A20E4359 247D 4A54 8BF6 9CBBC2A7BEB4

Yellow Chilli

Today we were out on another JoyDiaggi adventure. Joyce of @vanfoodies, Diana of @foodology, and myself; our trio of food writers off for a culinary adventure in Surrey. And we planned to start our day deliciously at Yellow Chilli.

Yellow Chilli is a well-known and beloved restaurant chain originating from India. As per our host and server, the restaurant’s logo and decor elements speaks to the man behind the brand and the franchise’s owner, Sanjeev Kapoor; who was described to us as the “Indian Gordon Ramsey”.

The restaurant is very stylish with a modern chain approach. A couple of muted neon lights to mark the brand and a series of elevated cabana seating, all bathed in natural light.

We would get a comprehensive look at the bulk of their extensive menu, starting with their new traditional brunch/lunch options. This is reflective of a traditional, northern Indian breakfast, each a set with sides and your choice of drink.

The Amritsari Kulcha is a type of Indian flat bread stuffed with onions, potato, topped with hard spices. It can easily be described as a naan pocket stuffed with samosa filling. It is typically accompanied by butter and clotted cream to help tempter any of the spicy heat. And at Yellow Chilli it is also served with a mild chickpea curry and some pickled vegetables. For those unfamiliar with the latter most, be warned these are probably the saltiest pickles I have ever had in my life. So strong and so tart that my mouth watered just describing it now. It is not meant to accompany the dish, but is useful it helping your mouth forget what you had before it. As for the flat bread inself, it is best enjoyed warm when its edges are still crispy and its filling soft. It has enough flavour as is, but the curry and cream gives it levels, and helps to rejuvenate bites.

Our server recommended we pair this with Chai tea to help perk us up from such a heavy start. Typically, after you have a set like this you are good for the day, but we would continue eating our way through their dinner menu.

The other traditional North Indian breakfast we had was the Bhatura, a puffed up flatbread that was served hollow and inflated with air at its centre. We were advised to stab to deflate, but with the gentlest motion the bread does this on its own. It has a similar style of eating as the dish above, where you pinch and pull to break the bread down into more manageable bites, except this one had no filling and was mildly on the sweet side. The heavy gravy-like chickpea curry with its ashy texture was better suited here. Whereas the creams and butter offered a more indulgent break in between bites.

This our server recommended we pair with the popular Mango lassi. A more mango forward milkshake with whipped cream topping and a sprinkling of candied sugar to finish. This was a nice refreshing change of taste from overly salty and savoury to sweet and refreshing.

As a bridge from breakfast to dinner, we stopped by the bar to enjoy a couple of their more visual cocktails. The Elder Elixer was a refreshing and calming concoction of Elderflower liqueur, cucumber, fresh lemon juice, and egg whites that paired well with all the dishes to come. Between laying down a curl of cucumber and sprinkling black pepper over the foam, this was a decorative drink. Although intentionally decorative, they also acted as edible elements and flavour agents for the shaken cocktail. The pepper in particular added a nice savoury feel to the drink.

The Oooooops! was a fun one mixed with Vodka, lychee and cranberry . This was named after the smokey bubble that crowns the coupe, and the fact that it is fragile and prone to popping. A great display that is on trend right now, but does not last. As for the cocktail itself, it was sweet and tropical, more lychee and no cranberry.

For appetizers we started with the Crispy Palak Chaat, battered and fried baby spinach leaves drizzled with tangy dressing, sweet yogurt & pomegranate pearls. It does not look like much, but taste wise, this was one of the more memorable dishes that we had. A popular street food in India, but Yellow Chilli is the only one to prepare it with spinach leaves as the base, whereas everyone else uses tortilla chips. Each bite was a mouthful of sweet, salty, and tangy all rolled into a crunchy, mushy, and creamy spoonful. Hard to describe outside of it being a party in your mouth.

Sadly, our next dish was very similar in taste and close in texture, had we of known, we would not have ordered it and opted for something different instead. Khajoori Dani Bhalle is Dahi bhalla stuffed and garnished with dates. The same mix of flavour over a ball of mash sweetened with fruit and served with the aforementioned classic tortilla chips. Here, the tortilla did end up being a better vessel for all the saucy cream. I was not a fan of the soggy, doughy ball and suggest that you order the spinach one above, instead.

The Veg cheese Karara roll was an interesting interpretation of a spring roll, classified as Indo-Chinese given it was Chinese style saucy, sweet, soya noodles stuffed into a crispy fried spring roll shell alongside typical Indian mixed spices and vegetables. The contrast of chewy noodles and crispy wrapper was nice, but the dish as a whole felt redundant with carbs on top of carbs. Unnecessarily heavy and missing something fresh or pungent to balance it out. An acidic dipping sauce or the striking flavour of something fermented would have helped to bring balance to this.

In order to get more bang for our buck we went for the Yellow Chilli Mixed Platter, a selection of assorted starters including Pudina Murgh Tikka, Murgh Angaar Bedgi, Chatpatta Seekh Kabab and Amritsari Machchi. All brought together on a bed of their own house made vegan beet mayo, a stand out with its no colour added fuchsia hue as a juxtaposition to the vibrant green of the mint chutney and its strong tangy flavour.

Pudina Murgh Tikka are minty chicken chunks on skewers, cooked in clay oven. You could taste the quality of meat used for this and its time in the oven gave the chicken an unmistakable lovely char quality.

Their menu described Murgh Angaar Bedgi as “The favourite chicken tikka” spiced with special bedgi chilies. Our server introduced this to the table as the restaurant’s spiciest chicken, although I have had hotter at Korean restaurants. This had a nice latent burn to it and a heat that lingered.

Chatpatta Seekh Kebab is minced lamb on skewers, cooked in clay oven. Out of all the 4 meaty items on the platter, this was the most flavourful thanks to all the additional spices you could taste on it.

And the Amritsari Machchi is crispy battered and fried Ocean-wise cod, a special from Amritsar. The fish was soft, fatty, and lush in the mouth. I also found this one spicy, but different from the heat of the chicken.

Next, we moved on to entrees, exploring a handful of their curries. I feel bad for ordering butter chicken, as it feels so basic when there are so many unique and interesting dishes to order in Indian cuisine, although on the same token I do find it a good gauge for a restaurant, as a non native diner. Yellow Chilli has two different types of butter chicken, described to us as one being more traditional with more spices, we would opt in for this one. Butter Chicken Dariyaganj, tandoori bone-in chicken with a rich buttery tangy sauce. The fall off the bone meat was more flavourful, but harder to share. It was less creamy and sweet than other butter chicken recipes I am use to, and it came with a nice up the sinus burn.

The Goat Curry was goat meat cooked on the bone with exotic spices. I liked how fragrant the goat meat was but found the dish as a whole too salty with so much additional oils. Thankfully we ordered the bread basket below.

Baingan Bharta is fire roasted eggplant, mashed and cooked with spices. It had a great roasted flavour with a thick gummy texture that was enjoyable to maw through.

I really liked the Lasooni Palak Paneer and it would be the one I would order again and recommend. I am not a fan of the texture of wilted greens, and spinach in particular. So, to have it blended here was a nice interpretation. Paneer simmered in burnt garlic and fresh baby spinach puree with cottage cheese for thickening. The dominant flavour of this was garlic with the surprise of paneer chunks hidden within this sea of vibrant jungle green.

As is all the sauces, stews, and curries were too much, they needed a base like rice or bread. Luckily you can get a collection of all the types of bread, naan, and roti in a literal basket. Plain naan, garlic naan, Tandoori Roti, plus a few I have never heard of until today. Like the Pyaaz Mirch Ke Roti, a popular Indian flatbread made with onions, and chilies; Laccha Parantha- Plain; and Missi Roti, a savory flatbread made with whole wheat flour, gram flour and spices. They all had different textures and tastes from hard and chewy to airy and doughy. A couple embedded with garlic and/or onion for an additional pop. You had the option of pairing a more flavourful curry with a plain flatbread or vise versa, at your discretion. I enjoyed the options and all the possibilities it gave.

And as full as we were, we could not walk away without dessert as a refreshing way to end our meal. The Kesari Kulfi With Rabdi was an Indian saffron spiked ice cream, unmistakable with rose water and given a nice textural component with the vermicelli-like strands of noodles.

But if you cannot muster another bite, you can enjoy a collection of their traditional after dinner digestifs like fragrant herbs and sweet chocolate to better cleanse your palate.

In conclusion, with great knowledge and attentive staff, Yellow Chilli and their extensive menu makes a great option for dressed-up Indian cuisine.

The Yellow Chilli by Sanjeev Kapoor
8737 120 St, Delta, BC V4C 6R5, Canada
+1 604-598-0060
theyellowchilli.ca

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top