Aagaman Indian Nepalese Restaurant

Overview

Situated on Port Melbourne's bustling Bay Street, Aagaman takes its name from the Hindi word for 'arrival', signifying the arrival of a restaurant with a philosophy of eclectic and expansive Indian-Nepalese cuisine. 

Head chef Ram Sapkota, who was encouraged as a child to cook for the family by his mother, prides himself on clean flavoured curries with a delicate and modern approach to traditional dishes. 

The entrees kick off with the King or Queen's platter. The King's is an all meat affair, featuring a selection of kebabs as well as chicken tikkas and lamb chops. Meanwhile the Queen's caters to vegetarians, with an assortment of house specialities and a combination of tandoori mushroom, paneer, gobi, pakora and samosa. There is also a soft cheese coated in Indian spices and chargrilled with capsicum as well as joy sticks — tender lamb mince mixed with ginger, garlic and rosemary. 

The mains kick off in style with everyone's favourite butter chicken (Aagaman's words, not ours), before getting more experimental with curries such as chettinad madras (chettinad spices with poppy seeds and coconut cream) and saag wala (an English spinach puree with garlic and green spices. 

These curries are interchangeable with chicken, beef or lamb, while the vegetarians can order the dal makhani (black lentils and kidney beans with bucket loads of butter) or the pharsi masala (presented as the Halloween Fun on their menu, it's butternut pumpkin with spices cooked in a tomato onion sauce.)

The drinks list is playful with a range of fun and fruity house cocktails, while the wine list is a standout amongst their contemporaries. Opt for a bottle of Caleb and Bloom montepulciano to compliment a dish of feisty beef vindaloo.