For the Dine Out festival this year (2018), I didn’t really go anywhere because I wanted to save my moolah. However, on the second last day of the festival, I was feeling a bit food-venterous so I decided to look up the $20 menus. Chutney Villa caught my eye because I have never been to an Indian restaurant before, and because it looked like a good value for $20 each.
I gave them a call in the late afternoon and luckily, they were able to squish the two of us in just a bit before 6pm!
Chutney Villa is located in the central part of the city, just off Main and Broadway. There wasn’t a parking lot and only paid meter parking, which kinda sucked because that area is always busy and hard to find spots. But since we got there right before the dinner rush, we found a parking spot nearby.
Our noses were greeted right away with aromatic spices! The restaurant was also clean and well maintained.
Please keep in mind that this is my first time at an Indian restaurant. With that said, I don’t have much to compare to. The boyfriend has also only been to an Indian restaurant once many many years ago. Also, this was a special dine out only menu so the descriptions will be brief.
Meen Puttu Steamed Ling Cod: This was quite interesting! I would describe it as shredded fish mixed with shredded coconut and spices. I enjoyed the savoury spices with a hint of sweetness from the shredded coconut. The only negative was that I found it to be a bit dry.
Dosa: First time trying a dosa! It was pretty good, similar to a crepe but a bit crispier. There was a dallop of spiced mash potato inside which I loved.
Mangalore Curry: Mmmmm, this was so good. This was a full flavoured chicken curry with many different types of delicious spices and chili peppers. The chicken was so tender, soft and marinated really well. It packed a good amount of spice. I enjoyed the side sauces, most notably the yogurt-style one because it helped cool down my mouth in between bites!
I would definitely order this again and typing about it is making me really hungry and wanting to order it again…. <3
Fish curry: The boyfriend’s fish curry was delicious as well! Very aromatic too. Compared to my chicken curry, his fish curry sauce was slightly sweeter and a tad less spicy. His curry also came with the same side dishes. We were both really full because the curry was quite heavy.
Oh yeah, there was also a small side of cooled sweet potato. It reminded me of the Korean banchan ones. Along with the yogurt sauce, they really helped cool down our spicy mouths.
Gulab Jamun: A classic Indian dessert. It is a milk solid, soaked in sugar syrup. The texture reminded me more of bread than a milk syrup. The boyfriend really enjoyed this dessert but I found it way too sweet! But I also don’t have much of a sweet tooth.
Mango ice cream: This was described as hand churned and Indian style. Not too sure what Indian style entails, but I found it to be deliciously creamy and full of strong mango flavour. The mango flavour tasted more like real mango as opposed to artificial mango. It was the perfect dessert to cool down a spicy meal with.
All in all, we really enjoyed our visit to Chutney Villa. Service was quick and we were able to leave just before the DOVF crowd started to come. My first time going to an Indian restaurant was a success and we will probably go try another place in the future!
Yay!
French toast: Funny story, the boyfriend and I wanted to order a main dish but turns out I only had $25 cash, which wasn’t enough LOLOL. So, we decided to order the french toast which was cheaper. It was our first time having the french toast here.
Garlic fried rice: The boyfriend and I were introduced to this dish over a year ago when we came with my cousins. This is their go-to, and for good reason! Over a year later, we decided to order it again. It comes with a TON of fried garlic on the top that you mix in with the rest of the rice. You have to remember to mix the fried garlic or else the bottom of the bowl won’t be garlicky.
We decided to try it for dinner the next day!
As well, the lady did not understand much English so when we asked for less spicy she didn’t know what we meant. So we decided to just say nevermind and go with full spice.
Beef burrito, $14.50: The beef burrito was absolutely ginourmous. It came slathered with a spicy tomato sauce and melted cheese on top.
Hand comparison for the burrito! HALF of the burrito is the size of my hand!!! =O
Chicken enchilada, $16.50: Our first time trying enchiladas! We weren’t sure what to expect other than reading descriptions from Google.
Tortilla soup, $10: Our first tortilla soup! I read a review with this soup which said it was good, so we wanted to try it too.
Growing up, I was in Chinatown with family often so I remembered this place as a Chinese tea speciality store – Ten Ren Tea to be exact. I was a bit sad to see it go, but change is really evident in Chinatown these past years. Rhinofish also kept the original green tile from the tea shop so that’s good.
We went on a chilly November weekday evening, and it was pretty quiet. The place had new and modern decor, but it had that old building smell and the floors seemed like the original. I quite liked the vibe in here.
Open kitchen and the rest of the restaurant.
Taiwanese chicken nugget w/ truffle oil and parmesan, $8.50: When this arrived, it smelled heavenly. I love the smell of truffle oil and when the scent wafted to my nose, I couldn’t wait to try it! It also came sprinkled with a generous amount of parmesan cheese, which melted a bit from the heat of chicken nuggets.
Taiwanese beef noodles, $14.50: The classic Taiwanese beef noodle soup. This was delicious and just perfect! The broth had a nice depth and richness to it. Meanwhile, the short ribs were richly marinated, incredibly tender and melt in your mouth.
Huadiao rice wine chicken noodle soup, $14: Cola decided to try a different type of noodle soup that night. I tried a bit of the soup, and I found it to be sweeter but flatter than the beef noodle soup. The veggies were clean and fresh, just like my bowl of noodles.
Despite the fact that I came here mainly to try the truffle oil chicken nuggets, I really liked the Taiwanese beef noodle soup. This place is pretty hipster as you can tell with this cute plant IN the table LOL, (along with all the new restaurants popping up in Chinatown), but they do capture traditional Taiwanese beef noodle soup really well.
Although I did say above that this was their Olympic Village location, I guess I should clarify and correct myself because this Nuba location isn’t actually in Olympic Village. It is located on the outskirts of Olympic Village, a block away from Earnest and by Main Street.
Garden falafel,$9: The falafel was a blend of chickpeas, fava beans, veggies, and spices. It was quite delicious, flavourful and savoury. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve tried falafel before but I was certainly impressed with this one.
Chicken tawook with hummus, $12: Oh man, this was absolutely delicious! The chicken was incredibly juicy, fragrant and bursting with flavour. There was a nice grilled taste to it as well. Adding the vegan tzatziki sauce on the side and hummus, I would order this again in a heartbeat!
Chocolate quinoa cake with Earnest cardamom ice cream, $8: I suggested walking over to Earnest Ice Cream afterwards, but Avocado was not feeling it. But, we decided on trying the chocolate quinoa cake which came with a side of cardamom ice cream from Earnest! So, I did get my Earnest fix after all.