Aarya at SunSquare Montecasino on the Piazza has spiced up its menu in line with evolving tastes and flavours, and to keep the dining experience fresh and enticing for regular and new patrons.
Deena Naidoo, winner of MasterChef SA Season 1 and joint owner of Aarya, says the new menu includes a wide range of dishes, including pizza, seafood, curries, pasta, meat, grills, and burgers. “The new dishes reflect Aarya’s Executive Chef Rodgers Mahasi’s personality. His signature is firmly on the menu, along with his ideas and that of his time, while also taking into consideration feedback from our guests. The result is a touch of modernisation, a hint of exotic, revisiting much-loved flavours, and some winter comfort dishes.”
An addition to the menu is naan bread served with meals instead of bread rolls, adding to the Indian-inspired range of dishes. Also new are naan breads topped with garlic and olive oil or mozzarella.
Other new starters include Tandoori mushrooms and Mussels in saffron-infused white wine cream, and on the salad side, Roasted butternut and couscous salad, to add variety to the vegetarian options, and Oak-smoked salmon and avocado salad. New on the pasta menu is Seafood deluxe, creamy seafood pasta reduced in white wine and lemon zest, ideal for chilly winter evenings.
Deena’s signature dishes remain unchanged and include his famous butter chicken curry, trio of curries (prawn curry, potato and butter bean curry, and butter chicken) and shredded braised lamb shank pizzas, which are now also available as mini pizzettes for starters as customers often want to “try a bit of both”.
Joining the range of flame-grilled specialities is a 300g rump steak espetada, served with seasonal vegetables or salad, French fries, mashed potato or rice, and a peppercorn and brandy, or mushroom and coriander sauce. A new gourmet burger has been added called hot Spanish, with chilli tomato salsa and jalapeños, served with fried onions and French fries with grated parmesan.
Topping off the meal is a luscious selection of desserts, which include several South African favourites such as malva pudding, vanilla crème brulee, ice cream delights with chocolate sauce, upside-down cheesecake, chocolate mud pie, and fudge Picasso.
Chef Rodgers, who has extensive experience in a wide range of cuisines and cooking styles, local and international, and a love of producing meals that please people, joined Aarya as Executive Chef in late 2017. He says, “Creating this menu has been an exciting process for me as well as the Aarya team, fine-tuning each dish to ensure that it delivers the perfect balance of flavours and textures, and positions us a favourite place for special occasions, celebrations, intimate dinners, or simply a treat night out.”
For more information on Aarya restaurant, visit the website.
