KEY POINTS:
Herald rating: 3 and a half (out of 5)
Cultural diversity. It's all over Auckland these days, and you can't get more culturally diverse than Cha. Three chefs, three menus: 86 Thai, North Indian and South Indian dishes. The owner, Harjeet Golian, is a city barrister of Indian heritage. His manager, Rohini Jacob, trained in Switzerland. The building was home to an American pizza chain.
Tom gunned ... uh, coaxed his aged Mitsubishi into the centrifugal forces of the Royal Oak roundabout and we prayed. That we'd be spun off at the right exit.
Which we were, though it would be rather hard to miss Cha. It still has the tiled, gabled roof of its earlier pan-crusted life, and breeze-blocks in a shade that recalls a curry gravy with too much input from the tomato lobby.
The man at the door asked if we'd booked. At 6.15 on a Monday night? Surely you jest, we might have said if we were inclined towards cliches, gazing at 45 out of 48 empty chairs.
First catch your wine. I ordered a reasonable pinot gris from an audacious list of several dozen pages. "Sorry, sir ... " We were discomforted. We had read that Cha, unusually for a restaurant this far from the CBD, boasts a famed sommelier. Perhaps he was on leave. Perhaps the supplier's truck took the wrong exit from the roundabout. Our second choice was ... well, pinot gris. Just.
The three of us settled protocol. One would pick a Thai entree, another North Indian, the third South Indian. Ditto main, ditto dessert. It was a well-laid scheme. Like so many well-laid schemes it would gang aft agley, which is Scots for "turn to custard around dessert time", to sling in some more cultural diversity.
Here's the bit where I pretend some knowledge of food, usually gleaned from a quick dip into Wikipedia. The trio of cuisines here blend and contrast quite well: Northern Indian dishes reveal a fondness for dairy, particularly in the gravies; Southern prefer rice, coconut and curry leaves, are far more vegetarian-friendly; Thai are influenced by Chinese stir-fries and Indian curries, zapped with fresh herbs and fish sauces.
For the opening hand I dealt Thai: grilled chicken in herbs, delectable. Tom played the Northern card: fish tikka, stunning chunks of kingfish, marinated in pickle and herbs, chargrilled in the tandoor.
Sue trumped us all with an unusual dish from South India. Masala vada are deep-fried lentil and spice patties. Dip in condiments and prepare for taste explosion.
Weren't quite as rapt with the next deal. Tom pulled out the ever-reliable Thai green curry with chicken, much of a muchness all over Auckland. No different here.
I laid down a vegetarian korma in herb gravy. Too thin, watery, not enough grunt, I suggested. Cue Sue's culinary diversity. That was, she explained, because I was used to the thickened and reduced Kiwi version of Indian cuisine. This was, she pointed out, how the dishes are prepared in India. All the same, she agreed, not mind-blowing or mouth-blowing.
Sue has an affection for Kerala's food, and chanced upon a fish and vegetable curry from the geographically diverse Southern list. Cooked in coconut-milk gravy, the unusual combination of spices had us craving more.
Cha makes more of an effort with desserts than many sub-continental establishments. Sue and I nibbled on rambutan and lychees, stuffed with nuts, in chilled coconut-milk, and another of her Kerala memories, the exotically named elaneer payasam, a refreshing coconut concoction. Tom had whisky. You can take the boy out of Scotland ...
No wonder the bloke asked if we'd booked. It's not yet 7 and this joint is really jumping.
Most tables are taken. It's a local crowd - gangly teenage boys and their mums, a few token couples.
Easy to understand. The food is well-priced, tasty, those three options mean there's pretty much something for everyone. There's a well stocked bar and the wine isn't overly expensive. We'd come back.
Already scheming to - but we'll focus on one cuisine at a time.
Cha
Address: 711 Mt Albert Rd, Royal Oak
Phone: (09) 625 9888
Open: Dinner 7 days, lunch Thur-Fri
Cuisine: Indian, Thai
From the menu: chicken tikka $11.50; chicken satay $9.50; lamb pepper masala $19.50; prawn red curry $19.50
Vegetarian: You have to ask?
Wine: The jury's out
