http://ranglapunjab.com.au/
Indian food is interesting to me. I'm not always in the mood but when I do want it and I get it, nothing feels as satisfying (besides a slice of chocolate cake). West End has an abundance of Indian restaurants but a couple of weeks ago, Marc and I ventured slightly beyond our neighbourhood to try Rangla Punjab in New Farm.
The first thing to note is that the restaurant is huge. There are tables outside but once you step into the building, it felt like there was dining space as far as the eye could see.
Complimentary pakoras
Not that the space was necessary for this particular night. It was about 30% full, which was nice for us because that meant it wasn't too busy or too quiet.
Pakoras with dipping sauce
We shared some pakoras to start with. I've explained before the appeal of these delicious deep fried onion fritters, not that it requires much justification. This version was crunchy but not crisp enough and yes, that's a minor distinction. They were pretty good just not the best I've tried. At least they weren't old and soggy.
For the main component of our feast, I went with my no-brainer of butter chicken. Even with all the misery and troubles of being a grown up with grown up issues, there are few things I hate more than being served crappy butter chicken. It has such potential to be amazing and it's not exactly a health food option so it really sucks to be stuck with a bowl of butter chicken that doesn't quite hit the spot. It feels like such a missed opportunity.
Butter chicken, lamb vindaloo, rice and garlic naan
There was nothing to fear here. The butter chicken at Rangla Punjab was right up my alley. It was creamy, sweet, buttery and tomatoey, with loads of chicken. Even when I finished the chicken, I slopped up the curry sauce with whatever naan/rice I could get my hands on. It was slurpingly delicious.
Marc ordered the vindaloo lamb. Whilst I have a soft spot for creamy curry, Marc can't help going for the hottest items on the menu. I can only make limited comments on this dish because it was too hot for me. Marc really liked it though. I think it had a nice flavour so it wasn't just pure spicy but actually multi-dimensional.
Our naan bread did everything we needed it to. It was large and puffy and created a great vessel for scooping up curry sauce. Marc did think it could have been more charred but I feel that his standards are too high. There was also a large bowl of well-cooked, fluffy basmati rice.
Rangla Punjab is a good addition to my list of reliable indian restaurants in Brisbane. By that, I mean I can count on it for top notch curry, buttery naan, big servings and good prices. The service is pleasant and food is brought out quickly. It also feels less cramped than a lot of other Indian restaurants.
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