Original Article >> http://porkninjas.ca/2017/02/08/swad-indian-kitchen/
I haven’t visited too many Indian restaurants in Vancouver, I can count the number of times with one hand. Super excited to try Swad Indian Kitchen in West Vancouver. It’s a bit of ways from home but work the trek. Immediately coming into this warm and cozy modern restaurant, the smell of Indian spices just tickled my senses and wet my appetite.
Our appetizer to begin the meal the cauliflower 65: small florets coated with honey and chili marination, with taste of sweet and tangy. I thought I was eating sweet and sour pork but it was even tastier. I thought the cauliflower was meat at first because it shared such similar textures to meat. The chili and honey mixture was divine. Eaten hot is best but even cold, it was still a delight. I’m still wondering why the ’65’ next to the cauliflower.
When this dish was presented to our table, the spices immediately tickled my nose. The sauce is a curry masala, garlic and white wine. For $13, this was a steal. The sauce reminded me of tandoori sauce, it has that smoky but sweet flavor to it and some lingering spices. The flavors were complex and so addictive to eat. All the mussels opened and devoured fast!
All these dishes were served with a warmer on the bottom, keeping them bubbling hot.
Fish cooked in coconut, onion gravy and mustard. The flavor was amazing, hints of coconut throughout the broth and of sweet mustard with mustard seeds. The fish was cooked to perfection, so soft and delicate and the sauce complemented it well. What a pretty color with the sauce.
How can I leave without trying the butter chicken? The chicken is slow-cooked with Swad’s signature creamy tomato gravy. This was not your typical butter chicken sauce, it’s both fragrant and flavorful.
Their signature dish here is made with spinach and gram flour dumplings, fresh spinach and cream and topped with mozzarella cheese. This was still bubbling over as it was presented to our table. Crispy golden brown dumplings with fresh spinach with some pop of color.
I am so impressed with all the dishes and all the flavors here. I could have went without the protein in the dishes because the star of the dishes was in the sauces. Each one unique in its own way. Unlike many other Indian restaurants I’ve been to where there tends to be just two or three sauces created and from there gets added with other ingredients to create different sauces/dishes, this was not that. Swad prides itself on creating each sauce from scratch and brings different flavor and spice pairings to create a landscape of India’s food. Thank you for bringing such beautiful flavors to Vancouver, it just makes me excited to travel to India and taste more of this authenticity.
Food: 6/5 Incredible!
Pork Ninjas approved: Absolutely!
Price $
