Review by James Murray
Satya - K Road
The cheapest supermarket I have ever been in (outside of those in third world countries) is the UK’s Kwiksave.
Kwiksave takes no-frills shopping to new levels. They store dry goods in bins… bins! They sell huge packs of the worst meat you have ever seen – pale, insipid cuts of flavourless gristle.
They stock an alcoholic drink called ScotchMac, which is whiskey made from wine - presumably dreamt up by some terribly corrupted messiah while he fed 5000 people with a basket of scotch eggs and petrol station pies.
My grandmother was a big fan. So much so that she actually used to buy the “No-Frills” brand of this no-frills supermarket. I distinctly remember cardboard flavoured faux-Kit-Kats as I sat on her dining room chairs – of course, still covered with the shop plastic to stop them from getting soiled.
But she was not a stingy woman – my grandmother. In fact she did everything she could to provide for her children and grandchildren and lived an ascetic life in return. I cannot begin to imagine what it must have been like bringing up a 1950s family in the poorer area of Liverpool on peanuts.
As a big no-frills fan, my grandmother would also have been a fan of Satya on K Road. They also have plastic on the seats and wipe clean menus. Ice is a luxury and service is an added extra.
But forget all that, because Satya serves the best Indian food I have tasted in New Zealand.
Their speciality is South Indian food, which means crispy dosa pancakes and utthapam, a sort of Indian pizza. They serve the roadside snack Bhel Puri – toasted rice with potato and chickpea made sweet by sticky tamarind chutney.
It also means a whole host of curries you may not have heard of before. A welcome change from the monotony of the traditional curry house.
After the delicious Bhel Puri we opt for Chicken Kadai and Lamb with South Indian curry. Both are exemplary. The kadai is spicy with generous chunks of well marinaded chicken and tart green pepper, the taste of cumin lingers afterwards.
The lamb is tender and accompanied by a subtle coconut, curry sauce. Again – a brilliant dish.
Satya is at the more expensive end of the curry market – with curries ranging from $18 to $24. They obviously know they are good.
Their décor and service may be no frills but their curries are of the highest order.