Indian street food @ Binny’s Kathitto

Some friends and I caught up for lunch at Binny’s Kathitto in Braddon. Binny’s used to be in a small food van across the road at The Hamlet but recently expanded into its own store. As I walked up to the entrance, the large and heavy-looking glass sliding door was slid open by one of the waitresses. The venue is small and cosy with black walls decorated with various painted artworks.

We were asked if we wanted any drinks but none of us ordered any that day. The menu is 100% gluten free. There are light snacks, kathitto wraps, dosa, street snacks and curries on the menu. My friends started off with a couple of entrees as they weren’t sure of the portion sizes for the mains. The beef cutlet ($7.90) came in a serve of 2 and were made of ground beef mixed with mashed potato. As they were quite small, he didn’t think it was worth the price.

Another ordered the samosas ($7.90) that also came in a serve of 2 stuffed with mashed potato, peas and spices, and served with tamarind sauce.

I decided to go with the Idiyappam and Stew ($18.90). I chose to have it with goat meat but a vegetarian version is also available. I was asked how spicy I wanted the dish and I asked for mild. I could smell the aromatic spices in the dish as soon as it was placed in front of me. The dish had five mini mounds of thin noodles (string hoppers) sitting in the coconut milk gravy. I found the stew spicier than mild but it had lots of flavour. The goat meat was served mostly on the bone so I had to watch out for that, but the meat easily slid off the bone with the touch of my fork since it had been slow-cooked. I enjoyed this dish but found the portion size rather small and I was still hungry afterwards!

My friends ordered the channa (chickpea) kathitto wrap ($12.90) which came with a serve of raita. It looked nice and filling!

Another friend ordered the paneer (cottage cheese) kathitto wrap ($12.90) which also came with raita. Both friends that ordered the kathitto wrap said it was great value for money, filling and satisfying. They both mentioned extra raita would greatly improve the dish too as it helped to balance out the richness of the wrap.

Another friend ordered the Kuttanadan Tharavu curry ($22.90) of duck cooked in tomato, ginger, spiced coconut paste marinade and flavoured with curry leaves. The dish didn’t come with rice or any side, so my friend also ordered roti ($6.90 for 2) to go with it. The dish looked great!

Overall, I thought service was friendly and attentive. Although I found the portion size for my dish rather small, the kathitto wraps were a hit for the price. I’d like to go back to try them and test out more of the menu. Hopefully the heating is fixed soon as I found it very cold inside the cafe and was still wearing my coat and scarf.

Binny’s Kathitto is at 5 Lonsdale Street (next to Hopscotch). Open Tuesday to Sunday for lunch and dinner. Online bookings are taken.

Foodgasm 7/10
Value for money 6.5/10
Service 7.5/10

FPJ score 21/30

If you want more random photos and updates about food, I’m on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Facebook: /foodpornjournal
Twitter: @foodpornjournal
Instagram: /foodpornjournal