It was a special occasion.  Suanne and I thought we can allow ourselves to splurge a bit.  We’ve been told that Vij’s is expensive and probably the most upscale Indian restaurants in Metro Vancouver.

Vij’s is not operated like a restaurant you would expect.  Firstly, Vij’s does not open for lunch and they only open for dinner.  Then, they do NOT accept reservation at all.  If you want a table, you are made to wait in line outside the restaurant for them to open at 5:30PM.  I really don’t understand why Vij’s would do that to their customers.

We went on a weekday.  Arrive at the restaurant at 5:00PM, a good 30 minutes before they open.  Even then there were people there staking their spot in the self-organized line. I have heard that people actually wait for 2 hours for a table even.

By the time they were opened, there was a long line.  Actually everyone got in that evening and only just.  So technically speaking, we could have showed up at 5 minutes before and we would have gotten a table too.  But really, if you could not get a table, the wait will be up to the next table is freed up.  Assuming that the diners will take at least 1 hour for their dinner, you can imagine how long it could be.  Suanne and I took 1.5 hours for this dinner.

Vij’s is supposed to be fine dining but I really think it resembles more of a cafe than anything — very basic.   The tables were so close to one another too.  And it was really warm inside too. Some of the customers were dressed up but there are also a number of people in T-shirt, sandals and shorts. The whole restaurant is very noisy too — very much like a bazaar. Never been to Vij’s before and I certainly was surprised how it looked.

Looks and being forced to wait apart, Vij’s sure is popular … both with locals and with tourists.

It took a while before they gotten to us for our orders. Not surprising given that they had just filled the restaurants with hungry customers (we were!). It is tradition here that they come around serving hot chai and snacks.  These are complimentary.

We had hot chai which is not sweetened. It was just a half cup. The tapioca fries was a little spicy with a texture coarser than potato. The snacks were alright, nothing to shout about really.

Vij’s had quite a wine list. I bet it is great with curries but then we don’t drink. Instead we ordered the Ginger Lemon drink which we thought sounded interested. It sure was. The ginger syrup and soda was served separately along with a chilled glass.

It was good. It is more like a ginger flavoured soda, that’s what it is … nothing more. $5.

We thought we share an appetizer and have a main each. The appetizer we ordered was the Chickpeas with Star Anise and Date Curry on Grilled Kale. $12.

It was a large plate and is meant for sharing. Interesting dish too. The hot chickpeas contrasted well with the cold yogurty topping. The Kale was leafy which soaks up well the curry. The curry wasn’t particularly spicy hot, it was just right.

We like it a lot.

I had the Wine Marinated Lamb Popsciles. The mains in Vij’s is between $25 and $30. This is one $26.50.

The mains are served with naan and rice. They asked is we wanted the naan & rice together or separate with the mains. Not really understanding what that means, we said separate. What do they mean anyway, anyone knows?

This seems to be a very popular dish here because we saw a lot of tables having this. (more…)

Suanne and I first came across Ashiana Tandoori Restaurant during our visit to EAT! Vancouver.  When we blogged about the event, it just so happened that the picture we selected for our front page was two action pictures of them making fresh roti on site.  It was Sonia who requested that we email them the pictures we took.  So, one thing led to another, we were invited to Ashiana to check out their restaurant.

Suanne and I like  invitations like this not because it was a free meal but that we get to speak to the people behind the restaurant and learn more about the restaurant, the food and the people.  We realize that we appreciate the food we eat the more we know about it.  We wanted to also learn more about Tandoori and see it in action for ourselves.

Ashiana Tandoori Restaurant is located at the intersection of Kingsway and Knight.  It was in a bad location just a few years ago when the Vancouver flea market was just around the corner.  However, in the past couple of year the neighborhood had undergone a major rejuvenation when the new King Edward Village was completed.  It is amazing how just one carefully planned development project changes the face of the neighborhood just like that.

Ashiana is celebrating their 26th Anniversary this year.  Having first opened in 1983, Ashiana is one of the first authentic Tandoori restaurant in Vancouver.  The people behind Ashiana is Rick and Sonia.  It was a pleasure meeting them and having them telling us their story.

Sonia told us the story how they got their first major exposure during the Expo 86 when they took their clay Tandoori oven.  At that time, the Tandoori oven was quite a novelty and his clay Tandoori oven was the first in Canada.  It just happen that Rick fell ill on the day and Sonia, even though a few months pregnant, had to stand in to do the demo.

They came across to us as a very hard working husband and wife team.  Over the years, they had built a name for Ashiana and had won so many awards year in and year out.

You know, speaking to restaurant owners, Suanne and I had new respect for them.  Like many restaurant owners, Sonia and Rick put in 14 hours a day, 364 days a year — closing only on Christmas.  In all these years, they had only gone on a vacation once together!  They had to take turns to manage the fledging restaurants.  Even though, Ashiana had made a name in the restaurant business, Sonia and Rick said they do not encourage their children to take over their business.  We were quite impressed by what we learned.

Ashiana has a banquet room that can easily cater for up to 150 people.  They told us that it is rare that restaurants can get to their size these days.  Ashiana first small restaurant is located on Victoria Drive.  In 1992, they put in all they had and re-opened in this new location.  Since then they had never looked back.

First thing we were served were Papadums.  We learn now that is is made of lentil and is sundried.  The ones Ashiana serve here are made in India.  They could have microwaved this to provide a more uniformed charness.  Instead they make it in the tandoori clay oven.  Love the charred sides!  He he he … is that carcinogenic?

We see the same type of dips that we had in La Tandoor a few weeks ago.  The tamarind chutney and hot mint chutney are better than those we had then — particularly the hot mint chutney.

We told Sonia before the visit we would like to learn more about the Tandoori oven and to see for ourselves how they make our dinner.  So, the first thing we did was to have a tour of their kitchen.  We saw how our naan bread was made in the Tandoori oven — man, I had no idea how fast it was made.  It was almost instantly we saw the air bubbles popping through the skin.  I never quite figure out how the bread sticks to the side without falling off.

The fresh hot Naan out of the oven was fantastic!  It was fluffy and soft … and particularly great with … (more…)