Haveli
Yesterday was Bryn’s birthday celebration so we all gathered at Haveli. Bryn loves it and so does everyone else - including the children, though I believe the grandsons now have a local favourite Indian restaurant. So here are a few words about Haveli which has been part of our family from long ago. I was going to add something about Indian restaurants in general but will save that for another time.
HAVELI MEANS MANSION
“Essentially a Haveli is a place of tranquillity and beauty where decadence and indulgence reigns supreme.” Haveli Restaurant and Bar, Pontyclun, South Wales
“Most Haveli’s comprise of a courtyard, often with a water feature such as a fountain in the centre" ditto
Interesting because the Haveli restaurant does indeed have a small fountain in the centre between the two rooms.
I’m not sure why this particular Indian restaurant was called Haveli but I do remember the then owner telling us that it meant house or home. So let’s stick with the home interpretation and you probably have it. It's very welcoming.
It says on their website that it was opened in 1989 and that it was one of the first Indian restaurants in the eastern suburbs. I actually think this date is wrong, because I am pretty sure it was there before we went to Adelaide which was in the early 80s. But then again my memory could be playing me tricks. However, when we returned from Adelaide we resettled in Eltham, so would really have had no reason to go to East Doncaster. I’m sure we started going there when we lived in Donvale - which was in the 70s. It was local after all. Maybe they are referring to the time when it changed management hands.
Originally it was owned and managed by Baby Thomas the chef and his lovely wife. It was amazingly successful - so much so that they opened another branch somewhere near the beach - St. Kilda? We went there once. But this new restaurant was not such a success I believe and ultimately they sold up and went to the city where they opened up a take-away opposite Flinders Street Station. I think it is still there but whether with the same owners or not I do not know.
BabyThomas made the most delicious Indian bread - and this is a tradition that this restaurant continues to this day. We eat lots of it.
Vijay, the current owner, was the head waiter at the restaurant and when Baby Thomas and his wife moved on, they sold the restaurant to Vijay and his wife Rosie. Unlike a lot of Indian restaurant owners (well in England anyway) they do not come from either Bangla Desh or Pakistan, but come from Delhi. We have been going there for so long, even if infrequently that they recognise us by name and face too.
Coming from England and being habituated to Indian restaurants it was a shock to come to 1970s Australia which had none. They only began a very short time after our arrival - there are now hundreds of course. So we were ecstatic to find one that was so good and so close to our home. And we were relieved to find it still there when we returned to Melbourne. I remember Bryn loved it so much that once he came all of the way out to pick up a take-away meal before going to the Moonlight Cinema in the Botanic Gardens (he was living in Melbourne at the time). And I have just discovered, as I went to my address book to make a doctor’s appointment, that its telephone number is one of the very few in my address book list of important numbers - along with the vet, the doctor and the hairdresser! Such is my life.
The meal last night was lovely and such a fun family outing. The children run around and make far too much noise - but they love watching the chef make the tandoori stuff - particularly the bread. And the hosts are always so welcoming and friendly, if occasionally mildly disorganised - the tandoori salmon was a bit late - but delicious all the same.
It’s very traditional - they have experimented in the past with weekly specials but seem to have abandoned this in favour of the unsurprising but oh so delicious standard kind of menu. Yum.
