East India Company

East India Company

349 York Ave

204-947-3097

Fax:  204-947-5019

http://www.eastindiaco.com/

December, 2012

Before you’re anywhere near the door, the block around East India Company sets the trap for your visit, highlighted by an alluring aroma that’s impossible to ignore.  For years, I walked by this institution and it’s always a battle not to enter (even after we’ve dined already!).  There’s no shortage of restaurants in this area vying for your appetite before your business at the Convention Centre nearby; and East India has always been one of my favourites.

Your journey starts with your nose, as you follow the wonderful aroma to the twin elephants that guard the entrance.  Once through the doors, you walk into a stunning dining room, adorned by an opulence of Indian art.  This is one of the most spectacularly decorated dining rooms in Winnipeg; unfortunately, most people miss its grandeur in their hurry to the buffet.  East India has no shortage variety within its expansive assortment.  They offer a perfectly competent buffet but I prefer the dishes off the menu, freshly made and catered to my tastes.

If you want it mild, East India happily obliges, but if you’re an insane chilli-head like me and you can’t get it hot enough, they’re happy to leave you with flames shooting out of your mouth and sweat dripping down your neck.  Bring it on!

The naan comes thick and warm but I normally skip the naan.  Why fill stomach space unnecessarily with bread where there’s so much that’s so good?  The samosas come nice and flaky with very little grease and lots of spicy flavour.  These are a  good size too, so don’t overfill on the appetisers before the mains come.

The pureed spinach with Indian farmer’s cheese (palak paneer) shines brightly green and tastes equally fresh.  The gigantic lumps of cheese ensure that it’s not simple cottage cheese that you get with this dish.  The spiced chickpeas (channa masala) is equally hearty as the plate teems with abnormally large chickpeas.  The veggie korma too features tons of chunky vegetables, swimming in the rich and delicious korma sauce.

If you want meat with your Indian, the standard butter chicken again boasts monstrous chunks of chicken, perfected cooked and bobbing in the flavourful but not-too-tomatoey butter sauce.  The vindaloo packs a mighty punch, especially if you order it as spicy as we like it.  Despite the tongue-flaming force of the meat, the pungent earthy spices continue to emerge from this flagrant food. 

The one complaint I have—and that’s not just about East India but most Indian restaurants—lies in the goat dishes, usually curried.  Since the goat comes from the same family as the sheep, bison and cow, I imagine that they have similar body structures.  So why is it that every time you order curried goat from Indian restaurants, you always get a plateful of bones among well-concealed meat?  To its credit, East India provides generous chunks of meat to go with the jagged blocks of bones.  Nevertheless, Indian sauces tastes so well blended with rice, it’s a shame to have to pick through the bone to get at it.  I have a bone to pick about having to pick through the bones (sorry).

People have raved about Indian desserts but to tell the truth, I’ve never made it as far as dessert.  When the main courses taste so good, I can never stop until I feel insanely uncomfortable.  I’ll go by my company’s comments that the desserts are worth trying—in the meantime, will you pass the palak paneer please? 

****½ /5

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