Daily Archives: March 3, 2012

Pandu’s – an update …

11 Comments

UPDATE (July 29, 2012): Review of the new Pandu’s is HERE.

Dropping into the site of the new Pandu’s in Barkly St, I find the man himself in the house.

He’s a little reticent about having his photo taken, but couldn’t be more friendly and is happy to show me around.

And I gotta tell you – the place is looking a million bucks.

He tells me he actually had ritzy expansion plans for the former site in Buckley St well advanced before the rail link developments nixed them.

The new site entails a hefty increase in rent and a major investment – as these photos indicate.

Inevitably, this will involve higher prices for his take on Indo-Chinese tucker.

However, the prices at the old joint were rock-bottom cheap and he assures me his new price tags won’t be in the same ball park as those of a somewhat similar establishment up the road apiece.

Pandu is aiming for a late March opening date.

There’s going to be nooks, crannies and booths all over the place.

Incredibly, all the furniture is being crafted and constructed on-site.

The new restaurant will boast an Indian-style barbecue – not quite Tandoori cooking but with some of those elements. Sounds like a heap of juicy, marinated meats and vegetables to me!

This space (above) will be the site of the new kitchen.

In this area will be a waterfall and fish pond.

A sister blog for Consider The Sauce

2 Comments

FIND IT HERE

Originally, I envisaged Consider The Sauce might combine both the foodie themes for which it is now famed AND my musical loves.

However, as I climbed the steep incline of learning about blogging and its dynamics, I realised that would be muddying the waters.

As well, it seems – perhaps for the first in my life and perhaps only in the short-term – I am all “written out” when it comes to music.

For more than a decade now, it’s been part of my routine, upon rolling out of bed, to feverishly log on to the likes of the now defunct Blue Note bulletin board and forums at places such as Jazz Corner and Organissimo for endless, often fiery and frequently hilarious talk on all manner of music, along with politics, sport, religion and food. And, not infrequently, all at the same time!

The pleasure, enlightenment, wisdom and friendship I have been blessed with by being part of these conversations has enriched my life immeasurably.

Yet, as with others, the need is less pressing these days – indeed, as of today, it’s been about two weeks since I checked into the big O.

At the same time, though, doing Consider The Sauce has not only heightened my awareness of the food culture of the Melbourne’s greater western suburbs – it has done likewise for the western suburbs in general.

This, of course, is a very fine thing.

But along the way Bennie and I are coming across things, people, places and scenes that tickle our fancy, make us think and reflect or burst out laughing that simply don’t fit within the Consider The Sauce framework.

Of course, some of them have been getting a run here anyway – a car atop a shipping container in Tottenham, some apologetic graffiti in Sunshine and the like.

But now it’s time for these snippets of western suburbs life to have their own home at a sister blog to Consider The Sauce.

Called Snap West, its aim will be to post a photo a day of some of aspect of western suburbs life that has caught our eyes or turned our heads.

A photo a day doesn’t sound like a lot, but I’m sure there’ll be times when it’ll the last thing on our minds and quite a hassle.

Yet oddly enough, I have a hunch that it’s the snaps taken in those sort of circumstances that may end up being the most evocative.

Perhaps unlike Consider The Sauce, there will be no great ambitions for this new blog.

Hopefully, it’ll just simply unfold and evolve.

If folks visit and comment, that’ll be very cool.

If not, well that’ll be OK, too!

PS: I reckon the Vertigo theme of Snap West is gorgeous! How about it for Consider The Sauce?