In Elephant separates itself from (most of) the herd

The August meet of the OCC took place on a Saturday instead of the customary Friday to accommodate the attendance of returning member Barney who also acted as this month’s ‘shot-master.’ So excited was he to return that he dropped his shot-vessel enroute meaning a drunk pooch or two and an impromptu convenience store stop for what ended up being two bottles of Johnny Black. Points for class if none for originality. Our restaurant was ‘In Elephant’ located in the cluster of restaurants on Changde Lu right off the Changping road metro and staggering distance from Wuding Lu’s strip of bars. It is the OCC’s fourth visit to the establishment and first in its very smart new surroundings.

After a slightly longer than anticipated wait in the salubrious surroundings of the restaurant lobby we were directed to our table, jockeying subtly to avoid our various choices of drunken bore that can taint many a British institution: think parliament and monarchy to name but two. I, luckily was seated next to the august presence of our esteemed Vice Chairman who only suffers from one of the aforementioned. Which one dear reader, you shall have to guess, or better still and join our motley, yet monocultural brand of curry connoisseurs. How you might do this was actually a matter for discussion adding some extra spice to this month’s meet with our VC advocating an uncharacteristically borders-open approach to membership. The Chairman took a more cautious approach striking a middle-ground between the VC and a certain member’s anti-Atlanticist suggestions.

Procedural minutiae this month included a poem from bard-for-a night-Barney which was mercifully interrupted by the starters which once served, were an interesting mix that evidently trumpets an effort by the chefs of ‘In Elephant’ to experiment with established classics. And who can criticise an attempt to stand out from the herd? Only a ‘dumbo’ would be the easy, low-hanging answer that a better writer would dismiss. The vegetable pakoras provided an entertaining game of ‘guess the veg’ that had our privately-educated members nodding their heads in nostalgic approval perhaps recalling their ancestral farmlands in distant Albion or more likely nights in the boarding house. Those from fresh-food deserts were slightly more prosaic in their reaction, relieved just to be given food. Another form of dubious nostalgia perhaps. Samosa-chat; another old favourite re-imagined, shrunk and doused with yoghurt met with general favour and swift dispatching as much due to their diminutive size than to special enthusiasm. The Malabari prawns, more Guangdong than Gujarat, are outside of usual Indian restaurant fare but satisfyingly crispy. A well-received offering was the more traditional tandoori chicken notable here for its succulence. Note that it being on the bone is not for everyone but it’s worth remembering this way is more authentic and shouldn’t need the VC’s wife to pick the meat off. A shout out to absent and very busy chutney-master James Prowse of the Park Tavern who enlivened every one of these starters with his outstanding apple-chutney. A welcome change from that other master who presumably enlivened games of ‘guess the veg’ back at Charterstowe or Gourdonharrow.

The main courses took some time to materialise, which meant more time to drink cold Kirins and slugs of JW Black, a process necessary to keep some of our members interesting and be interesting in turn. Waiting was broken up by a member claiming to be leaving again, idle gossip and an Indian-themed dance purportedly for the benefit of the OCC, but looking suspiciously like regular Saturday-night programming. Nothing to complain about there, and the lady in question acquitted herself well. One person’s cultural appropriation is another’s homage; no tofu-munching wokerati in the OCC’s midst who were suitably and respectively appreciative. The dance presumably went with the song that accompanied the making of our food.

Once the food did arrive, it was a veritable stampede of dishes. Good news as some members were coming to resemble a bull Elephant in musth. This is not a sizist comment from the writer who has been guilty of this in the past, and aims to do better in future.

The dishes in no particular order were a bhindi Masala that some members liked for it’s greeny smooth goodness. I have to confess I skipped the ‘ladyfinger’ dish but did enjoy the butter chicken, a perennial UK favourite. Another eternal classic, originally made in England by Bangladeshi chefs, the chicken tikka masala was also enthusiastically received, not in words but by the sound of loud, satisfied munching and approving mumbles among mouthfuls. On a serious note, it’s not cool to talk while chewing. The dal makhani spoke to the quality ingredients used by ‘In Elephant’ and was best eaten with the excellently consistent roti bread that obviously benefited from the amount of time devoted to it. A more divisive dish was the palak paneer that had some fans but left largely alone in favour of the meat in a sign of some members’ determination to keep up a masculine façade. The dish that most split opinions however was a very spicy lamb vindaloo with a pachyderm sized punch that would make Nelly pull her trunks down and rush for the closest watering hole. Personally, I think it did what a vindaloo was supposed to by testing rather than tickling the tastebuds. Aficionados of spice will undoubtedly be a fan of this dish and it is recommend eaten with the dahl and roti as it is in the subcontinent.

Overall ‘In Elephant’ received OCC approval with an average score of 7.6 proving its far from a graveyard.