Mandala Nepalese Restaurant
Mandala restaurant in Randwick is a local favourite which offers both vegetarian and many gluten free options. In fact, most items on the menu are gluten free!
This time when we showed up at Mandala restaurant, a sign informed us that the restaurant was now under new management with a ‘new menu’. My heart sank – will they still have gluten free food? Luckily yes!
The two of us shared two entrees and two mains. Usually we have the black lentil pancakes (Massko Bara) as entrée, but this time tried Aloo Chop (fried potato patties in a spiced chick pea flour coating) and Bhanta Poleko (char grilled eggplants stuffed with onion). The potatoes were perfect comfort food - crispy skin, only mildly spiced and were my favourite because hey I just love potato comfort foods. The eggplant was spicier, smaller, a tad too grilled (I won’t say burnt!), and too onion heavy for me, still good though.
Entrees - Aloo Chop (potatoes, back) and Bhanta Poleko (eggplant, front)
For mains we choose Chips Chilly, new on the menu, and Rajma, which is red kidney beans with herbs and spices. The Chips Chilly were exactly what it said on the menu – chips with a chilli sauce stirfry (capsicum, greens, and…tomatoes!). It was an interesting combination, like homemade good old chips and good old stir fry – but together. I'm not too sure about it. The kidney beans were standard kidney beans in a curry type sauce, very mild, perfect with the rice and yoghurt cucumber accompaniment.
Mandala provides delicious traditional homemade style Nepalese food, not overly spicy and quite simple so don’t expect grand complex cuisine, and it’s not too expensive. They definitely cater to allergies and dietary requirements. Vegetarian, dairy and gluten contents are marked on the menu. I'm a coeliac and never gotten ill from eating there. As if to illustrate this point, while we were there a vegetarian gentleman listed his gluten, soy, garlic, mushroom, tomato and onion allergy to the manager, and then ran into the kitchen to declare ‘I forgot to mention – I’m allergic to eggs too!’.
There was a thunderstorm while we were in the restaurant. Along with the hypnotic chanting music they had playing on a loop, this gave an other-worldly effect.
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