Royal-G

“Not Your Mum’s Indian” ….

We came here because:
We loved the idea of a new take on Indian street food, plus we were curious to see the new Eatery at Eastridge.

The décor was:
Colourful and pared back to visually transport you to a snack bar in India.

The food was:
Fantastic! Definitely not your average Indian street food.  Royal-G takes the concept, plays with it, adds flourishes and sophisticated flavour bursts that raises the standard of the food far beyond anything I have ever tasted in a street stall.

Co-Owner Javier Carmona (Beirut, Mexico) was in the kitchen, and he explained each dish as it arrived.

We started with the Sourdough Samosa, made with fenugreek goat shoulder and served with bitter melon and Indian Pale Ale ketchup ($10) and the Cheeky Fries, garnished with smoked yogurt, coconut symbol and pappadum salt ($8).  Unfortunately the Chit Chaat in a Bag ($12) was already sold out.

The fenugreek goat meat in the samosa was tender and full of flavour, and the sourdough wrapping, although thicker than a pastry version, had none of the greasiness that I sometimes associate with samosas.  I did try the bitter melon garnish, but this is definitely an acquired taste.  Not so the Indian Pale Ale ketchup which both my daughter and I loved so much that we also dunked the fries in it.

The fries are a very classy Indian version of loaded fries. The yogurt topping has just a hint of smokiness while the coconut sambol and pappadum salt added the right kick of flavour and spice.  We could both have made a meal just of the fries.

My daughter loves lamb, so Yesterday’s Lamb Kati Roll ($15) had her name on it. The name of the dish is a play on the saying that curry is always better the day after it is made. I love the cute little stack of tins used for tiffin, so I ordered the First Class Railway Pork in the Tiffin Curry of the day ($22) rather than as a Kati Roll ($15).  I managed to get a tiny taste of the lamb in the Kati Roll and it was beautifully tender.  The toppings were fresh turmeric, spiced peanuts, burnt chard and cultured garlic mayonnaise.

My tiffin was served in a stack of pretty pastel coloured tins: top tin was the condiments/salad; middle the curry and the bottom tin the rice. I plated this up in the dish provided.  The pork took me by surprise – pieces of pork belly rather than a sauced meat, served with pickled green chilli, potato strings and a fried egg.  Delicious as it was I really loved the accompanying salad which included fresh tomatoes, cucumber, radish and sweet, juicy pineapple which had been fermented, plus coconut sambol, green chutney and lots of other little tasty surprises.

To accompany our food my daughter had an Indian cola-style soft drink and I enjoyed a sparkling coconut water ($5 each).

Note:  Royal-G is conveniently located near the Eatery washrooms.  The Pie Piper & Doornuts is located at the door to the washrooms, tempting you with their sweet creations for dessert.

We loved:
It all. We would love to return to try the Chit Chaat.

If I could change one thing it would be:
Nothing about the food.  We ate at the counter, and there were tables provided with rather low chairs, which some people may find difficult to sit at.

Overall:
Modern, innovative, playful Indian snack food to make a meal of.