REVIEW: Amaya Indian Room

Tuesday, July 17, 2012 0 comments Categories: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


Amaya The Indian Room
1701 Bayview Avenue
Toronto, Ontario Canada
Phone: +1 (416) 322 3270
TYPE OF RESTAURANT: Indian
ATTIRE: Casual / Business Casual
PRICES: See Menu
$$/$$$ Affordable/Pricey
PAYMENT OPTIONS: Cash, Mastercard, Visa, Debit/POS

 HOURS: 7 days a week 5PM-11PM

 RESERVATIONS? yes via phone and Open Table; Walk-ins welcome
HANDICAP ACCESSIBLE? Kinda.. (washrooms are located downstairs)
VEGETARIAN? Yes
VEGAN? Yes.
GLUTEN FREE? Could be??
RATING:

Quality of Food: 4.5/5
Service: 3.5/5
Originality: 3.5/5
Atmosphere: 4.5/5


Summer is in full bloom and for the GTA area it means a whole slew of summertime festivities, most of which include you guessed it.. FOOD. More specifically Toronto's annual Summerlicious which began July 6th and runs until the 22nd. What originally began in 2003 as a modest 35 restaurant event has now blossomed into 180 participating GTA dining establishments. Every participating venue creates a special three-course prix-fixe menu for this viral event to showcase their best creations from the kitchen. 

This review actually came up by total chance as I was on my way to work in the morning, www.meetup.com . I began using this social meetup website just after I moved to Toronto. Being the new kid on the block from the county, I was finding it a little difficult to meet new people with similar interests in such a fast paced, on-the-go city. Meetup helped me find several social circle's with similar interest's to mine and I have met a  wide range of new friends; many of which I now interact with outside of Meetup. 

 Anyways, back to my story, I received an email on my way to work  Friday morning from one of my Meetup groups; Joy of Eating, (if you can't tell, this is a foodie group :P) mentioning that there is a last minute opening for a Summerlicious meetup that evening. Thanks to the wonder's of modern technology, within minutes, I was slated in for the final spot to dine at Amaya Indian Room. 
Indian food and massages??
Now I have seen this bright orange elephant logo all over Toronto as the Amaya Empire (referrered to by many in T.O. as the 'King's of Curry') and was a bit skeptical at first as it almost appeared to be a national franchise. However, the Amaya group is solely based in Toronto and certainly makes its presence known with 2 full size restaurants (Indian Room and Bread Bar), over 6 express and food court locations as well as a gourmet sauce line; sold in specialty grocery stores and even a complete catering division. Needless to say, this orange elephant gets around but it scored a 26/30 from Zagat, so I'm anxious to see what this Indian cuisine heavyweight has to offer.

 Upon my arrival I enter the East York establishment, I was politely greeted by an army of black clad Indian servers and I quickly found some other members of the meetup group in the corner of my eye since the cozy place seats about 40-45.  As I venture to my table, I take note of the very modern and elegant interior with a very bold colour palette of warm orange accent walls and red chairs (both of which simulate hunger which is always a good thing for a restaurant). This was all accented with several pictures of scenery and abstract photos of India which added a very nice touch, nothing crazy like a Bollywood musical. 

 As the remaining members of the party were arriving I took a look at both the Summerlicous menu as well as the regular menu. To be honest, nothing on the Summerlicious menu really stood out and it just felt like it was slightly modified dishes from the regular menu with a smaller portion size. One thing that really left me perturbed was the server explicitly explained that the entire table had to make a decision of whether we wanted Summerlicious or regular menu, no mixing and matching was allowed. This stirred some debate of why they were adamant about this. I'm not sure if a reason was explained but we made it easy and all decided to order off the regular menu. 
Jazzed up Indian street food 
For myself I began with the savory chaat. I'm still a neophyte in Indian cuisine but my take on this dish was kind of a bread/wafer/potato salad, only the flavour profile slapped me right in the face with its vibrancy and acidity getting that lip pucker you get after eating a bag of salt and vinegar chips. Soon after I dove into this dish, the others at the table told me that chaat is a well known street food in India and is often served in paper cones for more portability. Savory, tarte and a hint of spice with the coolness of the yogurt really took my palette for a spin. 



For my main, I played it safe and went with a staple in Indian cookery, butter chicken! Traditionally named Murgh Makhani, butter chicken is made by taking tandoori chicken (chicken marinated in yogurt, lemon juice and an array of spices resulting in its iconic red hue and then cooked in a clay tandoor oven) and stewing it in pureed tomatoes, cream and fried fenugreek (herb commonly used in Indian cuisine). This healthy portioned bowl of butter chicken made its entrance with a plate of fresh, warm and delicious order of garlic na'an (flatbread cooked in a tandoor oven).  The butter chicken itself was very tasty; creamy, and full of flavour with the richly spiced tandoori chicken. I immediately began attacking the bowl of delicious sauce with my garlic na'an, soaking up as much saucy goodness as I could with every bite. 

dum means cooked in low heat




Lamb Vindaloo
Accompanied with this splendid dish, I also got to sample some lamb vindaloo (one of India's spiciest curry's)  and dum chicken biriyani (basmati rice that is cooked with several spices over low heat). The vindaloo as its reputation proceeds itself did indeed pack quite a punch though I only had a couple bites of it, and the biriyani had a comfort food feel to it. Kind of gave me the kitchen sink, 1 pot meal deal. Though the flavours are textbook Indian, the layout of the dish reminded me of this loaded sticky rice my mom makes with Chinese sausage, scallions, and Chinese mushrooms. Something you just stop when you eat it and just say "mmmm..."


We opted to skip desserts at Amaya since it was so hot out and ice cream or gelato would of been a nice finish to a bold and spice driven meal.







My final thoughts of Amaya are for the most part positive. Ironically set on going for a Summerlicious meal, I am glad that I ordered off the regular menu. Price's were a bit higher, but in return we received hefty portions perfect for sharing and indulging in a excellently executed Indian family style meal. Even though this is my first time here, judging by the number of locations Amaya holds in the GTA, I can bank that the food is consistently this good. Encountered a bit of a communication block with the ordering, but I would recommend this place to anyone who wants to dine in an inviting and pleasant atmosphere with a eye popping and mouth pleasing (and/or possibly burning depending on what you order) experience! JAI HO! 


Amaya the Indian Room on Urbanspoon

EVENT: Fork and Cork... the update

Saturday, July 14, 2012 0 comments Categories: , , , , , , ,

Well, it happened. As mentioned previously, Festival Epicure was a no-go this year and was replaced by an all new food festival-- Fork and Cork on July 6th, 7th and 8th.

The food festival couldn't have happened on a better weekend. After a heat wave lasting several weeks overtook Essex County, the weather was back to seasonal expectations. On Saturday July 7th, Some coworkers and I decided to make it an early dinner.

Many of the same vendors from Festival Epicure's past were present including Chanoso's, Mastronardi Estate Winery, Thai Palace, Koi Sushi, Thai Palace, and Mezzo's. But there were even more new vendors including Cooper's Hawk Vineyards, The Tecumseh Roadhouse, The City Grill, Sweet Temptations, Walkermole, and the Dominion House.

The Chork-- sans Armadillo.
I had a couple of delicious dishes including Chanoso's Green Armadillo, which consisted of fresh slices of avocado over a ball of seasoned rice (resembling an armadillo rolled into a ball), on a bed of sweet pepper salsa. It was served with some fried- wonton like "crackers" and one of the coolest foodie inventions I have ever seen-- a Chork (Chopstick and Fork combined). My second dish was The Tecumseh Roadhouse's Smoked Turkey Breast. The think was ENORMOUS and incredibly tender and delicious! For just $6, I got a drumstick that weighed so much that my arms actually got tired of holding it. Honestly, a meal in itself.

Tecumseh Roadhouse's Smoked Turkey Drumstick
All this went down with about four drinking cups of Mastronardi Estate Winery's Sangria (if you have never tried it, check out your local LCBO for some. If they don't have it request it because it is an amazing summertime red wine). I also finished off the dining experience with a glass of rose from Cooper's Hawk Vineyards.

One think I particularly liked about this festival is how they offered table service when it came to ordering mixed drinks and beer. Their serving staff went well with the environment and were incredibly friendly and sociable. One thing I think needs to improve for next year is the music, or at least the schedule. Having an evening meal accompanied by rock music was a first for me. I mean, I love my rock and roll but to have it blaring during dinner was all too strange. Some lighter music  for the evening would have been much more enjoyable. The sentiment was shared by several tables in our vicinity. 

Overall, with the short amount of time the organizers had to put this event together it was a great success and I look forward to seeing the Fork and Cork festival as an annual part of Windsor and Essex County's Summer Festival and Events schedule. 




INTRODUCTION: 1st Official Diner's Dish Contributor!!

Friday, July 13, 2012 0 comments Categories: , , , , , , ,

Hey everyone!! Adam here, making my debut post. You may have seen my name pop up in some (or a lot ) of Gio’s review and event blogs. Ever since moving to the big city for a taste of the real world after college, I’ve been immersed in a culinary wonderland and instead of me texting and sending him pictures of all the amazing food and event’s I’ve seen, heard and/or been to, he came up with the brilliant idea of me being an official contributor to Diner’s Dish!!

So here I am, Adam Hoang, the Ragin’ (Can)Asian here to report to you all the incredible gastronomic adventures of the GTA  (and hopefully beyond) !!

Much like Gio’s family (swap Sicilian-Canadian to Viet/Chinese-Canadian), food is what the Hoang’s are known for. As mentioned already, I grew up in the restaurant business in Leamington with my parents owning and operating Wong’s Dining Lounge for nearly 3 decades now.

Being a 1st generation Viet/Chin-adian, I’ve gotten to experience some of the best Vietnamese and Chinese cuisine by 2 of the best cooks I know; my parents. From bold and hearty Cantonese to fresh and vibrant Vietnamese flavours, “what’s for dinner?” is always an adventure at the Hoang household.

Furthermore, ever since my family immigrated to Canada, excellent Western cuisine was also mastered. Some of you may be skeptical but next Thanksgiving, be sure to find me in the back yard of my parent’s house preparing a southern fried turkey and you won’t question it twice!
Anyways, I hope my added contributions to this flourishing blog add another point of view and give you an enjoyable reading experience. Thanks to Gio for having me a part of the Diner’s Dish Collaboration!

'til next time…

食飯/Chúc ngon miệng !!

Adam Hoang
Twitter: @ad5ter

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