By Phall NaanD
I made it over to Kinshicho the other day to try out Venus South Indian Dining once again. It’s the second time I’ve been there for lunch, and as it is buffet style, I made sure I went there with a decent appetite. For their lunch deal, they serve four different types of curry each day. That day, they had on offer Chicken Bhindi Masala, Niboshi Potato Kolambu, Palak Kootu, and Daikon Lubia Masala. I arrived just after the lunchtime rush but the place was still doing good business. I found a table near the window – Venus’s 1F location provides a bright atmosphere from its décor of light brown wood, white walls, all which are further illuminated by the large windows looking out onto the street.
As soon as I was seated I was encouraged to help myself to the curries, which sat in heated trays near the open kitchen at the back of the shop. After filling four katoris up to the brim, I added salad and rice (unfortunately not basmati, but you can’t have everything), and asked for bread options. For this you have to request it from the chef, whose jolly countenance made the only option being naan easier to bear. The good thing about this ordering method is that the naan comes piping hot – some buffets just have it out on trays so when you get it it has cooled and gone hard, making it even less palatable.
So, with my katoris overflowing, I got stuck in. The Chicken Bhindi Masala was the highlight, even though it had a fair bit of chicken skin and not much in the way of chicken chunks left in the serving tray. Even more surprising was that it is essentially chicken and okra, which is the last thing I would order if given the choice, as the texture and bitterness of okra just puts me off entirely. The fact that it was cooked in masala, though, really brought a nice balance of flavours through, and had me going back for more. The Daikon Lubia Masala had a similarly nice balance to it, but I’m not fan of daikon, preferring potato any day. The Niboshi Potato Kolambu had a nice kick and was simple but effective and the Palak Kootu was bursting with a nice combination of vegetables, all complementing each other and creating a thickness in the sauce.
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All in all, a great lunchtime feast, and coming in at a mere 1,000 yen, also a great deal. There are a few options around the Kinshicho area, but Venus is definitely high on the list of places if you want a tasty southern Indian experience. Just wish they would go the extra mile with basmati like you get in the Andhra chain and Dhaba etc. That would need people actually requesting it in there in the first place. I’ll try to get the ball rolling the next time I go, which will be very soon.
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