Maya Indian Restaurant, Fremantle, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

Revisiting a restaurant after many years can be like catching up with an old friend. With all the incredible openings in Perth over the last few years, dinner in Fremantle is a somewhat uncommon practice for Alissa and I. Combined with my general reluctance to go out and eat Indian food whenever I come back from a trip to India, its been at least 4 or 5 years since I last dined at Maya, a much lauded Indian restaurant and small bar located on Market St, just off the main drag of the Cappuccino Strip. When I dined here last it was between my first and second trips to India, and I recall thinking the food was some of the better Indian I've had in Australia. After a stalled attempt to book the Winter Dego advertised on their website in July (they weren't offering it at the time), I received an email informing me that they would be served their 'Winter Banquet' every Wednesday of August. At an extremely reasonable 10 dishes for $38, this is quite likely one of the cheapest tasting menus in town (albeit seasonal), and after conferring with a few friends eager to get in on the bargain, we made a booking for six for the first Wednesday of the month.

Bollywood Spices, North Perth, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

Whenever I get back from India, I always feel like I need a serious break from Indian food. Eating a food heavy on the ghee and spices everyday is decadent and delicious, but after a few weeks it becomes all a bit too much. Add to this the impossibility of finding Indian in Australia that can match the delicious seafood (and our all-time favourite naan) at Trishna and the refined quality of the food at Dum Pukht (our all-time favourite biryani) in Mumbai, and getting me to go out for Indian food can be a real challenge. With no dinner reservations on a Saturday night, and all the hip 'no reservation required' casual eateries likely to be packed, Alissa's suggestion that we visit Bollywood Spices seemed sensible. After some final cajoling to push me over the line, we hopped in the car and made the drive to North Perth for our first meal of Indian food since we left Mumbai last year.

Located in North Perth, Bollywood Spices is confusingly one of three Indian restaurants located near the intersection of Charles and Angove Sts, and unfortunately its not the most visible of the three from Charles St, as its the best rated on Urbanspoon. When Alissa lived on Angove, her and her housemates tried quite a few of the different Indian restaurants in the North Perth/Northbridge area, and Alissa and I felt that Bollywood Spices was probably our top pick. The restaurant is fairly small but it is nicely decorated and comfortable. When we arrived there were no other customers dining in. While there were more dine in customers as the even progressed, the kitchen was largely kept busy by a constant stream of take away orders.

Dum Pukht, Mumbai, India (Alissa and Don Eat Asia Day 18, Part 2)

Flying back into Mumbai from Cochin I was dreading the inevitably annoying taxi experience we would have. We were headed to the hotel ITC Maratha for our dinner at Dum Pukht, a restaurant that specialises in the eponymous refined style of cooking food at low temperatures and longer durations in containers sealed with dough. Even though we went with the safe route of the prepaid counter, dealing with the taxi driver was reliably frustrating as they initially put our suitcase on the roof rack without tying it up, and then the driver had a friend come along for 'baggage' service - aka getting a tip for doing nothing.

Arriving in our beat up yellow and black taxi at the luxury hotel was a comically out of place juxtaposition that you may find in a Wes Anderson movie In spite of probably looking a bit out of place next to all the private cars, the hotel staff were lovely, and after scanning our bags through their strict security assisted us as we headed to Dum Pukht for our meal. When we arrived it seemed that in spite of a confirmation email that my reservation had not been recorded, however given that they were not particularly busy we were seated immediately in the restaurant's opulent dining room. Having eaten here 4 years ago, the restaurant had had a serious refit in the interim and really looked like a restaurant fit for Indian royalty from a bygone era. By far, Dum Pukht had the best décor of any restaurant we ate at in India.

Our waiter Ashok initially gave us the a la carte menu, but also gave us the option of a complimentary meal if we bought a very expensive bottle of wine (not something I was interested in) and also a set dinner featuring many of their signature dishes. Seeing their famous Dum Biryani on the menu, we decided that the non-veg multi-course set dinner was the way to go, along with a bottle of French Syrah.

Instead of the obligatory bread of other more European fine dining establishments, we were served some tube shaped papads. Though the presentation was very interesting it was not exactly surprising in terms of flavour – about what I would expect for a good papad.

Our starter was a kabab taster consisting of Murgh Chandi Tikka (chicken) and Dum Pukht Kakori (lamb). The chicken was delicious and incredibly soft – completely different to the spicier style more commonly encountered. This tikka used a 'royal' cumin marinade resulting in a lighter, more refined dish. Still, as good as this was, it was no where near as amazing as the lamb. A signature dish of the restaurant's, the lamb was described as 'melt in your mouth' - though this was an understatement. Just touching the kabab with a knife was enough to cut it, and it was easily the smoothest lamb mince I've ever eaten, spiced wonderfully with cloves, cinnamon and saffron. We wondered how on earth they managed to remove the meat from the skewers as the softness would have been a difficult challenge even for the most careful of chefs. Ashok explained that once there was a king who loved eating lamb kababs, however as he had no teeth he commanded his royal kitchen to make lamb mince so soft he could eat it without chewing. This was the dish they created. After our excellent lunch at East Indies, it seemed like we'd struck gold yet again.

Our main was served in two courses. The first was a trio of curries – the dum cooked Murgh Khushk Purdah (chicken), Shahi Nehari (lamb) and Maash Qaliya (moong bean). 

All three were excellent in their own right but the real standout was again the amazing lamb. Cooked overnight, the lamb curry was 'assimilated' (whatever that means) with extract of basmatti in milk with almond paste.

It was so smooth it looked like the smoothest gravy known to man, with most refined spiciness. This was served with a a basket of roti. The naan was more restrained than the over the top variety at Trishna, and though it would have been inappropriate in this setting we felt we preferred Trishna's naan. The paratha on the other hand was easily the best paratha we had in our trip – lovely layers of cooked dough that outclassed every parotta we had in Kerala. Possibly the best I've ever had.

There was so much curry, that even with an additional scoop of chicken and lamb to our bowls there would have been over half a bowl of each curry left when we decided to move onto the rice, so if you're a bigger eater than we are you can really fill up at this stage of the evening. But please please please leave some space for what would have to be one of the best biryanis you'll ever eat. Due to the slow cooking method and the more restrained spiciness of the dum pukht cooking method, the rice in the signature Dum Biryani has a very different texture to any other biryani I've ever had. Where most rice holds together in clumps to some extent, each grain could almost been eaten one by one – this is the most perfectly cooked rice. Having been basically slowly steamed in its own juices while sealed in its cooking vessel, the rice is incredibly flavoursome while maintaining the refined elegance of fine dining. I'd usually choose naan over biryani, but I'll make an exception for this Dum Biryani.

We took a bit of a break after the rice, and then moved onto dessert. We were served a quartet of Indian sweets – Gulab Jamun, Ras Malai, Saffron Falooda noodles and Saffron and Pistachio Kulfi. All we perfect examples of these Indian sweets, with the Gulab Jamun and Ras Malai being very traditional and the other two dishes being opulent versions of the classics thanks to the addition of saffron.

To finish, we were served a tray of non-tobacco paan as a freshener.

The Verdict: Exceptional

If you're not staying at ITC Maratha, getting to Dum Pukht can be a little inconvenient – especially if you're staying in the Fort area. That means the best time to go is on the way to or from the airport, and we found going to Fort from ITC was expensively jacked up in price because of the assumption we must have had some money to have eaten there. Still, in spite of all the inconvenience I can thoroughly recommend the food at Dum Pukht as being truly exceptional examples of Indian cuisine at its more refined, elegant and opulent. There is another Dum Pukht in Delhi that I have on good authority is even better than in Mumbai, being the best restaurant in India on the S. Pellegrino list. Regardless, if you're in either city Dum Pukht should be required eating.

Ambrai, Udaipur, India (Alissa and Don Eat Asia Day 12, Part 2, Day 13 & Day 14, Part 2)

When it comes to restaurant location, Ambrai has few competitors in Udaipur. Located right on the lake on the quieter west bank of Lake Pichola, Ambrai is perfectly located for a stunning view of the lake, the City Palace and its surrounding area, and the Taj Lake Palace built on its own private island. For the best view, the table located at the very corner of the restaurant is the most prized, and given that this was our honeymoon I made reservations for the table for three nights in a row. Since we ate at Ambrai repeatedly we were able to try most of their signature dishes by our final night. As such rather than dealing with this meal by meal, we'll give an overview of all the dishes we tried.

The journey to Ambrai was a pleasant walk from our hotel Jaiwana Haveli, as you walk the streets near the city palace, down the laneways to the bridge across the river. Udaipur is really a magical city. Once you're on the western side however, its a walk through a gauntlet of sellers who taut constantly and try to find sneaky ways to get you into their store with such veracity its quite off-putting and (in one case) a little unnerving. Throughout Udaipur you'll get the constant 'yes please' and 'look at my shop' and the classic Udaipur trap of getting you into their store with 'Excuse me sir, where are you from?' but with less foot traffic in this part of town there is a desperation and forcefulness that wore out its welcome. One guy seemed particularly angry that his guilt trip comment of 'Now... finally I have my chance to show you my shop!' was greeted with 'No, please, we're not interested' everyday, and we even took an auto-rickshaw on one of the days just to avoid having to interact with him.

Once you've actually made it to Amet Haveli – the hotel Ambrai is located within – you'll see that the walk was entirely worth it. Amet Haveli's grounds are perfectly tended, with the odd chicken casually strolling through the gardens as you approach the restaurant. Its truly idyllic. As you enter Ambrai, the fairy lights and candlelit tables are as welcoming as the staff. And with the view of the city all lit up accompanied by sarangi and tabla music by live musicians, this is Udaipur at its most romantic.

Ambrai have quite an extensive menu. Not quite as comprehensive as Persian Darbar but nonetheless considerable. Having eaten here before, I knew to focus on the 'Ambrai Specialties' section as their signature dishes are excellent.

Of their curries, I feel that the Chicken Jhangiri is their most significant. A tomato-based creamy gravy, the curry is filled with nuts and is served with cherries and egg. I've not found this dish anywhere else, and its really very delicious – like a much more deluxe butter chicken made all the better due to the additional flavours. We heard a table near us order the Butter Chicken, and I couldn't help but feel that they were missing out.

Their other most significant dish is the beautifully presented Ambrai Special Biryani – or as I like to call it 'Three Colours Biryani'. The rice is layered in the orange, green and white of the Indian flag, each having its own flavour that when mixed together makes for a delicious biryani. I particularly like the paneer and spinach that is in the green layer, and the cashew nuts that give it a nice crunch and nuttiness. Its not quite as amazing as the biryani at Dum Pukht, but this is definitely a must order at Ambrai.

As much as we really like the Jhangiri, we wanted to sample a few different dishes from their menu. Almost as good is their Chicken Angoori. Instead of the tomato base of the Jhangiri, this one is a lot creamier and even more nutty and uses chicken meatballs instead of the boneless chicken. This is extraordinarily rich and opulent – definitely one of the dishes we can point at as contributing to our massive weight gain during the trip.

Since we were saving our fish curry eating for the south, we decided to skip trying Ambrai's fish curry and instead give their Mutton Rana a go. This mutton curry gravy is sort of halfway between the Angoori and Jhangiri curry, insofar as creaminess and overall flavour is concerned. The mutton was cooked perfectly, with a great melt in your mouth quality that complemented the richness of the curry. Its not as refined as the lamb curry at Dum Pukht and I personally rate the Jhangiri higher, but if making multiple visits is good to break up the endless chicken eating.

When I was last at Ambrai two years ago, I remember their being an excellent eggplant dish, and on one of our nights we ordered the eggplant curry even though it was not on their Ambrai Specialties list. Either their standard had dropped or I had ordered the wrong dish, but it did not taste as I recalled. The eggplant was very vinegary and almost tasted like bottled eggplant, lacking the nice soft texture I was expecting. Definitely not an item I would order again.

To accompany the curries we ordered the garlic naan. The garlic naan was good, though its not on the level of Trishna.

For dessert, we repeatedly ordered the Gulab Jamun with Ice Cream. This was about what I would expect for the dish, being neither bad or exceptional examples.

The Verdict: Excellent

As you'd except from the north, Ambrai's food is decadently rich. But it so delicious you've just gotta try it if you're in town, plus their cocktails are very good too. And while I would probably would eat at a few different restaurants next time I'm in Udaipur, I would certainly go back again. To sit there at the corner table, with the music wafting through the cool evening air as we overlooked the city... for me, it wouldn't be a complete Udaipur experience without it.