Lincoln's Table: The World Tour - Satya Chai Lounge, Sandringham (India)

Samrudh Akuthota, owner of Satya Chai Lounge, with his favourite snack food to go with his chai tea. Photo / Alex Burton

Herald reporter and foodie Lincoln Tan takes you to some of Auckland's eating places that make you feel like you're in another country.

When he goes back to India, the first thing Samrudh Akuthota, 33, would do is to seek out a chai wallah.

In tea-mad India, chai wallahs - or tea vendors - can be found at every other street corner, and everyone seems to have time for a chai cuppa.

Chai is made from boiled tea leaves with a rather large amount of milk and sugar.

Chai wallahs would expertly pour tea from a height through a cotton strainer and then serve the drink to customers in a tiny clay cup.

Kamesh Kunala is an expert chai wallah at Satya Chai Lounge Sandringham. Photo / Alex Burton

Along with the tea, that varies between different wallahs and regions, wallahs also offer street food snacks from vada pav, dahi puri to onion bhaji.

Samrudh, or Sammy as he is known to friends, says he would often go to wallahs who offered the best snacks or those that were based closest to stalls that served his favourite food.

"It can be quite an adventure and really fun to go out discovering street food in India," said Sammy, who hails from Hyderabad.

Chilli chicken, kurryaage and paneer 555 are among the favourites at Satya Chai Lounge. Photo / Alex Burton

His parents own Auckland's Satya South Indian Restaurants, and when they encouraged him to follow his dreams of making a unique chai lounge here in Auckland - he started the Satya Chai Lounge.

The lounge is hidden down a narrow alleyway just beside Satya Restaurant on Sandringham Road.

Walk through it, pull the curtain made from an old coffee sack, and step into a different world. Coffee sacks line the walls and are also draped from the ceiling.

Owner Samrudh Akuthota says he drew inspiration from places he normally hangs out in India for Satya Chai Lounge. Photo / Alex Burton

Old wooden spools are used as tables. Other furniture was made from tree trunks and seats from cushioned beer crates.

Besides chai, the lounge also specialises in beer, cocktails and Indian street nibbles.

"My brand of hospitality is really quite selfish," Sammy joked.

Drinking chai tea is a national pastime in India. Photo / Alex Burton

"I made Satya Chai Lounge this way because this is the kind of place I like to hang out at in India, and the menu is also mainly made up of the type of food I like to eat."

His cousin Kamesh Kamala, 40, manages the lounge and is also their resident chai wallah.

The chai at the lounge is based on his grandmother's recipe, Sammy said, and uses spices made in the adjoining spice shop next door.

Among Sammy's favourites on the menu are the dahi puri, which comes with potato, chickpeas, yoghurt and topped with sweet tamarind chutney.

Decorative elephant sculptures hang on the wall at Satya Chai Lounge. Photo / Alex Burton

Also the chilli chicken with fusion chilli sauce and bell peppers, and the vegetarian paneer 555 with spices and cashew.

One fusion dish created by the lounge chef which Sammy says is a must try is the "Kurryaage" Indian spiced Japanese style fried chicken.

"You know, as in Japanese karaage and Indian curry," Sammy said.

Following the success of the first, Sammy opened the second Satya Chai Lounge at Karangahape Road two years ago and was planning a third until the pandemic put a halt to his plans.

With Kiwis being advised against leisure travel during the pandemic, Sammy says the next best thing for people wanting to experience a slice of India is to come to his lounge.

"Cross the border by walking through our alleyway and enter our India, no passports needed, just your vaccine passes," Sammy added.