With the wind and rain that has been dominating the weather forecast lately, there is nothing I have been craving more than a hot spicy curry!
The Cove Indian Restaurant is on Canning Hwy in Applecross and the restaurant is actually inside a 1920 colonial-style white house with a gorgeous big verandah that surrounds the home. Each “dining room” splits off from the main hallway which as you enter, you can smell the strong spicy flavours of India that gives you the impression you have clearly made it to heaven.
I have been to The Cove Indian Restaurant so many times that the Manager actually seats us now and the staff all recognise us, and know our “usual order.” I found it hard to divert from my regular order after I fell in love with this curry the first time I tried it. I have of course tried many other of The Cove’s dishes, the al le carte menu is huge and I constantly spend ages dreaming of every curry and trying to decide! I have even been there on the weekend nights where they feature a full Indian buffet spread for $39pp. (Such great value!)
The buffet offers everything from the usual Butter Chicken to a selection of vegetarian options and Indian desserts. The buffet gives you a selection of:
· 4 salads
· 7 entree’s
· 9 mains
· 6 vegetarian mains
· Accompaniments such as pappadams and chutney
· 4 or more Dessert options
· Tea and coffee
A Sunday lunch buffet is only $28pp. This buffet I found gives you beautiful authentic high quality curries. Northing like the deli options where curries sit in heated pots, stewing for hours. This is all constantly replaced with fresh curries throughout the buffet.
I’d book, because it can get very busy!
Tonight we neither dined in, nor ate from the buffet, we placed a pickup order and jumped in the car eagerly to pick up what we knew what consistently proved to us as the best Indian around!
My favourite curry from The Cove is the Okra Curry (Bindhi Masala) (about $14.50).
What the hell is OKRA you ask? It's a vegetable typically used in Indian cuisine.
Okra looks like this raw:
What the hell is OKRA you ask? It's a vegetable typically used in Indian cuisine.
Okra looks like this raw:
These little green fingers don’t look extremely appetising I know, but this curry is seriously good!
The Bindi Masala consists of okra, tomatoes, onions and Indian spices.
The Cove do it amazingly! I can’t really describe the taste but it’s classic Indian goodness!
Bindi Masala
Jack had the Butter Chicken. Being a big fan of chilli and everything spicy, this is a big deal if he choses the Butter Chicken (a typically very mild and sweet Indian curry) over those hotter and spicier options. The Butter Chicken at The Cove is TO-DIE-FOR, so it’s a no brainer.
I even love it and I don’t even eat the chicken. So the creamy, rich, buttery, sweet – “butter” – part of the butter chicken is what tastes amazing!!
Butter Chicken
Rip off some Naan Bread and dip it into the sweet curry goodness and you have yourself heaven on a plate. There is nothing that feels better on a night in, away form the wind and rain!
Tonight we decided to try the ‘Peshwari Naan’. This Naan is described as being filled with dried fruits and coconut. Normally the thought of sweet raisins with a spicy curry confuses me. But if you have tried this combination you can understand the brilliance of the sweetness of the fruit mixed with the creamy/spicy curry.
My favourite from The Cove would still have to be the Garlic Naan, hands down. You can’t really go wrong.
Overall, the service at The Cove is brilliant. The ambiance of the restaurant is gorgeous as you sit in an old-style room and gorge in the flavours of India as they drift by.
Highs: The Butter Chicken and the Bhindi Masala.
Lows: once you buy your curry, then rice, then Naan and some condiments if that’s your thing – it can end up being on the pricier side. If quality is what you’re after, then look no further.
Overall: 9/10
