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a O i a Nov THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday. _ | Sincerely, _ Bruce Pirie, _ | Gainsborough Drive ADVERTISING FEATURE BY DON WALL n the restaurant business, says ISheikh Miah, manager of the Jewel of India restaurant in downtown Oakville, little things mean a lot. That‘s why the Jewel of India provides candlelit hot plates to keep the food hot; and why, since many of the customers are British, the restauâ€" rant offers three different imported draft beers â€" Harp Lager, Double Diamond and Tartan Special. Add this attention to detail to the restaurant‘s superb cuisine and you‘ve got a great dining experience. Sheikh, a softâ€"spoken 26â€"yearâ€"old, has been in the restaurant business for half of his life, in numerous establishments in Canada and England, and he‘s learned how to keep customers happy. Sheikh says he has a sixth sense that lets him know when something is amiss, and he takes quick steps to make amends in the event of any problem. "The restaurant business is tricky, you always have to be reading their mind," said Sheikh, who like his head chef Doras Ali is a native of Bangladesh. "I can tell if they‘re satâ€" isfied or not." The special treatment starts when the customer steps in the door of the restaurant at 342 Church Street, just west of Allen. Intriguing sitar music, moodâ€"setting colors â€" gold and dusty rose â€" and unusual wallâ€"hangâ€" ings create an exotic atmosphere. On the walls are paintings imported from India, and there is also a distinctive | To the management and staff of the Jewel of India; _ | On Wednesday, September 22, I received from the Jewel of India a large takeâ€"out order of food for a dinner party at my home. _| new to this cuisine. j success. A TRIBUTE _ | The meal was excellent. The food was _ highly praised by our guests, who | included both people who were familiar with Indian food and others who were _ | My wife and I sincerely thank the staff _| of Jewel of India for the skill and care ] which helped to make our party a Jewel of Inclia handâ€"stitched replica of the Taj Mahal that catches the eye. Sheikh and head chef Doras Ali have put together a menu that repreâ€" sents the finest foods from across India. Imported cookware such as the stainless steel Balti and the castâ€"iron Khorai ensure authentic flavours, and the Jewel of India has a real tandoor oven, used for baking several types of fresh Indian bread and other dishâ€" es. You can‘t make authentic food without the proper tools, Sheikh points out. Sheikh himself often waits on the tables, and he‘s got experienced, proâ€" fessional waiting staff for the busier times. The value of experience on the floor, of course, is that the waiters know what they‘re talking about when questions are asked about the menu. This is especially important at a place like the Jewel of India, where so many of the dishes and terms may be new to Canadian diners. Sheikh is happy to guide his customers through the menu, offering advice about spiciness and other preferences, and he‘s not shy about making recomâ€" mendations. In fact, the Jewel of India takes the unusual step of listing "Chef‘s Recommended Dishes" to help diners. At any restaurant, of course, it‘s the food that makes or breaks it. It‘s clear that the Oakville Jewel of India restaurant is following in the footâ€" steps of its awardâ€"winning cousin in London, Ont. Shiekh formerly worked at the London Jewel of India that earned the Gold Plate Award for the finest Indian cuisine in the city and also the En Route award for excellence. Favourites at the Oakville restaurant, which opened last November, include the delicious Butter Chicken, which is chicken cooked in the tanâ€" door oven with spices, yogurt, cream, almonds and raisins, and the "very hot" Vindaloo series of dishes, spiced with chili and cooked in a tomato paste. The Tandoori platâ€" ter, a mixed dish of Tandoori Chicken, Lamb Tikka, Shrimp Tikka and Sheek Kabob, is also popâ€" ular. Sheikh is quick to point out the variety of breads baked fresh in the tandoor; there are six difâ€" ferent breads listed. Sheikh is also proud of ; 7 RESTAURANT PROFILE: The Jewel of India i ,r the fact that the Jewel of India is one of the very few restaurants in the region to offer a full vegetarian menu. Others may have individual vegetarian dishes, he says, but few have taken care to plan and prepare a fully separate selection of dishes, with a guarantee of no dairy products or any animal content. "A friend of mine in London [Ontario] owned a store for vegetariâ€" ans, and he told me how there is a growing number of vegetarians out there," Sheikh recalled. "I decided this restaurant should have its own separate vegetarian menu. "The chef and I got together and studied what kinds of vegetable dishâ€" es could work," he recalled. "Then we put the dishes together using traâ€" ditional Indian spices and cooking methods. 3 "A lot of people tell us they really Attention to detail pays off at Jewel of India Jewel of India head chef Doras Ali and manager Sheikh Miah offer great food and attentive service. appreciate having a separate menu," says Sheikh. That story is typical of the approach Sheikh takes to running his restaurant. He is a student of the business, and he is always striving to take care of those "little things" that lead to satisfied customers. He reports that the word is getting out about the Jewel of India â€" customers are coming from all over over, from Scarborough to Hamilton, to dine on a regular basis. Other examples of this attention to detail: Q Sheikh knows that there are seniors in the area who may be living on a small budget, so he offers a 10 per cent discount for seniors as well as 15 per cent off for students. (The prices are reasonable for everyone, it must be noted.) © Q Sheikh knows that many of his TANDORI CHICKEN BUTTER CHICKEN CHICKEN MOSOLLOM KING PRAWN PATHIA KHORAI LAMB BALTY LAMB INDIAN BREAD FRESHLY BAKED IN OUR CLAY OVEN lunchâ€"hour customers are pressed for time, so he makes the promise to serve his fourâ€"course lunch special (priced between $4.45 and $5.95 each day) within 15 minutes. Q Children are welcomed, and the Jewel of India can recommend dishes such as the Chicken Korma that have been proven to appeal to the young ones. Sheikh also guarantees that all ingredients are fresh, and all tables spotlessly clean â€" because it‘s the litâ€" tle things that matter. The Jewel of India offers caterâ€" ing and takeâ€"out services. Hours are Monday to Saturday, 12 noon to 2:30 p.m. and 5 to 11; Sunday, 5 to 10. Reservations are recomâ€" mended from Wednesday to Saturday â€" call 338â€"2540. Located at 342 Church Street between Allan and Trafalgar. | Jewel of India! | * Church Street N i Lakeshore Rd. East e L__â€" Trafalgar Road Jllchtccl