Aangan, 559 Barkly St, West Footscray
Monday, January 11, 2010
Aangan
I have been to a lot of great places in the months since I stopped posting, but to be fair I think I need to revisit them in order to give a fair review (ah, the agony!) It does seem fair to write about Aangan, though, given I have been there so many times. I have a weird relationship with Aangan. In the little country town that is Barkly Village, West Footscray, there are not too many dining options. Krishna take an hour plus to bring your mains, and Thai Angels is a bit ordinary. Aangan is always the go-to if you want a good meal within stumbling distance of home. The set-up is a great, with a huge beer garden, the beer is cheap, the variety is huge and lots of Indians love it. So why don't I? Don't get me wrong, I do like it. The samosa chat is addictive (not a discussion about fried pastries - crushed samosas drizzled with tangy tamarind sauce and yoghurt, and sprinkled with chat masala). I just discovered and looove their Gobhi Manchurian, an Indian riff on classic bad Chinese sweet & sour pork, only with cauliflower and lots of chilli powder. Basically it is just expensive. I don't like paying $2.50 for garlic naan and $2.50 for rice on top of a $12 curry, when Kitchen Samrat (36 Leeds St, F'y) does free rice and 2 naan with all $7-8 curries. But it is a great place for a girls' night out or a second or third date, whereas Kitchen Samrat might be pushing it, even for a fellow intrepid foodie.
Aangan, 559 Barkly St, West Footscray
Aangan, 559 Barkly St, West Footscray
9 comments:
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Agony, reaaaaaaaaaaally? (unless some of the places you went to were that bad)
ReplyDeleteHah, I had Kitchen Samrat tonight for dinner - they are so cheap!
ReplyDeleteI have eaten at Aangan as well, and I think they make really good curries. But when we used to phone in an order, we would have to wait ages - as if they didn't start cooking until someone showed up. It kind of defeated the purpose of phoning ahead! Haven't ordered from them in a while though, so this may have changed.
Lizard: the agony... and the ecstasy!
ReplyDeleteAgnes: did you get takeaway from K Samrat? When you eat in, they give you a little complimentary tamarind water aperitif that is delicious. RE Aangan, their service has improved over time, we haven't had any probs with takeaway cook time recently. :-)
Ahh, we've only ever had takeaway from K Samrat. The tamarind water aperitif sounds great!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear that Aangan has improved - but since K Samrat is closer (and cheaper, as you said!), I doubt we'll give them a second chance.
great to have a reason to cross the drain from richmond tofootscray
ReplyDeletenice blog ..i just found one really nice indian resturant on st georges rd fitzroy.the food is very good.something different from other indian resturant but i liked it its OMM the food is spicy with some south indian touch of spice and i met the chef over there his name is ram and yea he really doing great job.nice place good ambiance with nice music and delicious yummy food waiting for this weekend and i am gona visit curry and spice again.Even the take away menu is good you should try it.hope even you enjoy the food too.
ReplyDeleteOnce, not so long ago, this was the only type of Indian eating out available. Now there are cheaper and healthier options available, I find it doesn't hold up too well. E.G. dal with too much cream, bland spcing and too many dollars beside it on the menu. It's only pulses for gosh sake! You can do a lot of dough in a place like this if you're really hungry. Good for a bang-up night out once a year, but not as a regular haunt. That neck of West Footscray is a bit thin on the ground, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteI really need to re-review Aangan as they have stepped it up a notch. In the beginning, I did find them hit or miss. Sometimes the same thing ordered on different nights would be subtly but noticeably different, as if the chefs were not all on the same page. Now, they really outshine themselves, with a lovely new dining room, regional specialties, "Indian-Chinese" food. The Chicken 65 is unreal!! Although I agree, you need to watch out for the bread, rice, raita etc as it really adds up.
ReplyDeleteWe hadn't been to Aangan for 6 months and ate for the first time in the new extension last week. We usually eat in the Beer garden as we love the wedding marque; the bollywood and the fake grass. Hmmm somehow or other we felt it was time to move on to somewhere new.
ReplyDeletecheers Melissa