Mirchi

Marpole is a convenient location for me to grab lunch or dinner, but I never know where to go! Asides from Red Star, where else is there to eat in Marpole? Well, after searching around, Mirchi caught my eye. Alright, some of the dishes look average online and one cannot judge how the food may taste by looking at just photos, especially with curries. However, what sold me is their naan. For a restaurant to have a tandoor on site and good looking naan, it is a must try.

Walking up to Mirchi, BF did not want to try the restaurant and we walked down the street to look for something else. After walking two blocks down, I called him stupid and to trust me, I know good naan when I see it. So, we headed back to Mirchi and when we walked in, our immediate thoughts were that the restaurant looks old. Not only that, but the restaurant looks equivalent to a Chinese wonton house which to be honest, was not a big deal because I was wearing laundry day clothes.

We were given the option to grab any table and chose a window seat. After receiving the menus from our friendly waitress, the owner came by to fill our glasses with water. He was very humble as well as polite, and I felt bad asking for hot water or mentioning the glasses were dirty, which kind of screwed me over later on for choosing not to drink anything. The table setting is pretty generic, glasses with folded napkins and utensils placed on the side. Furthermore, there are photos of celebrities who have visited the restaurant along with a few family photos. The restaurant has a nice homey vibe.

Every entree comes with an order of salad, rice and naan. I cannot emphasize how much the included rice and naan means to me, because I hate the idea of spending $8.00 for two orders of rice when having curry LOL. To start, the salad consists of romaine and slices of cucumber along with tomato. The salad tastes fresh and has a slightly sweet mango syrup dressing. As for the basmati rice, fresh and perfectly cooked.

EGGPLANT CURRY, ROASTED SLICES OF EGGPLANT AND GREEN PEAS JUMPING IN A FLAVOUR INFUSED CURRY ($12.00).

Starting with the eggplant curry, the slices of eggplant taste tender and flavourful. The curry has a nice sweetness from the peas and there are plenty of spices, where each individual spice can be picked up. Furthermore, comparing the curry to an eggplant bharta, the only difference seems to be that the vegetable is not mashed up. In addition, although we could not see any peas, that natural sweetness was definitely there. Also, asides from the flavourful spices, the curry tastes spicy. Spicy. Spicy as in perhaps a bit too spicy for us and our tongues felt like they were on fire! Nevertheless, we enjoyed the eggplant curry.

BUTTER CHICKEN, FEATHERY LIGHT TANGY CREAM SAUCE, ROMA TOMATOES, GINGER, GARLIC AND SECRET SPICES. WE ARE FAMOUS FOR THIS ONE ($14.00).

Next up, the butter chicken. The curry has a slight butteriness but the flavour is unfortunately overwhelmed by the spiciness. We requested for everything to be spicy and we got it, the butter chicken tastes so spicy that we were sweating! Furthermore, the butter chicken has plenty of spices and is not just a boring buttery dish. As for the chicken, the chunks of white meat taste very moist as well as tender.

LAMB VINDALOO, TENDER LAMB AND POTATOES DOUSED IN A SPICY CURRY SAUCE ($14.00).

Going for a favourite of ours, the lamb vindaloo at first seemed more oil based than like a curry, which we did not mind. The curry has lots of flavourful spices but due to the extreme level of spiciness, lacked that nice tanginess in vindaloo. As for the meat, the medium chunks of lamb taste very moist as well as tender, and pretty tasty. Furthermore, there is only one nugget potato and the vindaloo has a good amount of meat. If anything, the curry was slightly too salty which is a first for us. We have heard people mention that sometimes Indian cuisine can get salty, but have never experienced it before.

TANDOORI MASALA TIKKA, AN ARRAY OF MIXED VEGETABLES WITH YOUR CHOICE OF ADDING LAMB OR CHICKEN TIKKA TO THE MIX.

Last up is the chicken tandoori masala tikka which was a recommendation from our waitress. Originally, we felt obligated to stick with the chicken masala tikka and did not want to order it. It was mostly because we assumed the masala tikka would be a stir fried dish like the prawn masala from Royal Tandoori, and prefer saucier dishes. However, turns out the masala tikka was our favourite! The curry tastes extremely creamy as well as milky, along with a slight tanginess and of course, tastes very spicy. As for the meat, the chicken has a nice charred flavour and the dark meat tastes moist. In addition, since the chicken was roasted before added to the curry, the meat tastes amazingly flavourful. Also, asides from the meat, the vegetables taste good as well. The red and yellow peppers taste juicy as well as milky, and there are slices of mushroom too. This is considered a must order for me at Mirchi.

NAAN, WHITE FLOUR BREAD PUFFED UP IN A YEAR DROPE SHAPE; FRESH AND HOT FROM THE TANDOOR.

The only item that lured me in, is the naan. I mean, for any restaurant to spend time making a $0.25 naan taste good, it shows they care about the food that is served (or simply just do not half ass it). The flatbread is nicely puffed up and has some blistering, along with a charred flavour and a crispiness. Furthermore, the texture is very soft and has a nice elasticity, not too chewy at all. Mirchi serves one of the best naan that I ever had.

After we finished the rice and naan, the waitress brought over the other half of our portion. I appreciate the staff for not bringing everything out at once because this way, the rice and second order of naan was served hot.

TOTAL: $60.00 + TIP $10.00 = $70.00.

Mirchi is the only Indian cuisine restaurant in Marpole and not only that, but the food tastes good! This is definitely a restaurant that I want to support and will frequently visit. Furthermore, Mirchi is better than many of the Indian cuisine restaurants on Fraser and Main Street!

On our next visits, since we know that Mirchi actually knows what spicy means (unlike most restaurants we have visited), we will request for an original Indian spiciness to see how the food really tastes. In addition, for those who like medium spicy, there is no need to request for spicy in hopes the food may not be medium spicy. In our case, spicy was actually a true spiciness where we were sweating and our mouths were burning non-stop. But, we still enjoyed the food. Every spice could be picked up and the restaurant serves pretty good curries. As for the service, the owner gives off a warm, welcoming and genuine vibe. Also, when I was cleaning up the table, he told BF I was a very nice lady, heh.

POSITIVES

- Good food and value

- Serves one of the better naans

- Friendly owner and staff

NEGATIVES

- Restaurant is not the cleanest

LITTLE THINGS

- Restaurant maximizes their seating arrangements and the interior is not cramped. However, there is only around eight tables and a couple of large ones

- Will try the goat curry, lamb tandoori masala tikki and the tandoori chicken on the next visit, as well as the butter chicken

Food: 3.5/5

Service: 3/5