iCOTM April 2017: Dinner Set at Dhaba India, Kyobashi

This month's iCOTM will come as no surprise as it was at one of Tokyo's best-loved and well-respected Indian restaurants: Dhaba India, Kyobashi. I went there after work and managed to grab a seat before it got too busy — being around the business district they are never short of customers, and that is thoroughly deserved based on what they have to offer. There was an abundance of choice on the menu but I was hungry so just went for the least brain-draining option: Dinner Set (meat). After waiting a short while, taking in the pleasant atmosphere and decor, and listening to an instrumental version of Cat Stevens' "Wild World", the food arrived. The set contained three curries (chicken, prawn, fish), sambar and rasam (on repeat), a bright and interesting looking poriyal, papad, two soft, puffy pooris, and basmati rice (on repeat). The curries were perfectly prepared with high quality ingredients — the chicken was both thick and fresh and fell off the bone seamlessly (even the skin was delicious), and the aubergine in the sambar and the prawns and the fish were all chunky and soft. After going for it for about 10 minutes, I ordered refills of the sambar, rasam, and basmati (I ended up eating three portions), and by the end of the meal was well and truly stuffed.

I was going to run for the train but decided instead to bask in the glowing warm feeling the curries had provided me and take the scene in a bit more. Two businessmen beside me had ordered the same dinner set and were eating "Indian style" with their hands — as the old saying goes, "Eating food with your hands feeds not only the body but also the mind and the spirit", and I think that is the only thing that would have enhanced my experience. I need to work on my technique, so maybe next time, and with the quality that Dhaba India has on offer, I'd say it would be the perfect place to go to hone my skills.