Sizzling Tandoor, Downtown, Victoria

Christmas shopping is hard work.  Or so it seems.  In reality, the ability to wander around many shops stocked with things that have been shipped from around the world, made from materials that didn't exist a few decades ago is a pretty amazing thing to be able to do.  The logistics, technology and engineering that allows it all to happen is the hard work.  Spending a five hours muscling through crowds to find a gift isn't hard work.  It's just a chore you do for the people you like, so you have the bright sparkle in their eyes (you hope) on Christmas morning when they open your gift.

And, there is often a place to sit down and get some energy again.  I have a good life.

So, as it was, myself and Brunette of my Acquaintance doing the last bits of shopping, and we decided to grab some food after completing the tasks.  We walked into an empty curry house, the lunch buffet having been cleared, but the early evening dinner crowd had yet to arrive.

So we had sanctuary and quiet.  Our server brought water and a beer for the Brunette, along with menus.  The space had used to house an older tandoori buffet that range from adequate to down right disgusting, but since the Sizzling Tandoor took the space over, they have refurbished.  The carpets are clean now, and the walls have large murals of various Indian themed images.  It seats about 40, on tables of four, covered in glass above the clean white table cloths.  Makes it easier to keep clean, which is needed judging by the mess I made.

Because I enjoyed it.  I order the Chicken Biryani, cooked medium-hot.  This was fantastic.  There was heat, but lots of aromatic spices as well, with tender chicken and al dente rice.  I love biryani's at a curry house, they are my go-to dish if I don't fancy anything in the vegetarian section.  This was among the best I have ever had.  It was served with a cucumber raita, whereas I am used to the biryani sauce being a small portion of mild vegetable curry.

The Brunette order the Prawn Saagwala.  This was a thick pureed spinach sauce, spiced with ginger housing plump juicy prawns.  This wouldn't be my choice to eat again, mainly as I am not a huge fan of unadulterated spinach, the vegetal flavour not being my favourite in curry.  That said, it was well cooked and well spiced.  The Brunette tells me she had dreams of this dish the night after, and I've seen this far away, wistful look in her eyes when I mentioned I was writing about the restaurant.

We also got a couple of naan breads.  The rosemary naan was a little dry, but had plenty of aromatic herb flavour and smell.  The paneer naan, a bread sprinkled on the inside with crumbly curds was softer, and very savoury.  Not masses of cheese that the 'stuffed' description would suggest, but a very good accompaniment.  For two very hungry shoppers.

Loaded up on the good food, we paid the cheery server who was attentive, chatty and knew the dishes well.  Good service, but given we were the only two people eating, it's what you expect.

Definitely the best curry I have had in Victoria, especially in the style of the British Curry Houses I knew and loved back home.  There's becoming decent competition in town, as Masala Bites is also good.  No longer the barren wasteland when it comes to Indian cuisine here in Victoria.

Post Script : So I have managed 52 weekly posts on food and going out in Victoria and the surrounds.  Very happy with completing it, and thanks to Andrea, the gorgeous Brunette of my Acquainttance, my best friend and the rest of the breakfast club for going out to eat with me at a variety of good, great and not-so-good places.

I hope this series will continue on into 2015... I do want to get my number ranking on Urbanspoon....

Lin Heung, Mount Tolmie, Victoria

Solo dining isn't as exciting as dining with friends.  But after a drive back from Nanaimo in the pouring rain, I wanted to eat fast and not cook.  So I turned into the Shelbourne Plaza and headed into Lin Heung.

It's a basic Chinese restaurant, Formica tables, bright lights and plastic covered menus.  No frills, no frippery.  The whiteboard (so I guess there's been a renovation in there at some point in the last dozen years) shows the lunch specials, but as it was evening, there seemed to be nothing up.

No matter, as I ordered the set meal for one... tea, spring roll, broccoli and beef, pork balls and pork chop suey.

The spring roll was pretty good, a little greasy, but then it's rare not to have a deep fried roll swimming in fat.  This one was crispy at least and filled with a mixture of bamboo shoots and mushrooms and carrots.

The main course was one big plate, with a half dozen pork balls, a ladle of the beef and broccoli and a veritable mountain of chop-suey in the middle.

The beef was tender, not chewy and well cooked in the dark, soy-based sauced, with bright green florets giving a nice crunch.  The balls were covered in that sweet orange sauce that reminds me of British Chinese fast food.  Not very authentic, but in my mind it says 'Chinese' food (as opposed to Cantonese, Szechuan, etc).  The pork balls were crispy, with a good chunk of tender meat.  I would have eaten ore of this too.

The chop-suey was a little disappointing.  Made with brown noodles, I was expecting this earthy, savoury flavour from them.  They had a little flavour, but nothing quite as I love from this style of cooking. There was lots of strands of char-sui pork mixed in there, pink edges from the glaze, and brown strips.  It filled me up, but I probably wouldn't order it on it's own.

All-in-all, for $12, I got a fast meal with some good flavours.  It's what I wanted and needed at the time, and I'd visit again... or order take out, they deliver free in the area.

Six Mile Pub, View Royal

On the way out to a nice muddy trail race around Thetis Lake, Andrea decided that a new reality show is required, called 'Drive-thrus, Dumps and Trail Races'.  I think this was highly amusing to everybody inside the car (Population2).I won't be ousting Guy Fieri any time soon from the Food Network.  Or be the new Tom Green.  However, it is very true that I do love chicken sandwiches, fried chicken, roast chicken and any other variation on chicken that doesn't involved it pulverised into pink slime (Chicken Nuggets).  So perhaps the idea of reviewing every chicken fast food, drive-thru in the Vancouver Island area would make great television.

I will send the idea to Chek News.

Otherwise, lets stick with some semblance of reality.   I ran around a muddy forest, up to my calves in cold water and mud for an hour and fifteen minutes, on purpose.  After you've run through ice cold stream, you realized as long as you keep moving, your feet warm up again.  And the next one doesn't need to be gingerly stepped through... jump in, and get through it, and up the other side to the next hill or bend.

This is all great until you get back to the car, realize you don't have dry trainers, and hence have to walk into the Six Mile in just your socks.  I didn't see a sign saying 'no shoes, no service', but to avoid anyone spotting my lack of foot wear sat behind a bench table in the corner and hid my feet.

The rest of the runners from the trail run were heading down for a free snack and glass of Fat Tug, but I needed a proper feed.  I run, partly as I do get the elusive runner's high at times, but also so I can justify eating a lot of high calorie food.  Like fried chicken.

Naturally, after all the talk of chicken, I ordered the New York steak sandwich, with a fried egg on top.  My favourite post run meal... steak and eggs. Unless there's chicken and waffles. I pretend the protein attack helps my muscles recover fast, and the fat replaces some of the energy stores I have used up.  I could do with losing some of those 'stores' around my belly, but then this blog would be describing a lot of green salads.

And you don't make friends with salad.

The Six Mile back room is lovely wide open space, over looking a small kitchen garden and the end of the Mill Stream as it widens and flows into Esquimalt Harbour.  It's a nice bright space, compared to the more traditional nooks of the main bar area.  Our server, Faye, came over once we got settled and brought us coffee quickly.  She was lively, and really interested in the run we'd just completed.  Top marks for her service, and for the staff behind the bar who got us pointed in the right direction when we arrived.

The food was good, the eggs done over easy so I can dribble the yolk over my medium-rare steak.  The steak was tender and cooked a bit over towards medium, but it's a thin New York cut, so no problems there, as once seared it's going to be close to cooked in the middle too.  The fries were fine, nothing special.  I suspect a pile of greens here would have been a better choice...

Andrea got the all day breakfast, with all the meat options being replaced by bacon.  A huge pile of crispy pork goodness, and a large croquette potato to go with the eggs, tomato and toast.  The bacon was good. Both plates looked good and filled us up.  As ever, take a pinch of salt with any review after a long run.  Hunger covers up flaws.  But I have been in hear before for a lunch time sandwich, and been happy with that too.

The place filled up rapidly with tired and happy runners just after we got our meals.  Our server was rushed of her feet bringing out drinks and orders to people, but she seemed to not miss a beat, and was pretty awesome throughout the time there.  Always keeping our coffee mugs filled up, and checking on our progress.

All in, a good retreat after a trail run.  And the Liquor Store sells cold and flu remedy (Dewars Honey whisky... mix with hot water and lemon, cures most of what ails you).

Sunnyside Cafe, Esquimalt

Saturday was my third running of the Salvation Army Santa Shuffle.  Which went very well, Andrea paced me to push me hard, and I finished in a personal best for the course.  And it was a -fun- run, not a race.  I had fun, the people dressed as elves had fun, the Sally Army raised some money.  So who cares what my time actually was, just that it was more good exercise (I was happy I ran a fast time, so I guess I cared after all)

And afterwards, we headed to the Sunnyside Cafe in Esquimalt. I'd seen it at the top of many brunch lists, and as we were near-ish by, invited the normal brunch crew along to join in, and they came out for food and a catch up.  It is situated almost at the Navy Base, underneath Action Motorbikes.  The space is small, a long narrow frontage with a couple of tables outside and about seating for 20 inside.  It's counter service for the orders, but there was a server double fisting coffee and cream once we got seated.

The menu is pretty extensive, with about eight different Benny's, half a dozen lunch items and the standards of eggs, bacon, sausage and bread. The huevos have been mentioned as being really good. There's a also a build your own sandwich option, where you can get scrambled egg in a bun or wrap with two extras, like bacon, mushrooms or cheese.

I ordered the scrambled egg wrap with bacon and sausage.  There was an option of turkey, normal pork and sage or chorizo.  I went for the spicy sausage, with a side of potatoes and a big coffee.  The Brunette joined us a bit later and order a half portion of the vegetable Eggs Benedict.

The wrap was good.  The sausage was cooked well, spiced well and tasty, the juices flowing into the eggs and bacon.  The potatoes were sliced and quarter pieces of vegetable, partly fried I think and mostly boiled. And covered in a red powder that might have had some cayenne in.  The filled me up, but not so that I'd get excited about them.  Like I can get excited about good hash browns.

The Lovely Brunette of My Acquaintance has just raved about the Benny.  The half portion was a perfect size for her, and the hollandaise had some basil or herbs in it to make it really flavourful.  It was served with a couple of big slices of tomato, which had been warmed, not fried in the pan. This completed the meal, rather than carbing it up with potatoes.

The coffee was a good solid brew, setting the energy levels off again, but not so dark and potent that I would be vibrating for the next two hours.  I appreciated the constant top ups, and the service all around was fast and happy.  The whole experience was a good one, partly helped I am sure by the venue being just busy enough that we didn't have to wait, but there was people and liveliness about the place.  It's a good local place, and I'll be back next time I'm in the area for brunch... which given normal service will be for next year's Santa Shuffle.