It can be hard to reach consensus on what constitutes a genuine Durban curry - arguments abound about the masala, the cooking methods and the consistency of the sauce. What is a given, though, is that the real thing must be red, hot and full of flavour.
The setting also helps. Muggy afternoons with struggling air conditioning, handfuls of inadequate paper serviettes and a plethora of strelitzias generate the spirit of the East Coast.
The revamped Savera Hotel in Chatsworth has all that and more. Hotel owner Dhilosen Pillay decided this decades-old local institution would be the perfect place to reflect the history and culture of the Indians who began arriving in Durban in 1860, mostly as indentured labourers.It was an inspired move. Since late last year six areas in the hotel have been decorated with aspects of South African Indian history. The formal dining room, the SS Truro, named after the ship that brought the first 342 indentured labourers from Madras, is covered ceiling to floor with the ship lists of passengers; a conference room celebrates stalwarts of the Struggle; a front lounge tells the history of India up to independence.
We chose to sit on the veranda leading off the sports bar so we could watch punters watch their horses lose on the bar's TVs.
At the Savera the drink is cheap and the food is hot. It's a perfect combination, really, especially for the less intrepid who need to float their tongues in a glass of ice-cold beer between minute pecks at a sugar-bean roti.
I'd first ordered fish and chips but they were out and the pizza wasn't available either. "And the sandwiches," said the waitress, taking pity on me, "are also on the hot side."
The hardier members of the party were looking forward to the chef's specials - a trotter curry and a mutton quarter bunny. The Savera is, I'd been told, the bunny hub of Chatsworth.
The trotter curry was tender, tasty and hotter than molten lava. "I love it," snivelled my friend, "and next time I'm having the tripe." The feedback on the mutton curry was similar: "The first two bites were delicious, then my mouth turned into a furnace and I couldn't really tell what I was eating."
Internal heat aside, it was a mellow afternoon out. We sat in the gentle breeze, drinks in hand, read aloud the stories on the walls and decided that there is little to beat this as an authentic taste of Durban life.THE LOWDOWN
Vibe: For a place with the hottest food in town, it's really very chilled
Price: Most importantly, the beers start at R13. We paid R50 for a trotter curry and rice and the same for a quarter bunny. A bean roti is R25
What to wear: Shorts and Crocs outside, your Sunday best inside
People who will like it: It's got international appeal
People who won't like it: If you douse your curries in Mrs Balls then you're going to struggle
Hot tip: Make a day of it in Chatsworth and end up at the Savera.
SCORECARD: 15/20 
Food: 4/5Ambiance: 5/5Service: 3/5Value for money: 3/5..