Dinner at Ninety One, an Indian Restaurant
We have been coming to Indian restaurants at this address
for years and they have varied in ownership, decor, food and service. It is at 91 Main Road, Sea Point, just around the corner from Firmount Road, where we used
to live. Some of the best ones lasted a while and we lament their departure,
the bad ones disappeared quite quickly, for which we were thankful. The sign above the entrance still has the original Kabab Mahal sign. Sea Point
is fussy when it comes to authentic Indian food - and we don't mean local or Durban
Indian. Many locals have lived and travelled overseas and experienced authentic
Indian or Pakistani food from the subcontinent. We had not even been aware that
this latest iteration had opened, so when our friend Terry suggested we go, we went. Terry
(British) lives in an area of Greece where there are no Indian restaurants, so
he was keen to go and sample the food
It was not crowded at 7 pm and
we like the modern decor and clean look. So much better than the flocked wall
paper, chairs and tables made from logs, brass lamps and cliché pictures of the
Taj Mahal, which it had in its previous existence
We had brought along a bottle
of a great Gewürztraminer from our Cellar, the Paul Cluver Ferricrete 2015, which goes very
well with this style of food, being robust enough to stand up to the heat and yet
delicate and perfumed enough to compliment it. The corkage charge is R50 a
bottle
We did not spot pappadums on
the menu, but on request they brought two servings with an accompanying green
coconut chutney, sadly lacking in much favour. And the good pappadums spiced
with cumin seeds seemed to have been briefly microwaved rather than deep fried,
so were crisp but chalky
Lemon Rice and John's Beef
Madras curry, good sauce, good meat and authentic flavours. Not too fiery
either. The portion of rice is very large and was ample for the two men with a
spoonful donated to Lynne
She prefers to order a Naan and
the one on the right is her garlic Naan. Terry ordered a Keema Naan, which has
mince meat incorporated into the dough
Lynne spotted the Lamb Methi on
the menu. It is one of her favourites, made with fresh fenugreek leaves and not
found very often in the Cape, so she ordered it and enjoyed it very much. Not
sure if it was lamb or even mutton, it tasted much more like goat, but we are
fine with that; it happens often in South Africa. The sauces on all the curries
are plentiful and so is the meat. Sadly, next day, she did have a rather bad
stomach. The others were not affected
Terry ordered the most popular
dish in the UK, the Tandoori Butter Chicken which he enjoyed. Lynne found it
had a bit too much tomato, but tastes differ. You will have to go and try the
food for yourself
We also took a bottle of the De Grendel Rosé, a great palate cooler made from Pinotage and also robust enough to work with curry
Sadly at about 9.30 a busload of Indian tourists arrived for their supper, which was served to them as a buffet at the back of the restaurant. They were extremely noisy, wandering around and shouting loudly at each other across the restaurant, so we and other patrons fled quickly. So we recommend an early meal if you like peace and quiet while you dine. Or phone first to see if another bus is expected
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2018
