Little India

Little India
Ein typisches indisches Restaurant. Sehr schöné Einrichtung und leckeres Essen.
Auch hier waren wir zu 4 und haben uns generell durch fast alles durchprobiert was die Karte hergab. Curry, Daal, Reis und Papadoms!
Gewürz wurde indientypisch. Auf Nachfrage haben Sie das Essen nicht ganz so scharf gestaltet und wir waren sehr dankbar dafür :).
Auch würde ich nochmal hingehen, kleiner Minuspunkt das Mineralwasser ist etwas zu chlorhaltig gewesen. Aber es gibt eben Unterschiede was das Wasser angeht ;)
Gutes Preis/​-​Leistungsverhaltnis

I will start by saying I’ve only ever ordered delivery from Little India Anzac Ave. They’re a chain and their Tauranga branch is my favourite Indian restaurant in the Bay of Plenty… although the competition is admittedly scarce. They range on the pricier side (curries are $ 16-​$ 19ish), and their menu is pretty standard but consistently delicious. You won’t find anything experimental or (for those purists out there) non-​Westernised, but sometimes you just want a good old chicken sagwaala and the ability to choose your spice level on a scale of 0 to 20.
That’s an exaggeration. But also not really. Suffice to say they know ‘Kiwi hot’ from ‘Indian hot’ and you can have it any which way you like.
It was pay day today and I got rained on on my way home, which equals takeout for dinner (obviously). I ordered the Achaari chicken ($ 17; medium-​spicy) and upsized my rice for chicken pulao ($ 6). Not because I am giant, but because leftover Indian is amazing for breakfast. And there is always leftovers. Their website is very easy to navigate — you can pay online via credit card or by cash on delivery — and as soon as your order is placed they phone you to say they’ve received it and the ETA. For the record, I ordered at about 5:30 this evening and it was here before 6. That’s very acceptable in my book. Delivery is $ 4, which is reasonable when compared with other places delivering to the CBD (on average I usually pay $ 5+).
The delivery guy today did call and ask if I could meet him at the Civic (at least a block from my actual address) which was a bother (and which I did not do). However this is not untypical of delivery guys in the city and my address is weird. (BUT I have to say, Delivery Services of Auckland, if you ask for delivery instructions and I type out delivery instructions then I expect you to read the delivery instructions! Sorry Little India, this isn’t about you. We’re cool.)
Phew. Where were we?
Dinner was delicious! I like these guys, and you should order from these guys. :D

Great restaurant! Went here to have a delicious dinner after a tiring day. They food is great. a bit pricey. But delicious. Loved it!

Spice up your life! Indian is one of those cuisines that is done wrong ALL the time. Most Indian restaurants have been homogenized to suit the more westernized flavour palate. And ‘Little India’ sits along these lines. Not that there’s anything wrong with it at all, my experiences here have always been pretty good. Attentive service, the staff are always ready with a smile. I enjoy the food also, I usually order the Palak Paneer which is a vegetarian dish that consists of Indian cottage cheese that’s cooked with spinach and spices. It’s my go to comfort food, rainy day meal.
The only frustrating thing is that I often have to ask for it a lot spicier than they actually make it, they must not think this little white girl can handle it or something, but its just a little inoffensive when cooked with no spices. Perfect Indian should blow the roof of your mouth off and have you coming back for more.
So while Little India isn’t the perfect Indian offering, it does its job. It tastes good.

There is a branch of Little India in Tauranga and we ate there a while ago — it was without doubt, the best Indian food I had eaten since I came to Auckland four years ago. We figured if we went to one of their branches in Auckland, we would get a similiar meal. This turned out not to be the case as while what we ate was pretty good, it just didn’t have that X Factor that we got in Tauranga. I got the same thing (Lamb Korma) which was good but not great. The service is very friendly and attentive and they really make you feel at home. I still think there should be more good quality Indian restaurants in Auckland — bearing in mind there is a large Indian immigrant population. I used to eat Indian once or twice a week when I lived in London but I am lucky if I eat it once a month here in Auckland. Perhaps, if there was a good curry house nearby I would eat there more but we’re not spoilt for choice when it comes to Indian restuarants in Te Atatu.

Little India is a little on the expensive side of Indian restaurants. The food is pretty good and the quantity is adequate, but I couldn’t help feeling that I had paid too much for my night out here. The Anzac Ave restaurant is BYO, so I took my own bottle of wine to save a bit on the bill. However, I thought that the corking fee was a bit shit, not to mention that I opened and poured the wine myself. Maybe I’m not posh enough and don’t eat at enough BYO restaurants, but I thought this was a bit steep at $ 7. Anyway, the interior of the restaurant is nice and I had a pleasant experience there. Expensive but tasty.