Haldi

As I write this, Melbourne bears witness to a deep freeze, and while I brace myself against the sub zero chill, I am warmed by my recent experience at Haldi. Clustered among the eclectic Puckle Street shopping strip, the Indian hotspot is quite easily one of Moonee Ponds’ hidden gems. I remember being seated as a waiter carried out a dish enclosed within a glass case. While I eyed the drinks menu (beer for me, Mango lassi for my mate), the waiter lifted the glass case and a cloud of smoke emerged. It was a spectacle – and I was sold!

Anecdotes aside, the spirit of Haldi is quite simple and understated: they honour the great traditions of Indian cuisine with a sprinkling of contemporary Melbourne elan. In terms of menu options, you can be guaranteed to pick from a mix of soulful and sensory dishes that will satisfy you. The man responsible for the authentic Indian–Australian modern flair menu design is Atar Singh, who recently worked at Atta Restaurant in Albert Park.

Here is the run through of our dinner, which is sure to get your mouth watering. To start, our entree was the chicken vindaloo tikka (which was the aforementioned mystery dish served in a glass case), comprising 12-hour marinated succulent chicken pieces adorned with red wine vinegar, fenugreek seeds and cassia sticks.

Mains, it’s always hard to pass up butter chicken. It’s probably the most inventive or adventurous choice for a reviewer, but sometimes you need to choose something that weakens the heart. Butter chicken is that thing. The serving of tender morsels of chicken simmered in a rich, buttery tomato sauce exceeded all expectation! The other curry we sampled was the “Chef Special” fish curry, considered to be a “must try” and an “all-time” favourite. In short: delicious and spicy.

The gulab jamun was the perfect dessert. An Indian classic, the bold sweet is a milk dumpling flavoured with saffron and pistachio served with mixed berries. A close second was the kheer sabudana, a flavoured rice pudding cooked on slow fire with milk reduced served with raspberry ice cream.

Haldi invites you to rediscover the wonder and warmth of Indian food with their Winter Warmers special. For $55 per person you can devour three entrees, three curries with rice, naan and raita, plus dessert. Now that’s a bargain worth ditching your thick wooly blanket for in the middle of the bleak winter darkness.

A special shoutout goes to Raj and his front-of-house charm, which made our experience all the more upbeat and positive. His 10+ years in the hospitality industry is a testament to his warm, attentive and friendly manner.

Head to Haldi, the food won’t disappoint.

Haldi
Open Tuesday to Sunday, Wednesday to Saturday, 11.30am to 2.30pm (lunch), Tuesday to Saturday, 5.30pm to 10pm (dinner), Sunday, 5.30pm to 9pm (dinner only)
30 Puckle Street, Moonee Ponds
haldi.com.au