Edmonton is rife with Indian restaurants—57 according to a quick search on Urban Spoon, and there are probably more. Certain areas of the city have a high concentration of them: Millwoods, 23rd to 34th Avenues, the west end, and pockets downtown. I’ve been to plenty and for the most part, they seldom warrant a second visit, but just south of Grant MacEwan’s Robbins Health Centre, one called Indian Fusion: The Curry House is definitely worth checking out. You’ll find it located in the neighbourhood that was once home to the Sidetrack Café, Blue Willow and Cosmos Greek Restaurant.
I remember Cosmos well, an amazing feat actually, considering the amount of ouzo consumed there on one particular occasion that involved a birthday, a table of Japanese businessmen and suede stilettos. But that’s a story that will (and should) remain buried in the Annals of Overconsumption (read: the 1980s).
The building hasn’t changed much since the 80s. It’s still a big old lumbering brick sprawl that now houses the Overtime Lounge, the Louisiana Purchase and for the past few years, Indian Fusion. I hadn’t heard a peep about this Indian restaurant—until fellow food writer, Liv Vors, wrote about it for Vue Weekly a few weeks ago. What caught my eye was that this place served Fijian food, as well as Indian, and that peaked my curiosity; I had never had Fijian food before.
The place is small (maybe 15 tables) and exotic artwork and fabrics make the interior warm and cozy. The owners are very much a part of the business, cooking, serving and making sure guests are made comfortable.
The menu is quite extensive, and the focus is definitely on curry. But this is curry of a different kind; no butter, lots of fresh spices, and sauces made from scratch. You will be chomping down on cardamom pods, mustard seeds, curry leaves and you will like it.
We asked the owner for her recommendations, telling her we wanted to focus on the Fijian side of the menu. She—being from Fiji—was more than happy to accommodate us. We started with two appetizers:
The Bula Chicken: 6 pieces of chicken thighs and legs, marinated in olive oil, soy sauce and spices, baked in a Tandoor oven, and served with grilled pineapple rings. A great start to our meal with a blend of sweet, smoky and savoury flavours.
Out of curiosity we ordered some samosas as well because they don’t deep-fry them here, they bake them in a clay (Tandoor) oven. So while the dough is a bit dry (lacking the usual grease of deep frying), the inside was a fluffy, mashy mixture of potatoes, peas and seasonings. Pretty good samosas over all.
They’ll make the curry dishes to whatever heat level you can handle. We went with a 2.5 out of 5 heat rating, starting with three Fijian dishes for mains:
The Goat Surva: Despite fighting with those omnipresent bone pieces found in goat dishes, this was an enjoyable dish. The meat was tender, distinctly “goaty” and served in a flavourful, tomato-based curry.
The Seafood medley was a grouping of shellfish and basa bathed in a slightly sweet curry sauce made with coconut milk. Less mussels and more scallops would have made this dish better, but that’s just me. The curry sauce was magnificent.
Breadfruit Curry: Breadfruit is a fruit native to Fiji that is high in starch and has a potato-like texture with the taste of fresh-baked bread when cooked. It is the perfect main ingredient to a saucy dish. This was served in a curry rife with black mustard seeds throughout and it was definitely the standout dish of the night. This is one vegetarian dish I would crawl over cut glass for (by the way, there are a ton of vegetarian dishes available here).
On the Indian side of the menu, we chose two dishes we had never heard of before. The Mughlai Lamb was comprised of tender cubes of meat, cashews and raisins and stewed in a thick creamy sauce flavoured with cloves, cardamom, ginger, chillies and cumin. You could taste every spice. Nice.
The Prawn Makhani (this one got lapped up before I could take a picture) was a dish of sweet, perfectly cooked prawns (6 or 8) swimming in a creamy tomato sauce flavoured with ginger and ground spices. This is another dish I’ll go back for.
We had two types of naan bread–garlic and regular– delectable, piping hot and totally necessary for sopping up the delicious curry sauces.
The owners were wonderful and generous with their offering of Fijian culture, history and dish preparation. I love it when owners are invested in their business and can tell you (with great pride) about the origins of the food. This is one Indian place that warrants a return visit.
Breath fresheners in the form of candied fennel seeds. You might need these after all that curry!
Wow, I didn’t know that you found out about that place from the Vue story. I’m blushing! I’m also overdue for a visit back there. Great article and radio show, as usual.
After I read your article, I thought: 1) wow, this place sounds good, and 2) how did I not know about it already? So thanks, Liv, for informing us! The owner said she’s getting lots of people in because of your Vue article. Nice.
I like it that they have a gluten free menue- though I don’t recommend it if you are a very sensitive celiac, as they do serve breads and such there.