When I posted photos of my recent feast at Horn Please, I got so many comments from people saying how much they love it there. It's easy to see why. Horn Please is bright and fun with Bollywood film projections and hand-painted pictures of peacocks and old fashioned portraits on the walls. Cyndi Lauper and Madonna, as well as other classic 80s and 90s music adds another layer. And the food. The food is so good at Horn Please. I was treated to an absolute feast when I went in. Colonel Tso's Cauliflower (nothing like the cauliflower my mother used to cook!) is Indo-Chinese cauliflower in tomato chilli sauce. It is textural, spicy and delicious and the Tandoori chicken is tender, slightly smoky and I can't stop thinking about it. Then there are the curries, including the perennial favourite, the Butter Chicken and the Horn Please Dhal which takes three days to make and tastes like what a big cosy hug might possibly taste like. Amarjeet co-owns and cooks in Horn Please, as well as Dhaba at the Mill (Kyneton), Daughter-in-law, Mrs Singh and Mr Brownie. I have previously spoken to his business partner, chef Jessi Singh, and I have always loved Daughter in Law, so I was delighted to go to Horn Please and meet Amarjeet.
Jessi and I are business partners now. Before he was my boss but when he came back from America we became business partners and we opened Daughter in Law in Melbourne and Adelaide, and Don't tell Aunty in Sydney, and Mr Brownie.
That's enormous. So many places.
Yes. It's hard but it is good. Have you been here before?
No, it's my first time and it is beautiful. So colourful.
Come and have a look around. We are open for dinner seven nights.
Have you always been in this location?
Yes, we have been here for 11 years. I work mainly in this venue. I came to Australia in 2005. I worked in India as a chef and when I came here I started with Jessi at Dhaba at the Mill in Kyneton and then I worked with him as head chef. I worked for three years with him and then he planned to sell the business and I bought it from him and then we opened this place and I was head chef with him. Then he moved to America and I bought Horn Please from him as well. When he came back three years later, we became business partners and opened Don't Tell Aunty in Sydney.
Do you have to get around all the venues?
Yes.
That's exciting.
Yes. After Don't Tell Aunty, we opened Daughter in Law, then Byron Bay, then Mr Brownie and then Daughter in Law, Adelaide. I spend a lot of time here and in Byron Bay and sometimes in Kyneton.
Kyneton is interesting because it is so small but it has really good restaurants and wine bars.
Yes. We have had Dhaba at the Mill for 13 years and it is really good. We only open four nights and it does well. People love it. It is in an old flour mill which is 150 years old. It is an old building and it is beautiful. Four nights open there is more than enough.
Does each restaurant do the same food?
They are all different. Horn Please and Daughter in Law have different food and a different vibe. Byron Bay is more snacks and finger food and Mr Brownie is more of a pub with finger food. Adelaide and Melbourne Daughter in Law are very similar. It's modern Indian. Our food changes according to the season and what is available in the market. Me and Jessi we always go to the market and see what is going on and we create new dishes and change the menu together. Whenever we open a new place we do a lot of testing of food.
And you started your career in India?
Yes.
Why did you want to become a chef?
In my family no one works in this field. But when I was a small child I would be in the kitchen cooking with my mum. I was the youngest in the family and I always loved cooking. I would always be smelling and tasting the food that my mother was cooking. When I finished studying, my brother had a friend in Sydney and he said if I wanted to learn to cook and work in a good restaurant, there would be a good future for me. So I worked in the north of India for four years as a chef.
Did you work in hotels?
Yes.
And did you learn other cuisines as well or mainly Indian?
It was mainly Indian. Then I came to Australia and started with Jessi and I learned 100 new things.
What kind of food is the north of India famous for?
Street food.
Do you have northern food on the menu here?
Yes, but it is not only northern. We have a mix of dishes from the south and north.
Do you have to change the level of spice to adapt to Australian palates?
We do the spice medium here. But that's what people in the north of India like too. Our food isn't oily or spicy. We use green chilli, which has good flavour and isn't just spicy.
We always do our best; we do our best with the food, we do our best with the customer so that the customer feels happy. I think it is the music and the atmosphere. If the customer feels happy, they will come back again. It is the whole experience, not only the food. ~ Amarjeet Singh
So you worked as a chef and worked with Jessi and now you own and run all these venues. Was the business side of things and the leadership aspect a natural progression for you?
It was hard. Especially when I started with Jessi at Dhaba. It was a small business, but it was a big thing for me. Then it increased to running four places and it was good. Now I'm running eight places, but it is still ok because I have a good team in all the venues. My goal is to look after them all, changing the menu and coming up with new recipes and if there are any new dishes, I share that with the staff.
If a group of people come into Horn Please, what would be the ideal experience for them here?
We offer a set menu for groups of more than eight people so they don't have to think about what to order, they get four entrees, then a main course of two vegetarian and two non-vege and then rice and naan bread, papadam. People love it.
Of course. It's fun here. Like Daughter in Law you have great music and the Bollywood films . It is all about the experience here. It's so great. I saw on Instagram that it was your birthday recently, that looked fun. Happy birthday!
Yes, I am one year older. Time goes very quickly, especially after Covid, after those two years. But we got a lot of support from the locals. Right now we have seven chefs in the kitchen and at that time we only had one person on the kitchen and we did a lot of takeaways. It was very busy over lockdown. But it really affected everyone. A lot of businesses in the city closed down.
That's right or they made it through lockdown but they have closed down now because of a lack of staff.
Yes. We are very lucky that we have good staff in all the venues.
Do you still do some cooking yourself?
Yes. I work with the team in the kitchen some nights and I also work front of house, greeting the customers and so on.
I have read in lots of publications that your restaurants are the best Indian restaurants in Australia, what makes them the best do you think?
We always do our best; we do our best with the food, we do our best with the customer so that the customer feels happy. I think it is the music and the atmosphere. If the customer feels happy, they will come back again. It is the whole experience, not only the food.
You have Diwali coming up in a few weeks, what are you doing for that?
We are opening for brunch at Horn Please and we are hosting a Diwali Night dinner on 24th October from 5 pm – 9 pm.
Do you have a favourite dish on the men?
That's hard to say. Our menu is small and they are all my favourite. The customers love the cauliflower and the butter chicken and we do a smoky lamb curry as well and people love that.
167 St Georges Road, Fitzroy North