Chaska Indian Street Food & Restaurant

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During my July stay in Toowoomba, almost counter-intuitively I got 'upset' at being served quality and noticeably delicious food from Chaska Indian Street Food & Restaurant in the suburb Kearneys Spring . Understandably, after writing thirteen reviews this month, but all for good quality food, tours and stays, I am at the point where I just want a proper break, only to order delivered a fiery yet flavoursome white chickpea curry with delicious flatbreads and it had impressed enough to motivate me to travel up Ruthven Street to get them a positive review and just add that 'hint of spice' to what had panned out to be an intentionally relaxing and fairly dull weekend.

Background
Without extensive knowledge of Indian street food yet clearly taken aback by my online order and its welcome taste sensation, I researched other reviews and read about Indian street food. A combination of reading Google reviews, the restaurant's UberEats listing and the links stated below got me some perspective so I could set about visiting on a delightful Toowoomba Sunday (the Garden City always looks nice on a Sunday) and obtain some photos and experiential feedback for this review. I must confess I read this quite interesting review on Google about ' flavour profiles ' which is not an alien concept to me, but I was indeed faced with that delicate situation of wanting to promote the restaurant yet needing to learn quickly about Indian street food. I've in the past taken an interest in videos where vendors in large subcontinental metropolises cut fruit in a novel way, along with other fancy ways to make biryanis and naans.

From researching online Guide to Indian Street Food I could appreciate what more classic street food involves - at this point, I must state I don't know street food in terms of its limits of creativeness, but it's clearly not strict and more flexible than other styles. Upon discovering in my research that they have a daal makhani on the menu and the fact I try that at every Indian restaurant I regularly order from, in fairness, I realised that I am perfectly capable of describing the experience especially if I order a daal makhani.

This is no bother to me either, it's my favourite dish at an Indian restaurant as it has something I like personally but is such a great dish to review as well. I think despite my admiration of other dishes, as it is no concern to order the restaurant's daal makhani, for reviewing just stick to this particular dish and see how well they serve it up. I'll order it mild and be looking at the presentation in terms of how appealing the cream and butter topping looks with the curry and also whether the flavour stood out in the same manner as it did with my chickpea curry. I could see on the restaurant's UberEats menu that the photo of the dish is very appealing but not very tomato red. I think provided it is a fresh and different taste and looks similar to the advertised photo on the UberEats menu then the restaurant is well worth a visit if in Toowoomba.

The Order
On a July Sunday prior to midday, I turned up at the Chaskas restaurant to find I was the only customer (I presume because not many customers order curry for brunch) which made me able to get a very clear photo collection of the food, menu, signage and décor. Inside the restaurant, I was pleasantly surprised at how clean and spacious it was - as seen in the collages below. The daal makhani was presented with a massive bowl of rice, garnished and the curry itself with butter and cream in a generous serve. The sauce may be thin, and at first, I didn't get it, but on the walk home to the motel nearby, I realised it's because their cooking is street-food inspired and creative. I can appreciate how a really rich and thick sauce is not likely to be served as a street food - although I do realise I said previously it is not a strict cuisine. The thin sauce and topping of butter and cream were highly useful for distributing on the full, large bowl of rice and I stacked my empty dishes for the waiter in a polite gesture with the hidden meaning of thanks for a delicious and satisfying daal makhani.

In the collaged photo below of my food order, there is a little extra order of a masala tea ($4.50) shown in the bottom photo of the collage and while fundamentally it is just a cup of tea, and it is super hot when first brought to the table, it was a taste sensation. I won't state what the secret ingredients are, but it was yet another fresh and creative menu item not always seen on typical Indian restaurant menus (although it is difficult to pack for takeaway); if you are a tea lover and at the restaurant itself, do order and let it cool a bit as you eat your mains, it is a lovely sweet tea similar to chai as served at most cafes in this country but you will taste a difference. However, masala tea is extremely popular in India - it is an authentic beverage/menu item, to say the least.











Other Links
Chaskaass on Instagram
facebook.com/Chaskaass

Note all photos courtesy of the review's author in 2024. For my order I paid less than 31 dollars for a cup of hot masala tea, a main-sized daal makhani, a huge bowl of rice and a can of Coke with the usual chilled bottles of tap water complimentary but not needed due to a much milder serve than the previous night's fiery white chickpea takeaway order.

For orders and feedback contact the restaurant at:
Willowglen Shopping Center, 11/837 Ruthven St, Kearneys Spring QLD 4350
Open at 11 AM on weekends and 1 PM on weekdays, and each day the diner closes at 9 PM.
Phone: 0435 351 214

Conclusion
Simply put - Chaska Indian Street Food & Restaurant deserved a very positive review, the use of a wide range of exotic ingredients presented in an extensive menu was done so with aplomb, and overall, by trying some less mainstream dishes as well as the daal makhani could see what a peaceful and likeable business the Chaska Restaurant is. I hope if the owners get to see this review that they can appreciate my approach to presenting their skills and work ethic mainly to the Toowoomba public but hopefully to those considering a visit to the Garden City.

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#food_drink
#indian_food
#vegan
#vegetarian