“I just have two rules: no photos of me and no asking for the bill” Rush, the owner of Zaaffran says smiling when he seats us. Mr NQN and I are on a date tonight, just the two of us although when we start to see the number of dishes, we think that perhaps bringing friends might have been a prudent idea. Zaaffran is located on the second level of the Darling Harbour Harbourside Complex. Despite it being a touristy area, and there are tourists aplenty, there are also a lot of large Indian groups and families which is always a good sign when you’re dining out. Zaaffran (named after the spice saffron) has been open for 12 years and has been lauded by the New York Times as well as many local press for having creative Indian food.
Strawberry & Rose Petal Syrup Lussie $6.00
I start with the strawberry and rose petal syrup lussie (or lassi). It’s just the right balance of flavours and sweetness and it has tiny chips of ice throughout it. I’m starting to feel rather relaxed now…
Mini Poories Gol Guppa $10.80
The kid in me loves interactive food. Food with the possibility of a sartorial disaster is even more exciting unless I am wearing something silk. What has to be one of the most fun foods to eat are the mini poories. You take a thin, hollow, crispy shell and filled it with the spiced mung beans, potato, crunchy chickpea and vermicelli noodle mix and add a dash of mint and sweet tamarind liquid and down the hatch! The sensation is crunchy, spicy, sweet and tasty all at once and we can imagine kids and adults would like this bit of DIY at the table (and yes they can do a mild kid’s version too).
Crisp potato and corn mini patties laced with yogurt, date-tamarind and mint toppings – Aloo Makkai Tikki Chaat $11.30
Mr NQN especially loves these tiny flattened balls of potato patty drizzled with yogurt, a date tamarind and mint sauce. They’re quite tangy and spicy and remind me, bizarrely but stay with me, of potato wedges in an extra dousing of flavour. I’d imagine these would be great with a beer or drinks as a more sophisticated alternative to wedges.
Zaaffran Apple Cooler $6.50
The Zaaffran apple cooler is a mix of saffron syrup, apple juice, lemon juice and honey. It is very lemony and sweet with honey although I can’t really taste the apple.
Thirst Quencher $7.50
We both liked this drink as it was very refreshing with a vividly hued rose petal syrup, copious amount of fresh lime and mint and lemonade and a little peek of cardamom. In fact we could have had seven of these each but we didn’t want to overstay our welcome 
Palak Paneer $21 Aromatic rice infused with saffron $4
Do you always have a dish that you have to order when you go out for a certain cuisine? For me and Indian food it’s palak paneer, a cottage cheese and spinach curry. The Indian cottage cheese cubes are very soft and creamy and the spinach sauce with fenugreek, ginger, garlic and green chilli is incredibly silky smooth. It is perfectly paired with the saffron infused rice. Even though I know we have a lot of courses to go, the temptation to have more of this is hard to resist and I do.
Seafood sampler $29.30
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Vincent points out that there are two men in the class and we later learn that one was given the gift from his girlfriend who suggested that it would be more entertaining to watch him in the class than to go out for drinks with her friends. The second guy is there with his girlfriend and up until he walked in, it was surprise that she had arranged-he thought that he was going to a taping of “The Footy Show” or a sports game!
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