Chilli India, Melbourne CBD by Bureaucrat

Thwarted at my attempts to try somewhere new, I let Mr S lead the way to Chilli India for an Indian lunch.

Those that know me know that Indian food isn't high on my list of favourite cuisines.  I like curry but I much prefer Malaysian, Singaporean or Thai curries instead.  To me, Indian food is too much cumin, too much lentils and too much ghee.


Despite this, I have, in the past, gone to Chilli India on a regular-ish basis for a takeaway lunch, as it was just under a tenner (not any more), close by, hot and filling. And they also do killer rotis.  However, these days, I tend to go for less stodgy lunches.

Chilli India is a perennial favourite of all the workers near by.  It always has a queue and it's a bit tricky to get a table during lunch time.


Because almost everything on the menu is a bit spicy than what I can comfortably handle, I went for my usual order here - butter chicken, eggplant curry w two roti (aka the 1 meat + 1 veg + 2 roti lunch deal).  It comes with raita and a poppadum.  The chicken is cooked in the tandoor oven and has a nice smoky flavour to it.  The eggplant is full of eggplants and onions.  I especially love the roti at CI.  It's made on premise, and you can see the Cook knead and cook it on the hot plate.  I like my roti to be a bit crispy and a bit chewy, and have a nice buttery flavour to it - which is waht CI does.  (I've had the roti at Mamak and I didn't like it's more papery and less buttery take on it).


Mr S went for the chilli chicken, chickpea curry with rice and roti.  It also comes with raita and a poppadum.  To give Mr S credit, he didn't seem fazed by the red colour of the chicken or the presence of the chillies in the curry.  We did have a chuckle that the curry would burn him twice.... :D

Verdict
Food – 7
Service – 7
Ambience – 6
Price – 7

Overall
Okay, so I don't mind the food at CI.  I really like their rotis, and the food is hot and there is a quick turnover.  So if you like Indian curries, I'd say you should give this a go.

Also have a gander at Big Fil's review of Chilli India back in Oct 2011.

Address
Chilli India
Shop 6 Menzies Alley Melbourne Central
Melbourne 3000

Telephone: 9639 3966