Jason King
AmyHuangQmin
December 13th 2006 11:22
207 Pacific Highway, St Leonards, (02) 99665557
Good Indian restaurants are hard to come by in Sydney, and often do not represent the true flavors of India. Having never been to India, it is hard to say whether Qmin succeeds in providing an authentic Indian experience, yet it still does a solid job
Qmin, if you can find it and pronounce it, is a funky little place. Nice music playing and a decor that makes it look like an upmarket "contemporary" restaurant (and it carries the price tag accordingly). It promises to be a different style of Indian food, and provides three sections to its menu.
Chefs specialities- are the dishes that everybody comes in and knows it is good and of reasonable quality,
Traditional Favorites- are the dishes that any Indian restaurant goer will recognize and like. These include butter chicken and Rogan josh
Contemporary- Are the dishes that are a little more modern in their tastes while still combining the flavors of India
When we ordered our entrees, the waiter asked us if we wanted to share them. We indeed did and he brought them on this plate in little pieces.
Going clockwise from top, the Lamb and Onion roll is a very delicate mince of fine lamb and onion and tomato. It is appealing due to its simple taste and it leaves you wanting more. It is wrapped in a layer of roti
The fish is wonderfully delicious with a melt in your mouth texture and a flavour that matches the spearmint chutney perfectly
The deep fried prawns are wonderful, they are crispy on the outside and are soft and chewy on the inside, enough to turn any non-prawn eater into a definite sea-foodie
The curries may look small, but they are very tasty and after roti, entrees, lassi and rice, this was ample amount of food.
Clockwise from top-left.
The vin d'alho is a classic Indian staple, here it is done with very pungent vinegar and is a very unique taste. It is quite spicy and I could have eaten just this for the whole meal
The Lamb with star anise is a more mild dish, with a roasted cashew sauce it is more subtle and less in your face power like the vin d'alho
The Dry roasted potatoes are something else. They have a really nice spice mixture on it and i am not 100% sure of what it is, though i think it was onions, coriander and garlic. We ended up ordering twice because it was so good.
The Duck leg was a much lighter dish and it was the first coconut milk based curry of the evening. It came with mixed vegetables which were all braised in its curry goodness mmmmmmmmm!
Previous to visiting this restaurant, i had the blanket opinion that Indian restaurants were weak in the dessert area. Qmin is no exception, falling flat on its desserts with flavors that didn't do much or did not excite.
The rice flour pudding was bland, had not much taste and really failed to impress, the sweetness and consistency was alright, but all in all a very pedestrian dish.;
The wonderfully phallic dessert of Indian parfait is a much better dessert. Its texture is that of a semifreddo, yet it tastes like mango ice cream and comes with a thick sauce.
Qmin is a very nice Indian restaurant, and we were surprised to see it almost empty. I'm sure if it had been located somewhere in the east like Surry hills, it would have had more customers. Anyway, this is not your regular Indian take away (although it does that too) although i sometimes get the impression that they try too hard sometimes and the end result is compromised. Still it is a great restaurant and i will definitely be going back soon.
Eric
Good Indian restaurants are hard to come by in Sydney, and often do not represent the true flavors of India. Having never been to India, it is hard to say whether Qmin succeeds in providing an authentic Indian experience, yet it still does a solid job
Qmin, if you can find it and pronounce it, is a funky little place. Nice music playing and a decor that makes it look like an upmarket "contemporary" restaurant (and it carries the price tag accordingly). It promises to be a different style of Indian food, and provides three sections to its menu.
Chefs specialities- are the dishes that everybody comes in and knows it is good and of reasonable quality,
Traditional Favorites- are the dishes that any Indian restaurant goer will recognize and like. These include butter chicken and Rogan josh
Contemporary- Are the dishes that are a little more modern in their tastes while still combining the flavors of India
When we ordered our entrees, the waiter asked us if we wanted to share them. We indeed did and he brought them on this plate in little pieces.
Going clockwise from top, the Lamb and Onion roll is a very delicate mince of fine lamb and onion and tomato. It is appealing due to its simple taste and it leaves you wanting more. It is wrapped in a layer of roti
The fish is wonderfully delicious with a melt in your mouth texture and a flavour that matches the spearmint chutney perfectly
The deep fried prawns are wonderful, they are crispy on the outside and are soft and chewy on the inside, enough to turn any non-prawn eater into a definite sea-foodie
The curries may look small, but they are very tasty and after roti, entrees, lassi and rice, this was ample amount of food.
Clockwise from top-left.
The vin d'alho is a classic Indian staple, here it is done with very pungent vinegar and is a very unique taste. It is quite spicy and I could have eaten just this for the whole meal
The Lamb with star anise is a more mild dish, with a roasted cashew sauce it is more subtle and less in your face power like the vin d'alho
The Dry roasted potatoes are something else. They have a really nice spice mixture on it and i am not 100% sure of what it is, though i think it was onions, coriander and garlic. We ended up ordering twice because it was so good.
The Duck leg was a much lighter dish and it was the first coconut milk based curry of the evening. It came with mixed vegetables which were all braised in its curry goodness mmmmmmmmm!
Previous to visiting this restaurant, i had the blanket opinion that Indian restaurants were weak in the dessert area. Qmin is no exception, falling flat on its desserts with flavors that didn't do much or did not excite.
The rice flour pudding was bland, had not much taste and really failed to impress, the sweetness and consistency was alright, but all in all a very pedestrian dish.;
The wonderfully phallic dessert of Indian parfait is a much better dessert. Its texture is that of a semifreddo, yet it tastes like mango ice cream and comes with a thick sauce.
Qmin is a very nice Indian restaurant, and we were surprised to see it almost empty. I'm sure if it had been located somewhere in the east like Surry hills, it would have had more customers. Anyway, this is not your regular Indian take away (although it does that too) although i sometimes get the impression that they try too hard sometimes and the end result is compromised. Still it is a great restaurant and i will definitely be going back soon.
Eric
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