Authentic Pakistani restaurants are few and far between. Tom Doorley is pleased to find one, in Dublin, that isn't content to pander to Irish palates.
If you venture down Moore Street or Parnell Street, in central Dublin, you will find a warren of Chinese restaurants of the sort that don't feature farther out. Suburban Chineses, with few exceptions, are designed for the Irish aesthetic, God help us - hence all the black lacquer - and the grub is similarly tailored to the local palate.
The Moore Street and Parnell Street establishments are designed to feed Chinese people. Some of them may look a little grubby (a few are seriously off-putting), but they are probably the best-value places to eat in the city. You can gauge their authenticity by the fact that most of them serve fried guts, not a dish in big demand in Clontarf or Terenure.
Speaking of Terenure, you may remember a rather unsatisfactory outing to Vermilion earlier in the year. I'm surprised to see that its website still features a glowing review of mine that is now four years out of date. Despite several e-mails to Vermilion it remains in place. I'm quite cross, as it has my name on it. Anyone who wants an updated assessment can log on to www.ireland.com.
Anyway, there are lots of Chinese people in Ireland, hence the boom in real Chinese restaurants. We seem to have fewer Indians and Pakistanis, which is a shame, as it would be good to have those food cultures equally authentically represented. With luck, immigration will eventually supply a sufficient population.
Good Indian and Pakistani restaurants are few and far between. Most are content to pander to Irish palates and dish up the usual suspects, but there are some - I reviewed the delightful Kinara not long ago - that realise there is a new spirit of adventure among Irish consumers. Khyber Tandoori is another example, providing what appears, to my admittedly untutored palate, proper Pakistani food at reasonable prices in surroundings a lot more pleasant than your average balti house.
You know the kitchen is taking care when that old favourite the onion bhaji is made without stale, sulphurous onion slices and does not contain half a litre of old cooking oil. Khyber's were sweet, wholesome, nicely spiced, not too doughy and remarkably unoily.
We also tucked into a mixed platter of starters, which included tender tandoori chicken, a similarly prepared lamb chop and scrumptious lamb shashlik (minced, moist, beautifully spiced) served on big slices of freshly sliced red onion. Our only disappointment was that there were no pakoras.
In an attempt to get away from old favourites that are always tempting to order, we asked our waiter to suggest a dish. It was a surprisingly delicious mixture of minced lamb and chicken pieces, simmered in a rich sauce involving, as far as I could gather, a lot of grated fresh ginger.
A dish of chicken and fresh chilli, stir-fried and served in what seemed to be a buttery tomato sauce, was almost as good, but the dish of the evening was the tarka dhal: lentils simmered until smooth. It managed to be sharp, salty and pretty hot at the same time. I could eat it every day.
A combination of potato chunks and crunchy chickpeas in a spicy tomato sauce was another big hit.
Our Peshawar naan breads were the real deal but something of an acquired taste, in that they are stuffed with reddish marzipan based on cashew nuts.
With four beers and more food than we could decently eat, the bill for three came to €101.25.
Khyber Tandoori, 44-45 South William Street, Dublin 2, 01-6704855
WINE CHOICE I almost always drink beer with this kind of food, and the Cobra lager that we drank hit the spot perfectly, without the sweetness that sometimes afflicts Asian brews. If you must have wine, there are, despite scattered outbreaks of Rosemount and Lindemans (yawn), some decent bottles here, most from Wines Direct. Julio Bouchon Sauvignon Blanc (€20.50) is good Chilean stuff, and Fox Mountain Syrah (€18.50), from the Pays d'Oc, is chunky and great value. The white Bergerie de l'Hortus (€26.50) is a clever choice for this kind of food, as is Coriole Diva Sangiovese-Shiraz (€23.50), an offbeat Australian with masses of fruit. The juicy Barbera d'Alba Cascina Pellerino (€24) would be good with less chilli-hot dishes; Domaine de la Treille Fleurie (€32) would work slightly chilled. Nederberg by the glass at €4.50 is a decent, basic South African. Charpentier Champagne (€59) is broad and biscuity at a keen price.