In 1994, Australia was well on the way to becoming one of the great food nations. Restauranteurs, including Gilbert Lau and Stephanie Alexander in Melbourne, and Janni Kyritsis, Tony Bilson, Neil Perry, and Tetsuya Wakuda in Sydney, were leading the charge.
I was the food critic for the Sydney Morning Herald, sharing the role with Helen Greenwood. The Mod Oz–French style was well established, and I made it my mission to search Sydney for great ethnic restaurants. Gilbert Lau’s Flower Drum had shown us how good Cantonese cuisine can be, with stunningly good Australian produce combined with authentic Chinese techniques; Tetsuya was inventing his own modern Japanese/French hybrid cuisine to worldwide acclaim, but the other great ethnic cuisine, Indian, was a mess. I encountered fire-engine-red kebabs, cardboard-dry tandoori chicken, searingly hot vindaloos, soggy breads, and curries with boring, singular tastes. Under all the bad spicing lurked indifferent ingredients. This was an insult to a great cuisine. In London, Bombay Brasserie and The Red Fort had proven Indian cuisine had a place at the very top, so what was wrong with Australia, where Indian equaled takeaway, or something cheap and nasty?
I stumbled into Abhi’s for a quick lunch on my way from a business meeting. It looked like any other suburban Indian restaurant, and my expectations were not high. It was a true revelation. The kebabs were not red, the tandoori chicken oozed with juices and flavor, tandoori lamb chops were clearly superior cuts, the curries had an incredible array of complex, fresh tastes, and the breads were perfect. This was great traditional Indian food, cooked with proper technique and passion. I was back the next night, which ended with Kumar proudly showing me his spice-grinding machine with which he made his own masalas every day.
I soon published a review, with the headline “The Search is Over.” Sydney finally had a great Indian restaurant. People flocked to Abhi’s. Many restaurants have such a crush of diners after a favorable review and then sink into obscurity, but Kumar welcomed the new diners, became their friends, introduced them to the complexities of Indian food, and went on to open Aki’s.
Kumar at first wanted to take traditional Indian food more upmarket at Aki’s, but I suggested he do something different. “Show us the new Indian cuisine, show us the regional specialities, give us dishes we’ve never heard of,” I urged. Kumar promised to serve the same food that was eaten at the best tables in Mumbai. Having been to India with Kumar, I believe he has done better. Kumar has simply invented his own style of Indian cuisine based on classic Indian technique, but with a wonderful Aussie accent thanks to our great produce and Kumar’s unending passion to be the best.
Kumar and Suba are totally dedicated to their restaurants, and I’m sure we will continue to be surprised. For them, the search is not over.
Les Luxford
