thousand spices @ pacific highway, crows nest

Very rarely do I go out for Indian food but even more rare is for a group of my friends to go out for Indian food; the latter having to do with the fact that a handful of friends can't take spicy food. For me personally, the hotter the better and it seems that over the years, my tolerance to hot and spicy foods has grown and matured (now I'm into eating the fresh cut chilli sort of stuff so hopefully that gives you an idea of how much chilli I can eat).

Anyway, back to our choice of Indian food 2 Saturdays ago. With the intention of catching up with Mandy and Ka after their trip, 7 of us found our way to a little Indian restaurant called 'Thousand Spices' on Pacific Highway @ Crows Nest. Those who have the Entertainment Book will find that sharing the same address is a restaurant called Indian Ocean which to our knowledge, has since been replaced by the establishment we dined at. Thousand Spices apparently have their flagship store in Homebush Bay.

There was much um-ing and ah-ing over the menu but in the end, the order was quite easy. Of the 9 Main Curries (non vegetarian), we ended getting 7, 2 mixed entree platters, plenty and plenty of naan and fluffy bread, basmati rice, and of course, plenty of mango lassi's around the table.

Mixed entree plate (there were samosas, lamb cutlets and chicken tenderloin pieces)

Our 7 curries + naan bread.

Mango Lassis and my plate of food :P

Admittedly, the meal took quite awhile to get to our table - we ended up dining for say 2-2.5hours) but I assure you, it was well worth the wait. After our entrees (which came reasonably quickly), our main seemed to be taking its time. In the interim, we sipped patiently on the mango lassi's and thought, we may as well order a second round. Big Mistake! It was as soon as our second lassi's found their way to our table that our banquet of food arrived also. And ok, it might not seem like it when you see the small bowls which come to your table but by the time you dig in, each bowl itself feels like it's 3 times its size.

Across the table from me - Mandy.

The whole dinner party.

Shall I say, we struggled; it possibly had a little to do with the amount of mango lassi that we each had lining our stomaches but nonetheless, the food was terrific!! I think what made the meal even more special was that the chef introduced himself to us at the end of the meal to a) ask us how the meal was, and b) apologised for the delay and explained that cause all the dishes there are cooked to order, it does take a bit of time. Is that service or what?!

All up, dinner was about $35pp. For that same price also, you can go for their banquet menu which has a selection of their most popular dishes (and they claim that it's unlimited!!) But definitely for the adventurous, I recommend taking a pick out of their rather extensive menu and really, don't get discouraged by the look of something; just give it a go, you might like it!