Cinnamon, Wantirna

The schoolyard rhyme goes - Cinnamon and spice, and everything nice - and how true it is! I think Cinnamon Indian and Nepalese restaurant is a good find. The price is reasonable - for example the tasting board of meat below was $39, which can feed 2-3 people. The service is friendly, and the portions were larger than the usual Indian fare (which is reasonable, given the price is also 'larger' than the usual)

The restaurant seems to be quite popular because there were already a number of big tables occupied when we rocked up on a Thursday night. We ordered the Butcher's Board, which had 2 rosemary lamb cutlets, 2 seekh kebabs, 4 tandoori chicken pieces, 2 chicken sekuwa (wing pieces), some salad on the side and 2 garlic naans. All the meats were marinated wonderfully. They were seasoned well and cooked beautifully. I found a chicken wing sekuwa still pink in the inside but other than that, the rest of the dish was cooked really well. There is a real art of being able to char the outside well but still retain the juiciness of the meat inside. The chicken tikka is a good case to point - I have had plenty of dry ones but these ones were juicy and moist on the inside with a char on the outside, but not too burnt. 

I liked the thoughtfulness of the small salad on the side, it helped to cleanse the palate and cut through the meatiness of the dish. 

The eggplant aloo ($20) was ordered to provide some gravy to the meal but it ended up a good choice because I loved the creaminess of the gravy and used the naan to sop it all up. It seems like a similar curry base to butter chicken, which means I should probably exercise extra hard when I get home to work off all the butter, oil and cream used to make this dish delicious!

I love how the curries are served in medium sized wide brimmed bowls for a change. The little tin bowls usually used in Indian restaurants always look to me like they are for kids' meals. The presentation of the meats were also beautiful and bountiful.