Today I was at yet another restaurant competing in this year’s Vancouver Foodster Taco Challenge. One of four putting up their tacos for judging, hoping to win the top spot. As one of the three judges, it was my duty to try them all and help declare a winner based on taste, presentation, and originality; for a total of 40 maximum points.
This duty brought me to South Surrey, to the new Those Indian Guys, having opened two months prior. A team of two, locally, they are know as the guys who use to deliver through UberEats & Skip the Dishes. And using the first hand data they gathered from repeated pick ups and deliveries, they have created the following current restaurant menu. They utilized found common trends to best cater to their immediate area. The result, a New Delhi style street food menu that focusses on healthy and quick options, with some creative liberties.
First, we started with the reason why we were here in the first place. The Masala-Fish Tacos were marinated basa fish tikka, prepared in a tandoori oven and not fried. Tossed in Indian spices and herbs then wrapped in a home-made parantha taco with a house made lime slaw, guacamole, and their signature mint chutney. This was Indian cuisine in a Mexican format. Stuffed full, three hearty tacos. Bold in flavour, the flat bread base and the fresh julienned vegetable slaw did well to cut into all the otherwise overwhelming spice. And the avocado helped to add some additional moisture for an enjoyable creamy mouthful. I liked the flavour of the mint chutney, but thought it would have made a better crema, for the same reason above.
For drinks they have pressed juices and smoothies that are not only parallel with their healthy concept, but complimentary to all our plates below.
The Immunity Booster is a perfect blend of fresh orange, carrots, lemon, and a hint of ginger. It promises to energize your day and promote gut health. I liked how it cleansed my palate, while leaving me feeling light. It was mostly carrots with the sweetness of orange.
Mango Lassi is always a classic one to have with any Indian food. On the sweeter and creamier side, this is a blend of mango, yogurt and honey.
Those Indian Guys are proud to make all their breads and sauces in the house. The only item on the menu that is outsourced is the white steamed buns for their Chilli Chicken Bao. Three to a set these are soft steamed baos filled with spicy chilli chicken, veggies, and a tangy garlic-soy sauce. Then topped with scallions crushed roasted peanuts to finish. Like everything else on the menu this too was very saucy and bold. This had a spicy tingle that evolved to sweet the more you eat. The bun provided a good base to balance out all the punchiness of the chicken marinade, and there was a lot of it, because they are very generous with their meat.
This is in contrast to the No-brainer Chicken fix wrap. I liked the idea, but found the base too lean. The overwhelming boldness of the chicken could not be contained within such a thin shell. Either a thicker bread or doubling the wrap was necessary to balance out the filling. Grilled chicken marinated in yogurt with exotic herbs and spices, wrapped in a beetroot parantha with pickled onions, lettuce, bell peppers, and mint chutney. There is no room to breathe in between bites. A neutral sauce could have helped or even a side of fresh sliced vegetables to bite into for reprieve.
The bowls had a similar challenge, but Vinni’s Favourite did well with its rice. Butter chicken served with pulao rice, wilted spinach, tomato salsa Indian style, pumpkin seeds, a dollop of cucumber yogurt dip, and roasted peppers. This was a balanced bowl of flavours and textures, a great grab and go lunch with the fragrance of creamy coconut. This is something I would gravitate towards for lunch, if in the area.
They even have vegan bowl options like the Feel-good phenomenon. Steamed quinoa served with marinated and grilled tofu, roasted sweet potatoes, a corn and bean salad, sautéed peppers, avocado, and beetroot hummus; with tahini
dressing on the side. Like the bowl above, well crafted and easy on the eyes. The variety kept things interesting. Alone the quinoa would have been too lean off a base, but the tahini helps to coat everything in a creamy buffer for another full bowl and complete meal in a bowl.
Worth mentioning is that they don’t offer anything sweet on the menu, outside the juices. Not that we were still hungry for dessert anyways.
Those Indian Guys
1881 152 St Unit 120, Surrey, BC V4A 9Y9
(778) 552-9558
thoseindianguys.com
