Restaurant Review: Shamiana, City

For the past few weeks I’ve been running around like a mad man, going to job interviews and generally applying for the graduate programs that usually open up during this time of year. And it just so happens that the person I was catching up with for lunch today happened to work at the company I was applying to (which to my memory’s discredit, I’ve completely forgotten about). So I got some tips and most importantly, the confidence I needed to really impress the management :) Thanks Ava!

Job-hunting stuff aside, the hour-long lunch break doesn’t leave much choice for my friend who was also wearing heels, so be settled for some foodcourt food just beside her workplace. Today’s pick is Shamiana, a Indian foodcourt stall that you can see quite often within the large shopping malls around Auckland, and the one we visited today is located within the Downtown shopping mall on Lower Albert street in the city.

[Lamb Rogan Josh]

The lamb pieces are soft enough, but a little old with some of the bigger pieces of meat taking a few tries to break apart. The curry itself is slightly spicy with black peppers, with a gravy-like consistency typical of most curries you’d get from foodcourt stalls. The taste is heavy on the garlic with a hint of cumin, and couples with the lamb taste well - surprisingly the lamb pieces does not have the heavy ‘lambness’ about it, which is something that I’d prefer not to experience so that was a plus for me.

The rice that came with the dish though was a little hard - although it came straight from the rice-bowl used to refill the trays (and not from the tray lot that has been reheated constantly since morning), two hours after the meal I am still feeling my stomach’s efforts to digest the whole thing. It could be the ghee for all I know, but the rice isn’t helping me to process the meal any faster!

For $9, the curry offered by Shamiana is decent; considering the fact that usual meat curries would be around the $13 mark (e.g. from the Ajadz curry chain) and also that Shamiana is a foodcourt stall, which is usually synonymous for not-so-good food. If there weren’t any decent Indian restaurants around, Shamiana would definitely be my second choice!

Contact Details:

Lower Albert Street

Downtown Shopping mall

City

Hours:

Mon - Fri: 10am-6pm

Weekends unsure