suchandra 1 Report post Posted October 2, 2007 Spiritual food experience By Sian Briggs http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,22518801-5005384,00.html October 02, 2007 01:06pm Govinda's Hare Krishna Food For Life Restaurant Weekdays: Lunch, 11.30am 2.30pm; Dinner, 3.45pm 6.30pm. Sunday: dinner, 6pm 7.30pm 200 William St, Northbridge. Phone: 9227 1684 The bill - $8.50 for one The bang for the buck - Curry, rice, chutney, pappadum, salad and halava with custard $7 - Lassi $1 - One pakora 50c The meal - How’s this for a bargain? Seven bucks scores you a mountain of a meal a plate of rice, curry and chutney, a pappadum, a salad and even a halava and custard for dessert. As would be expected for a multi course meal costing under double digits, it’s no frills, but snaps where they are due it’s good. In fact, the curry, of the yellow vegetable variety sorry, meat lovers, you’ll need to get your animal protein elsewhere is hearty and flavoursome, packed with potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, zucchini and enough spices to make your mouth sing. A splash of chutney adds enough zing for chilli phobes like me, still undoing years of damage from being brought up on a bland British diet of meat and yorkshire pud. To the average Singh, however, it would have about as much heat as an igloo. The halava is a highlight; hot, sweet and buttery, it’s packed with plump sultanas, topped with creamy custard and literally melts on the tongue. On the flipside, the monster sized potato pakora lets the team down with a coat so tough my canine teeth could barely tear through it. The crowd - You don’t have to shave your head and don an orange robe to score a cheap as chips curry from the Hare Krishnas everyone from blue rinsed grandmothers to spoon smashing toddlers get a fix of the all you can eat feast. Students and hippies mix it with tradesmen and middle managers, who bark orders into their mobile phones as HK founder Prabhupada smiles serenely down from a giant mural above. The service - In a word, humbling. Just like the old school camp days, you slide your tray along a production line and hope those ahead don’t snaffle the fresh batch of pappadums. The guy doing the serving is as smiley as Buddha himself, despite working up a sweat splitting duties between ladling curry and putting cash through the till. But why wouldn’t he be; here, patrons are trained to take their dishes to the kitchen, scrape them down and stack them neatly after they have finished their meals. The ambience - Despite being set on busy William St, there’s a sense of calm and ease at Govinda. A steady stream of patrons keep the restaurant close to full capacity, but the colossal serves of food keep the mouths full and the chatter low. Few linger long here it’s the place to go for curry in a hurry. In a word Surprising. Value: 5/5 Food: 4/5 Ambience: 3/5 Service: 3/5 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
