Think pink

>> Rosy meets cozy at Le Palais de l’Inde

by Genevieve Paiement

This time of year is all about comfort food for me. Hearty soups, roast chicken, mashed potatoes and lasagna—I’ll eat anything cooked with a generous amount of fat until it’s so tender I hardly have to chew. I think of certain places as “comfort restaurants” if they serve tasty, hearty fare at reasonable prices (no matter the type of cuisine) and have been doing so for years. It was with this idea in mind that my dining companion and I found ourselves ensconced at the Palais de l’Inde the other night.

On this strip of St-Laurent, between Laurier and Fairmont, there’s a cluster of Indian eateries, but the Palais de l’Inde is the only one that has elicited repeat visits and delivery orders from us over the years. First, what’s not to love about all that pink? From the neon sign and lone peeling column outside (there were two, but one seems to have been replaced by a block of wood) to the tablecloths and upholstered chairs: all pink. The fuchsia packets of Sweet ’N Low at each table only add to the rose-tinted glasses effect.

Then there’s the service. While prices remain budget-friendly, the service has always been five-fork caliber at the ol’ Palais. Swift but not rushed, attentive but not overbearing, the bowtie-clad waiters fill your water glasses every four sips. They very quietly and unobtrusively check in to see if everything is to your liking at least two times during the meal. And anyone who’s eaten at an Indian restaurant in London’s famed Brick Lane will recognize the slight British vibe at the Palais de l’Inde, with its floral-patterned white china plates and English beers on tap.

Focusing mostly on such Northern-Indian classics as tandooris, biryanis and curries of all stripes, the menu spans several pages and includes a selection of set menus for one or two. We decided to start with the shami kebabs ($3.95), followed by the house specialties of lamb piaza ($10.25) and chicken pasanda ($9.95). An oldie-but-goodie saag paneer ($6.95), one rice ($2.25), one naan ($2.25), a spicy lime pickle ($1.50), and some cucumber raita ($2.50) completed the picture.

The delicately spiced and lightly fried kebabs, distant cousins of the hamburger, were light-as-air patties of nearly pulverized beef that betrayed a hint of sweetness. A good start. The lamb, cooked in onion and clarified butter, was maddeningly good—extremely tender and just as delectable. Though listed as medium in spiciness, we found it to be mild, but the lime pickle kicked it up a notch. The combination of succulent meat, slippery onions and fresh coriander made for an intricate and subtle combination of textures and flavours.

The chicken dish, similar in look and taste to the ubiquitous butter chicken, was sweeter and more complex than its more famous counterpart. Cooked in yogurt and curry, the meat was equally tender and the understated sweetness was accented by the crunch of a few slivered almonds. The saag paneer, that all-you-can-eat Indian buffet standard, got points for the freshness of the spinach and the harmonious interplay of spices (cumin, ginger and cardamom were detected), though instead of satisfying chunks of paneer cheese, there were small slivers of fried paneer throughout. Everything paired wonderfully with our pints of Newcastle Ale ($5.50).

For dessert, we went for the mangoes in syrup ($3.25) and an order of borfi ($2.95), aka barfi or burfi, a condensed milk-based treat that’s often flavoured with mango, coconut or pistachio. Yes, the mangoes were canned, but at least they came from India. Slightly firmer in texture than canned peaches, they tasted like a burst of summer. The borfi was coconut-flavoured and served slightly warm in the traditional diamond shape. Extremely sweet with just a hint of cardamom, it was much lighter and fluffier in texture than the kind you buy from Indian sweet takeaway counters.

Did this meal broaden our gustatory horizons? No. But that’s not the point. For 14 years, the Palais has been thinking pink in the same spot and it’s never let me down. And that’s all the comfort I need.