After eight months of hearing my colleagues rave about this place (as travellers, they literally go here every week), I was finally able to try Avani during a team dinner! I came in with high expectations, and surprisingly left quite pleased.
We were a massive group of 15, but despite our size, we were offered sufficient service and care. Although the ordering process took a while in terms of noting down everyone's drinks, appetizers, and entrees, we were served quite quickly. The entire meal took less than two hours!
I ordered a virgin pina colada (the only virgin drink on the table) and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was nice and tropical with the coconut cream and pineapple juice. Although I found it a little sweet at first, it became a great drink to sip on in-between the spicy curry dishes!
The entire table ordered to share among small groups of four. My group got the following to share as appetizers:
Tandoori Rack of Lamb:
This came on a sizzling hot plate; the four lamb racks were artistically placed and adorned with a ring of pickled onions. They were well marinated and extremely flavourful!
Chili Chicken:
Mmmm this is a dish to get! I found it a little sweet and sour (likely only because the lamb was so much spicier) but it was nice and crispy. Stir fried with a generous coating of sauce, it was definitely quite addicting.
I was also able to sample other appetizers, such as the Garlic Chili Prawns:
I adored the flavour profile of this dish - however, the prawns were far from being "lightly dusted" in batter. My piece had more batter than anything else; in fact, it was near impossible to discern the shrimp amongst the batter. That said, the chili peppers, scallions, and ginger gave it a comforting profile of Chinese food.
For mains, we ordered the following.
Butter Chicken:
This dish didn't quite stand out among the others. I found it quite forgettable and so there's nothing to really say.
Shrimp Vindaloo:
Again, this dish fell flat. The shrimp curry was on the sweet side and simply failed to deliver. Needless to say, the dish went pretty much untouched.
Jackfruit and Kale Masala:
This was surprisingly a show stealer! It was amazingly good. Despite it being a vegetarian dish, the flavours were very complex and rich. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Interestingly, the jackfruit highly resembled artichokes / bamboo shoots in looks.
I also was able to try the following dishes from the table beside me.
Coconut Cream Chicken:
This was a refreshing, creamy, coconuty dish! It was surprisingly light and had a nice accent to it. I quite enjoyed it.
Lamb Vindaloo:
One of my absolute favourites of the night! The red curry was fiery hot and really packed a punch, and perfectly complimented the gamey taste of lamb. Delicious!! Many of my colleagues sweated upon eating this, and one definitely needs more naan for this dish.
I really enjoyed the roti that we ordered with the curry - even more so than the garlic naan, which I felt could be more fragrant and rich in flavour. A very enjoyable meal, and we were particularly surprised when they brought out two coconut fried ice creams for the birthdays of two teammates!