Perth Voice Interactive

IT was an eerie portent of things to come.

During my dinner at Chakra in Inglewood, I was deep in discussion about Donald Trump with my American friend Lawrence, who gave me an interesting insight into rural life in the US, voting patterns, and whether he preferred Big Macs or Whoppers.

The next morning, slightly hungover and with the aroma of butter chicken still lingering, I awoke to find there had been an assassination attempt on Trump. 

So, my JFK moment, so to speak, was a curry in Inglewood.

Thankfully the food was really nice and Chakra lived up to its reputation as a high-quality restaurant in the burbs. 

It was so popular, people were dining alfresco on the pavement on a bitterly cold winter’s night.

Inside was just as busy and we had to wait beside a stack of gold plate awards as our table was prepared. It’s a cosy restaurant with swish-yet-traditional decor, and there was a nice bustling vibe on a Saturday evening.

The floor-to-ceiling windows conjured up nice views of Beaufort Street, adding to the lively atmosphere. 

The à la carte winter menu had a nice range of entrees, signature mains and classic curries.

It was quite progressive with some interesting dishes like turmeric seared scallops, onion spinach and kale fritters, pani puri paddle, and clove smoked lamb kebabs.

The entrees and signature dishes were pretty pricey, but the classic curries like tikka masala, madras and vindaloo were all under $30, so Chakra would suit a variety of budgets. There was also a dedicated vegetarian menu and a kids section with butter chicken and rice with a juice for $15, which was pretty good value.

The four of us ended up going for Chakra’s four-course “winter transcendence banquet” which at $69 a head seemed good value and hopefully a bit of a culinary adventure.

The meal got off to a flyer with the quinoa broccoli aloo lamb tikka.

A delicious mix of lamb and turmeric yoghurt with the curried chickpeas and pan-fried quinoa adding some nice texture.

Rounding things off was some little slices of radish and a house-made apple and mint chutney.

It was a lovely assortment of flavours and textures and beautifully presented.

Next up was the smoked butter chicken poutine.

The crispy fries were a novel touch and I enjoyed the refreshing kachumber and boondi, but the charcoal smoked butter chicken didn’t quite do it for me. The dish was well executed, but I find butter chicken, even smoked, a bit pedestrian.

After another robust discussion about American geo-politics, ‘draining the swamp’, and whether Cheers or Frasier was better, we were served a little palate-refreshing amuse-bouche.

It was a slightly theatrical affair where you poured spiced beetroot water into a pani puri.

Tart and refreshing it definitely got my taste buds standing to attention and ready for another spicy onslaught.

The third course, chicken methi malai mutter, was more of a main, whereas the previous dishes had been like dainty starters.

It was well executed and I enjoyed the peas and pistachios in the rice (one of my favourite dishes is keema curry) and the chook was tender and moist.

But the creamy sauce was a bit too similar to the earlier butter chicken dish and I wish they had gone for something different.

The final course was a strawberry and Bailey’s cream-infused Rasgulla with freeze-dried berries and berry compote.   

It was an enjoyable and refreshing end to the meal, and was nice and light after all those strong, spicy flavours.

The service was excellent throughout – they did a non-alcoholic dessert for two of our party – and you could tell it was a family-run place that relied on repeat custom and had become a local institution.

I don’t know if I reached a “transcendent” state at Chakra, but the banquet was great value, nicely presented and there was some real culinary highs in there. 

If they tweaked the menu to get a slightly better balance it could be an A+.

Chakra Restaurant
839D Beaufort St, Inglewood
chakrarestaurant.com.au

by STEPHEN POLLOCK