PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIAA birthday party has taken up the long banquet table in the middle of the restaurant, filling the room with bouquets of balloons and loud and cheerful chatter. In one corner two teens fidget with their samosas, exchanging first date smiles, and at another table some rather austere-looking gentlemen are discussing real estate prices. In the middle of it all is Minnie Gaundar, personally greeting every customer with infectious exuberance.
Her restaurant, Rama’s, is a busy neighbourhood eatery, painted in brick red with colourful chairs and booths, gold-framed Indian prints and bright flower arrangements.
The menu is more Indian than indigenous Fijian, but it’s all well above your average curry house. Deep-fried appetisers are neither dry nor greasy. There are prawn pakoras and roti parcels stuffed with pumpkin and coconut and served with refreshing raita. Curries come at the heat level of your choice and curry connoisseurs will be thrilled to find that “very hot” actually is! Try dhai wala (chicken in a rich, spicy yoghurt sauce) or madras fish. Those after an authentic islander meal can sample Fijian pork curry with a tangy capsicum and coriander gravy. The perfect, cooling complement to the fiery stews is iced coconut juice, with slivers of slippery coconut flesh. Rama’s is BYOG, which means any grog you like and no corkage. We’ll drink to that!
Fiona Davies, November 2005
