Vasandha Bhavan

Instead of going back to our usual haunt, Janani again, we decided to give another place a go. Vasandha Bhavan is situated right opposite Homebush station, and specialises in Indian and Sri Lankan cuisine.

Food

The item menu look very similar to Janani, with a few new items and some old favourites. We decided to try out a favourite at Janani for comparisons. The Eggplant Curry ($9.50) - eggplant cooked in spice tomato sauce, was very nice indeed. The eggplants soaked up all the tomato sauce, and there were fresh curry leaves and fresh tomatoes in the sauce. It was just the right level of hotness. The only complaint is it's a bit oily, but most eggplant curries seem to have this problem. The Butter Naan ($2.50) we ordered to accompany this was disappointing. It was limp, flat and had none of that flakiness of fresh Naan. I know we ordered butter naan, but it was extremely oily. Good think we only ordered one to try first. Besides, the size of the curry wasn't that big that we needed to order another one.

I LOVE the dosais at Janani, so I decided to try one here, but one that is not on the menu at Janani. The Bangalore Dosai ($6.90) is described on the menu as "Dosai (lentil and rice pancake) stuffed with spicy potato/sesame masala". It's an interesting concept. The dosai is thin and expertly executed. The stuffing mix was a mix of spicy potato with coconut. The sweet and hot combination somehow works. It's a bit different but I really enjoyed it.

Rating - 7

Atmosphere

Instead of Indian chic, this place is your more conventional Indian. There's a takeaway section, with a cabinet to display their takeaway offerings, a cabinet with drinks and desserts. The next room is the eat-in, with tablecloths and service! The decoration is quite plain but pleasant enough. The most important thing though were the people eating there were of Indian descent. However, on a Sunday lunch time, only one or two table were occupied.

Rating - 1.5

Service

The service is a notch above, but that's what you get in a restaurant with not many patrons right? Our waiter was friendly and helpful, and after we ordered, the chef came to explain that the dosai was a bit hot and if we were ok with it. They came to make sure everything was ok and replenish our waters, but otherwise they left us alone.

Rating - 3.5

C-factor

This was more expensive than Janani. The curry was expensive for such a small serve, but the dosai was quite good value. I guess we have to pay a little extra for table cloth!

The all important question though is, would I come back? If there was no Janani I would say this place was great, but it just can't compete with Janani I'm sorry.

Rating - 1

Brownie Points - 13

Info

19-20 The Crescent
Homebush
NSW 2140
Phone (02) 9746 5530