This correspondent hails from a small town in the Scottish Highlands. Remote it may be, but that hasn’t stopped it from having one of the highest-rated Indian restaurants in the UK. This, he feels, combined with the facts that, 1) curry is now the country’s national dish, but perhaps not for much longer; and, 2) his own cooking has been hailed as “very good” by an actual Indian; qualifies him to write on the subject.
Consider also another factor; Indian restaurants don’t often open in Nanjing. About once a decade by our reckoning. And so when one does, we more than stood up.
And headed over to the back streets of deepest Gulou, where we found Amrit, nestled with its neighbours in such a way as to be completely overlooked without GPS assistance. Then, up the cast-iron stairs and past a bar, and we were in, where a remarkably-charming environment, Tardis style, revealed itself.
Opened up a bit less than a year ago, Amrit is run by Mumbai-born Aakey Yadev, together with his Chinese wife of 18 years who loves Indian food (just as well), Wang Yan. Yadev told The Nanjinger, “We decided to start Amrit because there weren’t authentic Indian tastes in Nanjing. Being a food lover, I used to miss Indian flavours; also it was quite expensive in other places. Therefore we started the buffet”.
That to which he was referring is their Wednesday and Saturday night experience which has become quite renown (so book in advance); an all-you-can-eat Indian buffet for just ¥78 (yes, you read that right); ¥38 for the younger ones. That can’t be topped.
Back to our lunch, where the vegetable samosas (¥48) from the extensive à la carte (lots of vegetarian options) ticked all the boxes for authenticity, partly down to the whole ensemble, but also the mint and tamrind sauces which had me back home in an instant.
From The Nanjinger’s selection, the showstopper had to be the Chicken Vindaloo (¥48). Perfection, although it lacked the kick normally associated with such a dish. But this correspondent happily admits that may be down to his taste buds being shot on account of a lifetime of curry abuse.
Also enjoyed; Chicken Manchurian (¥48), hitting us for being a nod to China’s sweet & sour whatever (even better the next day), the Mattur Pulao (a bit steep at ¥30) and a butter nan (¥15). The free mango lassi spoke for itself! Thank you!
Amrit Indian Cuisine 阿穋魯特印度餐厅 is located at 2F, 61 Ping’anli, Matai Jie, Gulou 鼓楼区马台街平安里61号二楼. Tel 13912973595. All meat is halal.