Indu Dining – Glamorous basement dining with a social conscience

Some people are overachievers: voted into GQ’s Man of the Year hall of fame (that mean’s he is certified single and hot), he’s a doctor (handy if you drink too much champagne), entrepreneur (he’ll help you with your Etsy store), listed on BRW Young Rich List (it’s getting too much now) and finally he is a philanthropist (he does good deeds – not collect stamps).

So it’s official, Sam Prince is a catch, and now there is another reason to love him – INDU Dining.

Situated just off the Ivy Ash Street complex, you will catch glimpses of action below from street level. It’s a crossroads of Indian village meets subterranean glamour as you are greeted with smells of the subcontinent, enormous clay pots of spices and theatrics from the dosa kitchen.

The menu is beguiling; taking you on a journey so memorable you’ll wake up the next morning and want to do it all again. It starts with the almighty dosa, arriving open at the table for you to roll up, tear off, do your own thing (just make sure you order one). Our pick is flame-seared turmeric cured salmon rich and succulent with crunch and acidity from pickled fennel and cardamom aioli. From the ‘Village’ comes dainty croquettes of sesame coated beetroot, topped with yoghurt, green chilli, ginger and garlic raita. Chase that with something from ‘Curries & Grill” 5-spice barramundi on a bed of string hoppers gets a flourish of turmeric and coconut molee poured at the table. Do not miss the coconut sambol prepared in front of you with a duo of milk buns perfect to scoop and munch. Donut lovers will devour Gulab jamun rolled in coconut sand, with added crunch from Kashmiri honeycomb crumbs.

Whilst external beauty is somewhat easy to create with interior design, a great chef (Bimal Kumar) and a killer team (the guys behind Mejico), what’s harder to deliver is the inner beauty of generosity. Indu Dining’s accredited programme is enabling a small Sri Lankan community to build a chicken coup. You will leave with the lasting impression of an incredible meal, yet your impact on the other side of the world will be creating a lasting effect on the village communities to build an infrastructure for a new generation.