Eat Drink Hong Kong

Every so often I get a craving for a really hot curry. It is not the kind of thing I order if I’m out with a group of people because most often the others can’t share. Even if I go to an Indian restaurant alone I would more usually choose to sample a range of flavours. Really hot curries like a vindaloo, especially if you are eating alone, tends to overwhelm the other dishes.

For me a curry like that requires commitment so when the urge takes a hold I skulk off to Taste Better Curry on Graham Street. It’s a simple restaurant, more spacious on the inside than the exterior would have you believe. The tables have a layer of glass on top with the menus underneath. It’s brightly lit and the ambience is governed by the wall mounted TV that the staff watch when they are not looking after customers.

I’ve never seen it really busy, nor have I seen it empty but there always seems to be a steady flow of guests. Most of them appear to be like me, they have gone there to indulge in passion that few of their friends or relatives share.

I don’t know what they order, I always order a vindaloo. There are other options such as Madras, and masala all of which can be ordered with beef, chicken, mutton, fish or prawn. There are a few specialities such as Kyoto pork chop, pork neck and curry crab. At $68 the crab is the most expensive item on the menu.

I opt for a fish vindaloo ($50), two plain nan ($12 each) and an ovaltine. The waiter warns me that the vindaloo is very spicy and I assure him that very spicy is just what I came for. The nan are not like Indian nan as there is no tandoori oven, these are more like huge chapatis. If you prefer your curry can be served with rice or with spaghetti.

The serving of curry looks enormous though is is the sauce making it look more than it really is. That said there is ample food for one person; good sized chunks of fish and potato. I dig in and pretty soon the beads of sweat are forming on my brow.

People do ask how I can actually enjoy dishes that are this spicy. It’s not a taste that you can acquire over night it develops over a period of time. But when you get it it can be quite addictive.

It’s interesting to note that the word ‘Vindaloo’ comes from the Portuguese ‘Carne de Vinha d’ Alhos’ which means meat with wine and garlic. The Portuguese took it to Goa where it was mixed with with Indian spices and turned into a Goan dish. It’s still not very common elsewhere in India but it is popular in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. Potatoes were not originally part of the recipe they got added later, the discrepancy arising, I’m told, because ‘aloo’ is the Hindi word for potato.

Finished, I push the plate away and mop my brow. There are no desserts on the menu. I but a bag of mandarin oranges from the market outside and take them home.

Taste Better Curry
G/F, 7 Graham Street
Central