The hubby and kiddies were away in Vancouver for the weekend while I stayed back to attend a stagette today. After I dropped them off at the airport Friday afternoon, I met up with a friend whom I’ve known since grade three. While the kiddies are on vacation, so is Mommy’s brain. For that reason, let’s save me some calculating and just say I’ve known this dear friend for at least 20 years! I wanted vegetarian Indian food so we decided to try out The Curry Fix.
As you can see, they have a buffet but it wasn’t open when we were there. I would have loved to try the buffet.
We started out each ordering a mango lassi. This was not the first time I had one, but for those of you who have never had one, it tastes like a delicious yogurt mango shake (to me at least). It was so good I finished mine half way through our appetizer.
For an appetizer we ordered the Chicken Tikka, which is boneless pieces of chicken marinated in tandoori sauce, spices and herbs. I forget the name of the green sauce that came with the dish (maybe someone can help me out) but I think it was a chutney? I really enjoyed this sauce as it had a slight sour twist and was mildly spicy but not too spicy that it overpowered the tandoori taste of the chicken.
Pictured below from left to right we have:
Naan
Palak Paneer: cottage cheese cubes cooked with minced spinach and cream
Aloo Baigan: eggplant and potatoes cooked with herbs & spices
Paratha: whole wheat flat bread
I loved everything we ordered, but my favorite was the Palak Paneer. It was the perfect spiciness and wasn’t too salty or creamy either. The Aloo Baigan was a winner as well cause I love eggplants. The different textures of the potatoes and eggplant complimented each other well. I made a comment to (let’s just call her) Buddycakes 😉 that I could easily substitute popcorn with plain Paratha as a snack while watching a movie, it was yummy. By the time we were both full, we still had about half of each dish to take home. Buddycakes insisted that I take all of the leftovers as she still had some leftovers at home to finish.
Everytime we get together I can never get enough of this dear friend’s company, so we decided to head over to Starbucks for some Chai Latte. We spent a good hour and a half there and half way through we got free blueberry bars cause I think they were trying to refill with fresh ones. Yay for free food :-D! We were both too full from dinner to try our free baked good. After Starbucks I drove Buddycakes home. Thank you for the fabulous time as always girl. When I got home I decided to watch a movie on video on demand. Which movie you ask?
Why this one of course.
I thought that Shaw could have done a better job with the synopsis,
but well done with the credits.
Does she look familiar to you? The adorable and talented Ms. Lynn Chen of The Actor’s Diet.
Lynn Chen rocked the screen again. I don’t want to say too much about the movie cause I don’t want to give anything away, but I will say that I liked it and had some good laughs. A very smart and cute movie indeed. I’ve seen some of the deleted scenes and I wished they would’ve kept the singing scene. Boy can she sing! Another job well done Lynn! Definitely two thumbs and two toes up for me on this one 😀
Well, there’s my Friday. Two questions before I leave: Do you have a friend whom you’ve known for a long time? What is your favorite Indian dish? If you have a favorite Indian dish, please share and tell us what’s in it. Hope you’re all having a fabulous weekend. Until next time friends and family :-D.
luvtoeat 
Yay to you having a day off! Buddycakes and you look great in the pictures!
It looks like the green sauce is mint chutney? Thats the usual chutney Indian restaurants serve with everything. And yes parathas as SO delicious, they may be one of my favorite Indian foods ever. I haven’t had one in about a decade but I love them. I have a feeling there aren’t any gluten-free versions to be found. Did you know that Canada actually makes a frozen version that is quite authentic? America imports them and we keep them in freezer for emergencies (for when Ali and Maya need a paratha-fix). Check out your local Indian store, I bet you’ll find them.
I can’t wait to see Lynn’s movie! Enjoy the rest of your free weekend!
thanks for confirming the sauce Ameena. i thought that’s what my friend told me it was but i wasn’t sure so i didn’t want to mislead anyone. i’ll definitely look for paratha in my local Indian store, thanks for the helpful info!
the OCD in me wants to get up and clean the house from top to bottom while the kiddies are away, but my better other half is fighting hard not to. lol. hope you and your family are having a terrific weekend!
What a lovely Friday! That is one important friendship. I am also similarly blessed. I have a group of girlfriends I have had all of my life – since grade 7. Our children are now friends. We are the holder of each others memories. The relationships are essential and critical and fundamental in my life. I have a ton of Punjabi students at my school, and they have taught me to cook a lot of their food. Naan bread, potato tikki, and sssoooo many other things. I also enjoy Paneer… but it does depend upon the spice mix to me. Many times the seasoning is too hot, or too strong. However, when I cook, I adjust it to my palate. I have a really great butter chicken recipe that I developed and one of my colleagues asked me for the recipe (she is Indian) as she had always used a bottled sauce while making hers. Hilarious.
Such a nice girl friend evening – you deserve it… and tonight – the stag, RIGHT? I can only imagine the trouble you will get yourself into.
🙂 🙂
🙂
Valerie
aw that’s so sweet of you to watch AND plug my movie. thanks!
Aloo Baigan! Maybe this will make me eat more eggplants :p
I enjoy Indian buffets at where I stay – the spread is always sumptuous. Maybe it is just me favoring Indian curries.
LeQuan,
Looks like a fun day out. You and Buddycakes certainly got your Curry Fix from that spread.
I have a friend that we played baseball our whole lives together from age 4 to 21. We are still as close as ever.
My favorite Indian dish is really now the national dish of England…Chicken tikka masala.
Cheers!
LEQUAN!!! AHHHH!!! You’re exactly the kind of homebuddy friend I hope to have and hang out with when I’m in my 30’s. Well I’m going to go ahead and say we’re friends now, but being REAL-LIFE girlfriends and going out for Indian while our families are away–that’s kind of different. Different in a much awesomer way. 😀
Laugh out loud at your White on Rice fetish. I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I hope to, one of these days… 🙂
What’s the difference between Naan and parantha? That is what I would like to know… They look the same except one is white and the other whole wheat… Maybe I should exercise my googling abilities… 😀
warm wishes,
xo aletheia
Aletheia! i’ll be calling you up when/if i ever visit TO for sure! like i said, you need to take me on a snack shopping spree 😛
it does look like i have a white on rice fetish eh? lol. really i don’t…teehee. but i WILL admit that i absolutely adore Lynn Chen. i’ll watch and listen to anything she’s in. i love that she’s down to earth, multi-talented, and super friendly 😀 I’m definitely a Lynn Chen supporter for life!
I don’t know the difference in naan and paratha in terms of ingredients but in terms of taste and texture, naan is more doughy and softer than paratha. paratha is made of whole wheat i think and to me tastes more crispy. i preferred the paratha over the naan.
hope you’re busy making more hilarious videos for to view 😉 and having a great weekend!
take care,
lequan
Hey LeQuan, looks like you and your friend had a nice time. I loved the look of that naan bread-greasy and yummy! Yes…
I have a couple of friends I’ve known for quite a while. None since grade school though unfortunately. I had grown apart from grade school friends by high school it seemed. I have some friends from high school and college though, and I love them! Your’e very lucky to have someone you’ve known for so long that isn’t a family member-must be a very sweet relationship I would imagine.
Hope the rest of your weekend is good, LeQuan! Stella
hey Stella!
good friends are hard to find, so once i find a good one i stick to them like glue…teehee. kinda curious as to what deliciousness you’re brewing up this weekend. guess i’ll have to wait till your next post to see. hope you’re having a great one!
lequan
thank goodness I’m eating a curried dish right now, or I would have become very, very displeased with whatever else I am eating. Curry! CAn never get enough of that! I also love dosas…and tandoori chicken…and roti prata….and briyanis!
My oldest friend is Danielle! 🙂
The green sauce was a mint chutney — yummy! Next time we should go have south indian food – you’ll love it!!!
I had a fabulous time on Friday too – couldn’t have had better company:)
DUDETTE! you commented! luv luv luv it! was gonna ask you about the mint chutney but then it was really late at night and i don’t think mr. buddycakes would have appreciated me calling you at 2:00 in the morning to ask you about green sauce. lol.
south Indian food? what’s the difference between that and what we had? you just name the time and place and i’m there girl! looking forward to our next meet up! had a wonderful time as always! i’ll give you a bit of time to recooperate from the awesomeness that was my company. lol…just kidding.
LeQuan, hanging out with good company is one of the best things in the world. Good choice on Indian food. I like Chicken Masala with garic Naan.
I don’t know Lynn Chen but she looks really cute! 🙂 Seems like you have a fun time!
garlic naaan? never heard of that – intriguing.
Lynn Chen is a talented Asian American actress who also has a great food blog here http://theactorsdiet.wordpress.com/. hope you’re having a lovely weekend Tanantha :-D.
Dear LeQuan – How great that you had a wonderful time. So wonderful when old friendship endure and flourish. I love naan and my fave food is Chicken Biryani but also choley bhatura and….you know what I can’t pick!
Hopefully, one day, I’ll be able to cook some traditional foods from India for you 🙂 And you can cook some Chinese for me! What fun!
Ciao, Devaki @ weavethousandflavors
hi Devaki!
wow, looks like i have a lot of Indian dishes still to try!
yes, that would definitely be a fun time indeed :-D. hopefully one day my friend. hope you’re having a great weekend!
lequan
Butter chicken is hands down my favorite. There’s nothing better!!
You just gave me a huge craving for indian food!
Sounds like a fun time and the meal looks terrific!
I do have a best friend, we have been friends for 21 years!! It is awesome. I love Indian food, although I have only been 2 times…I like the Naan, and also I love anything curry!! The Palak Paneer looks soo good!
It is so fun to meet up with old friends. Sounds like you both had fun. Palak paneer is one of my favorites.
LeQuan – it’s so great to see you having fun with your friends! It’s fantastic that you can hang on to your friendship for more than 2 decades. My oldest friend whom I still keep in touch with is someone – an old neighbour, that I’ve known for almost 16 years.
My favourite Indian dish from the North is Palak Paneer – not very original but it IS so delicious!! Actually I can’t decide between that and Mattar Paneer – both make me drool! From the South, I really, really like Dhosa – a lacy pancake made from fermented rice and lentil batter. I think it beats the socks off a French crepe!! I could eat Dhosa every single day of my life and not be bored, honestly.
I once made a huge bowl of batter, and ended up eating it for breakfast, lunch and dinner for 3 days running (even after the batter started to lose it’s lovely bubbly texture, and I still wanted more when it was all gone!!!! *oink oink* ROFL
Good friends are hard too find these days. Once I find one I stick to you like glue 😉
I never even knew there was a difference in dishes from the south. Boy I gotta try all these dishes that you’re all suggesting. You got me really wanting Dhosa now…teehee. I’m in a bit more trouble though cause at least you know how to make the batter to cure your cravings. I’m just going to end up with a big dent in my wallet on a ticket to Singapore showing up at your door begging you to teach me how to make the batter. Lol. I’ve learned that Denise + food = danger. Dangerously delicious recipes that is 😉
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Hey, it’s me again. 🙂 I like the Masala Dhosa at Remedy on 109th! It’s my go-to lunch spot with my coworkers.
Thanks for sharing Anju. I’ll definitely have to try that 😛
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Hanging out with good friends is always fun. I think all mothers need that 😀 You sure look like you had the best time of your life. Gosh…I’m drooling over all the food!
“Buddycakes” – hehe, LUV it!! There’s really nothing like old friend who have known you forever, even through your most awkward and “interesting” phases *cough Jessie in high school cough* I have a few friends that I’ve known for about 13 or 14 years, and I’d say they’re the most special of all. They predate Peter, after all!
I love Palak Paneer (mostly the cheese), and I’m a big fan of Bhaigan Bharta. If you like eggplant you’d like that one. I’m intrigued by the Paratha, especially since it’s whole grain. Is that like Naan roti? I might be mixing up my Indian breads here 😛
I’m ashamed to say that I’ve not yet seen any of Lynn’s movies (gasp) – shame on me! I hardly ever watch movies, so I need to make it a point to see her movies when I get back home. You are absolutely right – Lynn is adorable AND talented! 🙂
Ah high school, those carefree, no responsibility days. Those were the good days.
I love eggplants! Guess I need to try Bhaigan Bharta then. Oh gosh girl, you’re asking the wrong person about Indian food. I have a hard time even remembering the names. If naan and naan roti are the same thing then no I don’t think paratha is anything like naan. I think paratha is much better, crispier, and tastier.
Oh don’t be ashamed. I think I just make everyone else look bad cause I’m so Lynn Chen obsessed *blush*. Teehee.
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