It was on a cold winter’s night that my dining partner and I ventured to Bollywood Dimensions – Canberra’s first Bollywood entertainment restaurant, situated in the heart of Braddon, and opposite the ever busy Crust Pizza.
It wasn’t long after we were seated that a mixed entree selection of assorted tandoor was served. The meat was tender and full of flavour – one of my favourite things about Indian food is how well the flavours fuse with whatever meat is being served.
The beef seekh kebab, tandoori chicken tikka, tandoori prawn and tandoori lamb cutlets proved a great way to whet our appetites for the Indian feast that was to come.
The friendly team at Bollywood Dimensions put together a wonderful selection of both Indian favourites and house specialities for our main course. I noted that each menu item carries a descriptor in its title, which I thought was a particularly joyous way of introducing each dish. Each dish also contains a heat rating option from 1 – 10, catering for newbie curry eaters, right through to heat lovers.
The Splendid Rogan Josh and the Awesome Palak Paneer proved to be superb versions of Indian restaurant classics. The Chef’s special of Methi chicken cooked with fenugreek leaves made for a distinct, sharp flavour in a curry that is common in India but doesn’t seem to appear on too many local restaurant menus.
My dining partner and I enjoyed the pappy Mailai Kofta immensely and fought over every last gram. The croquettes of cottage cheese simmered in crushed tomato and almond sauce sound difficult to get wrong but I have found them to be often too firm in many versions, often a sign of refrigeration, but was surprised by soft and fluffy pillows, soaked up by and in perfect harmony with the delicious sauce. Another surprise was the Awesome Kashmiri Fish curry. I must admit I had never before tried an Indian fish curry, but this was juicy, tender and perfectly matched with a cashew based sauce and lived up to its name.
While the entrees and mains are obviously an important component of any meal, Indian food is always enhanced by the delicious side breads, raitas and chutneys available. Throughout our meal we sampled cucumber and pineapple raitas, as well as mango and spicy mixed pickle chutneys. Naan bread is always a delicious Indian staple, but we were transported to naan heaven by the buttery kashmiri naan stuffed with sweet cashew, coconut and almond paste. Also to be noted is the extensive selection of naan on the menu at Bollywood Dimensions which defies the boring choice between plain, butter or garlic.
We left feeling extremely full, with warm and satisfied bellies to ward off the icy wind outside. With a guest book full of praise and including several renowned members of the Indian cricket team such as MS Dhoni, Ganguly and Laxman – it is only a matter of time that this unique Indian restaurant in the heart of a bustling city district will soon become a Canberra favourite.
Bollywood Dimensions can provide Bollywood dancing entertainment for group dining and special occasions. Many options are available, enquire within.
Complements of OutInCanberra you can enjoy 15% of your total bill* when you make your reservation online with is. Conditions apply, book now to redeem this discount.
