Inside the restaurant you find several snug, warm dining spaces spread over three floors. It verges ever so slightly on being cramped but the owners have been restrained in the number of tables they've added to the place so, despite the low ceilings, it feels like you have a generous amount of personal space. There's also a number of lower tables where you can kick off your shoes and sit on cushions. It's a fun idea but I was glad to be sitting at a proper table!
Lower tables for relaxing and chilling out!
Chameleon also offers regular sized dishes but we opted for the Rijst Tafel, M went for the Komodo while I chose the Java. All the dishes arrived together and where there was a crossover the food was combined in a larger dish. Altogether we had about thirteen dishes in front of us. I definitely felt like a colonialist sitting down to a feast!
M's favourites were the Babi Ketjap, a confit of pork belly marinated in spices, and the Beef Rendang, a slow cooked beef stew with tamarind and cinnamon. The rendang was the spiciest dish in front of us and had a great kick to it.
Top right: Otak Otak, a crab cake, Babi Ketjap, marinated pork belly. Sate Ayam, chicken with peanut sauce.
Bottom right: Kari Java, lamb curry.
I loved the the Cumi Cumi Goreng, crispy fried squid with a chili dipping sauce. I couldn't quite figure out what gave the batter the lovely texture but it definitely had a moreish taste! Another big hit for me was the Kari Java, a braised lamb curry with sweet potato. The lamb was fall apart tender and the sauce wonderfully rich.
Clockwise from the top: Asinan, Asian salad. Bami Goreng, wok fried noodles. Cumi Cumi Goreng, deep fried squid. Sesame fried vegetables. Beef Rendang.
The side dishes of noodles and Asinan, a salad of cucumber, mango and leaves, both impressed too. Several tasty condiments were also served with the meal, a tomato chili paste, some sweeten soy, pickled vegetables and my favourite, a sort of dried onion with nuts. I'm not entirely sure that's what it was but it was very good sprinkled on my food!
Some tasty condiments
Though we shouldn't have we both had dessert! Himself opting for a chocolate brownie and me some chocolate ice-cream and raspberry sorbet. Both were delicious though the ice-cream was suffering ever so slightly from freezer burn (my summers working in an ice-cream shop are showing here!) Overall though it was a refreshing way to finish off the meal.
Chocolate brownie with vanilla ice-cream and my favorite combination of ice-cream, chocolate and raspberry.
On the surface of it Chameleon does not initially appear to be cheap but, given the amount of food we ate and the smiling and professional service we experienced, it is very good value for money. In an already tapas laden city it's definitely one to check out for a truly unique experience.
Chameleon Restaurant
1 Lower Fownes St
Temple Bar
Dublin 2
01 671 0362
http://www.chameleonrestaurant.com/index.htm
