Gautama. A short film.
Saturday night. Little India. 8pm.
Scene opens with a panning shot of the bustling street, Duvali lights sparkling, shoppers rushing past with large bags of groceries, clothing stores shine with beautiful sari's in the window.
Camera stops at a huge line outside a restaurant. Siddhartha. Frustrated, hungry Torontoians queue up for tasty Indian buffet. They are told it will be about 35 minutes.
Camera pulls out an pans about a block to the west to another Indian restaurant, Gautama. Camera zooms in on the sign, when viewers notice the exact same logo next to the restaurant's name as seen on Siddhartha.
Camera pulls back, then zooms in once again , this time into the large front window to reveal a half empty room.
Fade out.
guatama is the new little sister resto to Siddhartha. Same exact logo, same exact menu, no line-ups or waits for take-out. Way better service.
Yet no one knows this. People were literally lined up the door at Siddhartha, yet Guatama sat only 45% full
We called in an order, here is what we had:
Chicken Tikka Malsala ($10.99): super creamy and spicy boneless marinated chicken
Lamb Vindaloo ($10.99): super tender lamb stewed in a spicy red gravy
Saag Paneer ($9.99): creamy spinach with a bit of heat and cubed housemade cheese
We ordered a couple more dishes but I can't seem to remember their names. One was a stewed chickpea dish, the other was a curry with sauaage-shaped balls made with chickpeas and nuts.
We ordered everything medium spiced, it was spicy but not unbearable at all. Everything was super fresh and delicious.
Will definitely go back, my new favourite place in Little India!