With John Picpus
Welshpool’s hidden culinary delight
If you’ve ever travelled across India and had a taste of the wide variety of dishes to be found across the land, you’ll know what’s on offer to us further south is a pale imitation of the original.
The early restaurateurs (it’s heavily debated, but Indian Empire in Lavender Bay, Sydney, is often cited as one of the earliest in Australia, opening in 1985) knew Anglo taste buds were not so well developed. So spice levels were toned down, and flavours adjusted to cater to a wider audience unused to the intense richness of Indian cooking.
The quality of ingredients, how fresh they were, and the abundance of them (especially the spices) also had a part to play in building what we now regard as an Aussie Indian curry.
For those of us that have visited the sub continent though, the problem is that while our Aussie Indian has its place, it’s definitely a more mild version of the genuine article.
So when I happened to accidentally come across an Indian menu at the Welshpool Eatery (in the Shell petrol station forecourt opposite the pub), I was not particularly expecting anything supreme. Especially considering it didn’t seem to venture far from the usual suspects - i.e. butter chicken and chicken tikka masala.
But at the Welshpool Eatery, there was an aroma in the air that tasted spicier, more flavoursome. Now, it could have been the Mexican food taking up another part of the menu, but I thought, it being the only place I know serving Indian along the Corner Inlet outside the occasional pub specials board, that I ought to give one a try.
Oh and how thankful I was that I did. Ten minutes after ordering, I was tucking into a goat vindaloo. And bloody lovely it was too. I do enjoy sucking meat off the bone and this one didn’t disappoint. Whether it was authentic or not, I cannot tell, but it sure tasted a lot better than the large majority of the many, many curries I’d experienced up in the smoke.
I’ve since spoken to a few ‘in the know’, who tell me the Welshpool Eatery’s staples, including the butter chicken, kormas and rogan joshes are equally as good.
All that was missing was a Kingfisher …or possibly a Cobra.
