Harris Park Sydney Little India The Best Butter Chicken in The Southern Hemisphere

“Mmm, I doubt it” I thought to myself when the guide promised we would eat something we had never eaten before in Harris Park. We were there for an Indian food tour. As an Indian, especially one who eats a lot and loves Indian food, I thought that was a tall promise.

Our first stop was Chatkazz. It was only 10 AM, and the place was packed. This was a common sight, as it is one of the go-to restaurants in Harris Park.

The first thing I noticed was the service. I am so used to bad service from mid-range Indian restaurants in Melbourne (Chai n Dosa in West Footscray came to mind) that the friendliness of the Chatkazz staff took me by surprise.

Soon after, the food was served, and I stood corrected—the whole thing was utterly unfamiliar to me.

A Gujarati Weekend Breakfast

At first, it was hard to comprehend the whole set. I could understand eating each of the items served separately—thicker-than-papad crackers (later I learned these were Fafda—chickpea flour crisps), served with carrot and green chilli and neon yellow-coloured soup, and Jalebi (I have had Jalebi before, in Auckland of all places)—but together? Really?

Apparently, it worked perfectly together, and this combo was glorious! It was both sweet and savoury—an explosion of flavour and an immediate dopamine hit. The Gujaratis know what’s up when it comes to breakfast.

While breaking flatbread, so to speak, I chit-chatted with the people who attended the food tour. Surprisingly, half of them were local, either from Sydney or NSW. The non-locals were just me and a couple who flew down from America for their honeymoon (one of them had travelled to 157 countries!).

Another new dish for me was Sabudana Vada, made of flat balls of tapioca pearls mixed with potato and spices and served with yogurt and coriander chutney. It’s also so yummy!

We closed our first meal with a tiny cup of Chai. Also, PSA is not Chai Tea; it is just Chai.

Chatkazz offers 200+ items on its menu – all vegetarian, so the next time a big group of you plans to go for delicious Indian food in Sydney, this place is the best option.

Done with our first-morning brekkie, we made a quick stop at Radhe Wholesale & Retail Harris Park Indian Grocery Store, but not before being yelled at by a guy riding a bike to “go back to your f-ing country.” It wasn’t clear who he was yelling at, though, as we were in Harris Park, Sydney’s Little India, so most of us, I guess?

Also, as a multi-immigrant (I coined the term myself), I am so used to this kind of racism. But still, it was nice when everyone on tour asked me and the tour guide (we were the only brown ones) whether we were okay after that incident.

Indian Grocery Heaven in Harris Park

Back to the grocery store—it was extensive. It’s double the size of the ones in Melbourne and better lit, too. The guide took us around the store and explained a few things, but I only managed to pay attention to how to make Garam Masala (you need an equal amount of other ingredients) as my attention was more on what was in the store. They also had things I had only seen on TV growing up, like Amul ice cream, so many rice brands, pickle flavours I had never seen before, and a whole aisle of different types and colours of lentils. They even had money envelopes I searched high and low for in the past two Diwalis.

I considered buying a Dosa pan and Kutte Weleke from there, but they were consecutively too big and too small. I stepped out empty-handed, only to be given a cup of chaat by the guide. Taste Tour FTW!

Now, if you ever need to shop for Indian groceries, masala, or utensils, you know where to go.

Also, I noticed the grocery store played the latest Indian hits, as did the restaurant before (and in every other place we visited throughout the tour—nice!).

Indian Sweets and Savory (Namkeen)

The next stop was Chatkazz Sweetshop. At first, I found it weird to make a sweet stop early on the food tour, but that’s because I didn’t know how much we would be eating as the tour progressed. Also, it was nice to break the typical food-tour routine.

We tried the Kaju Pista, Barfi, and Pakija. Like most North Indian sweets, they are mainly made of milk and ghee (butter) making all of them pretty sweet, which is great if you have a sweet tooth.

The thing is, I have never been gratified by North Indian sweets as much, well aside from Gulab Jamun and possibly, after the earlier encounter, Jalebi. Okay, okay, maybe I have a selective sweet tooth.

All sugared up, we continued walking to the centre of Harris Park, marked by the roundabout with a Middle Eastern grocery store and a Lebanese cake shop right in front. As the guide explained, Harris Park is Sydney’s Little India, formerly a Lebanese area. As she spoke, I saw a grandma with a handkerchief bandana come out from the second floor of the same Middle Eastern grocery shop to dry her clothes the old-fashioned way—on the clothesline. It was such a photographic moment, but I was so completely immersed in watching her that I forgot to raise the camera to capture it.

Quintessential South Indian Breakfast with A Twist

The next stop was Harabhara Harris Park, a restaurant serving the quintessential South Indian breakfast: Idli (rice cakes) and Dosa (rice crepes). However, in this restaurant, the idli was mini-sized, juxtaposed with the humongous size of the dosa—both served with a side of tomato and coconut chutney and a small bowl of Sambar “soup,” as the guide called it. I usually do not like Sambar (a South Indian lentil-based vegetable stew). Still, the combination of mini idli, tomato chutney, and Sambar at Hara Bara is worth a second visit. I highly recommend it.

Alongside the restaurant, I noticed a few Nepalese restaurants, which, according to the guide, represent the upcoming community in Harris Park.

Harris Park itself was known for being the first area to mark fertile soil during settler times. A few gardens were nearby, including an experimental garden given to convicts who had served their sentences as a trial. They managed to turn it into a bountiful garden.

A Food Tour with A Side of Saree

The next stop was one that I didn’t expect at all on an Indian food tour—an Indian clothing store. Initially, I was sceptical based on my experience of the exuberant pricing of Indian clothing stores in Melbourne, but Vastra Designers Sydney had an extensive collection at reasonable prices. It included $10 Jhumkas (Indian earrings) and $19 Juttis (Indian shoes), but I kept my wallet shut with no wedding on the horizon. Again, I compared the collection to the ones in Melbourne—the stores there had such an extensive collection that I had to put on horse blinders when I went in.

I can’t help but wonder what’s next on the tour. Is it a weaving place, gold stores (we Indians love our gold), or even a short stop at a temple? Instead, we were ushered across the road to Ginger, a home turned into a North-Western Indian restaurant, for another sit-down meal.

The afternoon menu included Malai Kofta for vegetarians and Butter Chicken for the rest, with papad, rice, and roti on the side.

The Best Butter Chicken in the Southern Hemisphere

I started with Malai Kofta and skipped the bread in favour of the rice. It had a hint of sweetness to it and was good. What I didn’t expect, though, not even when the guide repeatedly said it’s a must-try in Harris Park, was how good the butter chicken was. It was phenomenal—rich in spices and a little bit nutty. Everyone on the tour unanimously agreed it was absolutely delicious.

I can honestly say it’s the best butter chicken I have ever eaten—and to have it in a Little India in Sydney, go figure!

Shout out to the Taste Tours team on that day, they went above and beyond to make the food tour fun, including the henna session at the end of the tour.

Meanwhile, somewhere between the third serving of rice and butter chicken, I cancelled all my afternoon plans, rode bus no 600 back to Castle Hill, and took one of the best naps of my life.

More Taste Tours in Sydney: Harris Park Sydney Little India The Best Butter Chicken in The Southern Hemisphere // Exploring Eastwood North Sydney Koreatown // Trail of Korean Food Tied with Culture and Traditions // Cabramatta A Slice of Vietnam Culture in Sydney Australia // A Multi-Cultural Feast In Merrylands Sydney.

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