Location: Salam Bombay 
217 – 755 Burrard Street,
Vancouver BC
Website
Author: My Husband
Every now and then, Christina and I would have a hankering for some down home Indian cooking. While “down home” isn’t entirely apropos for describing East Indian food, it does convey the spirit of the type of Indian cookery that my wife and I like best. We like our Indian food to be simple and traditional, free of pretensions and unencumbered by the trappings of fusion flavours du jour.
So when we meet people who share our taste in Indian food, we always ask for the names of their favourite Indian restaurants; through such word-of-mouth recommendations, we have discovered quite a few good Indian eateries. And so it was when I asked one of my engineers, who was visiting from India, for the name of the restaurant that impressed him the most during his visit. “Salam Bombay”, was his immediate reply.
Salam Bombay is located directly above the Hermes store on the corner of Burrard and Alberni. Walking into the restaurant, we discovered a bright, spacious, and nicely decorated space with a large bank of windows that offered expansive views of the streetscape below.
As it was our first time there, we decided to order some “standard” dishes to get a sense of Salam Bombay’s cooking style. Here’s what we had:
Papadams. These were deliciously crispy, and none too greasy.
Chicken Masala Pakora. These were flavourful and moist, but I suppose the exterior could be a little crunchier.
Onion bhaji. Crispy and masterfully seasoned, these were great. In fact, you could make a meal of a couple of plates of these and a beer or three.
Lamb curry. This was a thin curry, cooked without yogurt or coconut milk. We like richer curries and didn’t know what to think of this initially. But over the course of the meal, the nicely balanced flavours won us over. Christina thought this would go really well with some wheat noodles!
Butter chicken. The creamy consistency, along with the rich flavours of this dish made it really enjoyable. I’ve noticed that most butter chicken dishes are made with chunks of breast meat, but I suspect this already tasty dish could be even better if bone-in meat pieces were used instead.
Garlic naan. It was crispy and flaky, and wonderfully satisfying without being overly doughy. We liked the first one so much that we ordered another.
And since we had curry, the unwritten rules of Indian dining stipulated that we also had to order some rice.
Overall, it was a very good meal. The dishes were masterfully seasoned and were very tasty. None of the dishes were overly greasy. In fact, it was probably the least oily Indian meal we’ve ever had.
During our meal, Jose Madappilly, one of the owners, came over and chatted with us. When we asked about the philosophy behind his food, Jose said his intent is to have the restaurant prepare food the same way he cooks at home: healthful AND flavourful. And because Jose is originally from the southern Indian state of Kerala, he has also included quite a few south-Indian dishes in the menu. Since south-Indian cooking tends to emphasize bigger, bolder, and spicier flavours compared to north-Indian cooking, this should be welcome news for Vancouver Indian food fans.
After we finished our meal, Jose offered to show us around the restaurant. It didn’t take too much convincing on his part to get us to accept! Jose mentioned that he had looked at over 50 locations before he finally found a suitable space; and when he and his partner took it over, they subjected the place to a pretty comprehensive renovation program. Christina and I were taken on a tour of the private function rooms, as well as the bright, spacious, and spotless kitchen. Jose also showed us the spice room, which houses the spice mixes – all of which are imported from India and blended in the restaurant – used in his dishes.
We traditionally finish off our Indian meals with some masala chai, and we stayed true to tradition at Salam Bombay. After eating a spicy meal, nothing settles the stomach like a comforting cup of warm, milky tea!
If you share our taste for “down home” Indian cooking, be sure to put Salam Bombay on your “to try” LIST!
