I went to Masalchi London restaurant in Wembley Park Indian restaurant

Masalchi, opened three years ago by 'master of spices' Atul Kochhar, turned out to be perfect for me - a meat eater - and my vegan friend.

With its abundance of spices, the pan-Indian menu of dishes is based on street food that Kochhar discovered at provincial markets during his travels in India with family, friends and peers.

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He passed on his expertise to the chef and staff at the Wembley Park Boulevard restaurant, and the food and drink lit up my taste buds in a way they haven't been for a very long time.

While my friend opted for a lager, I began with a chilli mango virgin mojito mocktail and refilled with just that for the remainder of my meal because it was so good.

The drink was cold, it was fresh, it was not too sweet and as I swallowed it, the warmth from the chilli emerged very delicately. 

These lightly spiced poppadums were crispy and didn't collapse under the weight of the fresh tomato chutney or mango chutney (Image: Nathalie Raffray)

I had arrived a bit late and my friend was already digging into the poppadums, praising them for being not as thin as she was used to, and surprised they didn't crumble in her hand.

They were deliciously crunchy, the heat coming from them, and beautifully paired with both the fresh tomato chutney and the mango chutney, which struck a balance in taste that was smoother than it was sweet. 

Our friendly waiter came up and told us the chef had prepared us an amuse bouche, which was "off-menu".

This amuse bouche, specially made by the chef, with beautifully spiced tomato chutney and tiny chickpea caviar balls on an appam - a thin pancake made with fermented rice batter - was exquisite (Image: Nathalie Raffray)

These had the appearance of perfect little canapes. 

Lacy, fluffy pancakes made from ground rice and coconut were topped with beautifully spiced tomato chutney and tiny chickpea caviar balls. Exquisite is an understatement; the heat lingered in my mouth. 

Our starters were an array of small dishes which suited me perfectly as I can be quite indecisive when it comes to food.

The pineapple dahi puri was a revelation - crispy wheat flour shells I poured liquid into and upon biting, realised were filled with pineapple, chickpeas, chilli, sweet yoghurt and chutney.

An array of small starters - The pineapple dahi puri, a beetroot chaap, beautifully spiced lamb chop and chicken (Image: Nathalie Raffray)

The beetroot and pinenut croquettes had been taken off the menu then reintroduced due to popular demand and it was clear why. They were surprisingly meaty and spicy, and while I assumed they would be cold, they were not. 

I tasted the Patiala lamb chops, which were tender with a subtle, sweet taste of pomegranates.

Vegan mains for my friend and fish and lamb curries for me - all cooked by the chef, who learned from Michelin-starred chef Atul Kochhar (Image: Nathalie Raffray)

One of my mains was a delicious flaky fish curry infused with onion, ginger, coconut and curry leaves. The lamb rogan josh, cooked with caramelised onions and Kashmiri chilli, was tasty mouthful after tasty mouthful.

The chef had made my friend an okra curry, but it was his cauliflower curry that made her practically lick her dish clean. She said she had never tasted anything like it.

We didn't have time for dessert owing to me being so late, which was a great shame, but with a scan of the menu I made a mental note not to wait too long to return here.