When going into Milan Indian Cuisine restaurant on Mount Warren Boulevard, you won’t see anything which reminds you of Italy.
The name translates from Urdu, commonly spoken in northern India and the national language of Pakistan, meaning “to meet” or a gathering.
It’s appropriate for most restaurants, but particularly Asian food which is served to be enjoyed among a group.
During our visit, there was a table of 16 nearby, enjoying conversation and the celebration around it.
Milan is simply set out among lots of gold – paint on the walls, the tablecloths and even a beer ad which sits next to the licensed bar is gold.
Some might argue that a curry is a curry is a curry. I don’t however, find that to be true.
There are subtle flavours and it’s an adventure to eat your way through the curries to find the one that make the hairs on your arms stand up.
Not because it’s hot, rather because it tickles the sensations that make you really want to dig in for more.
Milan’s special curry is made from fried onion paste, along with whole Indian spices and has broad appeal, not dissimilar to a Handi curry which is also made with a fried onion base, albeit with a hint of coriander and ginger.
The floor staff here will ask if you want your curry mild, medium, “western hot” or “Indian hot”.
Unless you’re out to prove a point, or if your palate is particularly acclimatised to hot Asian food, it’s worth toning the request down to “western” hot, or even medium.
The extreme heat at Milan is not as overbearing as it is in some of the restaurants catering to the Indian palate, but it’s good to be able to appreciate the subtle flavours which a curry can offer.
There’s a great dish on the menu called “Chicken 65”. There are a number of theories about why the number is used – 65-day-old chickens, 65 pieces of chicken.
Whatever the case, this entree which is often used as a snack in Chennai and is a delightful mix of chilli, ginger, garlic and yoghurt tossed with curry leaves.
They say snack, but it could easily be a main meal.
For those with a sweet tooth, there’s another hidden gem on this menu called “pista kulfi”. It’s probably one of the sweetest desserts I know, alongside baklava.
In short, it’s frozen condensed milk with pistachio nuts through it. If you like it really sweet, this is yum. And you won’t need a lot of it.
