Where Chefs Eat: Saavni Krishnan Says This Butter Chicken Is the Best “Outside of India”

In the restaurant world, as in the art world, sometimes you just need a patron – a person with the right resources who believes in your work. So it was for Saavni Krishnan and Sriram Aditya.

The chef couple worked separately at Manze and Gemini before launching their roving Indian pop-up Saadi. After appearing at top spots Arnold’s, Hope St Radio, Sleepy’s and Public Wine Shop, the duo caught the eye of Adipoetra Halim, owner of The Hotel Windsor, Antara and Aru.

Last year he tapped them to move into the former Sunda space, where they’ve since been thrilling and surprising diners with Indian food that refuses to fall back on stereotypes or familiarity. Here’s where they eat around Melbourne.

Favourite bakery
Krishnan: “If I had to choose one favourite bakery (I have a few) I would choose Ovens Street Bakery in Brunswick. Their sourdough is my favourite!”

Aditya: “I love fougasse, and Bread Club in North Melbourne makes the best fougasse in Melbourne, in my humble opinion.”

Go-to breakfast spot
Krishnan: “Fenton Farmhouse in Carlton does breakfast really well. I really like their farm plates with all the veggies and toast and eggs. Yum!”

Aditya: “We haven’t been there in a while, but I’m counting the days till we get to go back to Moon Mart. I still dream about the barley, spinach and clam congee we had there during our last visit.”

Date-night recommendation
Krishnan: “I really love Arnold’s in Kensington. It’s cosy, the food is yum, the drinks are great and the staff are so lovely. It’s a really nice spot for a date night.”

Aditya: “I still think Neighbourhood Wine in Fitzroy North is one of the most amazing places for a date night. The dining room has this old-school charm to it. In winters they’ll light up the fire and it makes the place even more cosy. The food’s always great too.”

Favourite ice-cream or gelato spot
Krishnan: “Gelato is great, but a good ice-cream is something special and Luther’s Scoops makes the best ice-cream. I always get the brown butter cheesecake. No changes, ever.”

Aditya: “I like Fluffy Torpedo. I like their experimental flavours, but if I had to pick a favourite it would be the marshmallow, grape Aeroplane jelly and pink salt.”

Special-occasion spot
“We like to go away for special occasions and try amazing restaurants in regional Victoria. So far our favourites have been Tedesca Osteria, Underbar, O.My and Greasy Zoe’s.”

Best banh mi
“We’ve recently started exploring St. Albans and our favourite is Minh Duc.”

Favourite Indian food
Krishnan: “I love a good butter chicken and Nizam’s in North Melbourne has so far made the best one that I’ve tasted outside of India.”

Aditya: “Khabbay in North Carlton is not Indian, it’s Pakistani, but the food is so good. If you go there, get the Khabbay supreme kebab platter. You won’t regret it.”

Late-night feed
Krishnan: “Pizza Pizza Pizza. It’s on our walk at night after work, to where we park our car. When we’re starving, we stop by and pick up a slice (usually two slices if I’m being honest). My go-to is the peri-peri and the original Margherita. Every now and then if we organise ourselves really well and plan in advance, we’ll call and place an order for a whole pizza while we’re cleaning down and it’s ready by the time we’re done. It makes the drive home so much nicer.”

Aditya: “We were recently introduced to Hanbaobao. They make this Chinese-inspired fried chicken burger which uses a hand-rolled sesame bun that’s more like a flatbread. So good!”

Restaurant you wish would come back for one night
“Can we both say Vex Dining? We only got to eat there a few times, and we really wished we dined there more. The other would be Gray and Gray. We miss their honey cake and khachapuri.”

A restaurant you’d like to collaborate with
“Chef Gayan Pieris of Many Little Bar is about to open his new place Agnii. It’s such a cool concept.”

Bucket list restaurant
“Brae, Chauncy, Barragunda, Fico, Stillwater, Dier Makr.”