The oldest gourmet club in the world is the Chaine des Rôtisseurs,
and Pattaya has a very active group, under the watchful eye of the
president, Louis Noll (Mata Hari Restaurant) and the watchful palates of the
members. To be asked to submit a menu and become a Chaine venue is a great
honour for any restaurant, and the latest was the Indian by Nature on
Thappraya Road in Jomtien. As this restaurant was less than one year old, it
was with interest that I joined the Chaine members to see just how
appropriate Indian food could be as ‘haute cuisine’.
For those who are not conversant with the venue, it is
the brainchild of Av Khanijou and husband Jack, both from very well
established and respected Indian families in the community, who felt there
was no truly fine dining Indian restaurant in the area.
Their restaurant certainly gives the fine dining
impression from the minute you walk through the entrance portal that
incorporates 300 year old doors from a palace in Jodhpur. There is a ‘no
expenses spared’ approach with marble floors, teakwood and ethnic d้cor.
Along the far wall, and behind glass, is the tandoor
kitchen. These are usually rather dark dens of iniquity, in my experience,
but not so here. On full view, and like the rest of the restaurant -
spotless. Incidentally, with Khun Av herself being an accredited Indian
cooking teacher, the cooks also had to reach her high standards.
As a novel and very Indian feature for the Chaine des Rôtisseurs
dinner, we were all “dotted” as we came in, the 51 dinner guests being
given a red splotch on the forehead, which I was told was a sign of good
luck.
Cocktails were served in the Durbar lounge upstairs,
which is also decked out with Indian d้cor, before we returned to the
ground floor and the multi course dinner commenced.
As Chaine des Rôtisseurs dinners are to give the members
an appreciation of the amalgamation of food and wines, this was obviously
going to be a very difficult task for Indian by Nature, as the very strong
flavours that one often gets in Indian food could overpower most wines,
especially the lighter whites.
We began with a Tamatar Shorba - a light tomato broth
scented with coriander, and a fairly spicy beginning, almost tempered by
Nomie Vernaux 2002 Chablis.
This was followed by Zafrani Jheenga which was a grilled
and very large prawn set in a pineapple butterfly with a sweet chilli
dressing. Beautiful presentation, which was also echoed by all subsequent
dinner items.
The Patrani Macchli was a novel salmon with coconut and
coriander chutney that was wrapped in a banana leaf and steamed. This was
followed by various kebabs, and the wonderful Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon
(Vidal Estate 2001 from NZ) was a match for the tandoori tastes.
All Chaine dinners require a roast to be served and a
Sikandari Raan roasted leg of baby lamb basted in aromatic spices was
presented with a good heavy bodied Italian Harmonium IGT Nero D’Avolo,
2002. The evening continued in the same vein, with curries, breads, teas and
coffees.
It certainly was a very different Chaine des Rôtisseurs
dinner, and the members left with a new understanding of the complexities
involved in food and wine, and the marrying of the two. I was impressed with
the varied nature of the flavours imparted by the food, never let it be said
that Indian food nothing but harsh curries. The subtle tastes were very far
divorced from the “Birmingham specials” put forward as Indian cuisine in
some “Indian” establishments.
The evening was a brave move by Av and Jack Khanijou, and
other than a couple of lapses (Dave Brubeck’s jazz is not really from
India, for example, and I believe Sitar music would have been much more
appropriate) it was judged a success. Indian by Nature appears to be
starting to come of age.
Indian by Nature, 306/64-68 Chateau Dale Plaza, Thappraya Road, Jomtien.
Telephone 038 364 656, fax 038 364 646, 07 147 3417. Secure parking outside.
Lunch from 12 noon, dinner 6 p.m. till late.
