Unofficial Curry Crawl

[butterflydreaming]

I didn't even think of it for a curry crawl "review" until buhrger asked about our lunch at Taj Palace of India. The restaurant is a reasonable distance from the Bellevue Sheraton, where the four PCGs I was meeting were attending Writer's Weekend. I had one other meet-up with adventurat and dctemo_13 months ago & missed a Los Angeles meet-up by a week last fall. I was happy to see them again and meet a couple of the others (the_mongrel and semioticwarrior).

Taj Palace is another one of those unfortunately named restaurants that nevertheless provides excellent fare. The $8 buffet was the best I have ever eaten. The food was hot and fresh (pakoras refilled upon our arrival)and available in a substantial variety of vegetarian, chicken, and lamb dishes. I filled my plate, but there were at least 4 things I didn't taste. The disadvantage of writing this about a buffet is that I don't know the names of most things. I know there were:

vegetable/plain pakoras -- good, if simple
tandoori chicken -- tender & tasty, a good assortment of chicken bits to choose from
several kinds of meatball shapes in sauce, some chicken, some lamb
plain rice as well as the kind with spices & vegetables mixed in
seasoned potatoes

fresh naan, brought to our table (twice) from the kitchen

fresh fruit, watermelon in chunks and oranges, salad, chutneys & sauces

ample dessert (Gulab Jamun are the orbs in syrup?)

The website lists: Samosa, Pakora, Chicken Tikka Masala, Tandoori Chicken, fresh naan, various meat curries, lamb, and a large selection of vegetarian dishes such as mattar paneer, kabli channa, punjabi kadhi, saag, & vegetable Korma. Dessert: gulab jamun, rice pudding (Kheer), carrot sweets, & mango pudding.

There wasn't anything that I thought was lackluster. It was an amazing spread for a buffet. It seemed to me that it was not so meat-dominated that the vegetarians had their choices limited. I would be willing to make a trip out again sometime.

Comments

[adventurat.livejournal.com]

I can attest that the lamb meatballs and chicken tikka masala were both delicious. Not sure what the chickpea curry was called, but our veggie gals seemed to enjoy it.

Was excellent food. As with most Indian restaurants, it was too brightly lit and had about as much atmosphere as the moon, but it was PACKED at Saturday lunchtime. This speaks well, especially as it wasn't exactly in a busy area. (A strip mall yes, but not the busiest one I've ever seen, and there weren't a dozen other restaurants nearby.)

[buhrger]

I didn't even think of it for a curry crawl "review" until buhrger asked
glad to be of service!

Taj Palace is another one of those unfortunately named restaurants
what's worng with the name?

I don't know the names of most things
my guesses, below

several kinds of meatball shapes
the general term for these is "kofta" - for a vegetarian option, you might want to look for "mallai kofta", which are made out of cheese curd.

(Gulab Jamun are the orbs in syrup?)
if the orbs have been deep-fried, yup. otherwise, you're looking at ras mallai or ras gullah, depending on the syrup.

I would be willing to make a trip out again sometime.
[files for future reference...]

adventurat mentions Not sure what the chickpea curry was called - from the menu items you list, i'd guess "kabli channa" (which i generally see spelled "kabuli channa", i.e. chickpeas from kabul)