Chef’s of Tandoori Express is an Indian take away store and a child to the parent restaurant store out in the suburbs. Located in the Renaissance Arcade, the menu options are not as extensive, but they still offer all your Indian favourites. The pricing is more than reasonable with a single curry and rice starting at $7.

Today, I ordered the Thali Plate which consisted of 3 curries; Lamb Korma, Rogan Josh and Beef Vindaloo. The curries came with yellow rice, chapati bread and a poppadom. As my dish was being plated, the store attendant grabbed my poppadom with her hand and then proceeded to handle the money. At the time of writing, I hadn’t fallen ill yet, but I do expect better hygienic practices.

LAMB KORMA – Nice lean and tender chunks of lamb. Sauce was of a thick consistency. Flavours were subtle but you could taste hints of ginger and cumin.

ROGAN JOSH – Perfectly cooked succulent pieces of lamb. Sauce was nice and thick. You could taste the cardamon, cinnamon and peppercorns in this dish. Paprika gave it its beautiful colour.

BEEF VINDALOO – Lean and tender morsels of beef. Sauce wasn’t as thick as the curries. The curry had plenty of kick with a slight sour taste from the vinegar.

The yellow rice was nice and flaky, and really well cooked. The chapati bread was lukewarm and very difficult to break apart, while the poppadom was cold, soft and chewy. It was obvious that both the chapati bread and poppadom were cooked some time ago.

Unfortunately, you get what you pay for at a take out store. The curries were still pretty good as they came from the same restaurant batch at their parent store, although the quantities were a lot smaller. For a better dining experience, certainly visit their restaurant in Malvern, but for a taste of what they have to offer, this is certainly the place to come.

WHERE: Renaissance Arcade, 21 Pulteney St, Adelaide