190-200 Jells Road
Wheelers Hill 3150
www.paradiseindian.com.au
03 9561 6661
03 9561 6761
There is nothing like a late Sunday brunch after a luxurious sleep in. Paradise’s vegetarian brunch buffet is apparently famous with the local Indian community. I am neither local nor Indian, but I was lucky to hear about this place from someone who was both.
This hideout in the Wheelers Hill Shopping Centre is smaller than I had expected. With only the front glass entrance for light and dark blue walls beyond that, it is only dimly lit – but attractive with Saris and pictures on the walls.
We were confused about how the buffet operated. There were two tables of food in an L-shape towards the restaurant with vada, idli, biryani, sambal, chutney and rice payasam. I was expecting curries – perhaps one does not eat curries for brunch in India.
Choosing a selection from the tables and returning to our own, the waiter brought out a watery dahl and a spicy ‘digestive’.
The vada were crispy and hot with a light centre. With lots of sambal and chutney, I had to resist the temptation to eat more. The biryani was lightly spiced and cooked just right (not too gluggy or crunchy).
The waiter soon brought out hot and buttery masala dosas and ‘spicy’ dosas which had the bonus of a chilli based sauce. Both types were crispy and flavoursome with the deliciously spiced potatoes. As soon as we had finished these, the waiter brought out more, which we struggled to finish after the carb-based meal.
We could only had room to taste the payasam: cardamon, rice and soft, warm cashews in a spiced evaporated milk. It was lovely and reminded me of the spicy warm milk we had once tried at a wedding in India.
The meal was not what I had expected. Despite being vegetarian, it focused on fried carbohydrates rather than vegetables. Still, all the dishes were delightful and I would be interested to return and try their range of vegetarian curries and entrees.
