dessert. I would enjoy this after dinner, like a digestif.
However I preferred their chai for that, even if it was not as ginger driven as I would have liked it to be.
In short, this was a great way to showcase chef’s creativity and ability to elevate a plate through presentation. I thought each portion size was the perfect amount where you were full, but not stuffed; all at a very reasonable price. I just would have liked more diversity of Indian flavour profiles. To have each course stand on its own, instead of feeling like a continuation of the last. Maybe punctuating the meal with palate cleansers, offering other traditional Indian flavours like cilantro or tamarind would have been nice. Or alternatively to include raita and/or raw vegetables on the side as a break and fresh agent.
However, at the end of the day $45 for five courses is an amazing deal and worth trying for the visual spectacle alone.
Desi Indian Lounge
1355 Hornby St, Vancouver, BC V6Z 1W7
(604) 681-2131
desilounge.ca
