Another Indian Adventure

At a reader's recommendation (many moons ago), I finally got my act together and made it to Les Feux de Bengale, an Indian restaurant in the neighborhood of the Grand Place. I'm skeptical of many restaurants in that area, as I've found that many offer mediocre, overpriced food, but a recommendation is worth a lot in my book.

We started with the requisite papadums and chutney selection, so far, so good. My mango lassi was very thick and not too sweet; not bad, but not the best I've had. We then sampled all the vegetarian appetizer options on the menu: malakatani soup (which seems to have as many spellings as there are Indian restaurants), onion bhaji, and vegetable samosas. All were good, although I missed having an accompanying sauce for the non-soup starters.

Mains: first, the obligatory palak paneer. The spinach was thick and flavorful, the paneer seemed to be actual paneer (not always a guarantee), and the whole thing was nicely flavored with herbs and spices. Check.

Number two: bhindi bhaji, fried okra. A personal favorite, okra sometimes cooks up to be sort of slimy. Not so here, where the okra were fairly firm, and even a bit spicy. Check.

Lastly: dal. It was pleasant but fairly forgettable - the malakatani was a more memorable lentil option.

Throw in a few chapatis, raiti, and rice, and you have the makings of a serious Indian evening. Enjoyable and filling, it was a nice meal but probably not worth heading across town for. That said, everyone finds themselves in the Grand Place area at one time or another, and for that, Les Feux de Bengale is a nice option.

Les Feux de Bengale

Rue des Eperonniers 69

Brussels 1000

Tel. 02.513.51.63

Open for dinner every day

Spice Up Your Life at Slurps

This was a lucky find. My friend, Sarah, stumbled upon this Bio-Vegetarian gem by accident, and I was fortunate enough to benefit from her newfound knowledge.

Like other vegetarian restaurants in town, Slurps is a combo shop + resto. They take it a step further by holding cooking classes, but more on that later.

The look is great – lots of clean, crisp lines and very modern. You almost feel healthy just for walking in the door. The service is friendly and helpful. We were off to a good start.

The cuisine here is Ayurvedic. Despite the vast amounts of explanation in the menu, I have to admit that I’m still not sure what that is all about – there’s almost too much information in the menu and we were hungry so the focus was more on the “what” than the “why” or “how.” However the dishes were recognizable – at least by name – as Pan-Asian: miso soup, palak paneer, etc. A good amount of Indian influence.

For starters, we had the aforementioned palak paneer, as well as a mung bean soup (with a poached egg – yum!), and artichoke pakoras. For mains, we moved on to a seitan with hoisin sauce served with risotto; haloumi cheese skewers and rice; couscous with seitan and vegetables; and a green curry with Quorn. The bread was a foccacia-type, with some oil and spices, very light. In short, nothing disappointed. All were beautifully spiced (if sometimes a bit heavy on the salt). We were in veggie heaven.

Slurps is happy to spice up more than your food: the first Thursdays of the month, you can join a “dating cooking” class (among other classes that are offered): cook your own dinner, learn some new recipes, and maybe find yourself a date. The open kitchen used for these classes is at the back of the dining area, meaning the six people signed up that evening became our entertainment. They did seem to be enjoying themselves, and if their food came out anything like what we were served, they were at least guaranteed a good meal.

Slurps
Rue Dautzenberg #7
1050 Ixelles
Tel. 0477.59.17.68 or 0477.927.411
Open weekday lunches, Wed-Sat evenings
http://www.slurps.be

From Italy to India

This past weekend found us at two restaurants, at quite different ends of the culinary spectrum. Saturday night we went to A'mbriana, an Italian place in Uccle that other blogs and reviews online seemed fond of. Sunday night, we were kindly invited by the Hindu Forum of Belgium to a Diwali celebration at Krishna, an Indian restaurant in Overijse. Very different, and both very lovely. Let me elaborate:

A'mbriana: I'll be honest with you: there aren't many vegetarian options. The husband and wife team who run the place did do their best to try and accommodate us with all our weird eating habits (we can only imagine what they were saying about us in the kitchen). While the ordering process was a bit laborious, once the food started arriving, we had nothing to complain about. Some nicely spiced olives and crusty bread to begin, followed by a fish amuse bouche that we had to turn down for the shrimp (us: "what kind of fish is this?" Waitress: "It's good."). On to the entrees - a plate of marinated salmon and basil, flavors all very well balanced, and one of the specials - fried cepes. Three letters for you: y-u-m. For the mains, I opted for canneloni, which was basically pure cheese and pasta and might have benefited from some spinach or tomato. Gidon went with another special, a baked cod with vegetables. Short on starch but tasty. If you can stand the limited options, or if you're out with a non-vegetarian, this is a good way to go (although I can't vouch for the quality of the meat dishes).

Krishna: the Diwali celebration meant that we were on a fixed menu Sunday night. We were also eating with a bunch of people who knew Indian food a lot better than we did, which was a real treat - for one, because the food was nicely spicy without even having to ask. We started off with some fried cauliflower with yogurt sauce. The menu featured a beautiful dal (lentils), aloo sag (potatos and spinach), mixed vegetables, rice (with a strong clove flavor), and puri bread. While I can't speak for the menu you might get on a regular night, based on this meal, I can only imagine you'd be pleased.

A'mbriana
Rue Edith Cavell 151
1180 Uccle
Tel. : 02.375.01.56
Closed Tuesdays and Saturday lunchtime

Krishna
Brusselsesteenweg 312
Overijse
Tel. : 02.688.04.99
http://www.krishna-restaurant.be/
Open evenings only except Sundays

Bring on the spice

On Saturday night, I decided to branch out a bit on the Indian front and boldly (for me) headed for Jaipur, at the corner of De Fre and Cavell in Uccle. There were very few people there when we showed up at 9pm, which was a bit worrisome, but my worries were not necessary.

I was there with a British friend and the waiter picked that up and spoke to us in English. When we ordered our vegetarian Thalis, he asked if we wanted it mild or spicy – the first time I’ve been asked that at any Indian restaurant in Brussels. We went for spicy. He explained that he only asked because we spoke English; he doesn’t even bother asking the Belgians since they can’t handle the spice!

Spicy it was, but pleasantly so. The Thali featured four dishes: palak paneer, mixed vegetables, an eggplant bhaji, and dal. The palak paneer, always a favorite with me, was creamy and nicely spiced without too much heat. The eggplant bhaji on the other hand more than made up for that, packing a nice punch. The dal was tangy and made for good quality comfort food. The mixed vegetables didn’t do much for me, but then again, they never do. All of this was accompanied by warm nan, a pile of rice, and a thick, creamy raita.

At 18 euros a pop, I’ll be sticking with the thali, although they do offer items a la carte for those who wish. Go enjoy, and splash out on a little spice, if you dare.

Jaipur
Avenue De Fré 201
Uccle 1180
Tel. : 02.374.93.94
Open all meals except Monday lunch
Also offers takeaway
http://www.jaipurresto.com

Mountain of Light, Mountain of Food

It was Tuesday and just about the only fresh thing left in our fridge was a bulb of fennel, which frightened Gidon more than he would like to admit. So we were off to our favorite Indian restaurant in town, which also happens to be our favorite restaurant within a 5-minute walk of our home: Kohinoor.

You should know that I’ve never been to India. I think the closest I’ve come is about 6,000 miles away, which still leaves a bit of a schlep between me and a fresh samosa. In fact, the best Indian meal that I have never had is going to be served to me at a dinner date later this month with our friends the Benskys, who spent several years in India with the American Foreign Service. If you know anything about Indian food, you may not even want to read this entry.

But given the dozen or so Indian restaurants that I’ve eaten in over the years, the few that I’ve visited in Brussels have, in short, sucked. (Everyone keeps sending me to Mumtaz in Matonge but I really was not impressed.) So I was delighted when I found Kohinoor as I was running errands a couple of years ago (has it really been that long?) and now the waiter practically calls our order down to the kitchen before we’ve even sat down.

The name Kohinoor (as I have just learned from my good friend Google) means 'Mountain of Light' and refers to a diamond from India once known as the largest diamond in the world. The stone itself is currently housed in the Tower of London. Brussels's Kohinoor may not make diamond-quality food, but I can vouch for its yumminess.

As with most Indian restaurants, vegetarian options are plentiful. We usually take the vegetarian fixed menu for 2 – Vegetable Samosas, Onion Bhaji, Alou Sag, Vegetable Bhaji, Baigan Bhaji, Raita, Pilao Rice, Nan, Tea or Coffee, all for 35 Euros. Gidon, my resident coffee snob, warns against their coffee, but they have a lovely jasmine tea. They also top their mango lassis with some shredded coconut which is a nice touch. I’ve been a bit disappointed with their Palak Paneer, which is my all-time (again, uneducated) favorite Indian dish, but not enough to stop me from ordering it. I love their lentil soup, which is heavily flavored with lemon, and last night we tried the Vegetable Korma which was creamy and coconuty, if a little over-potatoed. We’re lucky we live within walking distance – downhill no less – so we can roll ourselves home when we’re done. But then again, who goes to an Indian restaurant for a light meal?

Last night was one of those spectacularly sunny evenings where it’s as bright as mid-afternoon when we were just finishing our meal. All in all, a great evening to sit in their unbelieveably quiet garden and just relax and stuff ourselves at the end of a long day. I suggest you do the same.

Kohinoor
Rue Vanderkindere 232
1180 Uccle
Tel. : 02.347.31.42
Open all the time except Sundays at lunchtime (we’ve even gone on New Years Day – take that, Belgium!). Also, they do take-away with a 10% discount.
http://sites.resto.com/kohinoor/