The New Padmanadi

I visited the new location for Padmanadi in Edmonton at 10740 101 St. I envy Victoria High School (I went there, once upon a time) students because Padmanadi is now a five minute walk for lunch. The new location is unassuming from the outside, but once you walk in, it’s very bright, the furnishings are beautiful, and every plate is etched with the Padmanadi logo.

For a place that had a very family style feel, there is this hipness to the new location that the old one never had. I’m sure it will grow on me, but it’s a dramatic change. Either way, the food was still the same, just a couple dollars more than before. I’d like visit it at night and see what effect the lighting has on the ambiance, as they have east facing windows that let in a lot of natural light during the day.

We ordered the wheat free curried mutton and the roti canai. I’m looking forward to going back and ordering something new next time. I noticed that they finally had Hot and Sour soup listed on the menu, something I’ve been dreaming of since Padmanadi first opened, so that’s something I am thrilled to try. I’m glad to see the wheat free items marked on the menu since so many people are effected by that intolerance/allergy or just want to avoid it for their own reasons. (However, I’m not sure if that means gluten free in general, since there are other sources of gluten)

One thing that I was disappointed about (but not too much) was the lack of chrysanthemum tea. Our server mentioned that because they were so busy it was getting difficult to manage that much tea, so instead they have several other varieties of tea to choose from.  It didn’t matter though, because the server was friendly, helpful and attentive, and kept my water glass full the entire time.

Another thing you might notice, since I know I did, was the lack of default chopsticks. Every table has plates and forks, but they still have chopsticks and/or bowls if you ask for them. I always enjoyed not having to ask for chopsticks, but it sounds like I’m in the minority on that one.

CBC was doing interview’s on the new location and he mentioned that Kasim (the owner of Padmanadi) was thinking about spreading out across Canada, which I think is a great idea, and has a lot of potential for success. At the very least, Toronto should have one (though Buddhas Veggie House on 666 Dundas is pretty darn good too.)